Hugs and Hissyfits

Siblings

2009-06-24T14:12:00.003-04:00

My little brother and sister

Yesterday and Today

2009-06-24T13:53:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning, Claira walked around the house in search of Jason. She'd scrunch her shoulders up, hold out her hands, and ask me, "Da-da?" I'd tell her he's at work to which she'd respond, "Oh!" and go about her merry way, playing for a few minutes before she started her search all over again.

Today, I'm currently sitting in the living room with the laptop, and Claira keeps walking by, waving to me, and saying, "Hi, bebe!" then running away in a fit of giggles. She's definitely developing her own little sense of humor.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-22T00:02:00.002-04:00

For all of the dad's out there...most likely to your husbands! But, especially to my dear husband, who spends his days outnumbered and doesn't mind tea parties, being sshhed when dolls are sleeping, and has been known to paint Elsie's toe nails for her. I'm so thankful for him!

Family Photos

2009-06-21T23:47:00.000-04:00

For you, Mama!

for you, Mama

2009-06-11T10:27:00.006-04:00

My mom has been bugging me to post pictures for weeks now...so, it's time for a picture overload! Love you, Mama, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Dress Codes

2009-04-27T18:06:00.003-04:00

Didn't you get the memo? High heels are all the rage for cartoon watching and slipping and sliding through the kitchen. Stay tuned for more of the latest toddler trends!

Okay, seriously...Claira walks better in high heels (that are way too big) than I do!

Here's another one...just because this girl rarely smiles for the camera! The girls tend to camp out on the couch in the early evening while they're waiting on Daddy to come home.

The Professional Shopper and the Bookworm

2009-04-02T14:23:00.002-04:00

We have one of each taking up residence at our house now. Those are Elsie and Claira's current professions. Elsie's favorite thing to play right now is house...whether it be with the dollhouse or with her baby dolls. Claira usually fills the role of whomever Elsie needs to boss around. Today, Elsie has been very busy with important phone calls and keeps reminding Claira to make her appointment at Target where all the best shopping is. Then, she sighs and goes on and on about how much work it is.
Really though, the Target love? She gets it honestly, from her Mama!
Claira has fallen in love with books over the past few months, and they are now her constant companions. We read the same 3 or 4 books 87,000 times a day, until she falls asleep with at least one of them in her arms. It's not so cozy nursing her to sleep with a board book or two wedged between us, but I'll admit that it's pretty sweet so she gets away with it.

The Circle of Life

2009-03-29T21:06:00.003-04:00

If you have a four year old, you must know by now that it's quite a chatty age. All of that talking inevitably lends itself to interesting conversations. Today, we sat around the kitchen table, Jason and Elsie eating their "pasta and red sauce" while Claira and I ate shells-n-cheese with andouille. The food was delicious, but the real entertainment was our four year old. For some reason, Elsie was talking about chickens...

Elsie--"Farmers give their eggs to the chickens. That's how chickens get eggs. The farmers have to give them the eggs."
Mommy--"Where do the farmers get the eggs?"
Elsie--"From the store. If they run out, they have to buy some more."

So, there you have it...the circle of life according to a four year old city girl. Oh, and don't worry too much...Daddy made sure to enlighten her with new revelation about where eggs really come from, where the farmer gets them, and where the store gets them.

Right this moment, Elsie's sitting behind me painting a card for her great-grandma Eileen, and I asked her where eggs come from. Her response was, "Eggs come from chickens, and then they give their eggs to the farmers so we can buy them." See, homeschooling!

16 months

2009-03-23T13:57:00.003-04:00

Last night, Jason brought in a tote of Elsie's old clothes for me to try on Claira so that's what we did this morning. Let me tell you, there's nothing like opening a box full of things that don't fit your "baby" anymore to bring on the memories like a flood! This was one of my favorite outfits on Elsie, and I have to say that Claira looks just as cute!

Elsie, 16 months:

Claira, 16 months:

My girls

2009-03-19T18:36:00.002-04:00

I know I have some catching up to do. We've had a busy week, and it's not quite over yet!
In the meantime, here are pictures of Elsie and Claira from yesterday and today. Just thinking of all the grandmas...

Observations: Week 1

2009-03-14T19:00:00.005-04:00

I'll admit that I was a bit surprised for so much activity the first week of our planting project, but we're thrilled about it here. I especially love that it really gave Elsie a good opportunity to try out her observation skills, comparing and contrasting. I was even more impressed by her ability to make observations and compare the different plants all on her own. All I had to ask is, "What do you see?" and she gladly told me what she saw in each pot and how it was alike or different from another pot. I love this kid. She's really going to make this homeschooling adventure of ours a joy for me. Anyway, here are her observations this week, in her own words.

Zinnia: I see a plant. It growed. A zinnia growed! It's green. One zinnia is bigger than the other, but they both have two leaves.

Isn't this the cutest illustration of zinnia you've ever seen? I think so!

Sunflower: I see nothing. It's just dirt.

Basil: There's just dirt. The basil and sunflower aren't growing yet.

I'll update again when there's more growing to report!

Photo Wall

2009-03-13T14:46:00.003-04:00

If you don't have one of these in your house yet, you might want one soon! If I could choose only one theme to decorate my entire house in, it would undoubtedly be photos of our little family. I'd say I've always been interested in photography, but starting a family with Jason and being blessed with our two daughters has given me a greater desire to capture all of our little moments of life on camera. Of course, the digital age has left me, like many others I'm sure, with a computer full of images and very few prints. So, what could be better than printing a few pictures you've taken and hanging them on your wall? I'll tell you...print them BIG! You won't be sorry! This is by far my favorite wall in the house now. I LOVE to look at it.

I got a bit of inspiration from my friend Jennie and printed up a few of my own pictures to start a photo wall of my own. I'll admit that I just picked a few favorites and didn't think much about how they'd all look together. Once they got here, I ran to Ikea for the photo ledge and several frames, trimmed the photos a bit, and put it altogether. I did have a little extra room so I grabbed that black and white photo of Elsie at 8 months, that was actually taken by Jason's Aunt Christina, and it fits in perfectly. I'm already brainstorming for ideas for a wall in the kitchen and one in our hallway that you can see from the living room so feel free to leave some ideas or links to the photo displays you have at your house!

Partners in Crime

2009-03-13T11:26:00.003-04:00

But he'd found this

2009-03-12T13:27:00.004-04:00

Jason and I had two very different church beginnings. I didn't grow up in church but started attending after I got saved at 19. He did grow up in church and has much of the background that goes with it. When we met, my Bible was in a well-loved, sorry state. It was falling apart, and there were entire sections that I could remove completely. We hadn't been together long when he gave me a Bible he had received many years before. He wasn't using it, but it had his name engraved on the cover, and I found this written on the inside...

Sweet, huh? I thought so too. And so, this book with his name on it became my Bible. Many others made their way into our home after we got married. We have quite the collection of different versions now, but this was still my first choice for a long while. It was misplaced when we moved here a little over a year ago, and I looked for it a few times after we first moved with no luck. Another Bible was purchased, and I haven't thought much about it in a long while.

Then came Monday with our flooded basement and met me with something to treasure again. A couple of names and a few question marks scrolled in a Bible. Things were lost on Monday. Jason and I both lost things that we loved as children and carried with us into adulthood. In the middle of that, something else was preserved. At some point in the early afternoon, Jason made his way up the stairs and presented that Bible to me once again. His words were blurred as I really took in the sight of something I'd held in my arms so many times before. He'd just thrown out a box of books all ruined by the waters, but he'd found this at the bottom. Dry. Not wet. Not damp. Dry. At the bottom. He held it out to me, and I took it in my arms again, opening it to the page I'd seen so many times before.

My list of valuables here is short. There are things that matter to me that won't turn my world upside down when they're gone. In this life, things are lost and stolen all the time. But Monday, God gave something back to me that I'd lost in a way that meant so much more than if I had just found that box a year ago. On Monday, we had a flood. It was followed by a promise, and what we lost couldn't make me happier than what was found.

Dried up

2009-03-12T13:19:00.003-04:00

Mostly, anyway. Our laundry room is in the basement. On Monday, I went down to find clean socks for the girls and was met with wet feet when I stepped off the stairs. I looked to the left and was met with the picture I posted a few days ago...no, that's not shiny floors, that's our carpet covered in water! I peeled my wet socks off, ran up to the landing to slip on Jason's crocs, then went back downstairs to survey the damage. Water was every.where. So, I ran back upstairs and grabbed my phone to call Jason. He came home right away and got to work pumping water out with our shop vac. Our main sump pump wasn't working, and he couldn't get the back up pump started either. Fun, huh? Luckily, it wasn't long before we had company and more help to search for a new pump as well as a couple of rented commercial carpet cleaners to suck up all of that water. I'm so thankful to all of the guys from church who spent the evening helping Jason carry things out of the basement and clean up the water. We were still pretty damp down there for a couple of days, but we have a working pump again, and it feels pretty dry down there so we'll get stuff back into place this weekend, hopefully. I know the girls have missed their playroom!

Flood Day Monday

2009-03-09T15:44:00.002-04:00

How a Garden Grows

2009-03-07T22:00:00.003-04:00

I had hoped today would be nice enough to have a park and picnic day. Since that didn't happen, we did one of the next best things. Elsie and I planted a little indoor garden. There's not much to it...I bought a kit that came with basil, sunflower, and zinnia, which is a strange combination if you ask me. Since we're just in it for the fun and observation of it, I figure it'll work out perfectly. I bought her a "science journal" (notebook) so we can make observations and take notes to compare and contrast how they grow. See what PBS does to a mom? Too much Sid the Science Kid, I think. Still, I'm curious to see what Elsie will come up with all on her own. I'll be sure to post our findings when there's something good to report!

According to Elsie

2009-03-05T17:07:00.002-04:00

The difference between big sisters and little sisters is a little something like this:

Elsie to Claira:

"I'm the King of the Jungle! ROAR!!! And you're just a little kitty, meow!"
"ROAR!!! meow! ROAR!!! meow! ROAR!!! meow!"

Yep, we're talking in parables at our house today. I just thought you'd like to know.

Day By Day

2009-03-04T15:52:00.005-04:00

It's Wednesday, and I'm feeling pretty good today. My agenda for the day is to enjoy it and go to church tonight...which definitely falls into the enjoyment category I'm currently promoting. So here are my lovely girls on a Wednesday in early March.

I've known for quite some time now that I've been ignoring the blog. I've known that it's probably time for it to evolve along with my life. So, this is my effort to include it. In the coming months, I'm sure my words will be few. I hope the posts are not.

Elsie turns 4!

2009-03-02T19:18:00.005-04:00

Yes, that's right, my sweet pie is officially no longer a toddler. The truth is, I haven't considered her a toddler for some time now. The toddler clothes certainly don't fit anymore! Still, now her age has even caught up with her, and I'll admit that it's all passing by way too quickly. That's my excuse for months without posting anything here! Our days are definitely keeping us busy! Still, I know there are grandparents just itching for an update here, especially since we're not big on road trips during the winter...so, here you go! I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Doesn't she look so grown up?

Her birthday invitation:

the cake!

enjoying sandwiches with frilly toothpicks (they definitely taste better that way)

making fancy butterflies:

make a wish!

trying out her new bike:

Christmas Sneak Peak

2008-12-31T03:13:00.005-04:00

I know I've been MIA for a long while now, but the Christmas season has kept us very busy this year!

I promise there's more to come!

In the meantime, if you've been wondering what's keeping me from the blog...stunts like this!

Elsieisms

2008-11-21T11:44:00.002-04:00

Elsie-"Miss Jenny's hair isn't blonde anymore. I wonder how it changed colors."

Claira was pulling up to the kitchen chair one afternoon and fell, which happens at least once a day. I usually scoop her up and snuggle her until her cries fade away, but one particular day, Elsie ran to the living room and came back with her arms wrapped around Teddy. "She can hold Teddy for awhile until she feels better." It's these sweet exchanges that wrap the goodness of having two children around my heart. I'm a very blessed mother.

Each week, Elsie's dance teacher stamps the girls' hands when class is over. Last week, Elsie showed me her ballerina, and I was commenting on how nice it was and that I hoped she told her teacher thank you. "No, but no one else did either so it's okay." We spent the ride home talking about thankfulness (again) and how she should always be thankful for the good things she receives even when those around her don't. I also talked about how Jesus is the light of the world, and since we love Jesus, we should let His light shine through us. Thankfulness and good manners is just one way to let that light shine. After the next dance class, Elsie ran to me and showed me the stamp on her hand. We got her shoes and coat on and once we got buckled in the car, she said, "This time, I said thank you, and my light was so bright everyone else did too!"

Elsie-"You remember when Claira was at the hospital in that big plastic box? I want to do that again."
Claira in the plastic box:

One day, we were getting ready to leave the house, and I asked Elsie to get her shoes from the landing (our home is a split-level). When she got to the bottom of the steps, I asked if she'd bring up mine too. She said sure and made her way back up the stairs saying, "You'll have to get Claira's shoes though, Mommy. I'm not an octopus! I don't have a lot of arms. I only got two arms!"

Elsie had "foot lips" also known as Froot Loops to the rest of us as a snack today...she's been counting them to tell me how many she has left so every 5 seconds I hear, I've got 7 foot lips now! Now I've got 6 foot lips! It's making me laugh so hard my stomach hurts.

Happy 1st Birthday, Claira!

