SUPER Stuff on a Sunday!

So much silly, SUPER stuff at our house this week!

1)      Baby A came running up to me: “Mommy!  ‘Gulp’ has four letters!”  The girls are on the verge of sounding out words, and I thought that was pretty awesome!

2)      One sweet little memory I don’t want to forget is how excited the girls get to watch the chickens cooking on the rotisserie when we go to Sam’s.  They’ll stand there and wave, “Hey, chickens!”  Hahaha!

3)      At Sam’s, they have most of their prices displayed in really big signs (at least in comparison to regular grocery stores).  Baby A read almost every sign to me…correctly!  “Mommy, that costs fifteen dollars and eighty-seven cents!  Mommy, that costs five dollars and twenty-four cents!”  She solicited quite a few laughs from people shopping near us.

4)      On Wednesday, we’d planned to meet a friend at the park.  She had to reschedule, but the girls and I went ahead with a hike, a little bit of play time, and then a picnic lunch.  It was so incredibly pleasant, and it just made this mama’s heart smile!  The girls were full of pep on the 1.25-mile hike, even up the hills!  They played nicely for a few minutes on the playground, and didn’t protest or drag their feet when it was time to leave the playground.  We found a nice picnic table for our lunch.  I opened their containers, and they ate every morsel, with no spills and no requests for help.  WOW!

5)      On Friday morning the girls and I went to Panera for a mid-morning snack.  We’d been in the habit of doing that last school year, before doing our weekly grocery shopping, but we haven’t done it much over the last few months.  It was so nice to be back in familiar surroundings with my babies!

6)      We hadn’t been out for breakfast in a while, either, so we hit our favorite country-cooking restaurant on Saturday.  The girls ate French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon, and they didn’t leave a morsel on their plates!

7)      When we got home from breakfast, we decided on a family walk in the neighborhood.  The girls asked to go in their jogging stroller.  :)  Daddy and I took turns pushing them, and it was such a sweet throw-back to when they were smaller.  In fact, it was almost exactly four years ago we got that stroller…it’s served us well!

8)      On Saturday we needed to be at the new house to accept delivery on some appliances.  The house was cleaned a couple of days ago, so for the first time we got to relax a bit.  I took one of the girls’ storybooks, and we made official use of the reading room.  I loved seeing them lounging on the carpet, taking it all in!

My dream WINDOW SEAT is behind the girls!

9)      One morning I told B that she was a funny girl. "Yes," she said, "the funniest I've ever seen." She's humble, too.

10) And I overheard the girls playing…B said to A, "Sissy, do you want to go on a hunt for Christmas trees and dinosaur babies?" I love their imaginations (even if they do have their time periods a bit confused).

So thankful for this SUPER stuff!

Super Stuff on a Monday!

I’m getting back on track today with my Super Stuff post.  Since I finally posted last week on Thursday, I’m only pulling from a few days…but thankfully there’s plenty of super stuff to note!

1)      I’ve been pointing out all the beautiful blooming trees to the girls.  When B exclaimed, “Look, Mommy!  It’s a puppy tree!” it took me a few seconds to realize she was talking about a “dogwood”.

2)      One morning I asked the girls to try on some shorts from last year, to see if they still fit.  B was walking around for a couple of minutes in only her shorts, and A told her, “Sissy, you look like a man ready to go swimming.”  Hahaha!

3)      As I led the girls down the hall from their classroom on Thursday afternoon, I was met with an absolute downpour outside the lobby.  We waited it out for 10 minutes or so, but it didn’t seem to be letting up.  I finally told the girls we would have to run for it.  We got our game plan in place, and bolted.  The girls didn’t get too wet, as they had pullovers with hoods, but I got SOAKED, especially standing there to buckle them in their carseats.  Still, it was kind of fun…the first time the girls have been wet like that.  At least we were heading home to change clothes anyway!

4)      On Friday morning, I had several errands to run.  The girls accompanied me to the post office, where they waited patiently and interacted nicely with the clerk.  We rewarded ourselves with a snack at the downtown coffee shop.  The girls enjoyed their first-ever hot beverage from there, a delicious hot chocolate.  They felt like such big girls!  And Mommy got to enjoy a latte while the girls sipped so nicely.

5)      The girls have been asking to have a snack on the patio at their little table for a couple of weeks now.  We finally had a really nice afternoon a few days ago, and their wish came true.  They were so happy!

6)      While we were eating outside, Daddy came home from school.  The girls were delighted to see him peek around into the back yard.  He changed clothes and came out to spend some time with us.  When he started swatting at a bumblebee with a broom, the girls went into hysterics.  Moments before they’d been pretty scared of the bee, and I guess “Daddy to the rescue” really made their day.

7)      Over the weekend, Hubby and I rearranged the furniture in the den, almost back to the pre-baby layout.  The girls were elated when they got up on Saturday morning.  They’ve been talking since about their “new den”.

