The Beginning of December

Here is the new school room!  And by room I mean- 3 foot strip on the right side of the living room.

I'd love to say it normally doesn't look this cluttery, but really the only time it doesn't look a cluttery mess is when we have company.  And the only time we really have company is on Friday's when the missionaries come over for dinner. 

We have had to be extra vigilent with keeping the floor clean because Quinn can really get around now.  Her favorite spot to venture is under the Christmas tree table.  This seems to be everyone's favorite spot and where I can usually find most of the pieces to the nativities.  Maybe Quinn loves it so much because she knows Heidi keeps it well stocked with things that fit in a babies mouth.

Wednesday was unseasonably warm and also the day Heidi informed me in a heartbroken voice that "I wish I was still small like Quinn, because I'm getting too big for the swing."  So we decided to take a bike ride to the close park.

It was a dry day, overcast as usual but way up in the 60's so we didn't worry about jackets!
I miss the sun.  While the temperature varies, Pittsburgh always has that Utah 'inversion' feel.  I've gotten used to it feeling like it's always 10am until it gets dark and then it's immediately 10pm.

Quinn LOVED the swings just like her sisters.

She laughed and laughed and laughed!  So everyone laughed and laughed and we had a great time.

Even troubled Heidi (who lately has been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders) seemed carefree.

There is plenty of graffiti around Pittsburgh, but there is one artist called Thor who seems to really get around.  Normally I hate graffiti, but looking for Thor's mark as we drive the city has kind of become a fun game.  Fortunatly or unfortunatly he doesn't seem to be one of the many budding artists with filthy mouths who visit our local park.

Alex and Quinn have a special relationship.  Heidi is more of a friend to Quinn, but Alex is totally a little mother. 

Alex gets mad when I put Quinn down for naps, and is always trying to haul her around the house and teach her things.  This week it was drum lessons.

Quinn looks to her as an authority figure and also a source of love and affection!  It melts my heart.

 Quinn looks to Heidi as fun fun fun!  Heidi allows Quinn to pull her hair and loves that she can always get a laugh from the little monster.  Quinn was VERY upset at the store this week and when Heidi couldn't cheer her up, she fell into a heap on the floor bawling because Quinn wouldn't smile for her.

Not long after we arrived at the park, a few of Alex's friends showed up and then more, and then more!  Apparently all the mormon mom's within 5 miles decided it was park day.  So I got distracted talking, and Heidi decided to ride her bike into the baseball field.  Unfortunatly it was quicksand because of all the rain the day before.

Heidi was completely stuck. While another Mom tried to clean the bike up while I saved Heidi, her little boy wandered into the mud and got stuck!  In the next 5 minutes EVERY child walked into the mud pit and 4 shoes were lost off of feet!  It turned into a terrible, hilarious mess that resulted in some ruined shoes, socks and laughter.

Thursday it rained again and we had to drive to Monroeville to get Alex's ears and eyes checked for school.  The health check was at a library with a lift instead of an elevator.  It was an adventure for sure!  Also we lost a Quinn sock there.  We seem to lose socks everywhere we go, and they arn't always Quinn's.

Afterwards we went to the mall where they had the coolest, biggest playplace ever.  Mr. Rogers neighborhood themed of course.  Pittsburgh is viciously proud of Mr. Rogers and the fact he was from here.  If you watch Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood- it's made and filmed here as well, which makes it fun to spot the places we know.
 We met up with the wife of one of Tyler's fellow PA students at Chatham.  They are LDS and have 3 girls as well,  their oldest is 12 and the the youngest is 4 but they live about 40 minutes away.

Friday was super fun!  The online charter school had organized an outing to the Pittsburgh Ballet to watch The Nutcracker!  We had been listening to the music all week and even watched the Barbie version so the kids would hav an idea what was going on.  The Theater was beautiful and the Ballet was great.  It worked out that Tyler was able to drop us off at the Ballet and take Quinn to a meeting so I didn't have to worry about parking or finding a babysitter for the baby!  It was a 2 and a half hour show and Heidi sat and watched the whole thing!  I was very impressed!  Afterwards we had some time to kill before Tyler's meeting ended so we visited the Pittsburgh Popcorn company.  SO GOOD.  Heidi picked cheddar (yuck), Alex picked Carmel (mediocre), and I picked Peanut Butter Cup, DELICIOUS! I may be hooked.

Saturday was the ward Christmas party.  I took Alex and Heidi along and they saw Santa again.  They both sat on his lap (a first) and told him what they wanted.  Heidi informed me later in a sassy voice, that she told Santa she wanted a present and he didn't give her one.  He didn't even give her very many candy canes.  Alex is still caught up on the logistics of flying reindeer.