2008-11-06T15:52:00.043-04:00

I've been avoiding this post...mainly because I'm still in disbelief that my baby is a one year old. It doesn't even seem possible that it's been a year since this sweet, tiny baby joined our family. Still, the truth is there looking at me in everything my little lady does these days...whether she's pulling her big sister's hair, stealing Elsie's waffle, banging on the pots and pans, pushing chairs around to get from place to place in the kitchen or smooching on her baby dolls, there's something different about the tiny baby I cradled in my arms a year ago. Her birthday has come and gone now, and I can't help but wish for time to slow down for me to steal a few short moments with my girls and the way things are now. Honestly, their screams, both the squeals of delight and screeching protests, give me headaches, but they also put a smile on my face whenever I watch Elsie and Claira together...two sisters growing up together. It's lovely. I warn you that this may be the most picture heavy post ever.

Newborn Claira:

First Bath!

Claira-1 Month Old

Claira-2 Months Old

Claira-3 Months Old

Claira-4 Months Old

Claira-5 Months Old

Claira-6 Months Old

Claira-7 Months Old

Claira-8 Months Old

Claira-9 Months Old

Claira-10 Months Old

Claira-11 Months Old

Claira-1 Year Old
Her First Birthday Party at Grandma and Papa's House:
She was a bit unsure of the cake at first, and once she really squished her hands into it, she had a meltdown!

Claira's First Birthday at our house:

I can hardly believe how quickly this past year has gone by. I remember being pregnant with Claira and wondering how our lives would change once she arrived. Elsie and I had our own little thing going on, and it was hard to see how another little person would fit into that. Now, I can't imagine how our little family could be complete without the joy Claira gives us. She's become quite the little character in her own rights. As soon as I found out I was pregnant with Elsie, I started praying that she would have the heart of a worshipper, and that she'd love to honor the Lord through praise, worship, and prayer. Three and a half years later, I can see those prayers alive in Elsie everyday. When I found out I was pregnant with Claira, I started praying that this baby would know the heart of God and speak it forth. I thought for certain she'd be a boy, and I was wrong. When the sonogram told us we were expecting another girl, I knew she'd be one bold little girl, and she certainly is. I can hardly wait to see the plans God has in store for her.

Elsieisms

2008-11-06T14:31:00.001-04:00

One night, Jason was sweeping the kitchen floor and said to Elsie, "You, Mommy, and Claira sure do make quite a mess on the floor in here," to which Elsie responded, "You mean Mommy and Claira."

The area underneath Claira's highchair has become "the gas station" and Elsie likes to tell Claira that she'll meet her there.

Nearly everyday, Elsie brings her toy laptop into the kitchen and plays it at the table while I check my email. Then, I tell her to take her laptop back to her room when I'm making dinner in the evening. Here's my excerpt for you:

Day 1:
Mommy-Elsie, please take your laptop to your room.
Elsie-You mean my computer?

Day 2:
Mommy-Elsie, please take your laptop to your room.
Elsie-You mean my computer?

Day 3:
Mommy-Elsie, please take your laptop to your room.
Elsie-You mean my computer?

Day 4:
Mommy-Elsie, please take your laptop to your room.
Elsie-You mean my computer?

Day 5:
Mommy-Elsie, please take your computer to your room.
Elsie-You mean my laptop? You always say laptop, not computer, Mommy.

Go figure...obviously, she knows what I'm talking about either way.

Since Elsie has learned her phone number and address recently, she'll call the doctor on her phone and make "ointments" for her and Claira. Her monologue goes something like this:

Yes, my name is Elsie. That's E-L-S-I-E, and I need to make an ointment for Claira. She's my baby sister. I think she needs to see the doctor. (Pause) Sure. She then gives our complete phone number and address.
Half the time, Claira is right there beside her and fussing at her for the play phone Elsie's using...so Elsie will usually mention to the doctor that she's going to have to go because her sister is being too noisy!

Fall Fest

2008-11-01T19:33:00.005-04:00

Our church hosts a Fall Fest each year for the kids. We missed out on all the fun last year because Claira was making her debut. We made sure to share in the fun this year.

A hayride in the city:

Painting pumpkins with Lydia:

Miss Kim painting Elsie's face:

Claira playing with Mya (this is Lydia's little sister) while Elsie and Lydia got their faces painted:

They had a book for them to look through and pick out a design...I was a bit worried when Elsie picked this one because she's never had her face painted before. I wasn't sure she'd sit still that long, but she was a champ!

We had Claira's birthday party today...and I'm working on the post for that so stay tuned for lots of pictures!

Breakfast

2008-10-26T21:06:00.003-04:00

Claira is quickly gaining publicity at our house for being a waffle snatcher so she gets her own now.

Elsie was amazed that Claira's waffle matched hers.

Reunited

2008-10-24T21:01:00.005-04:00

The last time I remember seeing Teddy is when we went to Missouri in July for Eric and Randi's Wedding. He's been MIA since then, and we've heard about him daily. Whenever Elsie is tired, fussy, doesn't want to go to bed, hears thunder, gets hurt, wants to snuggle, she wants Teddy. We've searched our house from top to bottom with no luck. After 3 months of listening to her sad little voice say, "I want teddy. I miss Teddy." everyday, I ordered two new teddies as replacements. The bear originally came with the Teddy Bear Nursery from Little Tikes, and I can reorder it as an extra part from their website, but there was no picture. Naturally, I started to worry that they may have changed the style of bear or color of ribbon or something since we bought the nursery two years ago.

Well, they arrived in the mail today, and I was happy to open a box to some familiar faces. The package came while I was in the middle of doing a load of laundry, which means the girls were playing in the playroom so I had the perfect opportunity to open the box and stash teddy somewhere for her to find him. I stashed the extra teddy in a box on the shelf in our closet for safekeeping, and put the other teddy under Elsie's bed. Then, I went downstairs, finished my load of laundry, and brought the girls back up. Elsie was playing with her bunny rabbit, so I asked her if she'd seen Teddy lately? She said, "No, I miss him though," and I suggested she look for him. She wanted to know where so I told her to look behind the rocking chair, in her toybox, and finally underneath our beds.

I found Teddy!

She was literally jumping up and down while squeezing Teddy with all the strength she could muster. Almost immediately, she said, "Teddy, I'm taking dance class now!" She spent the afternoon showing him all of her new moves, and giving him more hugs. One thing's certain, this is one well-loved bear.

Elsieisms

2008-10-23T15:06:00.002-04:00

Elsie calls crumbs "seeds." So far this week, we've cleaned up cheerio seeds, cracker seeds, cookie seeds, and waffle seeds.

Last week, we were about halfway home from dance class when Elsie asked from the backseat, "Mommy, are you sure this is the way home?"

She's really into taking care of Claira right now. A few days ago, I was holding Claira while she was fussing, and Elsie walked over to us, pulled Big Bird out of her pocket, and said, "Here you go, Claira. I was saving Big Bird in my pocket for you just in case you needed it."

Last night, we were getting ready for church. Elsie and Claira were sitting at my feet while I was brushing Elsie's hair. She told Claira, "I'm going to miss you when I go to class, Claira, but you'll be okay. Just stay with Mommy and Daddy and listen to what they say. They know what to talk about." I think she meant to say, "they know what they're talking about," but who knows. She cracks me up.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-12T20:37:00.007-04:00

We went to Goebbert's today with a large group of friends from church. It was a lot of fun aside from one detail. It was 80 degrees. In October. We were sweating. That didn't slow Elsie down though...she was on the move!

Elsie looking at the llamas. Last year, she spent a LOT of time letting them eat from her hand. This year she did it once, and it freaked her out. About two seconds after this photo was taken, a llama walked over to her, she FREAKED, and I was trying to juggle the camera and trying to get to her before she fell. Luckily, we had lots of friends with us and Danette rescued her!

Claira's funny face

Goebbert's

Breanna, Elsie, and Riley in the corn stalk maze

Elsie during a (rare) still moment

We have to drive about 45 minutes to this pumpkin patch, but it's well worth the drive. We went for the first time last year, and it was cool they had a lot of cutouts for the kids to enjoy. I was pleasantly surprised that they seem to keep up with what's popular because this year they had a bunch of new ones: Arthur, the Little Einsteins, the Backyardigans, and Disney Princesses. There's lots of climbing toys too like a play train, bus, and ship. Needless to say, we had to try all of them out.

Most importantly, there are pumpkins! And lots of them!

Confession: I totally forced them to put jackets on before we left for these pictures...they were entirely not necessary, but I wanted it to look like we visited during October instead of July!

Elsieisms

2008-10-09T15:32:00.002-04:00

Today, Elsie came to me and held up her hands in front of her. "Mommy, have you ever seen this move?" she asked. Puzzled, I shook my head no. "Well, I did for the very first time today," she responded. She walked away repeating it to herself and moving her hands...at first, I didn't know if she was talking about one of her "tricks," but I really think she was just talking about the plain and simple movement of her hand. Silly girl.

Last night, all 4 of us were in the kitchen. Claira was eating a snack in her highchair, and Elsie was entertaining her. Then, Elsie got up to leave the room and told Claira, "Come see me if you need anything. My door is always open."

This month is Pastor Appreciation Month. On Monday, we made dinner and delivered it to our Pastors. I had bought them flowers and a card, and I asked Elsie if she wanted to color on the card. She did, and quickly began to fill the card up with circles (her specialty). As she colored, she said, "I sure hope Pastors like circles."

Bargain High

2008-10-05T00:21:00.004-04:00

Jason's grandparents, Grandma Rose and Papa Russ along with Grandma and Papa Lamers, sent me money for my birthday a couple of weeks ago...I hadn't used it on anything yet, but tonight I was shopping at Target and this caught my eye...

I am so absolutely excited about it! It's a bedding set, and it's complete! I know, I know...what's all the excitement about? We purchased our bed and mattress shortly after we married, but I've never bought a totally new bedding set. Actually, the bedding that we've been using since we married belonged to Jason's parents at one time (thank you for it!) Seriously though, bedding is expensive. I've found a lot of sets that I loved over the last few years, but they've also been quite expensive. So, when I spotted this at Target with a clearance tag that read $24.86, I HAD to have it, especially since it came with EVERYTHING: a comforter, flat sheet, fitted sheet, bed skirt, two shams, and two pillowcases. The next aisle over, I found those two throw pillows for $3.24 a piece. YAY! Anyway, I'm thrilled, and I can't wait to sleep tonight! Thank you to all of our grandparents for the birthday cash that enabled this purchase...I REALLY appreciate it!

27 days until...

2008-10-04T20:40:00.006-04:00

I finished taking the pictures for her invitations this morning, and already sent them off to be printed...aren't they sweet? I LOVE them! We're having a ladybug party, if you can't tell!

I can hardly even believe that my baby is 11 months old now and will soon be one. She is growing (nearly 24 pounds now!) and changing everyday, and I find myself wishing for time to slow down so I can enjoy more of her just the way she is today...she's just full of giggles. She cut three teeth this month, and she's eating more table foods...like carrots:

and waffles:

She's crawling faster everyday, and pulling up and cruising on just about everything. Her favorite color must be yellow because she is drawn to things that are yellow...her favorite things to carry around are some plastic corn from Elsie's play kitchen, a yellow "cookie" shape from a fisher price puzzle, Big Bird, and bath books. She definitely has a preference for the color, which amazes me. I remember how hard I tried to make Elsie attach herself to a lovey with no luck at all...I leave Claira to her own devices, and she picks plastic corn! It makes for fun conversation with the cashiers when we're out shopping though. Luckily, we haven't lost it yet. She also loves to take baths...I had started the water for my shower earlier today when she came crawling into the bathroom. I scooped her up, and she was so excited--thought the water was for her! I can remember how much joy Elsie brought to our lives when she joined our family, and it's hard to imagine another child being able to add to that, but Claira definitely has added joy to our household. She and Elsie are great buddies, and I love to watch them play together.

Claira and her corn:

Claira at 11 months:

Happy 11 months, sweet girl!

You can't eat dough, it's not good for you

2008-10-02T18:49:00.005-04:00

I'm stingy with the play-doh. I don't mean to be, but I can count on one hand the number of times Elsie has played with it. Before today, all of those times took place before Claira was born. In my ongoing effort to be the most super cool mommy ever, I agreed to plah-doh today. Claira went down for a nap, I dusted off the jars of doh (literally---this is not an attempt to be funny). and we settled in at the kitchen table making penguin eating sharks that were later turned into spaghetti.

That was about 3 hours ago. Before I knew it, an hour and a half had past and Claira was waking up. She got a diaper change, I nursed her for a few minutes, and then we set her in her highchair for some cheerios. Of course, it didn't take long for her to want down. After that, it didn't take long for her to try and get her hands on the play doh.

She must be using a lot of effort to make that spaghetti!

Claira's making her move!

Playtime!

2008-10-01T16:14:00.004-04:00

The girls have been playing together a lot the last couple of days...and not just fighting over toys either. Our living room and kitchen are separated by a wall with a doorway on each side, which makes it great for running in circles. Elsie will run through the kitchen, back into the living room, shout BLAST OFF!, and be on her way again while Claira bursts into a fit of giggles and trying to climb up whatever is in front of her from the excitement...it must give her an adrenaline rush to see Elsie running through the room. They crack me up. Anyway, they were playing together nicely today so I snapped a few pictures of them.

Ready for Church

2008-09-30T17:56:00.004-04:00

Grandma Teresa bought these dresses for the girls earlier this summer, and I promised to take a picture of them together for her...the problem is that they wear dresses to church...and, we tend to be running late with no time before church and Elsie usually strips as soon as we walk in the door afterwards so pictures with them all dressed up don't usually get taken. So, it's not the greatest photo...but, they're still cute girls! Look at Claira...she's waving! That's cute!

