Bathing Cutie

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Sustars!  It was a cool and clear night this year, perfect for our little trick-or-treaters.  The girls LOVED their costumes, especially Libby, who would wear her Minnie dress every day if I'd let her.  The dress was already covered with stains by the time Halloween rolled around! :)  A big improvement over last year's cow costume, which Libby ripped off immediately.  I found a fun popcorn costume idea for Margaret online, and am proud to have made the entire thing myself (my first homemade costume!). 

Designing Jack-o-Lanterns with Daddy

Margaret's first Halloween!

Libby is currently obsessed with Minnie Mouse and Siena with ballerinas, so their costumes were a no-brainer.

"Say CANDY!"

And they're off!  Is this a great holiday or what?

3 Months Old

Little Margaret Rose is now 3 months old, and time continues to fly.  She is such a sweet, smiley, mellow baby and is very forgiving with the craziness that surrounds her!  When I'm feeling stressed with her older sisters all I need to do is spend a few minutes snuggling with this precious baby and my sanity returns.  Margaret has hit two fun milestones in the past week: laughing and rolling over.  While in the bath last week with Libby, Margaret was splashed a few times by her big sis and just started laughing and laughing.  The rest of us started laughing as well, and to hear all of my girls' laughter together was one of the sweetest moments I've had as a parent.  We managed to get a bit of Margaret's laughs on video, and hopefully there will be more to come soon!  So adorable.  Margaret has also just started rolling from her back to her belly (with a LOT of support from her cheerleader big sisters) AND from her belly to her back as of a few minutes ago.  Way to go!

The one challenge we've had with Margaret is her sleep.  She's gone through a phase recently where she wakes about every 1.5 hours, which has been exhausting for me to say the least.  We're working on it and encouraging her to settle herself to sleep on her own, which is helping a little more each night.  I wish I could focus on her feeding and napping schedule (and if she were the only kiddo around I'd be able to do so), but with the business of our lives I'm afraid she has to resort to napping in the car and eating when Mommy has a free moment.  So far she seems okay with the status quo and thankfully manages to get at least one longer nap in a day, but I know if I could get her on more of a schedule her nighttime sleep would improve as well.  We'll keep working on it, Margaret!

Some recent pics of our Margaret Rose at 3 months:

Our smiley girl

Bathtime!  My fingers are so yummy.

Love her lashes.

Time to roll!  Oof...

I did it!

Pooped

A Little Girl

I suppose Siena has been a "little girl" in my mind for about a year now, but it's even more clear now that she's four how far she has come since the toddler years.  Siena is still a sensitive one and may become upset at the smallest issue, but she's also old enough now that she can be "talked down" from most troubling situations.  She continues to be chatty and inquisitive, and at her best Siena is a delight to spend time with.  She's a great big sister and will clearly be teaching her siblings a lot over the years!  Like most first-born kids (I assume), Siena loves rules, order, and following authority, and will quickly point out if someone is in the wrong (especially her little sister Libby!).  She loves playtime and her imagination seems to grow in leaps and bounds by the day.  When she and Libby are in "the zone" with their playtime I can let them go for hours and not hear one disagreement -- it's like a day at the spa for me! :)  Of course, the girls have their off days and I'm still often playing referee.  Siena loves drawing and all of a sudden has started drawing real pictures rather than just scribbles, which has amazed both of her parents.  I guess I assumed kids had to be taught to draw, write letters, etc, but obviously that is not the case.  She continues to love letters and words and I predict that she will be reading within the year with little coaching.  Her newest thrill is riding her two-wheel bike (with training wheels) that she picked out with Daddy for her birthday.  She's certainly a big girl now!  We're so proud of you Siena and thank God every day for bringing you into our lives.

Watch out, neighbors!  Here comes Siena!

Self Portrait, by Siena Sustar

Siena is FOUR!

Happy birthday, Siena!  It's hard to believe I have a four year old now...  amazing!  I decided to take a break from a big party this year and instead invited a couple of Siena's friends over for a princess-themed tea party.  It's funny that I ever thought I'd be able to avoid princess-mania with my girls...  I have clearly given up the fight! :)  Siena obviously loved the theme and has been raving about her tea party ever since.  Such fun!