Fabulous Stuff from the Last Few Weeks...

I am kicking myself for having gotten behind on my “fabulous” week-in-review posts!!!  They say to spend New Year’s Day the way you want to spend the year, though…so there’s no time like yesterday / today to get back on track, I guess.

Thankfully, I’ve jotted down some notes.  Between that and Facebook, I can reconstruct at least part of what I should have recorded over the past three weeks…

1)      I was SO proud of the girls for going through their toys before Christmas, looking for things to be donated.  We do that every few months, and they really seem to grasp – at a three-year old level, anyway – that not all people have the things they need, as we are blessed to have.

2)      Baby B’s pronunciation has been pretty exemplary (I think) for a long time, and Baby A has improved so much, just within the last month.  Still, there are a couple of words that they still have such a baby way of saying…orange is “ah-yange”, and interesting is, well, interesting.  I can’t quite figure that one out, but maybe something along the lines of “inchresting”???  It always makes me smile.

3)      Baby A has started enunciating consonant combinations much more clearly.  For squirrel, for example, she used to say “soorl”.  I really had to listen for context to understand what she was saying.  Just within the past couple of weeks, she’s articulating “skoorl”, which is a big improvement!

4)      Baby A got to be the line leader during the last week of preschool.  I don’t know what all that entails, exactly, but I know they get to call their classmates to line up when they go to the bathroom or outside.  I asked A who she called first, and she answered, “B!”  The tone in her voice was a bit incredulous…as if there’d be another answer.  So sweet!

5)      On the last day of preschool before the holiday break, nothing could have been cuter than seeing the girls and all their classmates pile out of their classroom wearing construction paper antlers, their noses painted Rudolph-red.  They were all bursting with excitement…the epitome of that magical preschool age.

6)      After their preschool Christmas party, I asked them what they had to eat and drink.  "We asked for water, but there wasn't any.  There was only juice."  Really?  "Maybe Jesus really liked juice," they reasoned.  HA!

7)      At some random time, I grabbed my camera to make pictures of the girls playing with their daddy.  Baby A took us all by surprise when she reached up, turned Daddy’s face to the camera, and told him to smile!  She’s not exactly golden in that department herself…but this shows me she gets the idea, at least!

8)      When B was asked several times what she’d like for Christmas, she consistently replied, “I would like a toy for Sasha.”  It warms my heart to see her sweet, tender heart on display.

9)      We had originally planned to go to JD’s for a special snack one day, but we didn’t realize they are closed on Mondays.  We went instead to the tea shop downtown, and opted for an order of beignets.  Little did we know we were their very first beignet customers…kinda cool!  And the girls passed that “trial run” for a trip to NOLA with flying colors.

 
10)  At the tea shop, the girls had milk, while I had hot tea.  They both asked to try my tea, and I told them they could have a sip.  I poured a tiny amount in each of their cups when they finished their milk.  Baby B took a tiny sip, and made the worst face ever.  Baby A couldn’t get past the smell.  I appreciate their adventurousness…but I’m really glad they didn’t like it!

11)   When we decorated cookies with M&C before Christmas, the kiddos tired of the decorating after 30 minutes or so.  After we got them cleaned up (which was no small task!), they were running around with spatulas, having a blast.  Baby A kept chasing everyone, trying to take their picture with the kiddie camera…wonder where she gets that notion from?!

12)   Wisdom from Baby A:  “I have holes in my head so my hair can grow.”

13)   Playing with Silly Bandz they got from preschool, the girls ran up to me.  “Look at our hand rubbers!” they squealed.

14)   B, from the potty one morning:  "Mommy! I got just the right amount of toilet paper! I'm so organized!"

15)   B was drawing one morning, and I asked her why her snowman was wearing glasses. "Because he hasn't put his contacts in yet, Mommy."  Yup, ask a silly question....

16)   When we were at GG’s before Christmas, Mr. Randy told the girls their eyes were so shiny.  “We just had a bath!” B exclaimed.  (That was a reference to Mommy’s “shiny clean” characterization, I guess…HA!)

17)   I was upstairs folding laundry, and I wish I had counted what was going on downstairs from the beginning.  The girls rooked Daddy into singing “Happy Birthday”…at least 20 times.  When I came downstairs, I heard “Happy Birthday Dear Pillows…” “Happy Birthday Dear Carpet…” and “Happy Birthday Old Blocks and New Blocks…” just as a reference point.

18)   The girls have been ALL ABOUT playing hide and seek this week.  They’re so bad, though!  Baby A called out one time, “Where are you sissy?”  And B answered, “I’m hiding!”  Later, B explained that she didn’t want sissy to get tired looking for her.

19)   And I think I fell in love with my husband a little more over one particular game of hide and seek.  In response to the girls’ uncontrollable laughter, I went in the living room to see what was going on…Daddy was sitting in the middle of the floor, completely covered with a blanket.  Hahaha!