Elsieisms

2008-09-29T20:20:00.001-04:00

Friday was my birthday, and Elsie was talking about it all day long...mostly asking me about my cake. Now, I really hadn't planned to have a cake. Wahoo, I'm 27. Her response? "But Mommy, you have to have a cake for your candles!" Of course. So, she said she'd call Daddy to tell him I needed a cake. She got on the phone, and he must've been asking her what kind to get because she asked me "what color I wanted?" I told her, "That depends where it's from." "It's from Daddy!" she told me.

We often call Elsie (and Claira too) a turkey when she's getting into mischief. Lately, she's not too fond of nicknames so whenever we call her a turkey, she snaps right back, "I'm ONLY ELSIE!---and beautiful" or "I'm ONLY ELSIE!---and sweet."

Elsie had dance class today, and I had a headband in her hair to keep the wispies from her ponytail out of her eyes. After class, we stopped by the mall for some pajama shopping. At one point, she crawled out of the stroller which caused her headband to slip off. She picked it up and sighed, "Mommy, please fix my hair. I just can't look like this."

Oh, and have I mentioned, she wants to be Cinderella when she grows up. Just ask her.

Wanna hear a funny joke?

2008-09-29T14:25:00.002-04:00

Elsie must ask that question at least a dozen times a day...typically all in a row. Her jokes go a little something like this:

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Punkin who didn't eat a train.
Punkin who didn't eat a train who?
Um, Elsie Thompson. (I changed our last name)

or

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Punkin who wants a peanut butter sandwich.
Punkin who wants a peanut butter sandwich who?
Um, Elsie Thompson.

She's a goofball. Her answer always starts with Punkin, and the end is always her name. Silly girl.

Dear Mr. Green Giant

2008-09-21T20:50:00.002-04:00

I bet if you pictured the Disney Princesses on the labels for all of your vegetables, my 3 year old would be thrilled to eat them.

Earlier this afternoon, Elsie and I were looking at the Sunday paper together, and she found a coupon for Princesses...actually, it was a coupon for Princess Spaghetti-O's. She asked for them, and I told her I would get her some. I ate them all the time growing up, but it's not my number one choice for kid's food. Still, I wasn't even sure Elsie would eat them anyway. She just finished the entire can by herself. Anybody have a mailing address for Green Giant?

I love you in my heart

2008-09-20T23:19:00.004-04:00

If Elsie loves something, she loves it in her heart, and she tells you so. Everytime. It's cute, I think.

We kept busy doing not much of anything this week...it's funny how that works out sometimes. Claira still isn't feeling the greatest...runny nose and coughing along with teething. She has two teeth now! If I can get her to show them to me, I'll try and snap a picture, but I've only caught glimpses of them...she's keeping them all to herself for now.

Earlier this week, I was making lunch when I hear Elsie talking in the living room. "Isn't that the cutest thing you ever seen?" she'd ask, "I think I'll take a picture. Click!" I grabbed my camera to investigate and was informed, "I turned Claira into a princess!" when I entered the living room. So, I hereby introduce you to Princess Claira:

And here's Princess Elsie (because you can't take a picture of Claira without taking one of her too)

Actually, that's been a theme at our house lately. Claira likes to play with whatever Elsie is playing with...not always fun (or safe) when nearly 3 years separate them. Elsie wants exactly the same of whatever I buy Claira...I thought that phase was over, but apparently we're just gearing up for round 2.

Friday, we went shopping with Stefanie and her girls, Lydia and Mya, at the outlet mall. She was looking for dresses, and I mentioned that Elsie needed new shoes so we packed up the girls and got ready for some serious shopping. Taking your 3 year old shopping for shoes with her best friend isn't the best idea really. I don't know how many shoes (that were not even close to their sizes) I picked up and put back on the shelves. Elsie was in desperate need of tennis shoes though. Remember her first day of dance class? It rained that entire day, and I had to cram her feet into tennis shoes. The only shoes she has that fits are sandals. I can't complain too much because she's worn the same size shoe since the end of last summer. Still, I was surprised when I measured her yesterday, and she needs a size 11! No wonder I couldn't get her foot into a size 9! I'll have to take a picture of her modeling them tomorrow.

Yesterday afternoon, I came home and remembered that it was the third Friday of the month and that Elsie's friend Breanna would be coming over to play. Usually, they play incredibly well together and you hardly hear two peeps out of them. Last night was a bit different. I think Elsie had already been spent during the day, and Breanna was fussier than usual as well. Still, they had fun.

Today, Jason went to the men's breakfast and did some work around the church. After he came home, we had lunch, and I laid Claira down for a nap. Then I snuck out to do some power shopping. Last Saturday, I went to Toys R Us and picked up the last birthday present I needed for Claira. Last Sunday, it went on sale. Go figure. So, I took my receipt in for a price adjustment. I filled the car up with gas, ran into WalMart for more children's Benadryl, got some quesadilla cheese from the Mexican grocery, and picked up some things for Claira's birthday at Party City. I realize it's a bit early for plates and cups, but I had received a coupon that expired tomorrow so I wanted to use it. We're having a ladybug party, and I promise you it's going to be super cute!

Now, we're hanging out and playing the Wii...which is a perfect end to a busy Saturday.

Peek-a-boo!

2008-09-15T19:32:00.003-04:00

Something like this:

usually happens whenever I try to take 30 seconds to use the restroom. So, sometimes I just take Claira with me. She sits on the floor, and we play peek-a-boo with the shower curtain.

Tub Time

2008-09-15T00:12:00.002-04:00

Claira has had a few baths in the big tub...at Grandma Unger's house, Papa Dale's house, our hotel in Indianapolis...but tonight was her first bath in the big tub at home. Elsie was thrilled to have a playmate and told me that she thinks Claira should take a bath with her all the time, which is really fine by me. Claira's about the easiest kid in the world to give a bath. She loves the water, has a blast splashing it, and doesn't mind a bit if water gets in her face. Elsie is the exact opposite, but Claira is a nice distraction to the usual trama water brings. We'll see how long it lasts.

An Elsie Moment

2008-09-10T21:54:00.002-04:00

Claira has had a cough for about 10 days now. She's also been sneezing and had a runny nose the last couple of days. Add pulling on her ears to the mix, and this morning I made a doctor's appointment for her. It turns out that she has a sinus infection, which I get at least a few times a year so I can truly sympathize with her. Anyway, our doctor's office sends prescriptions to the pharmacy electronically which is usually wonderful because the prescription is usually ready for pickup before I pack the girls in the car, load the stroller, drive, and unload them at the store. Not today. Today, we arrived at WalMart at 1:35 p.m. and they happened to be closed for lunch from 1:30-2 p.m. Go figure. Elsie requested the toy section, so we made our way to the back of the store. On our way, an older Indian couple stopped to talk to the girls. I couldn't understand much of what they were saying, but they were sweet so we said hello and bid them a nice day. We're barely two steps away from them when Elsie blurts out, "Mommy, why'd that lady have a little red sticker on her forehead?" I pray the woman didn't hear her. Really though, what do you say to that? I only replied, "that's her culture," which was the wrong think to say because Elsie has no idea what the word "culture" means. I spent the rest of our time in the store trying to explain the word to her. She still doesn't understand.

In other news, Elsie did really great at her dance class. The studio has a "no distraction" policy, which basically means that parents are not allowed into the classroom. Instead, the parents wait in a lounge area and the teacher brings the girls there when class is finished. I was uncertain whether or not Elsie would willingly go into class without me. She was a little hesitant, but as soon as a few other little girls went into the room, she followed and had a big smile on her face before I left her sight. Afterwards, she made me wait until Jason got home from work before she'd show us any of her moves. She's been talking about it too so dance class is a hit.

Tutu Toddlers

2008-09-08T14:26:00.004-04:00

Elsie has her first ballet class in about an hour...here are some pictures of her all ready to go!

Impromptu Picnic

2008-09-07T22:59:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, I went to a baby shower for a friend and left the girls home with Jason. He was blessed by our friends Eli and Janette who dropped Breanna off to play while they attended a party for the older kids at church. It's always nice to have Breanna play with Elsie...they go down to the playroom together, and you barely hear a peep out of them. They work well together. Actually, I'd have to say that Breanna's easygoing and probably plays well with just about anyone.

Elsie woke up in quite a mood this morning so I tried to cheer her up by telling her we'd make a picnic and have lunch outside after church. She said that she wanted Lydia to come so I told her that we'd ask Lydia's Mommy...but only if Elsie stopped fussing and went to class. She did, and Lydia found me after church ready for a picnic. Breanna was with the girls, and Lydia asked if she was coming...so she did as well. I had the girls link hands, and we headed for home. Jason got caught up chatting so he came in the door a few minutes after us. The girls were already downstairs playing, and Jason and I were talking about the service while I nursed Claira. Now, getting Elsie and Lydia together is totally different than getting together with Breanna. They usually have a rough start...and it's usually a loud one. As Jason and I were talking, we each called out to them to share and play nicely a few times. After about 15 minutes, I commented that you couldn't even tell that Breanna was down there..."Breanna's here too?" Jason asked. My point exactly.

After I had nursed Claira, I made the girls some PB&J sandwiches, grabbed some crackers and vanilla wafers, and headed outside with a large blanket that we spread out beneath a tree. Elsie ate pretty steadily while Lydia played and inhaled her entire sandwich in record speed...then they begged for extra cookies while Breanna was still finishing her sandwich. After everyone was finished, they played on the swingset. It was really a great day for a picnic. It was sunny so not too cold, but the air is crisp and there's a cool breeze usually blowing.

I'm working on something cute that I can hopefully print for each of them from today...but here are a few pictures.

In the playroom:

Picnic Pals:

Lydia:

Elsie:

Breanna:

Elsieisms

2008-09-04T23:03:00.002-04:00

Elsie- "Can we have a sleepover tomorrow?"
Mommy- "Sure, you can sleep over at my house."
Elsie- "Yippee!"

Elsie has a habit of asking someone what they want for no reason in particular. Every once in awhile, I'll tell her that I want a little bit of peace and quiet. Yesterday, Claira was being loud and fussy in the car, and Elsie said, "I need a big piece of quiet!"

Elsie has been obsessed with birthdays since she turned 3. She's been talking about her next birthday since, and she knows that my birthday is next, followed by Claira's, and finally hers. This morning, she came into the kitchen while I was toasting her waffles, and we had this conversation:
Elsie- "How old is Claira gonna be on her birthday?"
Mommy- "One."
Elsie- "Why?"
Mommy- "Because it's her very first birthday."
Elsie- "How old are you going to be?"
Mommy- "Twenty-seven."
Elsie- "I'm gonna be four."
Mommy- "Yes you are. You're such a big girl. What do you want for your birthday?"
Elsie- "A car. A car like you and Daddy."
Mommy- "You're not that big."

Daddy to Elsie-"Oh! You got me in the gullet!"
Elsie- "You got me in the gullah gullah island!"

The Switch

2008-08-28T21:45:00.002-04:00

Does your child have a switch? You'll be having a great, wonderful day with your child and then suddenly, it's as though someone, somewhere, flipped a switch and turned your child into anything but pleasant. Elsie must have one. Somewhere.

Yesterday morning, Elsie was playing with her Cinderella doll (polly pocket type doll) and she found one of the dresses had gotten stuck in its drawer and torn. She brought it to me, holding it out in one hand before her. "Look," she said. "It's broke." I told her that I was sorry and said that she could throw that one away and play with another one of the dresses. "But this one's pink. And, it was my FAVORITE," she responded, her face plastered with a puppy dog look the whole time. I tried to distract her with other dresses, but blue, white, yellow, and red just wouldn't do. Luckily, it wasn't long before we were on our way out the door and the pink dress was forgotten (temporarily).

Later that evening, Jason was home, and I was telling him how well behaved Elsie and Claira were during our outing. In the middle of our conversation, Elsie decided to share her sorrow with her daddy, telling him about the "broke pink dress in the trash." After we explained what happened to him, I praised Elsie for being so well behaved lately and told her we'd get her a new pink dress for her Cinderella doll. All was well (temporarily).

Fast forward to today. Elsie was really good all morning long, through lunch, and while Claira napped. After Claira woke up, we headed to Target in search of a pink dress for Cinderella. We quickly found one, wandered through the toy aisles, grabbed some baby food, and I announced it was time to checkout. As we made our way to the front of the store, Elsie commented, "I thought we were going to get me a pink dress?" I told her she was carrying the pink dress and she clarified that she wanted one for herself. I told her we weren't buying clothes today, and her smile turned upside down, but she still walked without protest. When we entered the store, I told Elsie not to touch everything along the aisles, which is one of her favorite pastimes. Still, it was no surprise when she kneeled down to look at all of the add-on impulse buys up near the registers. While she checked out toothbrushes and hand sanitizer, I put the contents of our cart onto the belt. Then, Elsie turned around to declare that she wanted to put the princess up there. When she spotted it already done, she immediately started crying. The crying followed us out to the parking lot and was steady the whole way home. I spent the late afternoon wondering where the Elsie from yesterday was--the one who was happy to leave JumpZone and her friend with no complaints. Somewhere in Target, she pulled the switch.

JumpZone

2008-08-27T17:59:00.005-04:00

We're not morning people around here. The girls are both night owls, which works out okay for us because Jason usually gets home between 6 and 6:30...I know that in a lot of homes, it would be time for dinner, baths, and bedtime so I'm thankful we get extra time with the girls in the evening without the worry of getting them up early. On the other hand, it makes playdates and morning activities nearly out of the question. Storytime at 10:30?? I can't guarantee we'll be there...some days the girls are up at 8, and some mornings Claira sleeps until 11! I don't complain because she's still not sleeping through the night...so, if it's a sleep in day, I'm all for it.

