Super Stuff!!!

1)      As we were waiting to turn left on a busy highway, B remarked, “They need a traffic light here.  I will get Granddaddy to help me design one.”  HA!  I love that she was thinking of solutions…and that she thinks her granddaddy (an architect) can design anything.

2)      Thursday was our last tumbling class for the summer.  When we got out of the car, a couple of little girls called out to A&B, waving.  After class, another couple came up to give them hugs.  It was so sweet to see their new little friends – older girls who have taken them under their wings.

3)      Miss Jennifer was our first baby sitter, playing with the girls once a week from just after their second birthday until they turned three.  We hadn’t seen her in almost a year – save from running into her here and there in town – and she came over to visit this past week.  The girls were SO excited to learn she was coming.  It took them a few minutes to warm back up to her, but they were so sweet showing her the things she’d missed (new toys and new tricks) over the past year.  And I couldn’t help but appreciate how blessed we are to have had some really wonderful people in the girls’ lives.

4)      We met a friend at Lost River Cave, intending to play on the outdoor playground.  It was closed that morning, though, so we took a short hike to the butterfly conservatory.  This was my first time to “hike” with the girls by myself, and they did a great job.  And it was so very sweet to see the girls and Baby V.

5)      On Sunday night, the weather was absolutely perfect.  We made an impromptu trip to the park, where we played and played, and then enjoyed a pizza picnic.  We chose the park that’s within walking distance to the pizza place, and Daddy picked up a pie, which we enjoyed with our bottled water and bananas.  Just a year ago, I probably wouldn’t have been comfortable “winging” a meal like this…but it’s so very nice to be able to do it now!

6)      While we were at The Farm this weekend, and then again at the park, Baby A wanted to race.  I can still beat her, but I really have to put in the effort!  I cannot believe how fast my little speedster is getting!

7)      Over breakfast at The Farm on Saturday morning, B held up a piece of her melon for me to see.  “Look, Mommy!  It’s a rhombus!”  Hee hee!

8)      The girls were cackling at each other one morning over the pronunciation of the word “warmer” [in the context of a bottle warmer, I think].  One of them, B, I think, kept saying “wormer”…and A kept correcting her.  They were cracking each other – and me! – up for a solid ten minutes.

9)      Daddy accidentally dropped A's baby doll one morning, and she came running to me: "Mommy! I don't think Daddy knows how to be respectful of my baby!"

10)   Baby A, in particular, has been using the words “actually” and “in fact” quite proficiently lately.  It’s so funny in her scrappy little baby voice…and she is totally serious about it.

11)   Baby A was telling me this morning, “When I grow up, I will have a newborn baby…not a pretend baby…but a real one.  And I will have two babies at once, just like you did.  And I will have a swing and a bouncy seat.”  B chimed in, “I will just have one baby, but I will have a swing and a bouncy seat, too.”  [I guess baby gear is top of mind for all future mamas, huh?]

12)  I complimented A on a block tower she built, telling her it was perfectly symmetrical.  Do you know what that means, I asked her?  "It means it's the same on both sides!" I consider the girls to have a pretty big vocabulary, but I love when they can actually define a word back to me...pretty cool!!!

Super Stuff!

We had another super-great week of swimming lessons.  How I love to see my baby girls having such a fun time!  And in other super news…

1)      Out of the blue, Baby A exclaimed, “Mommy, your tummy must have been really big when I was in there!”

2)      Daddy was teasing the girls that we would send them into the store to pick up something.  He said we’d give them money, and B interrupted, “But money is dirty!  We’ll need to wash our hands!”

3)      We met Miss Demara with M&C at the bounce house last week, while five-week old A stayed home with her Daddy.  My Baby A was so worried how he would feed the baby while Demara was with us.  “But how will A eat?”  I told her Mr. G would give her a bottle.  “Well what will be in it?  Milk from the gallon?”  And then another discussion ensued about how the milk wouldn’t come from the store.  I had to laugh…and beam…at her detailed questions.

4)      B worried over her art supplies one morning, "This marker doesn't look washable, Mommy."  I love that kid!

5)      And I nearly fell out of my chair during art time another day, when Baby B asked me, "Mommy, what does 'pissed' mean?"  Like what, Sweetie? Can you use it in a sentence? I replied, trying to remain very calm.  "Like the 'sharp-pissed' crayon. You asked who had the 'sharpest' crayon."  Whew!

6)      The girls have been all about their baby dolls and building blocks this week.  I love seeing them playing – in new ways – with the toys that have been such a part of our lives for over three years now!

