Recent events

Solomon turned two! He requested "ice cream truck" for his party. We settled on making him an ice cream cake.

School started and Tihun joined in on the fun. She is in kindergarten and is doing great. She can't wait to start each day and has been described by her teachers as the role model for the class. The twins are in second grade. They have had a little bit of a rocky start (absent teacher, substitutes, misbehaving...), but seem to be doing better. Adaline has declared herself the best math student in the class and Arthur, the best reader. Those two have never struggled with a lack of self-confidence!

Daddy walks them to school most mornings...

While Solomon and I stay home and have treats.

This is my first experience with one kid at home, and I must say it is wonderful. I feel like a new mom walking around with my little stroller and my little one kid. I am so much more laid-back and spontaneous. And Solomon seems to be enjoying it too. I wondered if he'd be sad being home alone, but he likes the extra attention from me. He is growing up so fast---riding a scooter, hitting a baseball, begging to potty...and he never stops talking. But I thankfully get a little peace and quiet during nap time. It is nice to get a little calm from the storm that was/is 0 to 2 to 4 kids.
And finally, Tihun pulled out her own tooth! It has been loose for a while. It was bothering her, so she just yanked it out. After hearing the pop of the tooth, she calmly replied, "I got it." Adaline immediately rushed it down to put under Tihun's pillow and then started sobbing. Adaline hasn't lost any teeth yet and she was devastated that her little sister lost one before her. I think this is only the beginning of little sister passing her older siblings. You should have seen her on a skateboard the other day. She's a natural at all things physical (and so is Solomon). Something that I can not say about the older two :) Lots of fun!

Oh, and I suppose I should mention that I followed in Adaline's footsteps and cut my hair to donate to Locks of Love (the longest layer was 16 inches!). She sort of regretted cutting her hair after the fact. She would cry on the couch saying, "I miss my hair." When I told her that I might donate mine too she replied, "Serves you right for making me cut mine!" Ouch. She came with me and enjoyed watching the shearing (and really enjoyed her first salon experience). It feels great!

7 years old!

There was much celebration for Adaline and Arthur's birthday last week. We had a family party on the night of their birthday, Uncle Marshall took them on a breakfast date, and we invited friends over for a birthday party in the back yard on Saturday. I am posting tons of pictures...I guess I'm missing family and friends and wanting them to connect to the big events in our lives. So here goes!

Each child got their own mini-cake.

I love this series of Arthur. Shocked by his cake--7 candles really are bright.

Contemplating the wish.

Satisfaction.

Sweet kids! Arthur thanking his sister for her homemade card.

The party. Several friends from school and neighborhood.

Cupcakes this time.

We always sing separately to them in case you haven't noticed :)

Lots of relay games in the back yard (this is egg and spoon).

Dress-up relay was the finale. Very cute!

And of course, presents! All of the kids had a great time. Happy 7th to Adaline and Arthur!

Another milestone in the family: first stitches. It comes as no surprise that Solomon was the first to send us to the ER for stitches. He jumped off the couch and hit the coffee table with his mouth. His teeth (front and back) went through his lip, basically removing the entire bottom of his lip. The plastic surgeon did 20-25 stitches to put it all back together. They were both inside the mouth and under the lip. It was very gross, but Solomon was so brave. He giggled through a large portion of the procedure and made jokes with the doctor the whole time. He also tried to re-enact the fall so that the doctors could get a clear picture of what happened (because I didn't see it and they were asking me lots of questions). They had to tell him over and over not to jump off of the hospital bed. Hilarious!

This sort of shows the stitches underneath his lip. He is completely back to normal now. You hardly notice the scar because it is just under his lip line. But our coffee table still bears the marks of the incident. Three teeth marks are imprinted on it where he fell! It's a miracle that his teeth are still in his mouth! Oh, Solomon. I'm afraid this is only the beginning of your life in the ER. I told the plastic surgeon that we will probably see him again soon!

Class Mascots

Tihun and Solomon are like little rock stars when they show up at Adaline and Arthur's school. All of the kids in their class rush to greet them with hugs and kisses. The kids carry them around like little baby dolls and tend to their every need. Adaline used to get a little possessive when this happened-- "She is my sister, and I need time with her"-- but she is fine with it now. Solomon loves big kids and Tihun loves attention, so they are both happy with the situation.

Tomorrow is the last day of school, so all of this attention will come to an end. But I have no doubt that we will run into a lot of their friends all summer as we go sprinkler, pool and playground hopping. Next year Tihun will enter Kindergarten so Solomon will have to be the mascot for two classes. Should be fun!

Homecoming Anniversary

 It's been one year since Tihun and Solomon joined our family. How blessed and joyful our family is with these two little people in it. We are so thankful!

Amusement

Our family recently went to Knoebel's Amusement Park in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. Jamison's dad and stepmom took us two times, and it was quite a treat! There was probably more laughter and fun than I can remember having with our kids. It was also interesting to see how seeing them in a new environment highlighted a part of each of their personalities that we had never seen before. Adaline was fearless, which was a huge surprise. Nothing ever scared her and she rode everything that her height allowed (including 2 large wooden roller coasters). She giggled and raised her arms throughout every ride and found solidarity with her fearless dad. Arthur was as excitable as I have ever seen him. Even at home he is still studying the map and talking about all of the rides. Today he designed and drew "Knoebel's 2" with 10 new rides. He was extremely trepidatious, but fought through the fear and rode every ride that Adaline did (and forced his terrified mom to ride every ride with him). Tihun was content to pass on the scary rides--a first for her because she usually keeps up with the big kids on everything. She enjoyed riding the kiddie rides with Solomon. Solomon had an enormous smile on his face no matter which ride he was on. The higher and faster, the better for him. This actually comes as no surprise, and is consistent with his character so far. All of the family had an amazing time!

Enjoying Spring

Spring cleaning! Time to dust the cobwebs off this blog again. Before I took these recent pictures, the last photos on our camera were of the snow in February. It's been that sort of season--huddled up inside, trying to survive without a thought of capturing memories. It was a long winter. But now we are out and feeling good! The daffodils and tulips are saying hello, the ramps are making their highly anticipated appearance. The cool spring air is so energizing. The big kids are on spring break from school, so we have had extra time this week to enjoy the outdoors.

This trip to Coney Island was so refreshing for us all. It felt great to just let the kids run around without so many boundaries and restrictions. And I love how these pictures highlight their interactions with each other. This is pretty typical of them--Arthur and Tihun have a special bond and Adaline has a unique patience with Solomon. It is fun to watch them pair off in different ways.

I'm not sure what else to say to catch up on the past five months. Tihun turned 4 years old, Arthur lost his first tooth (and swallowed the second), Adaline donated 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love, and Solomon says a new word almost daily. Solomon demolished his crib (while in it) and has to have a crib tent (a.k.a. cage) to contain his adventurous naughty self. Adaline and Arthur are obsessively reading the Boxcar Children series and are devouring books every night (largely due to an extremely early bedtime for their age). Tihun is now fluent in English and has also picked up every other American child-like behavior (tantrums, whining, rolling eyes...) Lots of fun in the Galt household. There is never a dull moment!

Oh, and last weekend the 3 big kids were in their first wedding. Arthur and friend blew Ethiopian horns to announce the bride's arrival. The girls slowly "decorated" the path for the bride and dumped out the pail of flowers at the end of the aisle. Super cute!