We're still co-sleeping, which makes nursing really convenient. Claira woke up this morning to nurse right as my phone rang, which woke Elsie up so I had her retrieve the phone for me. It was my friend Lisa asking if we wanted to go to JumpZone. I had no idea there was even one nearby so we got ourselves out of bed, fed, dressed, and in the car. Actually, I think JumpZone is a bit of a bargain...we usually pay about $4-$5 for a 10 minute jump in a small inflatable at carnivals around here...it was only $8 for 3 hours of jumping fun. Anyway, Elsie had a great time running around with her friend Payton. Lisa and I got a chance to chat while watching the girls whiz by us in clouds of giggles.

Here's Elsie sliding down a giant dump truck.

Elsie and Payton on a much needed drink break.

Claira and I...about two minutes before she fell asleep...she looks tired here.

What's a pollywog?

2008-08-26T18:23:00.004-04:00

Elsie periodically calls me "Miss Martin." She often makes up new names for herself so I haven't thought too much of it, but one day I asked her about it, and she said because you're my teacher like Miss Martin is Caillou's teacher. Miss Martin is my teacher name.

Claira is pulling up now, and cruising. Thankfully, she keeps her trick performing to a minimum so far. The more mobile she gets, the harder it is to update this blog (or do much of anything else for that matter)! She's on the go all the time...climbing all over us like a little monkey...she's constantly trying to roll over while she's nursing, and she gets down off of my lap while nursing too, then gets made and grunts at me to pick her back up.

"Lemonade sure is tasty on a hot, sunny day." -Elsie

We had a playdate this morning, and Claira was fussing so Elsie was trying to calm her down. In her sweetest voice, Elsie was saying, "Claira, I know you want to be up front with Mommy, but only grown-up drivers sit there. We can't drive because we're small so we can't see. I know we're both little, but I'm still the big sister. I'm here to tell you it's going to be okay." I was cracking up. Where do kids come up with this stuff?

Yesterday, the girls and I were reading and Elsie brought a book about colors for us to read. At this point, she can read them to us so that's what I usually let her do. "Yellow duck, yellow cheese. Blueberries, blue ball. White rabbit, white milk. she was saying until she got to the page for gold. Then she said, "Shiny star, shiny buttons."

On the way home from JumpZone, we picked up some Krispy Kreme donuts and Elsie asked for the "sparkly one." (meaning the one with sprinkles)

This and That

2008-08-21T16:47:00.009-04:00

Here are a few odds and ends that I missed out on posting over the last few weeks.

These are just a few pictures I've taken of Miss Claira...Isn't she sweet? I'm having Photoshop issues and really need to learn how to do it right...unfortunately, my free time is in severe lack mode so that won't be happening anytime soon. In the meantime, enjoy!

Claira, climbing all over Daddy. She doesn't sit still for a moment!

Last Saturday, we had a get together for small group. We had just seen Breanna the evening before when she went to see Wall-E with us so the girls were thrilled to see each other again. They ran off to play right away.

Aunt Angel the Great moved into an apartment a few months ago that doesn't have a laundry room so every once in awhile we get the pleasure of having her company while she does laundry here in between work at the church. We're always thrilled to see her, especially Elsie. Here she is trying on Aunt A's sunglasses. I'm still surprised she managed to get them back!

Yesterday, we were eating lunch in the kitchen when Elsie spotted a flower outside the window and told me about it...tada! Here's a couple of pictures of Jason and Elsie gardening all the way back in June...look at that sunflower now...they're HUGE, way taller than I am! We've also already had radishes, but there are little tomatoes and cantaloupes growing so I hope to be eating them soon. A storm a few weeks ago separated part of our fence, and some raccoons feasted on our corn before we got it fixed.

The Evolution of Hide n Seek

2008-08-21T12:32:00.002-04:00

It's been about 6 months since we moved into this home. I can remember coming to walk through it a couple of times before we moved in. Each time, Elsie played the same game...she'd run through the house, closing herself behind closet doors and climbing into the bathtubs. There were few words that followed her wherever she went, "Come find me!" Of course, we did. We'd search from room to room, calling out to her and asking, "Is Elsie in the kitchen?" She'd ALWAYS respond, "NO-OO!" At times, she'd get impatient and tell us where she was, "I'm in the bathroom!" When we found her, she'd burst into a fit of giggles and could barely count at all while we took our turn to hide.

Yesterday, Claira woke up from her nap, and I joined her in the bedroom. The way I was sitting must've been shielding her from Elsie's view at our doorway because she walked in the room asking, "Where's Claira hiding?" I told her she wasn't hiding at all but told her she could count to ten, and I'd help Claira hide. Elsie began counting as I slipped out of our bedroom holding Claira in my arms. I grabbed a book to keep her quiet and situated us on the floor behind the recliner. "Not ready, I'm coming!" wafted down the hallway seconds later followed by Elsie's footsteps. She entered the room and circled it before spotting us and announcing, "I found you!" errupting into her usual fit of giggles. As Claira and I left our spot behind the recliner, Elsie declared her turn to hide, taking our spot. That's her current phase of hide-n-seek. She hides exactly where I was just hidden, and I get to watch her hide there. She also sits quietly and doesn't make a sound while I search for her.

I don't know if she means to do it, but I find it interesting that in both cases, we know just where she is. If we didn't see where she hid, she'd tell us, and now that she's stopped telling us where she'd hidden, she hides while we're watching.

Earlier this week, Claira played alone happily on the floor while Elsie and I snuggled in the recliner. Of course, she fell asleep after about 5 minutes, but I couldn't stop thinking about how big she is. She's growing, learning, changing, and amazing me everyday. One of these days, I know I'll be longing for a simple afternoon of hide-n-seek, and I'm glad I'll find it here.

Save Me, Saturday!

2008-08-16T13:11:00.002-04:00

It's been a busy end of the week. Elsie is still expanding her food choices...she's tried peanut butter and jelly as well as hashbrowns in the past two days.

Last night, we went to see the movie Wall-E at the theatre. Elsie's friend, Breanna, came with us. She usually comes for a playdate every third Friday of the month. The two of them kept us busy, that's for sure. Jason and I each made a trip to the ladie's room...well, men's room in Jason's case. We always seem to be blessed with a nearly empty theatre when we go. It's nice because the girls can wander up and down our row switching seats as they please without disturbing anyone. It was a great movie so I recommend you see it! Claira happily slept through everything after the first 10 minutes.

This morning, we went to sign Elsie up for her first dance class. Classes start the second week of September, and I'm so excited to dress her up like a little ballerina and watch her twirl around. We made a trip to WalMart this morning to pick up a couple of leotards and tights. Later today, we're going to take her for her very first haircut. I'll probably have a whole post about that afterwards. We might try and find her some ballet slippers while we're out.

Miss Claira is growing and having new experiences everyday. She pulled up for the first times this week. Put that girl in front of an open toybox, and she'll find a way to get to it! Also, in less exciting advancements (at least for Mommy), she has already learned how to get down off of my lap. I'll be sitting in a chair holding her, and she'll roll over to her belly and slide down my lap until she's standing on the floor. I can hardly even believe she's doing that so early. Of the two, Elsie is definitely the snugglebug (even at 3) but I didn't expect Claira to learn escape techniques so soon!

Sound the Trumpets!

2008-08-13T19:03:00.002-04:00

Elsie has tried both meatloaf and sloppy joe's for the very first time ever this week. I'm happy to report that she loves them both. Yay for a three year old who's willing to try new things!

Right now

2008-08-13T15:30:00.003-04:00

Claira is napping on the floor in Elsie's bedroom. Well, on a bed of blankets on the floor in Elsie's bedroom. Why? Because the door to our bedroom is locked. Why? Lately, Claira is giving Columbus and all other great explorers some competition as she crawls from room to room in search of new and exciting lands. In my effort to deter her, I closed all doors in the hallway today. Silly me. I didn't think the bedroom door would be locked when I closed it. And, there's no way to unlock it from the outside. This whole thing should be a piece of cake because the upstairs bathroom has entries from our bedroom as well as the hallway. But, on the other side of that door in our room is Elsie's bed so the door won't budge open more than an inch, and if I push too hard, it sounds like the door is going to crack. Oh, happy day!

Oh, and I've heard that the Locked Door Bandit looks strikingly similar to the Pumpkin Pie Snatcher. Imagine that!

WANTED

2008-08-12T00:33:00.003-04:00

A Pie Snatcher. A Pumpkin Pie Snatcher.

(Note the finger holes)

The suspect is estimated to be about 40 inches tall and about 40 pounds. She has long, light brown hair often worn in a pony tail and sneaky blue eyes. May be wearing a purple Hannah Montana t-shirt. Last spotted terrorizing her little sister while watching Miss Spider's Sunny Patch. Please forward any information you have to 555-SAVE-PIE.

Pizza Party

2008-08-11T17:23:00.002-04:00

A bunch of guys from church, including Jason, headed to Peoria for a Promise Keepers Conference Friday and Saturday. So, I invited Stef and her girls over to our house Friday evening so the girls could make pizza. Now, my intentions were to snap some cute photos of them making pizza. That did NOT happen. Things went way too quickly, and I was busy satisfying the chanting, "My turn!, Me next!, Hey! I wanted to do that!" not to mention the fact that I must've forgotten that 18 month olds still put everything in their mouth because I handed Mya a piece of dough to flatten, and she promptly tried to take a bite. Don't worry, I grabbed it back in the nick of time. Needless to say, I have zero pizza making pictures. Better luck next time. We did have a lot of fun, and it's super easy to do. Since I don't actually make the dough, we like to buy Pillsbury's Grands Biscuits and flatten them out into mini pizzas, then we just top them with some pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cheese and bake! They're pretty yummy too. Afterwards, the girls had plenty of time to run up and down the stairs making all the noise they possibly could.

Blackberry Farm

2008-08-07T21:48:00.004-04:00

Yesterday morning, I woke up to Elsie's plea, "Let's get up, Mommy." I shuffled myself out of bed and down the hallway while the pleas continued..."I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, I want waffles." I made my way to the kitchen, opened the freezer, and turned to find the stove clock staring me in the face. 10:34 it said. I can't even believe we slept in that late. What I can't believe even more is that Claira slept until 11:54! Yeah, I checked her breathing a few times.

When we were all finally up and ready for the day, we met Stefanie with her girls, Lydia and Mya at Blackberry Farm. There are trails to walk on, and the girls always enjoy endless rides on the carousel, ponies, train, and wagon. It was a great afternoon for it...the sun was warm and the breeze was cool.

Family Funnies

2008-08-06T14:07:00.003-04:00

Last week, Elsie kept calling me "Miss Martin" and I couldn't figure out why. After a couple of days, I finally asked her why she was calling me that...she said, you're my teacher like Miss Martin on Caillou!

Earlier this morning, Elsie had asked for a drink so I went to the kitchen, and she followed. Claira army crawled after us, grunting her thoughts about the whole thing all the way. When she reached the doorway, I turned to her and said, "Hi, Claira." She stopped, smiled and waved, and then resumed her crawling and grunting pattern.

"You know you're growing when elastic doesn't fit." -Jason

"Don't play with my shirt, it's not a toy!" -Elsie to Claira

Bathtime:

School of Mine

2008-08-06T14:06:00.002-04:00

I recently started another blog, which is devoted to our adventures in homeschooling. If you'd like, check out School of Mine.

Monday, Monday

2008-08-05T00:40:00.002-04:00

It was a gloomy day here in Chicagoland. We woke up to thunderstorms...the kind of thunderstorms that provide you with nearly continuous thunder. In my case, they also provide me with a continuously jumpy, clingy, frightened 3 year old. We also ended our evening with thunderstorms and a tornado warning. Don't worry. We sought shelter in our basement. It's lovely to have a home with a basement. On the other hand, our house is a split level so there are windows in every room. So, we huddled together in the bathroom around the corner from the window in there.

My Wii Fit finally arrived on Friday, and I do mean FINALLY! I had to stalk numerous online stores before I could even order one, and I had orders placed and cancelled twice before I actually got one. Now that it's here, we love it. All of us. Except for maybe Claira. It has inspired some fun talk already. Elsie calls the Hula Hoop the "Hooly Loop."

We had a wedding to go to on Saturday and as we were getting ready, Elsie told Jason, "I don't want to go to the recession (reception). I just want to go to the weddin'. Later, at the wedding, she asked me, "Where are all the Grandmas?" I had to explain to her that "all the Grandmas" are still in Missouri to which she replied, "Well, let's go back to Eric and Randi's weddin'. It's their turn again. Then we can see Grandma!" Of course, half way through the wedding, I hear, "I have to go to the bathroom." What's really grand is that I asked Elsie to wait, and she waited a good 15 minutes to go.

Yesterday, we went to the mall after church. I had to hit the Gap sale and got some CUTE stuff for Miss Claira. I've bought a few things for fall for Elsie already, but I'm hoping she'll be able to wear a lot of stuff from last winter. What was great is that it gave Elsie another opportunity to go potty outside our house. I'm really happy that she's telling us when she has to go and we're out and about. I was worried about that before, but she seems to be a pro already.

Elsie the Big Girl

2008-08-01T12:49:00.002-04:00

Elsie is doing soooooo well with potty training. She hasn't had any accidents since Tuesday. She even made it all the way through church on Wednesday and went potty when we got home. Yesterday, she went poop in the potty for the first time. She's already repeated that today. AND, she woke up dry yesterday morning and this morning...something that rarely happens for her at all so two days in a row is pretty impressive.

Sorry about all the poop talk on the blog lately, but I'm proud of my girl and super thrilled at how well she's doing considering how long it's taken us to get here.

Princess Party

2008-08-01T10:58:00.002-04:00

Last weekend, we went to a birthday party for Princess Breanna. Her mom, Janette, did a great job organizing it, and the girls had a ton of fun. First, they had a Princess Tea Party. There was a game for them to play. Then, they did some dancing to a dvd of Princess Songs, and Janette read them princess stories. After that, there was cake and ice cream, and Breanna opened her presents.