20)   It’s not unusual for Baby B to “read” books aloud, but it was so sweet to see Baby A this week.  She was “reading” the entire “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” and “Polar Bear, Polar Bear” series to B…and B was listening so intently.

21)    Daddy was so proud this week...the girls were bopping around, pretending to be "Chelsea" and "Liverpool", two English Premier League soccer teams.

22)   While we were in Alabama for the holidays, the girls got asked several times what they wanted to be when they grow up.  My A surprised me by answering, “I want to be a cook, like Mommy.”  Now if one only got paid for being “a cook like Mommy!”  HA!

23)   B is so proud of learning to spit her toothpaste.  She comes out of the bathroom every night to report to her daddy, “I spat excellently!”

24)   We celebrated New Year’s Eve with M&C and their mom and dad.  The kiddos were playing with the train set (along with every other toy we own).  I asked B about one of the loops on the track, and she said so seriously, “M and I made this.”  I just got a kick out of how grown-up she sounded…AND her proper use of the “someone and I” construction.  Squee!

So thankful for these...and all the other moments in time!

Happy New Year!!!  Here's to the start of a fantastic 2013!!!

Super Stuff on a Sunday

Despite the girls being sick the first part of the week, there were still so many glimpses that ultimately made our week super-fabulous.

1)      On Saturday before Sick Sunday, we took advantage of the beautiful, unseasonably warm weather and made an impromptu trip to Lost River Cave.  We hiked all the trails…although we were considerably slower than our usual pace.  The girls stopped to examine what seemed like every leaf.  It was lots of fun to see the forests almost bare, noticing new topography, and finding some pretty magnificent colors.  My favorite was finding these humongous leaves…about twice the size of my hand.  They were incredible!

2)      On Saturday afternoon, Baby B got to come with Mommy for a little date – a reward for napping so well – while Baby A stayed home with Daddy.  B and I headed to the bookstore.  She enjoyed a cookie (and I, a coffee), and then we shopped for a couple of Thanksgiving books.  It’s so neat to be out and about with only one baby from time to time…the exchanges are often so much more direct than when Mommy is on zone defense.

3)      The girls have been playing loads of hide-and-seek lately, and I love to listen to them.  They always count to 10 in Serbian (since their daddy taught them how to play), and then, “Ready or not, here I come!  Where’s my kite?”  The “kite” reference cracks me up.  They have a very basic board book where the text reads, “Ready or not, here I come!” and then the following (unrelated) text is, “Where’s my kite?”  Despite me telling them otherwise, the girls think those phrases are related.

4)      Baby A was heading upstairs with me, and she gave explicit directions to B for taking care of her doll, Abby.  “She likes to have somebody sitting with her.  Sometimes she gets thirsty.  If she does, let me know.”  HA!

5)      And that reminds me that one of their teachers told me how Baby A was playing with a doll in a stroller.  She had to leave it to go to the bathroom, and B automatically came over to babysit.  How sweet!!!

6)      The girls’ school organized a drive for Operation Christmas Child.  I showed the girls the website and a short video online, and they were so excited to go shopping.  One shopped for a younger girl (age 2 – 4), and one for an older girl (age 10 – 14).  I let them each carry a shopping basket at Target, and they were such troopers.  Once we got home, they had fun coloring a couple of pages to go into the boxes, and then packing everything.  I think it was such a great experience for them.

7)      I took the girls to the pediatrician on Friday since they started coughing.  (I wanted to make sure it wasn’t somehow connected to the mess we had on Sunday and Monday…thankfully, he said it was nothing to worry about.)  As he was checking out Baby A, B volunteered, “That’s an otoscope!”  (Credit again goes to the girls’ library of Usborne books for such vocabulary words.)

8)      While the girls were in school on Thursday, I went to our local ceramic studio and picked out a design for a Christmas platter.  I took the girls on Friday morning, and they were SO excited to get their feet painted and step on a plate.  (I cannot wait to see their “Mistletoes”!!!)  Then I let the girls pick out an ornament to paint.  They each chose a plain flat orb.  B picked red and green and made a circle design, while A got a little more “abstract” with yellow and turquoise.  The girls had so much fun…and so did I…it was almost an out-of-body experience for me, propped up in a painting studio with my baby girls.  Wow!!!

9)      We attended our MoMs group annual pancake breakfast on Saturday.  I loved seeing the girls playing with their friends and having fun.  And they were quite taken with the pancakes.  I think they each had FOUR, along with the equivalent number of servings of fruit.  It was definitely a treat!

10)   We took advantage of the sunshine on Saturday afternoon to visit the orchard one last time before they closed for the season.  The girls were so excited to see the resident kitty and two puppies, and to make many, many trips down the slides.  One slide in particular was running really fast.  The first few times, both girls landed on their bottoms (even though I tried to catch them!).  After that, they got the hang of landing on their feet.  It just reminded me how BIG they are!

