Thursday has rolled around once again.  It’s time for us to link up with Rebecca at A Beautiful Ruckus for The Little Things Thursdays.  Each Thursday, we take time to reflect upon some of the little things that brightened our week.

1.  Laughter is good for the soul, and the babies gift us plenty of laughter to fill our days.  Sydney’s hair is getting longer by the day so I’ve begun pulling it into a side swept ponytail.  We could not contain the laughter a few days ago when her hair stood straight up after the ponytail holder was removed.  She seemed to think it was entertaining as well.

I think Sydney could star as “Sydney Lou Who” in the next Dr. Seuss flick.

2.  Keeping up with family tradition, my grandmother (GiGi to the babies) hosted a family birthday party honoring the babies.  GiGi whipped up a family meal chock full of the babies favorite dishes (macaroni and cheese, steamed carrots, roast, and rolls).  For dessert, Cici made scrumptious funfetti cupcakes.  Now experienced with cake smashing, the babies demolished these cupcakes.

They each received a brightly wrapped package containing a tiny backpack filled with books.  Reading is a beloved pastime in our family so I hope to instill a love of books in the babies now.  Of their new reads, they especially enjoy the book, “Thank you, God for Puppies” by Tommy Nelson.  They literally squeal when they spy it.

GiGi decorated each baby’s gift with a picture from their first birthday party.

As always, each of the babies approached the cupcake in a unique way. Sydney entertained the entire family when she grabbed her cupcake and went after it like an apple. She did not let go until it was completely devoured. Mason ate none of the cupcake and only licked the frosting off the top.

3. We’ve been working on learning environmental sounds and Rylin is all about it.  She produces a moo and ba sound upon request.  She and Mason scrunch their noses and snort if you ask them what a pig says.  However, my favorite sound of all is Rylin’s smacking to call the dogs.  Apparently George and I smack our lips to call the dogs A LOT because Rylin’s been imitating this all week.  She also makes the sound if she sees a picture of a dog.  It’s precious.

4. Today, Granny, (my uncle Clarke’s mother) celebrated her 90th birthday, and she met the babies for the first time.  Granny is 90, but she’s spry and didn’t miss a beat with the babies.  She was determined to learn each baby’s name and got a snuggle with each of them.  Happy birthday, Granny!

Sydney gravitated to Granny and cuddled with her for a long time.

Even at 90, Granny helped Mason take steps.  The picture quality is poor…I snapped it while wrangling another baby so the hand was not steady.  Still, it is really sweet.

Poppy informed me that he celebrated his 92nd birthday last month and that he and Granny recently celebrated 71 years of marriage. What a wonderful example of commitment and honor.

Granny and Poppy’s son, Jack, was visiting from Washington in honor of the momentous occasion and brought them to the house.

What brought joy to your heart this week?

hugs,

Amber