7)      On Friday night, we decided to go out for dinner, a rare treat.  We sat outside at the Mellow Mushroom, and the girls had such fun.  Afterwards, Baby A asked for ice cream.  We’ve NEVER gone for ice cream so late…but we indulged ourselves with yet another treat.  The girls were in heaven!

8)      We had such a fun time at a birthday party on Saturday afternoon.  I love seeing my girlies, playing with their friends.

9)      My Facebook status on Monday morning: It's not quite 8:30. So far today, we have...unloaded the dishwasher (a group effort)...eaten breakfast...researched Finland, the Great Barrier Reef, and tornadoes (in that order)...set up a store...and had a pretend birthday party. We know how to kick off a Monday at our house!

10)   On Tuesday we went to Mammoth Cave National Park to do a little hiking.  Words cannot express how I love to be out in the woods, just the four of us.  It’s the best family time ever!

We saw a mommy deer and her baby...here, she'd just groomed his face.

At Sunset Point.  The drop-off over the wall was only about 4', I promise!

Sisterly hug...I love it!!!

A tiny bit of "fall" color in the woods.  (This pic is for Marcia!)

 And there you have it...our weekly super highlights!

Super Stuff on a Saturday -- with PICTURES!

It’s been another B-U-S-Y week, as evidenced by the sad lack of blog posts…but even amid the busyness, there’s a lot of super to be found!

1)      We’ve had so much fun over the past couple of weeks, keeping tabs on the bunnies in our yard.  One afternoon, we saw two adult bunnies, seeming to play with each other.  One would charge at the other, and the second bunny would hop straight in the air to avoid the collision.  They did this for a good three or four minutes.  All the while, the baby bunny grazed nearby…so sweet!

2)      My very dear friend – M&C’s mom – had her precious Baby A on Monday afternoon.  I got to visit her a couple of times in the hospital, and the girls asked after each visit, “Was A out of Miss Demara’s tummy already?”  I can’t begin to imagine how they were processing everything, but that just made me laugh.

3)      Since Miss A was born, my A&B have been very attentive to their baby dolls.  It’s so sweet to see, since they’ve been more focused on their furry babies over the past six months or so.  They are absolutely chomping at the bit to meet Miss A soon!

4)      Baby A called for me a couple of hours after bedtime one evening, which is rare.  I bounded up the stairs to check on her, and was met with the sweetest, raspy little voice.  “I love you, Mommy,” she said, and then she hugged and kissed my hand.  She just needed a little reassurance, I guess, to settle back to sleep.  It was definitely one of those I-love-being-a-mommy moments.

5)      After a particularly busy afternoon, when I realized there just wasn’t enough time in the day to cook what I’d planned for supper, I made a quick decision to pick up a pizza on the way home.  As we started to drive away, B said, “Mommy, I saw a sign on the door.  It was an advertisement for a large pizza with two toppings, for 10 bucks.”  I probably swerved the car at her deadpan statement.  I didn’t see the advertisement, and I can’t imagine that was quite right – as it doesn’t sound like a very good deal – but her “10 bucks” had me rolling!  I don’t think of myself as saying “bucks” very often…but maybe I do?  She had to have heard it somewhere!

6)      On Thursday morning we went out for breakfast…a rare treat that is almost always reserved for the weekend…and then we headed to Lost River Cave for an early morning hike.  We hadn’t been since April, and it was so nice to see all the trees in their beautiful bright greens.  It was a very hot day – even before lunchtime – but it’s so very shady there we were quite comfortable.  I never tire of enjoying hikes with my sweet babies…and I love how observant they are of some of the neat little things that I would probably miss along the way.

7)      The girls and I have been working on a multi-layered art project over the course of the past few days.  It never fails that they pause at some point and say, “This is fun, Mommy!”  It makes the gluey hands and fabric strings so very worth it.

8)      Seeing the girls working on their silly faces!

9)      I’ve let the girls help me unload the dishwasher the past few days.  I know that’s something that most kids have been doing for a while at their age…but it’s a chore I REALLY dislike…and I am usually so focused on just getting it done that I didn’t want to invite any “helpers” into the mix on a regular basis.  The girls have taken turns – one doing the utensils, while the other stacks dishes on the counter for me to put away.  So far, they’re having a blast with it…and it’s actually made it a bit “fun” for me, not quite as dreaded, actually, as it typically is.

10)   Aunt Alison sent the girls new outfits to mark their first day of preschool last August.  They were a bit big at the time, but they fit perfectly now.  The girls wore them for the first time this week, and they could not get enough of their “twirl dresses”.  I fear they could get used to this!

