Fordice Family Fun!

We had the priviledge of having the Fordice family visit us from Oregon. Mark was Will's best man in our wedding and they have been great friends of ours for a long time. It was so much fun to see them and their 4 girls (more power to 'em), if only for a few hours. The girls, and Tyler, had so much fun playing with each other. Here's a picture of almost all of the kids. Their youngest didn't really want to pose so we just took the older ones. Tyler was in heaven to be in the midst of so many beautiful girls and loved playing what they were playing-dolls and trains. He was so excited he could hardly be put to bed afterwards.

Mikayla loves playing dress up. Tyler likes it occasionally but he has yet to put on a princess dress. I think he knows where to draw the line even though I think it would be ok if he tried one, as long as he does it before he's 4. Dressing up yourself is one thing...putting things on the baby has become even more fun (as long as mommy's around). Lynnea had the priviledge of balancing a fake salt shaker on her forehead this morning and then...

wore one of Mikayla's hats. I told her, once Mikayla went to find something else to put on her, that she would have to fend for herself once she got older. I have a feeling Lynnea will be the passive one and go with the flow. I could be wrong. I thought that about Tyler too....hmmm

So, thanks to mom =), I've been trying to get a picture of my 3 darlings for a new purse she'd like to make for herself. So far it's been a little tricky. The first few weeks of Lynnea's life she was so red she hardly looked like a child, the next few weeks her eyes hardly opened, even to eat, and the last few weeks the kids can't stop kissing her cheeks so the pictures turn out blurry. Here's today's succession of unsuccessful pictures. I'll narrate as they appear.

This first one was going to be great. Regardless of the fact that I hadn't fed the baby, I had high hopes of a fantastic, JCPenney quality, photograph and expected her to be an angel. It was not to be. Mikayla, although tilted, looks good. Tyler's got an eyebrow thing happening and Lynnea...well...she looks like a deer caught in the headlights. So, I tried again.

This second one is a little sillier but the "i'm an angel" thing with Lynnea is wearing thin. The lips have permanently formed an upside down smile, not the kind I was looking for.

It's all out failure, folks. Now we've resorted to the fake smile on Mikayla, the "mom's gone crazy with the camera" smile from Tyler and I don't know what's happening with the baby. Maybe she's tired of her cheeks getting kissed every second from Mikayla. Better luck next time. Sorry mom!

They're still cute, though...