Hooray for Me!

Adelaide said "Ma-Ma!"

That Christmasy Time of Year

I must say, I've been enjoying the Christmas season this year (so far). We've baked cookies, made yummy butter mints, made and decorated clay Christmas ornaments, cut out cinnamon applesauce ornaments, decorated everywhere, sent out newsletters, wrapped presents, danced to Christmas music, learned the "What Can I Give Him?" poem, sang "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and "The Little Drummer Boy" over and over, read lots of Christmas stories, built a gingerbread house with Grammie, watched Rudolph, Frosty, and the Grinch (but not to the obsessive extent of last year), watched Christmas lights with Grandma, Grandpa, and Sarah, delivered cookies and goodwill to our neighbors, visited an amazing display of Nativity scenes (HUNDREDS of them) and generally had a fun Christmasy time. We're almost packed and ready to leave for our Southern Christmas :) but first... it's time for the yummy Christmas Breakfast for Supper celebration with Grandma Beth, her new waffle maker, and a ton of relatives and presents at our house! We can't wait! :)

Num Num

Today, Adelaide got to hold her very first food (well, the first food that I didn't snatch away from her because she swiped it off of my plate when I wasn't looking). I did give up and start giving her rice cereal last week because she was watching all of us eating supper with this pitiful look on her little face, and she couldn't take her eyes off my fork as I was eating. I broke down, and boy is she a little chow hound. Anyway, I bought her these little organic rice husk things (called Num Nums) that dissolve easily, and she tore into one today and goobed it all up with her baby slobber... she ate the whole thing (this was great entertainment for Josie, who watched the whole thing) and looked very pleased with herself.

I was thinking today that this is the only time that the girls will be THIS age on Christmas. I know, I know. That's a goofy thing to think, but I can't seem to help it. Never again will they be 4, 3, and 6 months at Christmastime. I guess it makes it sort of bittersweet, but also more special. Let's make it a good one!

Rub a Dub

Never have I seen a child enjoy her bath more than Adelaide. The cooing. The splashing. The gurgling. The squealing. The trying to catch the streams of water dripping from her washcloth. The belly laughs. The gleeful snorts when I wash the ticklish palms of her hands. I think I have almost as much fun watching her as she has being in the tub!

King of Candyland

We were wrapping presents, Christmas music playing in the background, when Josie informed me that "Santa Claus is coming to town, Mommy! He's coming to town in a red convertible!"

Yesterday, we went to Candyland, a life size version of the board game for kids to play around in. Sadie had a great time - up until I told her to stop running, to which she replied, "Who made you king of Candyland?" I had to hide my laughter as I sent her to time out. Where does she even hear this stuff?

The Lost Book of the Bible

After learning a new song at church, I heard two little voices echoing down the hall: "Do not LIE! Do not STEAL! Do not deceive one another! That's BENNIGAN's Chapter NINETEEN, verse ELEVENTEEN!!" Okay, so maybe they've been going out to eat a little much lately. I immediately started going over the REAL books of the Bible, just in case they were too confused. :)

As I tucked Josie into bed the other night, we were snuggling and talking and I asked her what she thinks she wants to be when she grows up. She hugged me and looked into my eyes and said, "Mommy, I don't want to grow up." I asked her why, and she said, "Because, Mommy... I don't want to be big. I always want to be your little girl." Le sob. I then had to explain through my watery eyes that no matter how big she gets, she will ALWAYS be my little girl. Then I ran to my room and cried!

Gitchee Gummee

We were at the mall the other day and I walked down the hallway away from the kids while pushing the stroller. I could still see them, but I guess they couldn't see me because suddenly I heard my own words coming from Sadie's mouth: "Don't you ever go out of my sight without telling me first, Mommy! Never, EVER! Do you hear what I'm saying to you?"

Josie marked all over our bed with a black magic marker. When confronted, her response was this: "Well, you were busy and I couldn't find any paper." Hmm. At least she was honest, I guess.

Adelaide has started this thing where she reaches her little hand up while she's nursing and starts patting, patting, patting me on the cheek. It is so sweet! I can see why some moms say they get addicted to breastfeeding.

Two Saturdays ago, we went to the circus. It was FABULOUS! Better than when I was a kid! Jesse got us awesome seats - we were in the 2nd row, right on the floor... almost close enough to touch the elephants! The girls thought it was great, too - they were enthralled from the moment we sat down. We loved the dancing ponies, the clowns and the bubbles, the racing motorcycles, the acrobats...all of it!

The other day we saw the very first Christmas lights on our street and Sadie said, "Uh-oh. Now we have to be good or Santa Claus will not say 'Ho Ho Ho'---he will say 'NO Ho Ho!"

I totally missed my exit on the way to gymnastics class and made us late. I was feeling really dumb, and Josie practiced her encouragement tactics. She said, "It's okay, Mommy. It's okay if you messed up. You are still the best Mommy!" It made me feel so much better!

We borrowed Hiawatha from the library last week, and the girls were immediately taken in by Longfellow's drum-beat meter. Now, I hear them running through the house yelling, "By the shores of Gitchee Gummee!" "Daughter of the Moon! Nokomis!"

I Like to Move It

Usually when I tuck Sadie in, I sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (while I rub her back, of course). Sometimes, I switch it around and say stuff like "Up above the world so high, like a Snoopy in the sky... Like a hotdog in the sky... Like a tea tray in the sky..." She always laughs, but I can tell it drives her crazy. She ALWAYS says, "No, Mommy! Like a DIAMOND in the sky." The other night, I went through the whole thing and switched it 3 or 4 times, and she was getting exasperated, saying "DIAMOND!" every time, when I said, "Like a ruby in the sky..." She started, "No, Mommy... well, okay. I like rubies."

