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12 December 2013

Lily isms 11

Uncle Matt and Aunt Erin gave Emma a little play set of the 3 Little Piggies, complete with 3 pigs, 3 house a Big Bad Wolf and a copy of the story. Lily currently enjoys the story more than Emma, and refers to the Wolf as "the Big Bad Ruff!"

When the girls wake up before Jesse leaves for work, he comes in and tickles them or just talks to them while I'm getting them up and diapers changed, etc. This morning, he left earlier so the girls were still in bed. When Lily woke up, she went into our room to find Jesse. She came back with the most distraught look on her face:
Lily: where's Daddy? He isn't still in bed!
Me: he had to go to work this morning, Lily. He's already gone.
Lily: but we didn't help him get ready! We didn't make his coffee!
She was a bit calmer after I assured her I had made him coffee.

Emma was eating a Pop Tart.
Lily: Momma! I would like a Pop Tart!
Emma: *I have no idea what she actually said*
Lily: Momma!! Emma said I was too little to have a Pop Tart! She doesn't know that I'm bigger!

Pretending to eat an ice cream cone:
"Would you like a bite of my ice cream? I got it in town."
^^someome understands the excitement of "going to town."

Trying to hurry out the door this morning, I plopped Lily in the closest chair so I could fasten her shoes. It happened to be Emma's chair.
Lily: Momma, no! This isn't my chair, I don't want to sit in Emma's chair, I want to sit on the bench!
Me: it's ok, Lily, I'm just getting your shoes on.
Lily: but Momma! It's dirty!

Lily and Emma were playing with my dress shoes:
Lily: come on, Emma! We have to go to church! Bye, Momma! *walks out of the room*
Lily: we're back!
Me: did you learn lots?
Lily: yes, we sang and then went downstairs to play.

"Momma! I stepped in slobber! *starts crying* AND IT WAS ZEKE'S!!!!!"
I was personally glad that's whose slobber it was..

Me: do you think you want a little brother or a little sister?
Lily: a little...SILLY!
Me: well, with you as a big sister, I think that's absolutely going to happen.

Lily was watching a video on my tablet, and Emma climbed up next to her to try and put a snow hat on Lily's head. Absolutely serious, and without looking up, Lily said:
"Not thanks, Emma, it's not snowing outside."

Looking at pictures of when Lily was 8 months old:
"Oh, when I was a little baby, I couldn't talk yet.
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10 December 2013

[untitled rambles]

I don't really feel that I have a ton to post about today, but I did want to share some pictures.

The girls are doing well and I think leaving the Christmas tree alone for the most part.  Every morning, Lily comes out to the living room and if I've forgotten to plug the tree in, tells me that she is going to "wake up the Christmas tree" and goes to plug it in for me.  And at night, she has told me a few times that it's time for the tree to put it's jams on so it can go to bed, too, and goes to unplug it.  I love that in her mind, night time means sleep and sleep means everyone and everything needs to put jams on.  The sun and the Christmas tree needing pajamas have been my favorite so far. 
Emma is so easily excited that she just smiles and does a little dance when she sees the tree lit up, but she still doesn't grasp it, which is fine with me.  Lily knows that presents are coming sometime, and I think is trying to sort out what actually is going to happen, because we regularly have had discussions about her birthday and if it's time for presents yet.  Again, Emma just smiles and nods and gets excited when Lily does.

