missing daddy, and a recipe to share

Yesterday I took Ben to the airport to fly out to St. Louis. He's there for good, and the girls and I will be joining him on March 17th. My mom flew in from utah to help me out with the girls and a few things I have to do while we're still here. He got there yesterday afternoon, and got settled in at the temporary place we'll be living through June. Today is his first day at work in his new branch. Yesterday went fine, and I think having my mom here really will help the time go by faster. I wanted to post a few recent pictures of the girls for Ben to see in St. Louis. This is the most recent one I could find of Kiersten.
This one of Kara is actually from my etsy shop, but I thought it was a cute pose.

Evie has been a happy girl the past few weeks, unless I've had to take her with me down to our old house in spanaway to clean or paint. She doesn't really like going down there any more. She has seemed to understand that Ben was leaving when we talked about it the past few days. She got a little upset when she saw him packing his suitcases, so I think she may remember that from the last couple times he has travelled. On monday she even got her little rolling suitcase and chased him around the house with it. Luckily she really likes my mom, so I've actually been able to get a few things done while my mom hangs out with her.

The girls were watching a movie in the car, and marshmallow lasagna kept getting mentioned. So Ben thought out a way it would be good, and asked me to make it. I used brownie mix for the sauce, graham crackers for the pasta, strawberries for the meat, and marshmallows for the cheese.

I layered it as you would a lasagna. brownie on bottom, then crackers topped with marshmallows and strawberries, then repeat.

here's how it looked when finished. It was super tasty. Things I will tweak for next time: equal parts marshmallow to strawberry. we really missed the strawberry when we got a bite without it. add marshmallows on top at the end of cooking to make a marshmallow crust on top. possibly substitute pie shell for the crackers. They were really good the first night, but the next day they were a little soggy and didn't add much texture any more. I might also make a strawberry mash or syrup to pour over the top. Anyway, if you try it out, let me know if you come up with any tweaks that make it better. :)

Ben called this morning and talked to Evie. She accidentally hung up on him and got very upset while I was trying to call him back for her. She was crying hysterically and begging for "dada" until I got him back for her.

Then she started up crying and begging for him again when he really had to hang up with her the second time. She cried for at least 10 minutes, and had a hard time calming down. I think she'll be really excited to see him in a few weeks.

one week

my baby is a week old today! This picture is from a few days ago. I wanted a picture of the quilt my mom made for her. so soft and silky. she has liked tummy time a couple of times. I loved the ruffle bum on this outfit. I found it in her drawer, but I can't remember where we got it.

my little Evie. She is a really good baby.

she loves her daddy.

She was so mad while getting ready to go for a walk, but she fell asleep pretty fast. Ben was laughing at me for getting her so bundled up on a warm day.

Kara pushing her little sisters in the stroller.

supervised tummy time. This was one of the times she didn't like being on her belly. I think she might have just been getting a bit overstimulated by her sisters' constant attention.

the girls had fun making sugar cookies yesterday.

I've finally caught a few pictures of mom holding Evie. I told her I'd be annoyed if she were here all this time, and I didn't end up with a good picture of the two of them.

these two have been having fun finding ways to stay busy, while I'm taking care of the baby. They've gotten a lot closer the last few days.

I had to get a picture when i realized how pink she was this morning. This is how she was dressed when I had her with me at the dry cleaner, and he still asked me if she was a boy or girl.

stretching out. One of Ben's clients gave her this blanket. I thought that was a very sweet and thoughful thing to do.

Independence day

We've done fireworks in the front yard with the girls a few times this weekend. I only took pictures on saturday night though. They loved this army guy that parachuted down from the sky.

Of course sparklers were a big hit, as always.

yesterday, we picked up Grandma Boot from the airport, and then after lunch, we took the girls to a parade in Burien. As soon as we got there, an old man came over and gave the girls free hats. He said they were to protect from the sun, but it was cloudy and cool the whole time. Perfect parade weather.

Kiersten was so excited to wear a pretty dress with pockets, but she got sick right after we left the airport, so we had to buy her a new shirt from target. She still looked cute though.

It was nice to be right at the very beginning of the parade. The girls got free flags to wave, and tons of candy. So the girls loved it of course. Kara liked seeing the dance groups and cheerleaders.

We came home for dinner, and watched Red Cliff. (which is 5 1/2 hours long). So by the time it was over, it was dark enough for fireworks. It's nice to be able to sit in our yard and just watch all the neighborhood fireworks. Some of our neighbors must shell out hundreds for the firework shows they put on. The girls both really liked it. My mom said it is like living inside the stadium of fire. Kiersten had no problem falling asleep, but all the loud fireworks kept Kara up a little later than I'd have liked. It was a fun independence day. I was glad that the baby didn't come. Ben has been saying for weeks that he thought she would come on the 4th, but I didn't want her to, so looks like I got my way for once. :) I have my next dr. appt on friday, so I'll probably be updating again soon. I've really been wanting the baby to stay in, but now that my mom's here, I'm okay with her being born any time. I hope she comes before or while Lana is here next week, so she'll be able to see the baby when she's here. I'm sure she'll be glad to see the rest of us, but it would be a little sad for her to be here for a week, and have to leave without meeting the new little one.