Jesse took the girls out on a Daddy date Saturday night while I had my Spa Party at our house. They went to the "Jumpy Place" and then to see Madagascar. Josie was totally impressed with the "I Like to Move" song. You can imagine my delight when I caught her in the bathroom in front of the mirror, pants down, shaking her little butt and singing at the top of her lungs, "I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT!"

In other news, Adelaide has started growing a little baby mohawk on top of her head. I think she's a little young to be showing that kind of individuality, but she insists on keeping it that way. :)

Guacaroni

Tonight after an exciting round of jumping on the kid-size bungee jump at the mall (loads of squealing, laughing, and general merriment all around) and watching Daddy get his first pedicure (an anniversary gift from ME :) we stopped to grab some Mexican food on the way home. Jesse went in while I waited in the car with the kids, and we ended up discussing guacamole. Josie said, "Guacamole... guacamole... but wait - that's yellow, and made of noodles!" Sadie said, "No, Josie. That's MACARONI. Sheesh." Josie smacked her palm to her forehead and said, "What am I saying?!"

Yummy Yummy

Life seems to be in a whirlwind for us right now. School on Mondays, grocery store on Tuesdays, gymnastics on Wednesdays, doctor appointments and the library on Thursdays, breathing time on Fridays, busy busy weekends, Church on Sundays, do it all over again. I've decided that my new motto is, "A clean home does not equal a happy home." Maybe if I chant that over and over, I'll stop being so OCD about cleaning up after the kids ALL THE TIME.

Today, Josie belts out, "YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY I've got LOVE IN MY TUMMY!" about 100 times in a row. I asked her where she learned it, and Sadie rolls her eyes and says, "Grammie." Of course. Grammie also taught Sadie the diarrhea song ("No stwain, no pain, just sit and let it dwain..."); I'm beginning to wonder if my mom's visits should be supervised. :)

Adelaide has developed the cutest little chipmunk cheeks that you will ever see. When she smiles, her whole little face lights up and her eyes almost disappear! She is an absolute joy to be around... well, 90% of the time. The other 10% is spent screaming her displeasure at not getting F-O-O-D fast enough, and it literally makes my ears roar. The kid is LOUD.

Fall Updates

I didn't realize it before now, but fall is apparently the busiest time of the year for us. I haven't had a free minute in the past 3 weeks! Anyway, here is an update of some of the girls' memorable fall moments:

Sadie was lamenting her sad life (the fact that she couldn't have two juice boxes in one day) and she said that it wasn't fair. I told her that life's not fair. She thought about this for a minute, then scowled and said, "Well! It IS fair! If it's not, I'll just KICK EVERYONE!" Ironically, I've had that same thought myself. She has learned to ride her bike WITHOUT training wheels... a marvelous feat for a 4 year old, according to the bike store where she got her new kickstand (she's so proud of it!). Jesse taught her in 3 lessons. I'm so glad he did - I couldn't bear to watch her dive off one side and then the other, over and over! He told her it's more important to learn to FALL correctly than to learn to ride. Gotta give him credit there... I wish I had learned to fall! Maybe Sadie won't break every bone in her body like her mom!


I overheard Josie muttering to herself in the family room the other day as she piled blankets and pillows on the floor: "I'll just make my little self a bed right here... make my little self a bed." I can only assume she meant she was making HERSELF a LITTLE bed, but I thought it was so cute that I didn't even ask. She somehow developed impetigo on her little butt, and so she's had a rough time for the past couple of weeks. Bless her little heart, she gets in the shower (no baths till it's all better) and sticks her butt under the water and says, "Ahhh... that feels good on my poor booty!" It's finally almost cleared up, thank goodness. I've been up to my ears in laundry, since I've been washing everything she touches. Miraculously, no one else has caught it (yet).

Adelaide now has her two bottom teeth and she's grabbing everything that she can get ahold of with her chubby little hands. She's also fond of sticking her feet straight up into the air and flapping her arms like she's trying to take flight. She spent the evening at Grandma and Grandpa's house last weekend while we took Sadie, James, and Josie to the Zoo for their annual Boo at the Zoo night (the puppet show with the shark was everyone's favorite). Instead of taking her nap like she was supposed to, she opted to scream her head off until Grandma peeked in the door to check on her. When she heard the door open, she turned her head, looked straight at Grandma, and LAUGHED! Stinker. She's already got us figured out. I gave her her first taste of rice cereal last night at dinner. She looked so proud of herself when I popped it in her mouth, like "Ha! Finally!" Right now she's kicking the heck out of the duck on her play gym and yelling "GOO!" at the top of her lungs.

Jesse has lost a lot of weight (I'm still stuck at 10 pounds, but that's better than nothing!) and is working a lot, since I'm not working at all. Oddly, I'm more tired than I have ever been in my LIFE. People who say stay-at-home moms don't work are just plain crazy. I'm loving the fall leaves, sick of hearing about the election, reading a book called "When Mothers Pray," planning a Spa Party, weed-whacking my garden to get it ready for next year, and trying to not go nuts. That's pretty much it for the updates... guess I'll leaf it at that! :)

Soon and Very Soon

Josie - whose favorite song at the moment is Soon and Very Soon, We Are Going to See the King - is still in the throes of potty training. Although she's doing pretty well, she doesn't really give much notice of when she's "gotta go!" In the car the other day, she said, "Mommy, I need to go pee!" Since we were about 10 minutes from home, Sadie started singing, "Soon and very soon, we are going to see some pee... soon and very soon, we are going to see some pee!"