11)   On the way home from the orchard, B spotted the moon.  “Mommy, there’s a crescent moon!”  We’d turn, and she’d lose sight of it.  “Hey, where did the moon go?  Moooooon…where are you?”  And then we’d turn again, “Oh, moon!  There you are!”

12)   And the quotes of the week, both from rides in the car…

B [seeing a pickup truck behind us with a little boy in the passenger seat]: “Mommy!  I see an adult driving that truck.  And there’s not an adult beside him!”  (I know she was confused why a little boy would be in the front seat!)

A [seeing a car beside us at a traffic light]: "Mommy!  Why is there only one car seat in that car?"  (Not everything comes in a set of two, dear...)

Super 7 Sunday

So thankful for a super fabulous week with my baby girls!

1) On Sunday, Baby A woke up early from her nap. I let her help me make Pumpkin Gingerbread. She was such a great help! She dumped the ingredients in the bowl for me, and turned the mixer on and off. And of course she was so proud of herself.

2) And later in the week I let the girls help me make a simple batch of candy. They mostly dumped ingredients in the bowl and stirred a little bit, but it made their day! They were so proud of themselves. After supper, B told Daddy, “I will share my candy with you.” HA!

3) I was so proud of the girls for accompanying me to Hobby Lobby this week. I only had one thing to get, and I asked if they would like to walk (as opposed to loading up in the stroller). They behaved so well! They held onto the hand basket and were super good about keeping their hands to themselves. They even made a bit of conversation with the cashier. A big accomplishment, indeed!

4) Coming out of Hobby Lobby we took the opportunity to contribute to the Salvation Army. I gave the girls each a dollar, and they put in the bucket. Then the lady let them ring her bell. They talked about it all afternoon, saying, “…and we put cash in the bucket and rang the bell.” I must have said, “Let me see if I have some cash,” but it cracked me up for them to use that word.

5) The girls are having a great time listening to Christmas music, although they’ve altered quite a few lyrics. “Two turtle ducks,” for example, and Feliz Navidad is “Police la-dee-dah.” At least they know how to request Michael Buble’ by name.

6) We went to lunch on Saturday at our favorite sushi restaurant. We hadn’t taken the girls there since this summer, as they had a big case of the wiggles the last time we were there…not quite in keeping with the otherwise zen atmosphere. This time, they did fantastic! They sat up straight in their chairs, enjoyed edamame and part of my salad, and they ate every scrap of their chicken and shrimp teriyaki.

7) We finally got our Christmas tree up on Saturday afternoon. Baby A was up early from her nap, and I was amazed how patiently she watched Hubby and me put the lights on the tree. She then did a great job of helping me take ornaments out of their boxes. When B got up, I loved seeing the surprise on her face at glimpsing the tree. “Is it Christmas?” she asked. And I’ll pat myself on the back for allowing the girls to hang the ornaments…I expected a lot grouped together on the bottom…but I didn’t anticipate they’d also be so intent on decorating the back of the tree. Oh, well…they had fun!

Hope you had a super fabulous week, too!

This Book Brings Tears to My Eyes

I happened upon the most beautiful book last spring, one that brought tears to my eyes while I stood there in the bookstore. My best friend was about to have her first baby, and I knew it would make the perfect "welcome home" gift.

I bought another copy for our girls' second birthday. We read it as a bedtime story that night. While I hadn't been the basket of emotion that I'd been on their first birthday (crying off and on all day in reflection), reading the book prompted the first tears of the day.

Nancy Tillman's "On the Night You Were Born" begins...

"On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder, and the stars peeked in to see you, whispering, 'Life will never be the same.' For never before has there been anyone like you."

The book has the most gorgeous illustrations to complement the majestic prose, ending...

"Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn, on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born."

It is a celebration of the uniqueness of each and every one of us, such an awesome message.

I stopped in Kohl's earlier in the week, and I noticed that there are several Nancy Tillman books as part of the Kohl's Cares for Kids collection right now, including "On the Night You Were Born". I bought the girls "The Spirit of Christmas", thinking we can start reading it after Thanksgiving.

The Kohl's Cares for Kids collection is priced at $5.00. Kohl's states that 100% of the net profits from the program sales go to support kids' health and education initiatives.

I don't know much more about the program than that, but I know we've been on the receiving end of their funding already. Kohl's funds some of the prenatal classes through our hospital. And I remember when my friend's son was in the hospital a couple of years ago, he got a big bag of goodies from Kohl's to help boost his spirits.

Kohl's regularly features some great children's books as part of their charity program. I've bought some from Dr. Seuss and from Eric Carle. Not only are they great additions to our bookshelf (and at a fantastic price!), but I feel good supporting a program that benefits our community.

I'm linking up with Julia at Pontifications of a Twin Mom for her "Mama Loves" series. This mama loves good books, and this mama loves seeing corporations give back to their communities.