11)   The girls and I have eaten a couple of times at a new-to-us bakery close to downtown.  This week we had the opportunity to visit there with Daddy for lunch.  The girls were so cute, showing Daddy “our” table and telling him what they like there.  Fortunately, Daddy liked it to, so we’ll definitely be going back!

12)   For a long time the girls have been making up words.  “What does 'alla-bob-kich-a' mean, Mommy?” they’ll ask…and then LAUGH.  Usually their “words” are so conjured it’s almost impossible to transcribe them, but they threw out an easier one a couple of days ago.  I thought I would note it for posterity’s sake.  "'Bop' is another word for 'pillow'. I just made it up," Baby A told me.  That was followed by hysterical giggles, in stereo.

13)   One morning, the girls were planning a trip with their babies, and I asked them where they were going. Baby A stated emphatically, "The Empire State building!" A few seconds later, B reconsidered, "Or maybe the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I'm not sure."  B proceeded to make the tallest tower she could manage, and told me it was, in fact, the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

So thankful for lots of super with my baby girls!!!

Super Stuff!

Lots more SUPER stuff, for which I am very thankful!

1)      It’s been quite a while since the girls played with their train set.  We got it out when M&C came to play last week, and then we’ve played with it a couple of times since then.  With the new furniture arrangement, the girls loved making the track extend around the armchair.  And I loved watching them try new, more complex configurations.  I love watching my little engineers at work!

2)      Likewise, the girls hadn’t been playing much with their baby dolls lately.  They’ve been really focused instead on a handful of smaller stuffed animals – two bears (Honey and Whitey); two dogs (Smarty and Brownie); and their new kitties (Kitten and Callie).  One day they took right up with Abby and Lily, though, as they used to.  It was so sweet to hear my babies whispering those sweet nothings to their babies’ once gain.

3)      I was in the drive-thru at the bank, and the teller had the biggest smile on her face.  She finally said, “I just have to tell you how adorable your child is.  She has her feet propped on the back of your seat, just like she’s propped up in a recliner.”  While I’d prefer the girls to sit with their feet hanging down, I have to admit it was pretty cute.

4)      On Friday afternoon, we’d planned to meet Daddy at the park after school, but it started raining earlier than we anticipated.  We decided to go to the mall and walk around a bit.  I just love how something as simple as riding the carousel makes the girls’ eyes sparkle so brightly, their smiles as big as ever.

5)      On Saturday afternoon, I got the girls down for a nap and headed to Nashville to meet Aunt Alison for a couple of hours.  I left everything out for Daddy to give the girls a snack, with instructions to order a pizza for supper.  When I got home, I was met with The Hugest Hugs…very excited, “Mommy, I missed you!!!’s”…and, “Daddy gave us Fig Newtons!!!”  It’s the little things!

6)      On Sunday we’d planned to eat out to lunch, but B just didn’t want to go.  Daddy offered to take Baby A out, while B and I stayed home, and our “dates” worked out so well.  B and I made strawberry bread, and she was such a big help!  She followed directions so well, getting things from the pantry, adding ingredients, and then cleaning up.  Then we had a little snuggle time before I fixed what she wanted for lunch (a peanut butter sandwich, in the shape of a butterfly). 

7)      While B and I were home, Daddy had such an awesome time with A.  He couldn’t quit talking about what a little lady she was…eating so nicely, and then enjoying a super-special ice cream treat (which Mommy NEVER would have allowed before nap time!).  And Baby A was so excited to tell me how they brought her half of the mushroom and artichoke pizza on a plate, just for her…and how the lady at the ice cream shop made a face on the scoop of ice cream with sprinkles.  While Mommy missed her Sunday lunch out, it was really a big win-win-win for all of us.

8)      Both girls can button and unbutton things pretty well, but Baby A gets particular joy from the activity.  I noticed B got her pajamas on unusually quickly one night, and A told me, “I unbuttoned Sissy’s pajamas for her.”  So sweet!

9)      I overheard A trying to persuade B to do something, “…OK, little tiny baby sissy?”  Hahaha!!!

10)   B was on the phone, recounting our morning grocery trip to her daddy during lunch: "We bought Red Delicious apples! They're bright red, and I know they'll be delicious!"

11)   One of the girls’ classmates gave them miniature compasses one day at school.  They have had SO much fun with them, telling me which direction each window faces.  And then, “Mommy, I turned around, and north is still that way!”

12)   B had really been pushing buttons one afternoon.  She was sitting in time-out, and with red eyes she began singing the Beatles' “Yesterday”…off-key…”my troubles seemed so far away…now it seems that they are here to stay…oh, I believe in yesterday.”  That definitely broke the tension, as how could anyone keep from laughing???