Earlier that day, Josie got mad at me because I made her buckle in her booster seat. Next thing I knew, she was crying in behind me and sniffing, "Nobody likes me... boo hoo hoo... nobody likes me." Sadie and I cracked up. Finally, Josie laughed too and said, "I'm tricking you! Everybody likes me!"

They both really want to know when Jesus is coming back (so do I, for that matter). They ask me out of the blue, and they get frustrated when I can't tell them an exact day or time. I keep telling them that even Jesus doesn't know when He's coming - only God does. Sadie said, "Well, I'm tired of waiting." Josie replied, "God, please make Jesus COME NOW!"

In other news... Adelaide has a tooth!!!

Thinking

Sometimes I worry that by the time I HAVE time to sit down and enjoy my kids, they will already be all grown up. They're changing so fast... I looked at my 2006 scrapbook this morning, and Sadie and Josie are already SO different - especially Josie. She turned from a baby into a little girl in a matter of moments, it seems like. I tried to find the exact minute when she changed, but it doesn't seem that there was one. Either that, or I missed it.

Right now, Josie is playing with her little pet shop while wearing her blue Cinderella gown and Sadie is playing with her My Little Ponies while dressed up in her big floofy pink princess dress. I want to play with them, but I feel like I have a hundred things to do. However, I know that pretty soon they won't really want me to play with them...they'll have better things to do. Now that I think about it - what am I doing here? I have to go!

Sunny South

We went to NC on the first of October, and the girls had fun:
-Sewing with Great Grandma Genevieve
-Killing tons of little red "beetle-bugs" with scalding hot pots of water (carried by Grandma, of course)
-Riding on the back of Papaw's pickup truck on the little "stools" (wheel wells)
-Playing with Junior and Sissy, Mamaw's two new Boston Terrier puppies
-Going to the Apple Festival and buying a stop-sign shaped flyswatter from the Shriners
-Visiting and playing in Sharon and Gary's RV, otherwise known as the "house car"
-Sorting and categorizing tons of buttons on Great Grandma's dining room table
-Wrestling with Cameron and Caleb
-Going on a picnic with Mamaw and Papaw
-Watching Adelaide stick both legs STRAIGHT UP in the air so she could see her toes
-Jumping on the trampoline at Kristi's house with all their cousins
-Rolling down "Acorn Hill" with Kimmie, Noah, and Dalton, and playing "Spies" until they were so tired they couldn't even stand up
-Riding up in the van on Papaw's hydraulic lift while he changed the oil
-Seeing Mommy chase a crazed yellowjacket all over the car (inside and out) for 20 minutes until she finally smushed it... Josie said, "Mommy, you're my hero!"
-Hearing Sadie make her first REAL joke when Josie said she wanted to eat her "BURGER," to which Sadie replied, "Yuck, Josie, I didn't know you liked to eat BOOGERS!"

"I said to myself, Self, are those Fleas?"

Sadie is the narrator of her own life. If you follow her around all day, you might hear her saying things like: "She places her hands on the floor and everyone says 'What is she doing?'" "As she climbs to the top of the ladder, she wonders what she will do next!" "What is that you are hiding, I ask myself!"

Today, Josie asked me if I remember when we were sick "Last Day." Last Day refers to any day other than today, whether it's yesterday, last week, or a month ago. Anyway, she was talking about being sick and throwing up (a traumatic even she recalls pretty often) and she said, "When I threw up in my bed, that's when I had the flea in my mouth...that's when we had fleas." Since I don't remember ANY of us having fleas, we're pretty sure she meant when we had the FLU BUG. FLU BUG = Fleas. I can follow that. :)

'Nastics Class

A few weeks ago, we started gymnastics class at a new gym... it's WAY better than the one we went to last year. The kids think it's great, mainly because there is a huge pool-size pit filled with giant foam squares that they get to jump in. Sadie gets in trouble every week because she refuses to get out once she's jumped in. The kids can actually get lost in there... once in a while you'll see a foot or a hand sticking out, but the rest of them gets buried under the blocks. There are also two "in-ground" trampolines, which are WAY safer than regular trampolines. Josie is still a little scared to jump on the suspended one (it's attached by springs over a big square hole in the floor); she always asks the teacher to hold her hand. She says, "I'm afraid that I will fall through the little holes! I need for you to hold my hand and jump WITH me." She's getting braver and braver though... I think she'll do it next week!
Today when they were going through their obstacle course (forward rolls, monkey jumps, balancing on the "turtle," etc.) Sadie was in line for basketball behind this little boy who forgot to replace the 3 little balls on the polka dot after he threw them. Since these were implicit instructions from the teacher, Sadie went over, poked him on the shoulder, and explained the situation in the way only she can - complete with the expectant little face and upturned palms. Apparently, he agreed that it was his "bad" because he went right over and fixed them for her.
Anyway, they're loving it, and I love watching them learn coordination and balance... Lord knows they need help with THAT since I'M their mother!

Snuggle

This morning as I was feeding Adelaide (in bed), Sadie came in and crawled in next to me to snuggle. Josie, of course, was still conked out in her room (she's my late sleeper). It was nice being tucked in between both of them so close and snug!

Jesse & I have started the South Beach Diet - along with several other members of the family. So far, he's lost 10 pounds and I've lost 4. I'm pretty happy with that, since I'd come to a standstill of baby-weight-loss. Now, if it just wouldn't start snowing next month, we could stick to our bike-riding, too!