Claira is 9 months old!

2008-07-31T15:51:00.006-04:00

This month, Claira has definitely gained in the mobility department. Instead of rolling over to get where she's going, she's army crawling all over the place now. She can get up on her hands and knees, but she's not there long before she just slinks back down to the floor and takes off scooting. Just this morning, she decided to try her luck at venturing out of the living room into the hallway and toward the kitchen or bedrooms. It's an adventure she's repeated several times today, which only seals our fate for the weekend. We HAVE to put up a baby gate at the top of the stairs.

Claira's mobility made it much more interesting to try and get pictures of her today. She does not want to sit still.

I just think she looks sweet in this one.

I need to find the photo, but I got Elsie's 9 month pictures taken in these same overalls. She's standing up and leaning on a pink stool. We have the same stool from Ikea so I'm going to try and recreate the photo with Claira on Saturday. I'll need Jason's help for it, and the lighting is best in the morning. Here she is today though.

I love all of her funny expressions. She did sit still for these, but I don't think she liked the paper beneath her at all.

Claira is still smitten with her big sister. Right now, she loves music and is drawn to the source of it whenever she hears some. She's started "dancing" by waving her arms up and down. She also learned to wave this month, which is so cute to see. We're working on clapping. She likes all the baby food she's tried, though we noted a particular fondness for bananas. We're still working on table foods. She's been happy to try things like mashed potatoes, and she's sucked the juice out of cantelope. She doesn't eat them, but Gerber Puffs have helped her perfect her pincer grasp.

My sweet Claira.

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

2008-07-29T12:30:00.003-04:00

In Heaven, all children are surely potty-trained. Subsequently, our home has been quite heavenly the past two days. Elsie did really great yesterday. She peed in the potty 4 times all on her own. She just tells me when she's done, "Mommy! I went potty!" and we celebrate with two m&m's. Last night, she was rewarded with a new Barbie Doll from Big Lots. (For those of you who don't know, Big Lots has barbie dolls for $5, and they're actually wearing clothes. The $5 barbies at WalMart and Target are just wearing bikinis.) Anyway, she did have one accident at about 9:30 last night when she pooped her pants, but I'm still quite thrilled with her progress. She doesn't usually wake up dry so we're still putting a diaper on her at night and will continue to do so until she starts waking up dry most of the time. This morning, we put panties on her as soon as she woke up, and she's gone potty twice today already with no accidents. I'm in love with this child. It took her forever to get ready, but it sure has been easy now that she is ready. Hooray!

To Potty We Will Go!

2008-07-28T15:31:00.001-04:00

Today, Elsie finally went potty in the big girl potty! And, I do mean FINALLY. We've been trying to potty train her off and on for over a year and a half now. She would always gladly sit on the potty, but she wouldn't go. You could tell she needed to, and she'd fidget like crazy, but she wouldn't go until she was off the potty. Lately, anytime we talk about potty training she tells us that she doesn't want to go in the big girl potty, and she just wants to wear diapers. Well, last week I decided that we were going to stop wearing diapers during the day. I spent all last week telling her that on Monday, no more diapers. She's going to wear big girl panties and go potty in the big girl potty. We'd put her in panties before, but never for extended periods of time because I always feared for the carpet. Last week, I bought a steam cleaner so I wouldn't worry so much about it. When she woke up today, we got her dressed and put on big girl panties. We brought up her little Fisher Price toilet from the basement and sat it in the living room for her...she was so funny all morning long. She'd sit on the potty, get up and get a book, then sit back on the potty. She'd get up and get a Barbie, then sit back on the potty. She spent most of the morning sitting on the potty of her own free will. No potty, but no accidents either. After lunch, she sat back on the potty and was telling me that she just wanted to wear diapers. So, I told her I'd make a deal with her. When she gets ready for bed and puts her p.j's on, we'll let her wear a diaper to bed, but when she wakes up in the morning, she has to wear big girl panties and go potty in the big girl potty. She didn't really respond, but she had gone potty by herself within 5 minutes! YAY! I'm so excited!

Just getting her to go on the potty has been a huge hurdle for us, and I'm sooooooo happy that we finally leaped over it!

Park Day

2008-07-25T15:56:00.003-04:00

We met Stefanie and her girls as well as Miss Lisa and the two girls she's a nanny for at the park today. It was very hot so we didn't stay too long, but the girls all had a blast together. It's an adjustment to get more than two 3 year old's together at a time though. It gives us Mommies a good opportunity to teach our children to gather and take turns. I have a feeling Elsie's going to need a lot of practice before she really understands this lesson.

Here's Elsie, Payton, Mya, and Lydia on the teeter totter.

Home Sweet Home

2008-07-22T00:10:00.005-04:00

We've had several busy, hectic days, but we're home at last. We headed to Missouri Wednesday afternoon and arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house that evening. Elsie immediately dove into the toys and Claira got reaquainted with Papa and Grandma Rose too.

Thursday morning, I woke up feeling pretty terrible and was sure I'd developed a case of Mastitis overnight so I played phone tag with my doctor's office in Illinois and the pharmacy in Missouri trying to get a prescription. I had mastitis several times while pumping for Elsie and this is my second time while nursing Claira. If you've never had it, you don't want it! You basically feel like you've got the flu, you're exhausted, in pain, and you're either sweating or freezing...there's not a happy place. There's not much that makes me feel more awful than it does so coming down with it the day before my brother-in-law gets married wasn't exactly my idea of fun. Anyway, Thursday was not a lot of fun.

The best fun of the day was Claira taking her first bath in the big tub. She enjoyed it.

Friday was fun. Well, for the most part. The wedding was at the church we used to attend when we lived in Missouri so we were looking forward to seeing old friends, but the church is an hour's drive from Grandma and Papa's house. On our way there, the car started acting up, and we weren't sure if we were going to make it or not. Jason was a groomsmen in the wedding and had to be there at 2 p.m. for pictures, and the wedding didn't start until 5. That left me with 3 lovely hours to keep Claira happy and chase Elsie around. The time passed quickly though and before I knew it, the sanctuary was starting to fill up for the wedding. Moments before it started, Claira began to fuss, and I picked her up to change her position when the scent of her diaper hit my nose. I lifted the back of her dress up to reveal a mess. Great timing she's got. So, I scooped her up, took Elsie's hand, and found Jason in the hallway, already lining up. Great. By the time I had Claira cleaned up, most of the wedding party had already gone in, and we watched the bride enter from behind. Then, we had to wait until she was on stage before we could enter the sanctuary. When we finally made it to our seats, Claira found herself content to start squealing so we made our way back out to the foyer where applause let us know that Uncle Eric was now married rather than an exchange of "I Do's." We missed most of it. What we did manage to see was lovely. Randi was a beautiful bride. After the ceremony, everyone made their way through the receiving line and then outside to blow bubbles at the newlyweds. We got to have more pictures taken and then headed to the country club for the reception. Elsie had the most fun there as she danced the night away.

Here's Claira before the big diaper blowout:

Eric and Randi after the wedding:

Bubbles, bubbles!

On Saturday, we spent some time at the farm and then us girls visited Grandma Teresa while Jason went to a tractor pull with Papa Walt. We had a picnic dinner in the living room, Elsie tried on Papa's boots, and her and Grandma Teresa took a nice nap together.

On Sunday, our only plan was to pack up the car and head home, so that's what we did. Or, that's at least what we started to do. We got up, had breakfast, got dressed, packed the car, and started on our way. Jason had changed the fuel filter on Saturday and the car had been running fine since then. We got about an hour from the farm when the car started stalling again. So, we decided to turn around and head back to the farm. It took much longer to make it back as the car had trouble maintaining speed and kept losing power. We ended up calling Jason's parents to come rescue us, and we spent the rest of the day back at the farm...Jason and his dad changed the fuel pump and strainer, and we were finally on our way home shortly before 8 p.m. The car did fine the entire way home, and I haven't driven it since then, but I'm praying everything is A-okay with it.

One good thing about the day is that Uncle Brian dropped by the farm while we were there with Jackson and Chase so the girls got some play time with their cousins.

Which is older...your body or your brain?

2008-07-21T23:56:00.003-04:00

Try this to find out!

Read the rules here first because they're in Japanese.

1. Click on "Start."
2. Wait for 3, 2, 1.
3. Memorize the positions of the numbers on the screen, and then click on the blank circles in order from the smallest to the biggest number.
4. You'll do this ten times, and then it'll calculate the age of your brain.

I've played twice, and I'm happy to report that my brain is 6 years younger than I am.

Try it yourself and see how old your brain is.

Elsieisms

2008-07-15T14:25:00.000-04:00

A couple of nights ago, Elsie dragged out the box of blocks to do some building with Jason. She kept saying, "You build a tower Daddy. I can't do it cause you're better." So, I told her that she should keep building and practice so she'd get better like Daddy, maybe even better than Daddy." It worked like a charm, and she did improve her tower building abilities. Since then, everytime I ask her to stop doing something, she responds, "I can't stop now. I have to practice and get better."

Waiting for her waffle to be toasted, Elsie chanted, "Puff up, waffle! Puff up!"

We're leaving tomorrow to head to Missouri for Eric and Randi's wedding. When I wrapped their wedding gift, Elsie asked, "Is that a present for ME?" I told her that it was a wedding present for Uncle Eric. She said, "It is a present for me and Uncle Eric's wedding!" She's going to get her first broken heart very soon. I'm praying that it's not accompanied by a total meltdown in the middle of the ceremony, especially since Jason is in the wedding so I'll have both girls all to myself.

Today, she keeps telling me that she's bored (probably because Mommy has been sick and not playful for several days now). Anyway, I keep giving her things to do: pick up toys, color, read stories, do a puzzle, take her doll for a walk, make funny faces at Claira....the list goes on, but she keeps saying, "That's not in-ter-ustin uhnough." She can say interesting so I'm not sure why she's stressing the syllables in such a funny way, but it keeps making me laugh at her.

Elsie has been driving me crazy by changing her clothes five times a day for weeks now. This morning, when she was on her third outfit, I asked her why she needed different clothes, and she said, "Because that's how they do it." So, I asked, "Who does what?" and she told me, "The kids on t.v. Watch them, and their clothes change." Then she turned the t.v. on and said, "Watch Jon and Kate Plus 8 for a little bit of while, and you'll see." The show wasn't on, but I do understand what she means. Their clothes do change in a single episode sometimes. I don't think she understands the concept of time changing in t.v.land. I'm amazed that she was so observant about it and felt the need to apply it to her own life. Silly girl.

Google Tag

2008-07-15T11:00:00.009-04:00

Emily did this recently so I'm taking a turn at it. If it looks enjoyable to you, do your own google tag on your blog, and leave me a comment about it so I can check it out.

The Rules: For each question, look up the answer in a Google image search. Then choose your favorite from the first page of results only.

Here's mine:

My Age:

A place I'd like to travel to:

My Favorite Place:

My Favorite Object:

My Favorite Food:

My Favorite Animal:

My Favorite Color:

The Town Where I Was Born:

The Town Where I Grew Up:

The Town Where I Live:

A Past Pet:

A Past Love:

My Best Friend's Nickname:

My Screen Name:

My First Name:

My Middle Name:

My Last Name:

One Of My Bad Habits:

My First Job:

My Grandmother's Name:

What I Am Doing Right Now:

Favorites (and other very important stuff): An Elsie interview by Mommy

2008-07-14T18:35:00.004-04:00

Mommy: What's your favorite color?
Elsie: Purple!
Mommy: What's your favorite t.v. show?
Elsie: Well, I think maybe Arthur.
Mommy: What's your favorite food?
Elsie: Fish sticks.
Mommy: What's your favorite book?
Elsie: Um...Bob and Larry
Mommy: What's your favorite toy?
Elsie: Daddy!
Mommy: (still laughing) What's your favorite day?
Elsie: Wednesday.
Mommy: Where's your favorite place to go?
Elsie: Um. Um. What?
Mommy: Where's your favorite place to go?
Elsie: Um. Missouri. I mean...Um. I don't know!
Mommy: Who's your best friend?
Elsie: Lydia.
Mommy: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Elsie: A firefighter.
Mommy: (puzzled) Why?
Elsie: I want to be a firefighter because they have to have a hose to get water.
Mommy: Ooookay. (laughing) Thank you for the interview.
Elsie: Thank YOU for the interview!

The Greatest Testimony

2008-07-13T20:10:00.004-04:00

Our family has been under the weather for a few days with cold/sinus yuck. The girls and I stayed home from church today, but Jason went...it was his turn on the sound board, and there was a Baptism service today so he was helping in the Baptismal. This meant he took swimming trunks to church with him and he ran back home because he had forgotten his towel. Later, Elsie asked him why he needed a towel at church. Jason told her that there were some little boys and girls that got baptized today. Of course, she asked, "what does baptized mean?" He explained that people get baptized when they want to tell everyone that they believe in God, that they love Him with all of their heart, and they want to follow Him everyday. "Well, I'm a little girl, and I can do that," she responded. She's spent the past 6 hours talking about being baptized and repeating over and over: "I believe God. I love Jesus with all my heart, and I'm going to follow Him all the days." "I want to get baptized now." We've told her we'll talk to the Pastors about it, but she keeps pressing, "Can you ask them now?"

