Hey...Someone ate my nose.

Today when Josie woke up from her nap, I heard her on the monitor yelling, "Help! Help! (Shrill Scream) Foot! Foot! (Shriek like a banshee) Help! Foot!" Somehow she had contorted her little foot in between the slats on the crib... I got there just in time - I think she was ready to gnaw it off.

Now, if Josie is in trouble, she looks at you sweetly, tilts her head, and says, "Lub ooh." (love you). Do they learn quickly, or what? Well, it's either "lub ooh" or crazy screaming. I prefer the manipulation tactic, myself. Especially in public.

We ventured out into the snow with all of our snow paraphenalia intact... and we built a snowman. Well, we TRIED to build a snowman. The snow was so wet and dense and heavy that we couldn't really roll it into balls, so we kind of clumped it up into 3 big blobs. Sadie then stuck a carrot in for his nose, Josie stuck sticks into the sides for his arms, and we tried to stick acorns in for his mouth (they kept falling off). He didn't last long, though... Jesse said a deer ate his nose. Then Sadie proceeded to climb a snow mountain (seriously... the pile next to our driveway was about 4 feet tall). Josie, not to be outdone, followed closely behind her, quickly losing not one, but TWO boots in the snow. I had to climb the mountain myself (and unlike them, I sank all the way in to the squishy mud at the bottom) and save my wet-socked snow bandit. It was fun, though!

Sadie said her prayers last night, thanking God for her curtains, her Snoopy, her bed, her mommy and daddy, Josie, juice boxes, animal crackers, and Lady & the Tramp. Then whispered to me while pointing next to her head at her pillow... "God is sleeping right there. You have to be quiet. God is sleeping with me tonight. And my angel is sitting in my chair over there." I really believed her. :)

Patience and the Monster

Yesterday, we were finally ALL ready to go to the grocery store. It took forever to wake up, eat breakfast, stop playing "monster fingers" (see Exhibit A here) get dressed, find Snoopy, get our coats on, let the dog out, get Josie's blankie out of the dryer, get Josie in the car, get Sadie in the car... oh, wait. While I was securing Josie into her carseat, Sadie took it upon herself to do a little of what I like to call "snow-wading." When I called for her to climb into her seat, she appeared with sopping wet shoes, socks, jeans, shirt, and a dogged look on her face. I was NOT happy. I had to take them BACK inside, strip Sadie's wet clothes off, completely change her outfit, try to ignore Josie's repeated pleas to me to "Hode me! Hode me!", put Sadie's shoes BACK on, put her coat BACK on, and try to explain that there is a time for everything. She knows this, because we have a kids' book about Ecclesiastes that tells us how there is a time for hellos, goodbyes, being clean and soapy, being dirty and muddy, being loud, being quiet, etc. I told her (not in my nice patient Mommy voice, I must admit, unfortunately) that when Mommy is trying really hard to get us all ready and out the door so we can make it to the grocery store before nightfall, it is NOT the time to play in the snow and get all yucky. She looks up at me and says, "Mommy... there is also a time to love. AND a time to be patient."

Needless to say, I felt very guilty for letting this little irritation...well, IRRITATE me so much. Then I realized, I am being totally manipulated by someone who is not even three years old! Good grief.

Josiebean

No matter what I do, I somehow seem to feel guilty. If I spend time with Josie, I feel like I'm neglecting Sadie. If I spend time with Sadie, I feel like I'm neglecting Josie. I try to do it 50/50, but somebody always ends up getting the short end of the stick. Alas, usually it's Jesse.

Back to my point, though. Josie is talking a lot more these days (ie: Dog! Dog barking! Dirty... eww! Love you! Hug! Nice! Snack! Cold! Sleepy! Mousie! Sockies! Sockies on feet! Sadie! Where Sadie?! Blankie! Bath! Diaper! FUN!) although with her, everything is in exclamations... the child is so loud when she talks! I was thinking about it earlier today, and I wonder if it's because she thinks no one listens to her, because we're always listening to Sadie (who is much easier to understand at this point). Of course, that thought makes me feel guilty. I know that she feels loved... I know that she's smart and she's learning and growing and getting cuter every day, but just because she was born second I don't ever want her to feel second best, you know? Every now and then, I tell her a secret...I lean over and whisper in her ear that she is the very best Josie in the whole wide world and I love her SO much. She always leans back, looks at me with this funny little "I knew it!" look, and says, "Heh heh," then gives me eleven Eskimo kisses on the nose.