Responsible

Being a parent has got to be the most terrifying job in the world. In what other profession do you have the sole responsibility of making sure that an individual or group of individuals learns EVERYTHING they need to know to SURVIVE? Even in the Army, the guys already know how to wash their hands, brush their teeth, eat, pray, and poop! Sure, you might have to teach them certain survival tactics, but they already know the basics. The Lord knows I sometimes FEEL like a drill sergeant. SADIE! PANTS! NOW! JOSIE! NAPTIME! ON THE DOUBLE! The Bible says "do not worry about tomorrow," but I find myself disobeying that order a lot. I'm constantly wondering if I'm making the right decisions regarding the girls...if I'm turning them into the kind, considerate, well-mannered ladies I want them to be, or if I'm overbearing, overprotective, and well, overwrought! How do you know if you're giving them the proper tools to be productive citizens of society and of the kingdom of God? I don't want to wait until the last minute to figure out, Whoops! Should've done it THAT way, I guess - you know, when Sadie's 17 and hindsight kicks in. It scares the heck out of me. I feel SO RESPONSIBLE. I know that sounds silly; I AM responsible for them. But the vast weight of these little lives that God has placed in my hands not only lifts me up - it weighs me down. I feel so blessed with a purpose as their mother, but I also feel a burden for them. How can I make sure I'm doing the right things? Experienced parents out there (preferably ones that did not turn out serial killers and the like), can you give me any advice?

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Sadie's story:
"Once upon a time there were five little girls: Rainbow, Sunny, Cloud, Sky, and Marlene."

Josie's story:
"One at a time, there was a froggy, and there was a froggy, and there was a frog, and a mommy frog, and a daddy frog, and POOP!"

It's a bird...a plane...a pineapple!

Today at lunch, Sadie was (again) recounting how she was right about the whole "Sharks and Middles" debate (that's the game she played in Swimming Lessons - Sharks and MINNOWS. She's bound and determined that it was called Sharks and MIDDLES). She finally said, "I am right and EVERYBODY ELSE is WRONG." Laughing, I told her she was just like her daddy. She said, "Nope, I am just like my Papaw." She's right... both of them are notoriously always right.

Tonight we rode bikes at one of the parks close by, and we had a picnic for supper while we were out on the trail. It was great fun! Sadie rode her own bike and pumped her little legs just as fast as they would go (although she did have to get off and push a couple of times). Josie rode in the trailer with me, watching the sun set and looking for flowers. Adelaide was all googly-eyed, watching the world zoom by... loving it and laughing from her perch on Jesse's chest. It was a great family night. On the way home, Josie the chatterbox rehashed everything she had seen that night (and some things she HADN'T): "I saw trees, and flowers, and birds, and the sun, and the moon, and the sky, and rocks, and a squirrel, and dirt and woods and a pineapple...." A pineapple? I think she was just testing me to see if I was listening.

Hey, Ladies First!

We started preschool again last week, and the girls had a good time... they seem to have settled right in (Josie is doing really well with concentrating this year) and they are ready to learn! Yesterday we learned bike safety, and they were so cute zooming around the parking lot "obstacle course" with their little pink and purple helmets on. Earlier, all of the kids were playing on the playground and there was some pushing and shoving at the ladder to the slide. Aunt Becky told the boys to be gentlemen and let the ladies go first, so they did. Later on, Josie ran through the boys yelling in her low, gruff voice, "HEY! LADIES FIRST!!!" She reminds me of Imogene in The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever.

Adelaide is intent on sucking her right thumb, whenever she has the good fortune to find it. She's kicking her play gym and her bouncy seat to beat the band, and cracks herself up when she looks in the mirror. She thinks that MOMMY is the funniest person alive, which is great for me, since the other two were total Daddy's Girls when they were this age.

Yesterday in the car Sadie was playing with her Magnadoodle when she piped up from the backseat (she can buckle herself up in her booster now), "Hey, Mommy! Look at this word! I wrote the word SAP!" I looked, and sure enough, she wrote it AND read it. Then she defined it, "Sap comes out of trees and it is sticky and you can make syrup out of it." "Oh, and I also wrote MOP." Well, needless to say, I was impressed. And proud of her!

Jesse bought me a bike for my birthday. Well, actually, he bought himself one too. AND a bike trailer/stroller thing so we can pull the kids along behind us. We took them all out yesterday... I pulled the trailer and Jesse strapped Adelaide to his chest in the Snugli, and we tooled around the neighborhood. It was GREAT. I cannot even express how great riding a bike again is - I think it's been about 10 years since I've been on one! The wind in your hair, the breeze at your back, the good tired feeling when you jump off, the freedom... Sigh. We should've gotten bikes YEARS ago. I'm loving it!

Overheard

"I don't WANT to! Hmmph!" "Deeper than the hollar..." "If I was an Ade-lady-who, I'd toot real loud and say GOO GOO! I wish I was an Ade-lady-who!" "Stop touching me!" "Don't talk to me!" "I love you bigger than the sky!" "Can I hold the baby?" "Have you seen my Snoopy?" "Can you get me some chocolate milk?" "Can I have a snack out of the snack closet?" "God does not ever have to go to sleep." "That is NOT funny!" "I am serious!" "Oh, I love you so much!" "You are my best friend!" "I need you!" "I'm slinking about the mole!" "I stay up longer because I am older." "Goo!" "Mommy! I NEED you!" "You are a booty butt! Hey, I said booty butt!" "I slink so."