It's just about the sweetest thing I've ever heard in my entire life. Yes. I've teared up over it, and my eyes are starting to water as I type this. I didn't grow up in church, and I didn't get saved until I was 19. I know that I have an awesome testimony about the power of God, but I've often heard my Pastors say that the greatest testimony they've ever heard is, "I've walked with God my entire life. I know no other way to live." How awesome is that? That's what we want for our children. Seeing that come to pass before our eyes is unfolding promise. At 3, Elsie's faith is already blossoming into something well beyond her years. I'm looking forward to her future!

Parenthood is a great excuse to...

2008-07-12T17:02:00.003-04:00

eat sugary cereals.
go to the park.
watch Saturday morning cartoons.
chase down the ice cream truck.
lay in the grass and watch the clouds roll by.
go to the library for storytime.
catch fireflies.
buy sidewalk chalk.
bake cookies.
cut sandwiches into fun shapes.
sit in a kiddie pool on a hot summer day.
visit the children's museum.
watch all of those Disney movies you love.
have a picnic.
make something out of popsicle sticks.
laugh out loud for no reason at all.
take a walk.
color.
run through sprinklers.
visit the zoo.
get down on all fours and act like a cow.
play dress-up.
build a giant block tower.

I've been thinking about the simple joys that parenting brings to our everyday lives. Feel free to add your own!

The Lifecycle of a Nickname

2008-07-11T11:25:00.003-04:00

Claira was born on October 31st. Being a fall baby, she got a sweet little pumpkin hat at the hospital. Elsie was Elsie Pie before she was born and is still Elsie Pie or just "Pie" 3 1/2 years later. While pregnant with Claira, she became Claira Belle, and that has really stuck. But, this little pumpkin hat inspired me and she quickly also became "pumpkin pie" which turned into "punkin pie" which then became "punka pie" which turned into "punkers" and has now evolved into "punk." How awful is that? In defense, I'm completely thinking about that little pumpkin hat whenever I call her "punk." And, she doesn't get called that too often, maybe once a day...I still use "punkers" more often than punk, but Jason doesn't like it at all. He calls her "Peanut." I also call her "Sissy" which is sweet to me because that's a name I know well. It does pose a slight problem though. I grew up in a house full of boys so I was the only "Sissy." Around here, we've technically got two. Do we call them both "Sissy." Elsie has been known to say, "Call me Sissy!" or "I'm Punkers too!" Regardless of the many nicknames my daughters endure, none are as bad as the one my mother bestowed upon me. That name is unmentionable.

Elsieisms (with special appearance by Claira)

2008-07-11T11:12:00.002-04:00

We call each other turkeys around the house all the time. Really, we say it with love and everyone is a turkey eventually. Last night, Elsie told me that Daddy had called me a turkey so I told her that she should say, "Hey there, Brusselsprouts!" when he came into the room--mostly because I thought it would sound funny coming out of her mouth. Much to my dismay, she said it perfectly so it didn't sound funny at all. So, I told her to call him rheubarb. Then, she chased him down and I hear her say, "Hey, Barbecue!"

If you squint your eyes and scrunch up your nose at Claira, she'll give you some of her best smiles and giggles. Then, she'll squint and scrunch right back at ya.

Last night, Jason was on a search for the Book of You & Me. It's a book that Elsie really loves and would probably love to pieces if she was left with it for long. I had put it up on top of the fridge about a month ago so I was surprised when she went to Jason and asked him to "read the book Mommy and me made you for a gift." How sweet is that? What's really great is that she had such a part in making it that she can pretty much read it herself.

Claira enjoys playing with her feet while she's nursing.

Claira is 8 months old

2008-07-09T14:07:00.005-04:00

and has been for like a week...but, here I am, finally writing about all of her latest accomplishments. She's definitely got the hang of solids down and just tried bananas for the first time last night. Jason couldn't feed them to her fast enough and she'd fuss each time he got too slow. From what I hear, Jason was that same way as a baby so she gets it honest.

She's not up on her hands and knees or crawling yet (not that I'm trying to rush it...she can take her time) but she can get to where she wants to go by rolling and scooting. She's all over the place. If she's sitting up on the floor playing and wants something, she'll just lean forward to lay herself down and she'll find a way. Trust me. She's not pulling up yet, but she can stand holding onto something.

Separation anxiety is in full swing. If she's left alone in a room, you'll hear about it immediately.

Her favorite things to say are Da-da and bubbabubububba. She can say others as well, but those are what I listen to allllll day long. She loves books, mostly eating them. I'm pretty sure Elsie learned to turn pages at 8 months old, but Claira is only interested in how the books taste. She still loves music so she likes to be sang to and at times, I'll find her "singing" herself. She likes to be held but not necessarily cuddled so when she snuggles into my shoulder, it makes it that much more sweet.

She loves to be outside and is pretty content whenever we're outdoors. She's much more serious than Elsie ever was or is for that matter. I can already tell that she's thoughtful.

Without further ado, here's the lady of the hour.

I acquired some paper earlier this month so I had to redo the teacup pictures. Here's a cute one.

After this, her smiles all but disappeared, and she became fascinated with the light streaming through the windows so it was hard to get her attention, but she's still as cute as can be.

A couple with big sister:

In like a lion...

2008-07-07T00:01:00.007-04:00

So far, July is definitely roaring, and I'm not talking about weather either. We've just been super busy, and I find myself with an extreme shortage of time these days. I'm going to try and catch up with what we've been up to though.

Thursday marked 5 years since Jason and I met. Yes, you read that right...since we've MET. In less than 6 months, we'll be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary. You could argue I'm biased, but I think each year gets a little sweeter.

This past Thursday, the girls and I met Stefanie and her girls at the park. We picked up McDonald's on the way and let the girls run around from the teeter totter, to the slides, to the swings, and back again. It amazes me how much Elsie grows and changes from one summer to the next. Last summer, I was under her feet the entire time we were at the playground, helping her climb, waiting for her to slide down, pushing her on the swing, etc. This year, she's pretty self-sufficient. She and Lydia will climb up into a swing on their own and the other will push leaving Stef and I to visit. We're not complaining! Anyway, Lydia and Elsie played together incredibly well on Thursday. So you can imagine our pleasant surprise when they played just as well together all day on Friday.

Our church always has a Fourth of July picnic we go to. It doesn't hurt that our city's fireworks display is literally across the street from the church property. We've got a GREAT view. Anyway, there's food, of COURSE, slip-n-slides, an inflatable water slide and pool for the kids, volleyball, bean bag toss, and a lot of fellowship. We gather together to eat in the early afternoon and stay all day, ending the evening with the fireworks. Elsie spent the majority of her day in the water, and could hardly stand still for a picture...but I did capture one of her playing with Lydia and a couple more after she tasted cotton candy for the first time. (She loved it.)

Since we're so close to the fireworks display, a LOT of non-church members gather on the property in the evening, and we hand out balloons and glow bracelets and necklaces to the kids. Both are always a hit, and I remember Elsie wailing last year when her balloon slipped out of her hands and sailed toward the Heavens. This year, she eagerly let go of the string and waved her balloon good-bye. Lydia followed suit and they promptly errupted into a fit of giggles.

Claira was in a good mood Friday as well as she loves to be outside. She's one content clam outdoors, at least until she gets hungry. Elsie's first summer, I remember skipping fireworks to go home and pump (boring, I know). So, it was nice to see them this year despite having a baby in tow. I just had no idea what to expect out of Claira. Shortly before the show started, she got fussy so I came in the house to feed her. She fell asleep, and I figured I'd be watching fireworks out the window, but she woke as soon as they started so we went back outside to join Jason and Elsie. At first, her eyes were as big as baseballs, then she got fussy, and I thought I was going to end up inside after all. But, Elsie came over to join us at that time, and Claira was so incredibly excited to see her. She must've missed her sister that day because her excitement was obvious.

Saturday, we took Elsie (and Claira) to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. Naturally, it was a hit. I hadn't been there in several years and was happy that the pizza wasn't as bad as I remember. Plus, we got to play skee ball, and if that isn't a recipe for a good day, I have no idea what is. Elsie enjoyed climbing around in all of the tunnels, riding the cars and roller coaster simulators, and playing games. She cashed in her tickets for a piece of taffy, some stickers, a hair bow, and we saved the rest for another day. The girl at the prize counter was incredibly sweet to give her a Hello Kitty change purse that was more tickets than we had total so that was a blessing.

That evening, we stationed ourselves in the living room for a marathon folding session. We must've had about EIGHT loads of laundry to fold. Our living room looked like a laundromat exploded. Elsie likes to hang shirts on hangers, and she's getting better at it.

Mommy's Little Helper:

Claira's pretreating Daddy's clean shirt...it's going to be drooled on sooner or later, right?

Today, we had church this morning and came home for lunch. This afternoon, Eli and Janette dropped Brianna off to play while they had a meeting. Her and Elsie usually play really well together and today was no exception.

Brianna styling Elsie's hair:

A brief pause:

Snuggled up watching the Newest New Bears (Berenstein Bears)

They ended their playdate by marching through the living room and kitchen in a circle with princess wands and chanting, "Goo-ber! Goo-ber! Goo-ber!" I have no idea what that was all about, but Brianna was sad to stop when it was time to go.

Shortly after Brianna left, Jason's brother, Eric arrived. He graduated college recently and is staying with us this week while he does some job training nearby. It's also been five years since I've met him, and it's hard to believe that he'll be married in less than two weeks. Anyway, Elsie didn't take long to warm up to "Uncle E" at all. We're looking forward to spending some time with him.

In other exciting news, Claira turned 8 months old this week! I'll have to dedicate a post to her sometime tomorrow. I'm afraid that I'm in need of toothpicks to hold my eyelids open so I'm opting for bed instead. Good night!

SSSssshhhhhh!

2008-07-03T11:11:00.002-04:00

It's a secret! Elsie and I are having chocolate cake on princess plates for breakfast. Don't tell!

Celebrate Freedom

2008-07-02T17:38:00.002-04:00

In honor of this week's holiday, I bring to you the latest citizenship test. Can you pass? I'll be honest and say that I missed two.

It's a bird, it's a plane...No! It's a post!

2008-06-29T22:29:00.002-04:00

I've been slacking lately, I know. I'm just keeping busy with the girls. I can hardly believe that this week is the Fourth of July already. Jason and I met the day before the Fourth so it's a pretty special holiday for the two of us. I'll be baking cupcakes with Elsie later this week and making no bake cookies too. We bought red, white, and blue sprinkles for the top so Elsie's already looking forward to it.

One of Elsie's favorite toys when she was a baby were stacking/nesting cups. She LOVED them. She loved them so much that the two sets we had of them are mismatched and half lost. So, we bought Claira a new set yesterday. She's definitely ready to handle the job of knocking down. It turns out that Elsie's love for stacking cups is still quite strong. They came to church with us this morning. She did manage to share them with Claira for awhile last night. Elsie would stack them up, and Claira would knock them down...it's funny to see Elsie react to Claira knocking them over because usually Elsie is the one knocking down a block tower Jason or I have built. This time, the shoe is on the other foot, and she didn't enjoy it at all. I had to get her started giggling and then they had a lot of fun together.

Today, we bought Claira her first baby doll. Elsie got her first doll for her first Christmas so she would've been 10 months old. She wasn't really interested in it for awhile. I'm sure it was well after her first birthday before she took any interest in them at all. Claira is a completely different story. She's fascinated with dolls. Elsie's into dressing them so I end up with a baby on my lap helping her often. If Claira's in my lap as well, she just grabs ahold of the doll and doesn't want to let go. When Elsie wants it back or wants to switch for another doll, Claira throws a tantrum...not a little one. So, today we bought her first dolly, and her face lights up whenever she sees her. It's so sweet.

Elsie and I have been making some fun changes to the playroom this week. We went shopping and purchased some ABC's, a couple of alphabet posters in print and cursive, a "Jesus Loves Me" sign, and some days of the week. I'm still on the lookout for a type of wipe off calendar, but I haven't found quite what I'm looking for yet. We also bought some workbooks so we can start doing just a couple of pages each day. We started with colors because she already knows all of her colors. I want her to get the feel for the activities she's actually doing. It's pretty simple stuff. There will be a column of cars on each side of the paper, and she needs to draw a line to match the yellow car on the left to the yellow car on the right. This skill needs some work. She has no trouble identifying the matches, but drawing a semi-straight line to connect them is tough. They also will give a group of objects like colored balls and she'll have to circle all of the blue ones. She's really good at that. Underneath, there will be 3 pictures...like blueberries, a boat, and a train for her to color blue. The activities are quick and easy, and most importantly--she loves doing it. We haven't done any this weekend, but she's asked about it both days.

I'm just getting practice in before we really start homeschooling, which probably won't be this fall but next. We need to do a lot of curriculum research before we decide on one, but we have plenty of time. In Illinois, you're not required to start homeschooling until your child is 7, and we'll be starting well before that. I'll probably be writing a lot about this in the next year.

Weekend Elsieisms:

We were shopping this weekend, and Elsie HAD TO HAVE a Hannah Montana shirt. During the shopping trip, Jason was pushing the cart and singing, "I might even be a rockstar..." Elsie responded, "No! I'm a rockstar!"

I've had a headache for a couple of days so I picked up some Tylenol while I was at the store awhile ago. It was sitting out on the kitchen table and Elsie asked what it was for. I told her that it was for my headache and she said, "Well, I need some for headaches sometimes too." Jason asked her, "What gives you headaches?" and Elsie piped up, "YOU!"

Jason was sweeping the kitchen floor, and Elsie kept getting in his way. Trying to distract her, he asked her where her babies were. She told him they were in the living room sleeping. So, he told her they were probably hungry and she should wake them up to feed them. She responded, "Well, I only have two boobs, and they're not growing." For the record, she does have pretend baby bottles and uses them all the time. I have no idea what made her think differently this time.