Anyone who does not know this child or who doesn't spend any quality time with her is certainly missing out... she's a hoot. Her personality, while so different from her sister's, is so unique and just... well... funny! She's an odd little thing, and I don't mean that in a bad way at all... she's just, well, different. For example, she sits in her bed and pinches her nose together over and over. Through the monitor in my room, it goes a little something like this: "Nub-nubbuah-Nubb-nuubb-nubaaa." She loves to flirt with the waiters at Mexican restaurants. I mean, she stares them down, grins at them, and actually winks her little eyes. She waves, smiles, says, "Hey-do!" It's hilarious. She loves to get in things: boxes, the laundry basket, the bathtub, the toybox, the closet, anything she can contort herself enough to squeeze into. This includes the tiny space behind the rocking chair in her room, leading to tiny (yet loud) shouts of "Stuck! Stuck! Help! He-alp!"

Today she put on Sadie's fuzzy pink bedroom shoes (slippers, as they say around here) and wore them around the house. 3 sizes too big, they flap-flap-flapped with every step she took, and she looked a little bit like Big Bird with his giant feet. But she said, "Pretty!" and shot me one of her impish little smiles when I asked her what she was doing as she tried to stuff babywipes in the toes so they would fit better. She seems to find humor in everything... she'll scream with fury one minute, crack up the next. Bi-polar or just easily entertained? I don't know, but I wouldn't change her one bit.

It's so weird... I asked all of my friends/cousins with more than one child how it was possible to love subsequent children as much as the first one. My cousin Heather put it best when she said, "You don't love one more than the other. You love them all the same... but different."

Let it Snow

Last night on the way to the library for Story Time, I was trying to teach the kids their address. I would repeat it to them, over and over, and then Sadie would say, "What's that?" and I would tell them, "Your address." Turning this over in her mind for a while, she finally shouted, "I'm NOT a dress! I'm a little girl!"

At the library, we made little heart "mousies" with lollipop tails for our Valentine's Day craft. Josie loves her little "Moutie." Needless to say, neither of the little critters made it home with their tails intact.

Today, Jesse asked Sadie if she knew where I was (I was, of course, in the laundry room, where I always am) and Sadie said, "She's over yonder." Hehehe!!!

As I type, they are sitting at the kitchen table with towels, big bowls of snow, spoons, cups, and other "snow tools." I don't know why I haven't thought of this before... they've been seriously (and quietly) concentrating for almost half an hour!

Eat, Drink, and Be... Mary?

Yesterday at lunch we were preparing to feast on cauliflower (Josie loves it), spinach (Sadie loves it) and chicken. The girls were promised one of those squeezy yogurt things for dessert if they ate their lunch. After we said our prayer, I said, "Now we can eat, drink, and be merry!" Sadie replied, "We can't be Mary! You're Mommy, I'm Sadie, and that's Josie!"

Josie now wraps her beloved blankie around her shoulders and walks around like she's a superhero... the basket she likes to put on her head is an optional accessory. The kid cracks. me. up.

Sweet Girls

Last night as I was rocking Josie in the rocking chair before I put her to bed. I was singing her the "Goodnight Sun" song I made up for her, and suddenly, she reached up and put both her chubby little hands on both my cheeks and stared right into my eyes. Then she started patting my face and saying, "Gentle, gentle." THEN, she used her little finger to brush the hair out of my eyes. AND THEN, she put her little arms around my neck and kissed me on the mouth, saying "m-wah!" I cried.

So, probably about a month ago, I read Sadie the Bible story about Jesus healing the blind man. We talked about blindness, and she was very worried about the blind man and about how some people aren't able to see. I told her that some people are born that way, and some people might have an accident that caused them to be blind, etc. Tonight, weeks and weeks later, she was eating baby carrots (with dip) and I told her that I was glad that she likes carrots because carrots are good for your eyes. She immediately said, "Then those blind people need to eat some carrots! Let's get some carrots for those blind people so they can see!"

Don't Ask

Well, ask Sadie if she likes ice cream these days and you may get the following response:
"Does a BEAR poop in the WOODS?" Don't ask. Just don't ask.


Ask Josie if she would like a juice box and you will probably hear a little squeal followed by a maniacal little laugh... "Ha hahaha... at last the juice box is mine. Today, the juice box; tomorrow, the world!"