8)      We all went out to lunch on Saturday, to one of my favorite bakeries – the girls’ choice.  It’s next to Aunt Shanda’s new yoga studio, and we were able to catch her and Aunt Karen there for a couple of minutes after we ate.  The girls can sometimes be reserved…but it warmed my heart to see them run up to S&K with open arms, reaching for a hug.

9)      The girls have continued to be very entertained with doing artwork.  It cracks me up when they try to draw the most intricate scenes.  They’re very descriptive as they describe to me what they’ve drawn.

Baby A drew this...those are parking spaces at the top and Daddy getting out of Milo (our SUV).  He was going around to get B out of her car seat, she said.

10)   One afternoon, B stuck her feet up on the arm of the couch as she was lying on the floor.  I ooh’ed and ahh’ed over her sweet little feet, and she said, “Take my picture, Mommy!”  You know I don’t need any more of an invitation than that!

11)   I overheard B one day, singing a song to herself.  It took me a minute or so to pick up that she was using the lines from one of the book series she really likes…it was so cute to hear her singing about “Mrs. Boot, Sam, and Poppy" from Farmyard Tales.

12)   This morning the girls asked to go for a ride in their stroller, and of course I jumped on the opportunity.  We didn’t make our full rounds, though, as we stopped to talk to two neighbors we hadn’t seen in a while.  I love feeling a part of such a wonderful community…and I love thinking about all the wonderful people I’ve met since the girls were born.  If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be out walking in the neighborhood like I have over the past four years…and I never would have met half the people I know now.  It’s pretty neat.

Super Stuff on a Monday / Tuesday

Even though I'm late to note it, I'm so thankful for another week full of notable notes!

1)      The girls have [FINALLY!] started asking, “How are you?” on the phone.  It’s so stinkin’ adorable to listen to them…another element in such an “adult”-sounding conversation.

2)      The girls and I agreed we’d put up our snow-related books the end of this past week.  (Little did we know it was March 2^nd that we’d finally get SNOW!)  I told them we’d read “Frosty the Snowman” one last time on Thursday night.  I sat down with them on either side…but instead they read to ME!  They recited almost every single line, word for word, in almost-perfect unison.  It was the best present ever!

3)      On Saturday, we finally had a little bit of snow…on a day when my girlies weren’t fighting the sniffles.  It wasn’t nearly enough for a snowman, but the girlies and I still enjoyed a peaceful walk through the neighborhood, and some good snow-stompin’ when we got home.  And the girls were seriously excited for some homemade hot chocolate after our romp in the snow.

4)      The girls were talking (at random) about Halloween.  I asked if they’d thought about what they want to be.  B said, “A kitty cat,” which is not a huge surprise.  Baby A said, “A pudu!”  We’d just looked up a series of animals out of a new book (“Hug Time”) and she’s brought up the pudu several times.  It is some kinda cute, and I’m sure she’d make an adorable pudu…HA!  Now if only Old Navy will stock that costume…

5)      On a related note, B showed me her drawing pad one morning.  “Look, Mommy!  I drew a giraffe and a baobab tree!”  I love seeing how the girls incorporate new knowledge into their playtime.

6)      The girls and I had to pick up something at the toy store on Sunday, and they asked if they could look around.  We rarely “browse” in any kind of store, so I decided that would be OK.  They did such a great job looking at things, but not asking to buy anything!  In the seasonal aisle, we spotted the cutest spotted ladybug Frisbee…a soft one that felt like the girls just might be able to use.  I couldn’t resist…and we’ve already had so much (indoor) fun with it.  The girls have seen their daddy and me play Frisbee several times (we’re pretty competitive!), and they can’t wait to join in the fun.  I’ve been impressed with their “form” – relative to throwing in our den – and their incessant giggles just top it off.  I can’t wait to get outside with them!!!

7)      After a week of unseasonably cold weather, Monday was relatively mild.  We had a fantastic walk through the neighborhood, on which we saw a record 12 DOGS.  I love-love-love how the girlies delight in seeing the neighbors’ pets…they coo and make the sweetest gestures.

8)      I had to run to the post office on Monday afternoon, and the girls were golden.  Not only did they wait patiently while I had to fill out a form and address and envelope, but they were polite and conversational with the ladies behind the counter.  It certainly doesn’t always happen that way…but it’s nice when it does!!!

9)      I finally remembered to write down something that makes me chuckle without fail…when the girls play hide-and-seek, they always count in Serbian.  When A gets to 14, she always interjects “turtle” into the middle of the word...too cute!!!  And both girls call their Uncle Vladimir, “Gladimir”…HA!

10)   And a couple of my favorite quotes of the week…

A: "Mommy, seven is more than six." Yes, you're right. Having seven cookies is more than having six cookies. "Yes, but you would never give me seven cookies."  She’s got it!!!

B, to A: "Sissy, you need to eat like a Galapagos turtle!" We had been reading that Galapagos turtles eat very slowly...in contrast to Baby A, who sometimes seems to be practicing for an "all you can eat" contest. ;)