Who's Your Daddy?

This is Daddy Extraordinare:

This man works his tail off Monday thru Friday, then comes home and makes life pretty darn fantastic for us four Mowad girls. He is a kid-at-heart and knows a hundred ways to make a Saturday morning even more fun. Want some pancakes? His always have chocolate chips in them. Want to slay dragons? He'll make homemade swords for you and your friend. Want to fill up the little plastic swimming pool? He'll make that boring ol' plastic slide in the backyard into a water slide and put the pool at the bottom.

Going to the beach? He'll bring his old boogie board and spin you through the waves. Want a hole? He'll bring his metal shovel and build a moat around a huge sand island. Or he'll build you a Great Pyramid of Egypt and find you the biggest sand crab around to live in the grand edifice.

Got a toy with a hook on it? He'll create a zip line and send the toy careening across the family room. Brought home shells from the beach? He'll drill a hole through them and make them into a bracelet. Bored in the front yard? He'll aim stomp rockets at a target, or better yet, he'll attach the boogie board to his skateboard and pull you around.

Yep, hands down he's pretty much the coolest Dad around. Which makes me wonder when the girls are going to start asking for me to go back to work so that Daddy can stay home with them!

El Gato

Pobrecita!

If you think the second child gets picked on by the older kid, then the third truly has no chance...and in our house it evidently starts young. You sit around, chances are someone's going to make a game either with you, or out of you...and thankfully it seems Maddie has a good sense of humor.

Huh...and we wondered why Malia learned to bite and pinch at such a young age...

Doesn't Get Much Better Than This

As a two and four year old, you can't ask for a much better weekend than the one enjoyed by the little Miss Mowads this past weekend.

Let's start with a little birthday party at the beach, full of many favorite friends, fog turning to perfect sunshine and the usual highlight, cupcakes. The girls dashed and splashed in waves, ran from the nefarious "sea monster" and donned cool sunglasses straight out of fabulous goodie bags.

Thanks to R. Wicks and A. Harris for this pic of Malia

We returned home to the immediate arrival of our best friends, The Kaplans, who came down for an impromptu weekend stay. Olivia and B were off and running before we even said hello. Malia and Baby C enjoyed "holting" Maddie, while the big kids battled with swords built by the "awesome" Uncle Paul. (Yes, this is what happens when the Moms decide to enjoy a little excursion downtown...teaches us for going off for some girl time right?)

Nestled down with cozy blankets and pillows, the kids enjoyed an after dinner movie and popcorn before settling down for the night.


The next morning, kids arose to chocolate chip pancakes and cinnamon rolls (there's that crazy Uncle Paul again), then off we trekked to the park for a reunion with old friends we haven't seen in forever and their fantastic kids. Good times ensued with a dog named Tiki, a kids vs. parents soccer game won by the kids and lollipops and gum supplied by a favorite Auntie named Jen.


And of course, Olivia is already asking when B is coming back to visit and if we'll be seeing any of our friends this weekend. Huh, amazing that by age 4, they already know that the weekends are made for fun...

The Summer of Wonderful

As I was lamenting to my friend, Jen, of how I wish we were having a more exciting summer full of vacations and fun activities, I was downloading pictures off my camera. And, well, the pictures were telling me a different story.

No, they are not pictures of us on a beach in Hawaii or pictures of us posing in front of any amazing landmark. They are not pictures of us boating or camping or enjoying an amusement park. But they are pictures of what has proven to be a very full summer so far. The summer of Maddie. The summer our family became a family of 5. (And honestly, what's more exciting, more breathtaking and more adrenaline pumping than a new baby right?)

And I think the pictures say enough. They surprised me and reminded me that although we'd all love a fabulous vacation and weeks full of family, friends and non-stop excitement, we are having a lovely summer and we need to savor every morsel we are given. Here's a smattering of our joyful moments; I loved them too much to keep to myself.

Life is good with a best friend and a corn dog.

Maddie happy to be with her big sis.

Papa getting some love from Malia.

Grammy got a lot of "baby time" during her visit and loved every minute.

The first of many goofy pictures of the Mowad sisters.

(This one brought tears, knowing this is just the beginning for these three sisters.)

Head Over Heels

Becoming a mother for the third time was such a different experience from the first two. Everything about this pregnancy and delivery was a bit more intense; the pregnancy symptoms, the discomforts, the birth...well, that's what happens with a full-term baby weighing two pounds more than her sisters, right?

I have found that the bonding and love for my baby girl also feels a bit more intense, profound and immediate. Not that I love her more than my older girls, but I think I am appreciating the infancy stage more, possibly because it lacks the tantrum throwing capabilities, along with the whining and sassy-ness that are also noticeably absent at this sweet stage of the game. Plus Daddy has been home longer than with the other girls, which means I've had lots of time to just enjoy a new baby.

And once again, I am in complete awe of the hormones and natural instincts that come into play with a newborn and her mother. Is there anything more amazing than the ways the human body connects the mother and baby, from pregnancy, through labor and delivery and into the postpartum period? The body just knows what to do to ensure mama and baby will form a bond and it seems the less we mess with the body's natural instincts, the more smoothly that bond forms. I know that's not everyone's experience, but I've been fortunate to know it, and it's simply awesome.

So, with that, I introduce the newest love in my life, little Miss Madeline Lauren.

And speaking of bonds, I am incredibly impressed with the bond Malia has developed with her little sister. She wants to "holt" Maddie or feed her (yes, she pulls up her shirt as if something is there to feed the child) or kiss her head and caress her cheeks constantly. She was a born nurturer (she's loved baby dolls from a super early age) and although it can be a little worrisome ("Please don't stand and jump next to Maddie's head!"), she has been incredibly gentle and has adapted to her new baby sister with surprising ease. This was my intense Mama's girl and now all she cares about is Maddie. (I'm taking lots of pictures to remind her how much she liked having a little sister at one time...)

Doesn't Maddie look thrilled?