Fair Birthday

God may or may not look like a cloud, according to Josie. Sadie is of the opinion that He looks more like a lion. I told them that the Bible says we are made in His image, so I'm pretty sure He looks more like a person. Sadie said that if that's the case, then He at least has HAIR like a lion. We went out to one of those Japanese cook-on-the-table places for my birthday on Wednesday, and while the food was excellent, the best part was watching the chef torment the kids (much to their delight). He kept yelling "FIRE!" and scaring the heck out of Josie (she bravely made a conscious decision to laugh instead of cry) and Sadie thought the egg tossing and knife throwing and "Oh yah, I'm good, Oh yah!" was hilarious... she laughed the entire time. They stayed with Grandma Beth while I went to the spa with my mom on Thursday (Yay Spa! Yay facial! Yay massage!) and they baked me a cake in Sadie's EasyBake Oven. I also got great cards this year... a talking Elvis, a singing Jackson Five, a Woogley Boogley Bee (from Josie), a singing "Over the Rainbow Card" (from Josie), and lots of others. Yesterday we went to the fair with Becky and her kids. We had a good time, but we were pretty much "Faired Out" after 3 hours or so. The kids loved riding the dragon roller-coaster, but poor Teagan got a bee sting on her hand while we were waiting in line. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of all the rabbits (SO cute), the giant turkeys (the kids gobbled at them until one of the turkeys gobbled back and scared them to death!), and the dairy cow demonstration. Then we saw all the miniature horses (our friend from church was showing hers there) and the ducks. By this time, we were all filthy and dusty and hungry (you don't really fill up on cotton candy and kettle corn) and hot so we headed back to the car. On the way home, I dropped Josie off at Grammie's house and Sadie spent the night with Deanna and Lynn for the first time. I was afraid she would be scared and cry to come home, but the opposite happened. She had such a fabulous time (going to Chuck E. Cheese, watching the Bee Movie, snuggling with Deanna, and playing castle/"Mean Guy" with Lynn) that she cried because she HAD to come home.

Goodbye, GoopEye

Today we went to Storytime (the kids were thrilled to learn about dinosaurs and make Pterodactyl bracelets), then to the park (we hiked into the woods and Sadie the Duck Terrorist had a grand old time screeching at the ducks and giving them little duck heart attacks), then home for a picnic. It was a fun day.

Thankfully, the GoopEye has made a retreat from Adelaide's right eye... FINALLY. I hope it's gone forever! Everyone kept asking me if it was pink eye, or conjunctivitis, or another yucky eye disease, and I had to keep explaining over and over that it was only a blocked tear duct. I'm hoping we've seen the last of it.
Today when I was tickling her under her arms, she started making an unfamiliar noise - I thought she was coughing at first, but then she kept doing it with this big smile on her face and I realized SHE WAS LAUGHING! That made my day.

Jesse is teaching Josie to ride her bike... Her little feet barely reach the pedals so she's having a hard time pushing hard enough to gain any momentum. To remedy this situation, Jesse tied our dog leash to her handlebars and has been pulling her around on the driveway as she pedals and steers. Sadie thinks it's hilarious and rides all around them like a buzzing bee, flitting here and there and showing off how well she can already handle HER bike. It's an odd thing to see your husband leading a bike with a leash.

Woof

Today the girls were pretending to be dogs. Sadie said she was a Collie Dog. Josie said she was a Chili Dog.

Adelaide-y Who?

Adelaide is SO sweet and beautiful, I just want to squish her. I know that sounds weird, but you know how you get that primal urge sometimes to just SQUEEZE something? That's how I feel when I look at her chubby little cheeks, thighs, arms, well... just about any part of her. When she's nursing and looking up at me with her big blue eyes, it just makes me want to melt. Especially when she smiles WHILE she's nursing. Her smile lights up her eyes, and she's so cute that I can't even stand it. I can't really explain it, but I'm guessing that if you're a mother, you know what I mean!

Wanna Hear It? Here it Goes!

Josie is a songwriter...at least while she's in the car. This is her new thing: "Hey, Mommy. I see a green light. I know a song about a green light. Wanna hear it?" "Hey, Mommy. I see a tree. I know a song about a tree. Wanna hear it?" "Hey, Mommy. I see a con-vert-ible. I know a song about a con-vert-ible. Wanna hear it?" You get the idea. The songs are actually pretty interesting, and they usually go something like this: "Oh, green light! You are green! And you are tall! And where is your mommy green light and your daddy green light and you are the baby green light! La la la!"

I Taught her That

My cousin Taylor came home with us this trip (she's flying back down on Thursday) and the kids have had a hey-day with her. She's been so fabulous... I mean, I wish I had a 14 year old all the time! The girls are loving it. Today, they painted birdhouses together and played in the pool just about all day, then they went for ice cream tonight. I don't know what I'm going to do when she leaves - I'm spoiled!

We all went to the zoo on Saturday, and we met Deanna and Lydia. After a bit of an altercation at the Wendy's drive-thru (don't ask), we had a high old time visiting the sea lions, monkeys, tigers, and bears. When we went into the rain forest, which is dark, Josie immediately yelled, "HEY! Where's Deanna!?" This wouldn't have been funny aside from the fact that Deanna was pulling the wagon that Josie was sitting in. Deanna laughed and told Josie that she couldn't see her in the dark.

On Sunday at church, Taylor went into class with the girls, which they loved, and then we all sat together during the worship service. For one of the first times I can remember since I was a kid, I almost laughed OUT LOUD during the service. Sadie moved up to sit in the pew in front of me between Grandma and Jenny. She had Snoopy, and was (of course) sucking her thumb. I poked her and whispered, "No thumb!" She popped it out of her mouth, then leaned forward s-l-o-w-l-y. This head-bent stance is the one she takes when she is sucking her thumb, and she must've known I would think that's what she was doing, because suddenly I see two "thumbs ups" sticking up on top of her head. I cracked up!