I do want to brag on my girls for a minute.  A month or so ago, Jesse and I were discussing what to get them for Christmas and deciding for Lily was no problem.  Emma, on the other hand, is just beginning to be very expressive about her likes and dislikes, but for the most part, we don't want to buy her what she loves the most.  Not that we don't want cows, ducks and other farm animals in our house, but we don't.  And getting her stuffed animals wasn't appealing.  So while we were at WalMart one day, I decided to go peruse the toy aisles for ideas for an 18 month old.  Their eyes got really big when they saw all the toys and started recognizing characters from shows or toys they already have that seem familiar.  Emma was standing in the cart, jumping around and pointing, and Lily kept asking what everything was.  She would point so excitedly to something she saw and recognized and would calmly ask, "oh, Momma, can we buy that?"  And after I answered, "no," that was that and we kept walking.  We were probably in the toy aisles for 15 minutes, just taking our time, strolling up and down and not once did I have to deal with a begging child, a tantrum or any tears of any sort.  I was so pleased that a) I didn't have to deal with begging, b) they both accepted my "no" without question, c) I didn't have to ashamedly tell Jesse I bought the girls toys because they "had to have it."  I felt the girls and I should both get gold stars that day.  I absolutely expect melt downs at the store in the future, but I'm glad it wasn't that day!  This is the kind of behavior Jesse and I are trying to encourage.  ...I'm sure I will look back on this one day and say "HAH if only they were 1.5 and 3 again and it was still so easy!"  But I am proud of my girls and am writing it down FOR that day in the future.  Take heart, future self.    
With that being said, I do feel I should mention that I have about sworn off shopping by myself until after this baby comes.  I reached this point when Lily was about this age and I was pregnant with Emma: I just don't have the energy to chase a child through the store!  Emma is getting to the wiggly age and just wants to be down walking/running through the aisles with Lily.  I did let her walk at one store the other day and she did great, but it was a small store and not crowded.  The look of pride on her face when I'd let her pick up groceries and throw them in the cart was priceless, because you could tell she felt like such a big girl by doing what Lily was doing.  It was totally worth the extra effort to walk faster to keep up and being that extra million percent on edge and paying attention that you have to be as a parent.
did I post this one already?  first sight of the tree lit up.

decorating with Daddy


carrying on tradition: cookies and egg nog (homemade this time!) while decorating
surveying the progress

of course we needed to bake more cookies!
Emma's face
and still more cookies!
Lily was thrilled to help me make "shape cookies"
And then this morning, we had all sorts of more fun.  With the colder/freezing temperatures, we have to be more conscious of our chickens water situation and replace their waterer daily.  Typically, I wait until at least Emma is napping so Lily and I can go down together, or wait until they're both occupied during a nap and Quiet Room Time.  Since it snowed last night though, we decided to all go and play in the snow on the way back.  As any parent will remember, and most kids will remember, it took way longer to bundle up for the temperatures than we actually spent outside.  After we checked out ladies and lone rooster, we kicked snow around in the yard for a few minutes before going inside.  Lily and Emma both attempted snow angels, and while they didn't quite grasp the concept, they had fun rolling around in the snow.

Once we warmed up, we started our painting projects.  Yesterday, we made handprint "ornaments," and we painted them this morning.  I use the term "ornament" loosely, as I'm not sure we'll actually hang it on the tree...but I've wanted to keep record of handprint growth over the years, so we needed something for this year.  Painting should also be considered loosely from Emma's side, but that's ok.  We moved onto finger painting, play dough and lunch afterwards, and now little girls are napping and having some QRT.  Which means I get a few minutes to blog, clean and if I'm fast, have a second cup of coffee!




Emma's nose had an itch, I think. and what better scratching device than a blue paintbrush?
keeping things neat. typical first born? she's "finger painting" with a paint brush.
 Pregnancy wise, we're getting there.  Obviously.  There's no denying it at this point.  I have my maternity jeans out and in circulation but I do also have 2 pairs of my regular jeans I can still button, so I wear those, too, to make myself feel good.  I don't feel "little" by any stretch of the imagination, so thank you to all my wonderful friends and family who try and optimistically encourage me that I am.  You're all precious.  I'm 32 weeks, which translates to 7 months and 1 week ish.
terrible picture.  I'll try for a better one.
this is with Emma, exactly 2 months before I had her (so also 7 months).
Guys.  I'm gonna be huge again.
But that's it for now!

