Last night we had a fun time skyping Kevin. It cracks me up that the kids use "skype" as a verb. I didn't know what that was until maybe two years ago. Jillian and Dad made a fort on their own respective ends and she thought that was hilarious. Lucy said "Da-da" over and over, enough to make me admit that maybe she knows what she is saying and that her first word is Da-da. She also waved and waved on command. This was one of her first times waving and it is so very cute. It's so surprising and delightful when babies all of a sudden respond when you ask them to do something! You realize their little spirit is so present, and ready to participate in life! This evening at the pool she was fussy until I realized she wanted to be independent and stand on the stair by herself, which she did for a good hour, jabbering in the sweetest, bossiest little voice. She definitely loves being in the thick of things with her big brother and sister. She'll crawl after them even after they have just finished tackling her to the ground. If she's talking and they're not acknowledging her, she'll just increase her volume and keep chattering until they look at her, which she rewards with a huge smile.

Yesterday I also decided to make about 10 loaves of zucchini bread, a pan of little muffins and a pan of big muffins. They ALL overflowed so that every time I opened the oven door a huge plum of smoke came out. There was no way I was wasting all that dough so I kept cooking them for about an hour. The whole house still stinks. Peter was funny though because he kept saying "Um, it smells good. Just like hamburgers." Later on we let the oven clean itself and I couldn't be more grateful for that feature! Jillian and Peter were fascinated by the fire that the dough on the bottom and on the racks caused.