Yesterday we went to Teagan's birthday party, and the girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They love Teagan, they love parties, and they love Darryl and Lydia's house (where the party was). Unfortunately, sweet and fun-loving Josie has a dark side. She and Teagan had a bit of a, shall we say, "run-in" over a pair of brown crocs...Josie was bound and determined that they were hers (they weren't) even though she wore her purple and pink ones. Needless to say, there was much screaming and kicking and a general melee ensued. I don't know what I'm going to do with her. She's like Dr.Jekyll sometimes...I can only imagine how things are going to be when she gets older and has PMS! Yikes!

We went for a walk this afternoon and bought green beans from our neighbor's garden, then came home and broke/strung them. Taylor and I did the stringing, and Sadie and Josie broke. It was so much fun! I love stringing beans. The girls made up a bean song that goes, "Beans, beans, BEANS! BEANS, beans, beans." Catchy, isn't it? :) I also bought Adelaide a new play gym today, since the one Sadie and Josie used has kicked the bucket. When we put her on it (the girls both had to help assemble it, because they "are like Papaw," they informed me), Adelaide just gooed and kicked and smiled all over the place. She whacked one of the toys with her little fist a couple of times, but I'm not sure it was intentional, since she isn't totally aware of those things growing off the ends of her arms yet. Anyway, she was excited, and she started sticking her little tongue in and out, in and out. Sadie said, "Hey, do you see that? I taught her that."

Holy Mole-y!

Sadie and Josie have the terrible habit of leaving the door into the garage standing open. Therefore, a MOLE got into our house. I was the unfortunate soul who spied said Mole down the hallway, running into Adelaide's room WHILE SHE WAS SLEEPING IN THERE. What to do, besides yelp, scream, and jump up and down?? Horror! I finally sucked it up and ran in, grabbed her, and high-tailed it out of there. Sadly, the girls had heard my screams and lived in mortal fear for the past 4 days until we caught said Mole on a glue-trap in the middle of the night. They were inconsolable; they were convinced that said Mole would attack in the middle of the night, and they refused to do anything alone. The buddy system is alive and well at our house. Josie was in Time Out on the stairs into the living room when I heard a shriek and screams of total panic. I thought the mole was attacking her, or at the least, that she had seen it lurking by the basement door. Instead, she yells hysterically, "I-HEAR-A-NOISE-I-THINK-IT's-THE-MOLE-IT-IS-GOING-TO-GET-ME!!!!" Thank goodness Jesse got rid of the varmint early this morning, and life can go back to... well, ... as normal as it was before!

Can't You Just Feel the Moonshine (part 3)

Sheesh! This trip was LONG! I'm tired of writing about it! On Wednesday, we went to Heather's and had chicken nuggets and some kind of yummy veggie pizza, along with popsicles that they girls spread all over the house. Sadie got dressed to the 9's in Sidney's (yes, Josie, SID-NEY, not SIN-DEY) dress up clothes. We found out that Sidney has the same purse-stuffing propensity as Sadie. Poor Sidney, who has 2 older brothers and never gets to play with girls, kept saying, "Don't go! Don't go!" anytime I stood up or left the room. Josie had an accident, probably from guzzling all of Heather's juice boxes, and snuck in to ask Heather for a Pull-up. She said, "It's a secret! But that's okay if we don't tell Mommy. Where are the Pull-ups?" Of course, Heather told me, and then Josie came in, gave Heather one of her infamous squinty-eyed mean looks, and said, "Hey! That was a SECRET!!!" The kids all wrestled around and played outside, where they hid from us in the back of the van and found a GIANT butterfly. They had a blast. When we left, Sidney asked if she could smell our car - that was funny! I think maybe she liked the smell of baby Adelaide or something.



Then we went straight to pick up Papaw and Mamaw and ride up the mountain for a picnic - which was promptly rained out. So, we ended up at Shatley Springs and ate fried chicken, greens, biscuits, preserves, and sweet tea. Sigh. It makes me hungry just typing it! Then we fed leftover cornbread to the fish and ducks, and Josie found a caterpillar which Sadie dubbed "Greenie" and we sat there telling stories - Papaw told the famous Junebug & Chicken story - and just goofing off by the pond for over an hour. Sadie told Mamaw that she had "beautiful voice when you tell stories," trying to bribe her to keep going (Mamaw has LOTS of stories). In the car on the way home, Papaw read the Potty book (much to his dismay)!

On Thursday, we had a pool day with Aunt Sharon and Angela. Then the girls had a big old time beating up Papaw outside. At supper, he told her to leave that dirty old dog (meaning Snoopy) alone, to which she replied, "Papaw, it is NOT playtime, it is EATING time." He cracked up, since these were the same words he said to her the night before. Josie discovered a love for matchbox cars and Mamaw gave her some to take home. Adelaide smiled and gooed at Mamaw and Papaw all through our hamburger supper. When I left to go get diapers at the store, I said I'd be gone about 15 minutes. Sadie piped up, Or more like 40 minutes!" Does she know me, or what? Josie got mad because we had to go home to go to bed and she said, "I'm not going to say ANYSLING!!!" Sadie walked over to Great Aunt Nettie's house with me in the dark, which was a big deal for her. She said it was her first time walking around outside when everyone else was in bed.

