The Holden Family: May

With 3 kids settling in is a slower process, but we are taking our time as this season has been one of huge growth and challenge as we grow in who God desires us to be. God has been stretching us as individuals and as a couple and through this time we are becoming stronger individuals and stronger as a couple. We are continuing to be stretched and during this time the blog has taken a backseat. I am slowly trying to get back some of my routines. The blog is a place to update family and friends but also chronicle our life with our girls. It is like my own scrapbook and I enjoy writing and being creative and have missed that part of my life.

May was another busy month! We celebrated Mother's Day, Mia turned 9 months, Ellie graduated from Cubbies, we finished BSF, we went to visit my family in Tennessee (which I will post about separately) and we continued to settle in and explore new places and meet new friends.

Since it is cold many months of the year there are tons of indoor activities. We met our friend Newton at this indoor playground one cold day.

Ellie and Newton jumping.

Cubbie Awards

Ellie had an amazing Cubbie leader, Mrs. Linda. God knew exactly who Ellie needed during this time of transition for her. She loves Mrs. Linda! I am so proud of her. She started Cubbies late since we moved here in October and worked hard to catch up and finish her book with her group. She made some good friends and loved every minute of it.

Since Daddy is the Family Pastor he shook all the kids' hands and Ellie got a special squeeze. Being a Pastor's child is a completely different experience. It makes the church experience different for them in many ways. Ben and I want our girls to be their own individuals separate from his role and any volunteering I may do. I volunteer with the children's ministry and Awanna but I stay clear of her group as well as the other girls' classes (once Mia moves out of the nursery). We want them to experience relationships and guidance from other adults that are not family and stand on their own.

She can not wait to go to Sparks next year!

Sweet Mia turned 9 months old. She is sitting up now and developing a real personality. She is just starting to say Dada and she says Nana. We are working on self feeding and trying to crawl. With two older sisters that feed her the practice is limited. She rolls like crazy to get what she wants, so crawling has not been her priority. We are still waiting on teeth! Our doctor has told me it is all hereditary. Our other girls were slow to get teeth, so she will be too. If one side of our family walks late then she might too. She is generally a happy baby, but loves her Mommy. When I do not snuggle her she lets her displeasure be known. If I come in the room and do not acknowledge her she lets me know she is not pleased. I am soaking in all the love. It won't be long before she is off and running and her sisters will become her favorites! :)

Mommy Day with my 3 girls!!! Quinny is quite the character!

Big girl seats! Quinn moved to a big girl seat and Mia got her seat! The baby seat is on the way out and we are getting some real big girls around here!

Afternoon Trip to the Minnesota Zoo! This zoo is about 10 minutes from the house and has tons of indoor exhibits for those cold days. We got a season pass so we could really enjoy it! We went over one afternoon to explore half of the zoo!

Being a Bear!

Having Fun!

We walked over to our neighborhood park one afternoon! It is a short walk from our house and is great for the girls!

Ellie had another 6 month appointment at the dentist! She did great and had great teeth! She had her first x-rays! We took Quinn so she could see what it was like (at the dentist's recommendation) so she will be ready when she goes for the first time in November!