From one kid to three

Our wonderful friend Michelle let her two kiddos spend the day at our house. Let me just say this: having three children all of a sudden makes you feel less in a hurry to have a second baby.

We had so much fun with Noah and Izzy. Mia adores them. They adore Mia. It's a lovefest. We went to the park, played the piano and bounced on the bed.

But to be honest, it was kind of crazy.

We were unprepared on many levels, particularly the food level. We didn't have the snack situation taken care of, and Leigh made a mad dash to Crest. Turns out, kids compound each other's emotions. One is hungry? All of a sudden, three become really, really, really hungry - right now! At the time, it was terrifying. We were sure we would be eaten by a tiny, adorable herd of cannibals, but the pizza bagel bites arrived just in time.

So I'm in less of a hurry to have a second baby. I like the 2:1 ratio of adults to kids that we have now. Mia needs to be a little older and I need more snack-planning practice before we add a baby to the mix.

The Grouchy Ladybug

Mia got this adorable ladybug raincoat, and I've been waiting forever for 1) her to be big enough to wear it and 2) a rainy day.

Well, it finally happened! I wrapped her up and immediately went to get my camera. I lifted it up to my eye and she said: "NoooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Then she fell on the floor, rolled around and cried her face off.

Darn it. I took a picture anyway. Then I realized maybe she was reenacting one of her favorite books: "The Grouchy Ladybug."

Time out!

Mia has been putting her baby time out and telling her to be nice. A sign of someone on the brink of the Terrible Twos? Indeed.

Daddy-daughter smiles

A new way to drink through a straw

Mia plays piano

We were lucky enough to pick up a free (!) piano! My thinking was that Mia could take lessons in a couple years when she's old enough to pay attention and practice. I'm not sure what I would happen until then, but it turns out Mia loves banging on it all the time. So loud. So, so loud.

Brushing

When you help your mama to brush her hair, you can use a hair brush ...


... or a toothbrush. Whatevs.

Grey Snow Eagle House

We had the amazing opportunity to somewhere pretty incredible today. We visited the Iowa Tribe's Grey Snow Eagle House, a refuge for injured and helpless eagles from across the country. It's just amazing. We went as a surprise for our friend Kelli's birthday. We hauled the kids out to Perkins and had a big ol' time.

It's a small place that gives free tours to anybody who wants to come check it out. They even brought out one of the education birds and let us see it up close. Incredible!

Rubber band as fashion accessory

A job change for Carrie

I have been given a new beat at work. I'm pretty excited to be the new education reporter.

My pal Megan was the education reporter, but she's been given her dream beat as an investigative reporter at the state capitol.

I'm really pumped to start this new beat and cover Oklahoma City Public Schools. Just for some perspective, there are 43,000 students in the district. That's about four times the size of Mountain Home when I was in high school.

Pressure? Yes.

I still get to keep my column one day a week, so I'm grateful for that. It should be fun!