Last but not least, on Friday, Adelaide ROLLED OVER! From front to back! 3 times! Sadie and Josie high-fived each other, then Adelaide. They were all proud of her accomplishment! :) Then the girls had a curler party with Grandma's curlers, Marie brought them fancy flip-flops, and we had Josie's 2nd birthday party outside, which turned out to be a lot of fun. It was very low-key and laid back, and lots of people showed up to play outside and just hang around and talk and eat watermelon and popsicles. Josie got a lot of loot, too!

Can't You See the Sunshine... (part 2)

Sunday, we went to church at White Oak after a breakfast of sausage biscuits. The girls both enjoyed saying "uh-huh-huh-huh-uh-huh-huh" on the dirt road (I think that's the first time our van -just bought from Beck & James) has ever been on a dirt road)The girls insisted on seeing Great Grandpa Ralph's grave, so we walked up to the graveyard and they were very interested in knowing whose grave was whose, why they died, etc. Josie said, "This is Great Grandpa Ralph? But I love him so much and I never get to see him!" They had fun playing with their cousins Meghan and Lauren, and visiting with Great Aunt Odessa. Great Grandma pointed out the big rock that rolls over when it hears a rooster crow, and then we picked up Chinese food for lunch. Later we wrapped up Papaw's birthday present (a tub full of bubble gum) and Sadie wrote Papaw on the top. At his party, Josie got so tired that she got out of the tub, stripped off her swimsuit, and took a naked nap on the side of the pool. Later we had airplane races on the driveway with Angela, Lauren, and Papaw. The next day they slept in (thank goodness) until 10am, then played the "Ant Killing Car Wash" (don't ask) on the patio. Hailey came over to play and they had a big time bouncing a ball in a sheet, eating pinto beans, calling each other "Bootie Butt," and going on a Snoopy hunt with a giant flashlight. Adelaide was smiling up a storm and cooing at Great Grandma, much to her delight! Later we had "Girls' Night" with my friends and all the kids came tromping through the living room like the Lost Boys - Zorro, Darth Vader, some kind of sword-wielding pirate, etc. and they all followed Stephen and Scotty outside like the Pied Piper. Stephen tried to help Josie get her shoes on the RIGHT feet for once, but I heard her yelling at him, "But I LIKE THEM THIS WAY!!!" When we got home, Josie tried to feed all of those pesky nocturnal birds at 10pm, and Sadie cried because she saw a picture of her and Grammie and she started feeling all nostalgic.

On Tuesday, the girls stayed with Brenda and Kimmie, Noah, and Dalton while I went to lunch with Chass and Becky. They had a fabulous time there, then had a watergun fight with my Daddy. We ate at the "Ham House," which Josie decided was "Sam's House." Sadie ate tons of jelly off her knife there... what kind of mother does she have?! Back at Grandma's, Josie spilled powder all over the bathroom floor, and so she and Sadie took it upon themselves to wash the floors in the bathroom with water and washcloths. Grandma thought that was so funny...seeing two little kids mopping the floors on their hands and knees! Now if only I could get them to do that at home!

In My Mind I'm Gone to Carolina... (part 1)

After a LONG trip (10 hours, to be exact), we made it to my Grandma's house at 2am. We stopped 3 times so I could nurse Adelaide; apparently stopping that much adds on 2 hours to my traveling time... usually we get there in 8. On Thursday, we played with Cameron and Caleb. Alas, Cameron is finally too big for the Pack-n-Play, so there could be no pinto bean party this trip. He made himself useful by lifting the 3 smaller kids in and out of the Pack-n-Play and moaning and groaning about it. :) Adelaide had her big southern debut, meeting Great Grandma, Thomas, Elizabeth, Josh, Papaw, Mamaw, and Dillon (Mamaw's grandson). Sadie and Josie also "re-met" him, and Sadie was not impressed. It takes a while for her to warm up to some people, and he was being a typical boy (he also was trying to be "the boss," as she put it, and she did NOT go for that at all!). He asked her to be his girlfriend, and she just looked at him like he was crazy, then she said, "No, I do not." Josie said, "I will! For 2 weeks!" Then we all swam in the pool; Josie was a hit in her "Superman" floatie suit. Sadie got mad at Papaw because he squirted her in the face with a watergun and she flat out refused to believe that it was an accident. Was she TICKED!!! She finally got over it and decided that squirting HIM in the face was payback enough... and also a good time. That night after I got all the kids in bed, Daddy picked me up from Grandma's house and we had a Father/Daughter date, which was fabulous... I think it's probably been at least 8 years since we've been able to go out by ourselves and just sit there and talk. I loved it!

On Friday, Grandma showed the girls her "Moonbloom" flowers, which were right up Sadie's alley. Anything having to do with the moon or stars are her favorite things at the moment. Then we went up to Angela's house to play and swim (the girls are so brave when she's around...seems like they trust her in the water more than they trust me...?) Josie pigged out on fresh peaches, then we went back and fed the birds with Great Grandma. We had supper with Papaw at the Japanese place, then walked at the park and played on the playground. Papaw thought it was funny when he was pushing Josie on the swing and she counted all the way up to "Eleventeen!" Sadie enjoyed watching the tennis players, and they both pretty much got disgustingly filthy in the gravel/ashes on the walking trails and in the playground. When we got back home and I put them in the bathtub, they streamed dirt all over the place. Yuck! After they went to bed Mama, Nettie, and I played cards with Sharon... I forgot how much fun it is to play Rummy!