My new best friend

2008-06-24T21:57:00.002-04:00

I implemented a new discipline technique at our house yesterday...we introduced Elsie to the wonderful world of time-outs. Of course, that means she did little else yesterday than sit in time-out. Sometime over the past few months, whining has become a daily ritual at our house. She's always fussing and crying when she doesn't get her way. Now, I tell her all the time that crying doesn't get you what you want, and trust me, it doesn't get anything for her. She does it anyway. I know she has the vocabulary to express what she wants to us, but I constantly find her crying and moaning instead. These little tantrums have managed to sneak out of our house and show up in public too! (I know, I know, the nerve of those little rascals!) Seriously, they show up at church, at friend's houses, at the mall...you name the place, tantrums are found there! So, I decided I'm done making excuses for her...she's just tired, blah blah blah. Anyway, yesterday I picked a time out spot...it's just a spot in the hallway which I can see from the living room or the kitchen. Bonus: there's nothing fun about a hallway. There's nothing actually in the hallway. So, yesterday she must've found herself in time out at least a dozen times. My goal for the time out is for her to learn how to calm herself down and use her words to tell me what she needs. These are things that I know she's capable of, and I already encourage her to do. She's gotten praise for quite awhile now whenever she responds in a good way to a situation or an answer to her request.

So, yesterday didn't go too smoothly. She'd sit in time out, crying, with her arms stretched out to me...pitiful look on her face. I couldn't look at her for fear I might breakdown with her. Anyway, she must've gotten the picture because she hasn't had a single time out today. Not even a warning. Usually, she wakes up in the morning and finds me nursing Claira in the living room. Her mood is usually good and she'll curl up on the couch and ask to watch toons. She'll ask if she can have a bagel and some orange juice when I'm done nursing, and she's content to wait. OR, she'll wake up and come out half crying, requesting to "hold you, Mommy" and cry louder if she needs to wait. Today, she walked into the living room crying, and I asked her if she wanted to watch cartoons. She reached the recliner, stopped, lifted her head up, and said, "Good morning, Mommy! I want to snuggle with you." I told her I'd snuggle with her as soon as I was done nursing, and she said okay. "I'm not cryin' or fussin' I don't need a time-out." I had to smile at her, but really. It's as simple as that. I don't expect everyday to go as smoothly as today, but I'll take a vast improvement any day!

Elsieisms

2008-06-22T22:06:00.001-04:00

Elsie was helping me bake cookies this weekend. When I cracked open an egg, she asked, "Can I hatch one too?"

Though we know very little, we've been speaking more Spanish around the house lately. At dinner, Jason was telling Elsie how to say "please" in Spanish. Instead of "Por favor," she'd say, "Four Five Four."
He was also telling her that "C(Si) says yes," and she'd respond "A says no."

We went shopping at Toys R Us for the first time in a loooong time, and Elsie brought home a new doll and doll clothes. The doll clothes came out of the box first so she happily put those clothes on her dolls. When the new doll was taken out of her box, the first thing she did was start taking her shoes off. "Why are you taking her shoes off already?" I asked. Elsie answered, "Because she's home."

Elsie calls Claira's baby food "sauce."

I was in the kitchen and Elsie came in pushing a doll in her baby stroller. "I'm shopping, and my name is Ash-uh-ley," she told me. It was just funny the way she tilted her head to the side when she did it. Also, Ashley is a really great girl who just graduated high school. She goes to our church and sometimes leads the Praise and Worship for the 5 and under Children's Church. I just wanted to remember that she's someone she looks up to right now. Funny, I remember teaching Ashley in children's church, and now she's teaching my daughter. Am I really this old?

Jason's younger brother, Eric, is getting married in a few weeks. We've bought the girls dresses to wear, and I've bought a dress to wear so there's been some talk about the wedding. Whenever the subject comes up, Elsie thinks Eric is going to marry her. We can't convince her otherwise. I hope she isn't too disappointed when the big day arrives.

Saturday

2008-06-21T22:45:00.002-04:00

Claira and Daddy catching some ZZZzzzzzzzzzz's.

Something this Mommy won't do....

2008-06-18T12:50:00.002-04:00

I don't trim the girls' fingernails. When Elsie was a newborn, I did...very carefully, usually while she was sleeping. Then, one day I had an accident and got a tiny bit of her skin...it bled, she cried, but I cried longer and harder than she did. Since that day, I just don't trim her fingernails. I've never trimmed Claira's. It's Jason's job.
As mommies, there's very little we don't do. Remember all of those things we said we'd NEVER do before we became parents? Are there any left that you haven't done?

Anyway, if you're wondering where on Earth I've been...I'll tell you. I'm still around, but Claira has turned into a little lunging leopard or something. I used to be able to hold her on my lap, and I'd blog one handed. Those days are long gone because she won't sit still for two seconds. She's grabbing for the keyboard, reaching for the mouse, chewing on wires. It's nearly impossible to even read an email online. Type a blog entry? Forget about it!

Elsieisms

2008-06-17T11:56:00.003-04:00

When Elsie wants to watch the Berenstein Bears, she'll say, "Mommy, how about we watch The Newest New Bears." If I ask her about the BERENSTEIN bears, she'll tell me that's not it.

Yesterday, she heard someone talking about the Milky Way on t.v. so we spent the rest of the day talking about the Milky Way, the solar system, planets, sun, moon, and stars, etc. Later that evening, I overheard her talking to herself about the Milky Way, the Juicy Way, and the Water Way. I couldn't help but laugh out loud at her, and she did not understand what was so funny!

Tonight, I returned some movies to Blockbuster and exchanged them for new ones. Elsie asked to "watch a movie" and that made me kind of sad. Once upon a time, she'd request to "watch a woovie." I miss that. Also, she used to say, "Wake wuck!" instead of "Wake up!" in the mornings. That's long gone as well.

Daddy's Day

2008-06-15T23:27:00.003-04:00

I know I don't tell him as often as I should, but our two sweet girls have a really great daddy in Jason. My parents divorced when I was only two, so my dad wasn't around a lot while I was growing up. Even though my mom remarried while we were still quite young, I guess my brother, Joel, and I didn't share many interests with him. Anyway, it was very important for me to find that ONE person to spend the rest of my life with. Perhaps it's even more important to me that the girls have a daddy while growing up. The relationship between father and daughter is such an important one. I'm sure not everyone would agree, but I think that a good father-daughter relationship is an important part in raising strong girls.
I really enjoy watching Jason interact with our daughters. I'm home with them everyday, and there are lots of things that they run to me for, but there's a side to their relationship that only a daddy can fill. Elsie's relationship with Jason has grown a lot in the 7 months since Claira has been born. I've watched them become incredibly good buddies, and Elsie has turned into quite the little sidekick, following daddy around in the garden, doing yardwork, going to prayer, grocery shopping. They have their own little jokes and games to play that I'm completely clueless about. And, she's already got him wrapped tightly around her finger...he's painted Elsie's toenails more times than I have and if she sees him with money and makes a request, he empties his pocket in no time. Time. That's all the difference. It's one of the greatest gifts. He spends time with his daughters. He spends time with his family. For these things, and so many more, I give thanks this Father's Day for a husband that spends time being a daddy, one our girls can count on.

My husband is a turkey!

2008-06-14T19:00:00.002-04:00

Really, he is. I sent him off to the grocery store a little while ago. We sat down beforehand and made out our meal plan for the upcoming week and a grocery list. I told him to get stuff for guacamole so we could make it tomorrow. It was important to have the ingredients tomorrow because guacamole is something Jason really loves, and it requires cutting...and I got him a cutting board for Father's Day. He also got a GPS unit, but he completely knew about it because he picked it out, and he's been using it since before we went to Indiana. Anyway, the point is that the cutting board was a surprise, and those are hard to come by in this household. Well, he returned from the grocery store, we put the groceries away, and I sat down to check my email. Within about 2 seconds, I turned around to find him cutting into avocadoes already! Geez! So, I gave in and gave him the cutting board early.

You're down to one surprise, Jason, and you're not getting it before tomorrow! (P.S. Love you dearly!)

"I can say it now." -Elsie, the Commentator

2008-06-13T11:25:00.002-04:00

Is that how you spell commentator? I'm not going to look it up. Two things really stand out in my mind lately about my growing three year old. The first thing is that she keeps a running tab on everything that's going on in our house, and she tells you about it. Constantly. She's always talking. If I leave the girls in the living room to use the restroom, Elsie runs to the door about every 5 seconds. "Baby Kella is chewing on her toy." "Baby Kella is laughing." "Baby Kella fell down!" You get the picture.

The other thing I've been hearing a LOT lately is "I can say it now." She'll say, "I can say Claira, Mommy. I can say it now." She still calls her "Baby Kella" though. Funny. Yesterday, she wanted yogurt after lunch. When I asked if she wanted vanilla or 'nana, she told me, "Don't say nana, Mommy. I can say banana now."

This is our third summer in Illinois, and I've measured her growth by the changes I see at the playground each year. The first summer, Elsie liked the slide, but we stood right beside her and guided her down. She also like the swings. There was no climbing ladders for her that year. Last summer, she screamed at the sight of the swings but loved everything else. And, she was ready to tackle the biggest slides and ladders with no help from Mommy. I spent the entire summer prepared for her leg to slip as she clumsily climbed up a ladder. It never happened. This summer, she's pretty self-sufficient on the slide. She climbs up the ladders quickly and effortlessly, and I don't worry at all. She does enjoy the swing again and beckons us to "push higher!" It seems that I've officially became a mommy to a big kid. Well, minus the potty training...whose terrible idea was that?!

Praise God I don't need a day job...

2008-06-10T17:10:00.002-04:00

So, I believe I've got another sinus infection. I actually spent most of the winter feeling pretty well myself so I can't complain much, but it's tough to be sick while you're nursing! I have suspicions that taking some cold/allergy medications while I was pumping for Elsie may have caused some of the trouble with my supply. So, I'm being really cautious about what I take and how often I take it. It doesn't help that Claira has woke at 6:30 a.m. the past two mornings. I need sleep!

Anyway, I'm trying not to hold her too much in an effort to keep her healthy. I guess she had her fill of playing on the floor yesterday because she will have none of that today! She's spent half the day screaming her head off. Awhile ago, I finally got her calmed down and nursing so I started singing to her. It was part of my brilliant plan that if I stopped singing and she started to fuss, I'd just start singing again and she'd nurse happily, thinking she was just upset about the singing. Well, Elsie piped up and said, "Mommy, we have that song on the computer so you don't need to sing it." Yeah. Apparently, I'm no rockstar.

Grandma's Girls

2008-06-06T15:11:00.002-04:00

Elsieisms

2008-06-05T18:50:00.003-04:00

Before I forget them...

A couple of nights ago, my Mom, Jason, and I were playing Skip-Bo. Elsie was sitting on Jason's lap and insisted on holding some cards of her own. Then, she matched her cards up with those in front of Jason.
Daddy: Elsie, wouldn't you like to help Mommy? I think she needs help.
Elsie: Well, she's not the only one who needs help!

My mom has had Lucky Charms for breakfast a few mornings this week. A couple of mornings ago she was making herself a bowl of it when Elsie told her, "I don't like that cereal. I just like the pretty things in it."

Lately, Jason and Elsie have been adding fun things when they say "I love you." Jason will say, "I love you, yabba dabba doo!" and Elsie will respond, "I love you too, dabba doo!"

They also came up with a little game using your hands as jellyfish. If you've seen "Finding Nemo" you know that you don't get shocked if you bounce on the top of the jellyfish. So, Elsie will touch Jason's hand...on top, she's fine, but if she touches the bottom of his hand, she gets tickled. This game has also carried over to our expressions, and we'll say, "Jellyfish, I love you" for no good reason but we're silly like that, I guess!

A Mommy's Lap is Never Empty...

2008-06-04T12:08:00.005-04:00

Well, I suppose there's a rare occasion where an empty lap might actually occur in reality...like now, for instance. I'm sitting here typing with no one in my lap. Shock, I know! We got back from Indiana Sunday evening and my lap has been quite full since then. Both girls haven't been feeling well so they've been quite clingy. On Monday, I was nursing Claira and Elsie was fussing and whining, "I want to hold you!" So, she climbed up on my lap as well and was fast asleep in all of about 7 seconds. Claira fell asleep, and I got up, leaving Elsie asleep in the chair...she was up on her hands and knees, asleep! That didn't last long, but it would've made for one entertaining picture, I assure you.

Anyway, we got up bright and early on Friday morning and were on the road at 7 a.m. Now, for some of you that might not be a big deal at all. But, it was quite an accomplishment for us. It took us about 3 1/2 hours to make our way to Indiana Beach where we met my Mom and stepdad as well as my younger brother, Jared. I hadn't been to the amusement park in about 8 years, and it was the first time for everyone else in my little family. We pretty much stuck to Kiddieland though. Well, and the food places...I needed to visit the Taco Shop, Elephant Ear place, and the Fudge Shop. Don't ask me why, but it was all just as delicious as I remember. You can't find an Elephant Ear at an Illinois carnival to save your life. They have funnel cakes and something else that I don't remember the name of, but it is just not the same. Anyway, Elsie had so much fun riding all the kiddie rides. And, I thought it was quite a bargain to ride all she wanted for just $16! Around here, we pay about $20 for like 5 rides so Indiana Beach is a deal!

Obviously, Kiddieland is a sure way to get Elsie to smile!

That afternoon, the storm clouds started rolling in so we took Elsie on a couple of last rides and headed for home. It started to sprinkle on us as we walked back across the bridge to the parking lot, but we made it to the car before the rain really started. Then, we headed toward the hotel to check in and relax for a bit.