On Saturday, the girls got their wish and finally got to go play with Kimmie, Noah, and Dalton at Louis and Brenda's house. I'm telling you, they play the "I'm Noah. You're Kimmie! Mommy is Dalton!" game all the time. It's so funny... anytime they're fighting about something, Jesse will say, "I'm Noah!" and it totally distracts them so they forget what they were fighting about. Anyway (I'm distracted myself, now!) we went over there and played in the pool and goofed around for half the day. Brenda was having a yard sale, which Josie was thrilled to see (she loves yard sales) and she also has a huge stash of UNMONITORED juice boxes in the fridge on the screened in porch. What better place could there possibly be? Louis gave me a deal on a picnic table that he built, and Don offered to drive it home on the back of his truck for me. It's sitting out on my deck now, waiting to be stained! We went home for naps then over to Thomas and Elizabeth's house for the Sunday School pool party (do you notice a pool theme yet?). The girls have no fear now that they have had a)swimming lessons - Sadie and b) the Supersuit - Josie. They jumped right in! Sadie hurt her butt when she jumped so she gave it up and played with her cousin Taylor OUTSIDE of the pool. Then we all rode the golf cart with Josh, and somehow Josie got her feet stained all bloody red. It was the weirdest thing... we figured she must've stomped some Koolaid somewhere along the way. We finally got to meet Bayleigh, Natasha and Britt's baby who is 2 weeks older than Adelaide. She is so cute! She looks like a little Kewpie doll. The only thing cuter than the two of those babies is the two of them TOGETHER!
That night, Sadie said, "Hey. I want my Daddy." I asked if they wanted to call him and talk to him, but Josie said, "NO! I want to SEE HIS FACE."

And a One-a and a Two-a and a Three-a

Okay, after causing much confusion to my devoted readers, I must clarify and say that these are NOT the same baby. There are three different girls here!

Yakity Yak

Monday was Josie's actual birthday. Here we have the rundown of what happened:
She fell down, skinned her left knee. Fell down again, skinned her right knee. She was minding her own business next to the stairs and got stung by a bee on her hand. (When she was crying and showing me her swollen little hand, I asked her if she knew what happened to bees after they sting you. She snubbed, "N-n-no." I said, "They die!" She perked right up and laughed an evil laugh... "Heh-heh-heh-heh!" To top off the day, at supper, she fell down the stairs. When Jesse tried to stop her rapid descent with his foot (which was the closest part of him to her) he kicked her in the face. Sheesh. I am hoping that this does not foretell what the rest of her third year will be like.

Adelaide has a funny, funny cry. She says, "Gi! Gi! Gi!" (this rhymes with knee); she also says, "Weh. Weh. Weh." Just like you'd say it if you were pretending to be a crying baby. She also always has to be doing something with her left arm: raising it above her head, waving it around, making punching motions with it (she already tried to pop Jesse in the face), holding it over her ear, and sucking on her fist. I think it must've been her favorite when she was in the womb... she can't get enough of it. She spoke her first word with some vehemence, then looked mighty proud of herself. The word? "Yak." Fitting, considering that's what her two sisters do all day long. Yak, yak, yak.

Sadie thoroughly enjoyed herself at Bible School... she made some new friends, showed off her new swimming skills, rode the golf cart, ate popsicles to her heart's content, and was allowed to indulge herself in her favorite pastime (which I cannot stand!). No, it's not picking her nose, or doing anything really bad or yucky... It's... it's... Argh. I can't even stand it. It's collecting millions of little bitty things and putting them all together in one place. Doesn't matter what it is! Beads, silk flowers, jewelry, blocks, fake diamonds, a comb, a tea strainer, a golf ball... the list goes on and on. No matter what she has, if you can put something INTO it, she has a compulsion to FILL IT UP. MUST NOT STOP UNTIL IT IS FILLED UP. Me, being the obsessive sorting out type, finds this behavior to be like nails on a blackboard! I know it's probably just a phase and maybe I'll miss it when she grows out of it, but let me tell you: It is HARD for me to sit by and watch it happen without snatching her purse (bucket, pillowcase, cup, hat, shoe, whatever) and sorting it back out!

The girls made us so proud at the Children's "Sounds of the Kingdom" program... they actually got up on stage and sang "In the Highways, In the Hedges." Even though they wouldn't let me move off the stage and I had to sing with them, they still did it! Josie grabbed the microphone and hogged it the whole time, and Sadie fidgeted quite a bit, but THEY DID IT! In front of 200 people! That's my girl(s)!

Jumpy Party

After much anticipation, Josie's "JUMPY PARTY at the JUMPY PLACE!" was a resounding success. She wore her birthday girl shirt and tiara ALL day long, even to the grocery store to pick up the cake. Then, great happiness of happinesses, they got to skip naps! Then, off to the jumpy place we went to meet all kinds of friends and practically the entire Ohio family (the NC family has another party scheduled for the week we are down there). There was stuffed-animal making (Josie got a giraffe, Sadie got a pink poodle), sliding, jumping, and bouncing around to their hearts' content, then there was pizza, cake, ice cream, and fabulous presents - opened from the birthday girl chair. I can't believe she's already three! I told her, "Now you are 3 whole years old!" She said, "Now I am old... like Grammie!"

Sharks and Middles

Sadie finished her swimming lessons last week... she knows how to float on her back now, and she can put her whole head under water. Josie is trying as hard as she can to keep up, so hopefully they'll both be swimmers in the next year or so. She was so proud when she finished playing "Sharks and Minnows" (she thought it was Sharks and Middles) and got her certificate of completion and her popsicle!

We went over to Grandpa and Grandma's the other night and stayed very late... until the lightning bugs came out. The girls had a blast TRYING to catch them and since Grandma was housing some teenagers from church camp, they had some help. They thought it was so cool to have glowing bugs in their hands and in their jars! It was such a nice summer night... they had on their pj's and were catching lightning bugs with no shoes on! What says summer better than that?