After awhile, I called my dad and found out he was actually working in Chicago and wouldn't be home until Saturday. My stepmom, Rene, was babysitting but sent Madison to her Grandma's so I could pick her up there and take her back to the house. So, we ordered some Pizza King (YUM!) and picked her up. By that time, it was raining quite hard and was very windy. We got home to find severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches in effect until late. We turned on the radio to listen for updates and immediately heard that there was a tornado 12 miles North of where Rene was babysitting. So, I called her to let her know since I figured she'd be in the car with Kaleb by that time. Sure enough, she was in the car, and blessedly, she wasn't far from a gas station so she pulled over and waited out some of the storm. We were glad to see her and Kaleb home safely after that.

On Saturday, we got up and went to eat lunch with a lot of family. Elsie got to play with several of her little cousins, which is always nice for her. I'm sad that we don't live near more family members with young kids. She makes herself right at home anytime children are around.

It was Claira's first time meeting some of her great-grandparents so that's always a special time.

Four Generations: My Grandma, My Mom, Myself, and My Daughter:

Saturday afternoon, we headed back to my dad's house and hung out for the rest of the evening. It was the loud, giggly fun that it usually becomes when you mix our family with theirs. The kids just run around and play happily. You can't really ask for more than that.

Sunday morning, we met my brother, Joel, for breakfast at a restaurant in town, and I heard my name being called out as soon as we walked in the door. Now, it's not everyday that you hear the name Mandalynn being called out in a public place. I was pleasantly surprised to follow the voice to a very familiar face...Mama Bannon! She's a lovely lady, and the proud(I'm sure) Mom to Amanda, one of my best friends from high school. I haven't seen her in years so it was nice to get to have a little bit of face to face time with such a sweet woman. I miss them both!

We had a nice visit with my brother, and I'm glad we got together with him. He and I are two very different people, and we don't talk often. But, he's my brother, I love him, and we actually do get along pretty well when we are together. After breakfast, we headed back to my dad's house to say goodbye and then on to pick up Mom and her things for the trip back home.

Claira is 7 months old

2008-05-29T12:52:00.005-04:00

Well, Claira is nearly 7 months old. The official day is Saturday. Finally, I've got a month that actually has 31 days, and I'm updating her sooner than that anyway. We're leaving to go to Indiana bright and early tomorrow morning so I took photos of her today. She's mastered a lot of things this past month. We started solids...rice cereal, peas, and squash so far. She's tried out the sippy cup, and even though she doesn't actually drink too much of it. She is starting to get the hang of it. She's a pro at sitting up on her own now. She'll drop toys and lean over to pick them back up without losing her balance at all. Her favorite toys are the Fisher Price Baby Grand Piano...she starts playing music as soon as we sit her in front of it, and her face just lights up. She also loves the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Birdbath. It's actually a hand me down from Elsie that I brought out for Claira to play with about a week ago. There are little shape "veggies" around the base of the toy that the baby can pick up to play with. I watched her bat at them for a few days, but she figured out pretty quickly that she can get them out of their little nestled spots and taste them! She has also really gotten into books this past month. Usually, there are at least a couple of times a day that I've got both girls sitting in my lap for storytime. Claira is no longer satisfied to listen and look at the pictures...she has to be holding a book herself or she gets quite upset about it. So we searched out some of the tiny board books, and they're keeping her happy.
Looking forward, I know there's a lot more to come in the next few months...scooting, crawling, pulling up, standing, cruising, and walking. I'm in no hurry for all of that though! She gets sweeter everyday, and I'm still amazed at how much one child can differ from the other. Ultimately, I've got two very sweet girls to spend my days with, and I don't know that I could ask for more.

My Sweet Claira

2008-05-28T14:25:00.004-04:00

During my Crate & Barrel adventure, I also made a pit-stop at Joann's to buy some muslin for a photo background. It's wrinkled, and I haven't done anything with it yet, but someone was asking about it so I'm posting these here. They are SOOC, and Claira was less than cooperative...she kept grabbing a fistful of muslin and eating it!

I love a long weekend.

2008-05-28T09:01:00.006-04:00

I know, I know...who doesn't love a long weekend? I certainly enjoy it. We got a lot of things around the house done, errands were completed, family time was enjoyed, and we got to relax. It's not every weekend that all of those things get accomplished. Actually, most weekends I feel like we don't get to sit still for long at all because we're so busy, especially during the summer.

Anyway, much of Saturday was spent running errands...grocery shopping, getting the oil changed, etc. I went to Crate and Barrel in search of large coffee mugs and found some! The last time we had small group at our house, everyone was somewhat disappointed that we didn't have coffee in the house. Jason drinks tea, and I occasionally like to add some coffee to my creamer, but I stay away when I'm pregnant or nursing. Anyway, we've got about 3 large, mismatched coffee mugs. It's hard to find large ones...like, 20 oz. Last week, I finally found 20 oz. coffee mugs online at Crate&Barrel so I took a drive there to pick some out. Big, white mug...perfect! Now, I need to order some coffee for our Keurig, and the small group groupies will be happy.

On Sunday, Pastor Mike preached about the power of our testimony and how it can serve to increase our faith. Also, he added that by reminding ourself of our testimony often, it'll be easy to share when given the opportunity because it's something we really know well, and we won't have to think about the details. Anyway, I don't think I've actually shared the testimony of how I got saved so it's on my To Do List. Maybe next week.

We did share our testimonies at small group after church. It never ceases to amaze me how God seems to pick people from different areas and bring them together to form a congregation of people to love, worship, seek, and follow Him. Everyone has a story about how they found our church. Telling my own story and listening to the stories of others really showed me how important it is to know your story but also to know the stories of those around you. God calls people to churches. That's something Jason and I have believed for quite awhile, but it's really so true. God has a spot for you. In many cases, He has it all carved out just right and is waiting for you to enter in. How Great is our God!

Okay, I'm reeling myself back in...I'll share soon, I promise. I made baked beans for small group on Sunday, and apparently I'm about the only person in the whole world who doesn't like them. Who knew? They were a smash hit, practically all of them were eaten, and I must make them again. Anyway, when we pulled back into our driveway afterwards, I asked Jason if he would get the beans. Elsie piped up from the backseat, "I'm not the beans! I'm the pie!" It was so funny. She's been Elsie Pie since she was in the womb, it just stuck, and sometimes we just call her Pie or Sweet Pie. I found it hilarious that she thought I was calling her Beans!

On Monday, we just hung out around the house. Jason, Elsie, and I went outside to play on the swingset while Claira napped inside. It was a bit too windy for her. Elsie would not slow down enough for a decent picture...Surprise, surprise. But, here are some of her on the go.

Claira, lounging with Daddy after her nap:

Later in the evening, we went back outside to grill and Aunt Angel and Uncle Mitch stopped by to visit. They are so much fun to have around. Elsie always keeps both of them running around with her, especially Mitch. We were flying kites, blowing bubbles, taking wagon rides, tossing a frisbee, and playing Drive thru using the wagon as a car. Please excuse the blurry bubble picture and remind me to show Jason how to switch my camera to Auto. To his credit, he also took the photo of Claira.

Monday evening, Claira tried squash for the first time, and she was not happy about it at all. She cried, wailed, spit squash at us, and pleaded, "bub, bub, bub!" until we gave in and put the squash away. We tried again last night, and she did much better. She doesn't like it as much as peas...she's quite a bit messier with the squash, but she did finish it, so that's major progress.

Obviously, she isn't used to the flash! I scared the fussing right out of her with it!

Yay for a holiday!

2008-05-23T16:18:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, we bought a hummingbird feeder to hang in the tree in our backyard. All week long, Elsie's been asking when the "honeybirds" are coming. We haven't seen any yet...I have a feeling that the shopping center being built about 100 feet from our backyard might have something to do with it...

Elsie has kept busy this week playing dressup and being mommy to her many dolls. On any given day, you can easily find her lining up 7 or 8 dolls across the couch and tucking them in. They each have to have their own blanket, and she takes time to feed all of them and change all of their diapers. Let me tell you, 8 kids go through a lot of diapers and they spit up a lot! It cracks me up how realistic she gets with them, burping them, comforting them, getting them dressed, and singing them lullabies. She's going to be a great mommy one day.

In the meantime, she's still happy fighting with her 6 month old sister over teething rings. What would a 3 year old want with a teething ring, you ask? I have NO clue.

In Claira news, she's babbling up a storm...and actually slept for 6 hours straight last night! I did a double take when she woke up at 6 a.m. this morning. If she keeps this up, I'll be one very spoiled mama.

Jason should be home any minute now, and I'm thrilled to have a long weekend with him! Our regular weekends get filled up rather quickly. Jason attends men's prayer on Saturday mornings, and this Sunday we have church and small group so add the regular grocery shopping, household chores, and just taking care of the girls doesn't always leave us with a sizable amount of good family time or do nothing time. Hopefully, we'll be able to get done everything we need to by Sunday evening so we can do nothing but enjoy our little family on Monday. That would be a perfect weekend. Actually, next week Jason has off Monday and Friday. A week from today, we'll be visiting family in Indiana and bringing my Mom back to Illinois with us. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and to getting my Mom all to myself! Well, not all to myself since I'm sure Elsie would raise a ruckus about that.

Baby Ballerina

2008-05-22T12:59:00.002-04:00

I took some photos of Miss Claira yesterday...Elsie said, "NO! I doesn't want my picture, Mommy!" So, there are none of her...turkey girl. She's about as cooperative as a bear when it comes to posing for the camera lately. She's much too busy to be bothered by something as silly as a photo. I'd call her a diva, but I'm sure they'd jump at the chance to document their beauty on film, i.e.-my memory card.

A Cup of Tea

2008-05-21T11:55:00.002-04:00

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming

2008-05-20T17:43:00.002-04:00

My two sweet girls have me on my toes today...I feel like I've spent half the day breaking up their arguments...that's right, they're driving each other fussy. Claira is definitely at the stage where she wants to play with EVERYTHING in sight. Cameras, remote controls, phones, and any toy her big sister waves in front of her. 99 times out of 100, Elsie is completely not cool with Claira playing with whatever she's got.

Over the weekend, Elsie went to Target with me and wanted "a horse that talks like Miss Kim has." She spotted it at the Dollar Spot as soon as we walked in the door. $1 for a happy 3 year old was a good price to me so the horse came home with us. He's been a constant companion to her since then. What hasn't been fun is that Elsie likes to have him "neigh" at Claira. So, she waves the horse in front of Claira's face in an effort to make her giggle, and Claira's baby reflex kicks in. She reaches for the horse, Elsie pulls it back, looks at me and asks, "Is it fine?" Go figure. The one time she wants to share with her baby sister, I've got the horses bottom side and the words "MADE IN CHINA" staring me in the face. "No," I respond as I try to explain to my 3 year old that it's likely a $1 toy made in China has lead paint on it and we don't want Claira to get sick by chewing on it. Despite the many recent recalls for products made in China, I didn't sort out and toss every toy we own that was made in China. But, better safe than sorry, right? Poor Claira.

Tonight, Elsie and I are going on a mission to find some baby doll diapers for her baby dolls. I'm hoping WalMart sells some...anyone know? She was trying to put Claira's size 2 diapers on her tiny dolls today...it was fun to watch! She's been playing a lot with her dolls and dress up clothes lately. A lot, which is great because she's already acquired about 2 dozen dolls in her short life.

For those who might be wondering, Elsie's test results came back normal. I asked the doctor about the blood in her urine, but it turns out that there wasn't actually blood in her urine, the test just showed indicators that there MIGHT be. You'd think that doctors and nurses would be more clear about this sort of thing.

My favorite weekend photos

2008-05-19T00:53:00.000-04:00

You're invited...

2008-05-19T00:38:00.003-04:00

to my pity party...Yeah, I'm feeling a little blue about potty training this evening. Elsie has yet to go in the big girl potty even one single time in her 3+ years of life. She first showed some interest when she was about 18 months old, and I bought her panties and a little potty chair. She liked to play on it, but never went. So, I backed off and we gave it another try after she turned 2. We bought a little seat that sits on the regular toilet. Still no luck. Since then, she goes through periods of time where she really wants to sit on the potty (but nothing happens) or she's absolutely against it and wants her diapers. Either way, I really haven't pushed it. I wanted to get it done last summer before Claira arrived, but when I realized that wasn't going to happen, I've been pretty relaxed about the entire thing. But, I'd really like to have her potty trained before the end of the summer.
Anyway, we spent this last week planning a "Potty Party." We talked about it with Elsie and got her excited all week long. Yesterday, we went on a shopping trip and picked out new big girl panties, special soap for handwashing after using the potty and a new *purple* towel to dry her hands with, and a new water bottle to drink out of while she's trying to go potty. We bought stickers to mark her success with. Tonight, we made brownies to celebrate. All this in anticipation that tomorrow she's going to wear big girl panties and potty on the big girl potty. Rrriiiiggghhhttt. Well, we did succeed in the enthusiasm portion of the event. Elsie wanted her big girl panties on right away, and she wanted to sit on the potty. Of course, I gave in. So, we filled up her water bottle, grabbed some books, and settled in on the potty. We read 3 books, got a water refill, counted and drank some more. We read some more. We counted more. She did not potty. There were a couple of times she got really fidgety, and I knew that she needed to go so we distracted her. She sat on the potty for a good 30-40 minutes and peed on the floor within a minute of getting off the potty.
How do you talk a kid into peeing in the potty?
Elsie's best friend, Lydia, is not potty-trained yet either. She will actually go on the potty, but she has accidents if Stef doesn't take her in time. Lydia won't initiate it. I say they're a lot farther along than we are! Anyway, I'm going to be praying extra hard that Lydia will potty train soon. Hopefully some of my prayers to bless others will pay themselves back to us quickly!