Except to save on time and forgetting to send it out, here is the recipe I used for the dough handprints:
Dough Handprints
1/2 c salt
1/2 c flour
1/4 c (give or take) water
Stir to combine ingredients, then knead until dough is formed.  Pat into disc and press child's hand into the center.  Trim away excess dough with a knife and poke a hole for a hanger.  Bake at 200F for 3 hours.  Paint, seal and hang!
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06 December 2013

Lily isms 10

As we were driving, I hit a bump in the road.
"What was that? Did you hit a tea pot hole?"

Jesse was working on something at the table.
Jesse: Lily, I wish you weren't sitting right there.
Lily: it's ok, Daddy, I'm just being silly.

Jesse was asking Lily if she loved him. After answering no, and going through a list of people she did love, he finally said,
"Do you love me?"
Lily: yes. And my bike.

Getting dressed one morning:
Me: what shirt do you want?
Lily: this one!
Me: the turtleneck?
Lily: yes. Is there a turtle in it?

Stall tactics are amassing. Lily didn't want Jesse to read the book, she wanted me to and was trying to get rid of Daddy.
Lily: Daddy, you stink!
Jesse: I stink? Well, I'll shower later.
Lily: no! Daddy, you stink! Go shower now!!

As she watched me separate egg yolks from whites:
"Is that a big booger?"

Watching Tom and Jerry:
"Oh, I love this. I love my Tom and Jerry show."

Driving to the store, we pass several fast food places:
"Why are yoy driving past all the lunches?!"

Discussing Emma napping and Lily having Quiet Room Time:
"Yes, I will have Quiet Room Time. Lily is 3 and will have Quiet Room Time."

"MOMMA!!!! I COULD USE SOME HELP HERE!"

My mom gave Lily a little kids songs CD, and one of the songs tells the kids to grab hold of their tongue for one part.
"Momma! My tongue won't hold still!"
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02 December 2013

Thanksgiving week recap

Hello again, and happy week after Thanksgiving!  We are now apparently into December, and I'm realizing more and more how far behind on things I am.  Not too many things in particular, just stuff I had organized in the back of my head as "by the end of the year."  Guess what: it's almost the end of the year (WHAT?!) and most of the things aren't done.  Oh well.  Life will go on and there's always next year!

This past week just seems like a happy, busy blur in hindsight, full of laughing, family and far too few naps.  Little projects here and there tried to get started and finished, Jesse went deer hunting and was a champ, we had Thanksgiving, family visitors...busy busy busy!

First things first, I'm going to brag on Jesse.  He continues to set the bar high for whenever I actually get a deer.  WV has two weeks worth of gun season for deer hunting, so he went out several times last week.  He didn't see anything Monday, but that was enough to get him fired up and ready to go the rest of the week.  Monday evening he said, "I have a good feeling about seeing a deer tomorrow." ...that guy.  Tuesday morning, I was getting ready for work, making breakfasts and such and heard a gun shot.  I did a little happy dance for him, because he's a great aim and if he shot, he got a deer.  Then about two minutes later, I heard another shot and stopped what I was doing and thought, "there's no way he missed or needed a second shot to bring a deer down..." so I waited until I heard him come back inside about 5 minutes later.  Turns out, he got two deer!  After an hours worth of hunting.  That just seems to be the way to hunt: no freezing your rear off for hours on end.  Anyway, I guess he got the first deer, started to climb down from the blind and saw another deer staring at him, so he got her, too.  It was a good day.

Thursday, we woke up early and headed off to the Pagano side Thanksgiving feast at my aunt and uncle's B&B in Ohio for a day of fun.  Considering the fact that Emma typically has been taking two naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, about 3.5-4 hours total, and we left so early, we assumed she'd doze off and nap for a bit on the 3.5 hour drive.  Not so much.  She happily played and chatted with Lily until we were about 2 minutes from our destination and finally conked out.  And that was the extent of her napping.  We had a great time visiting with family, and as always, it was over too fast and I felt like I'd barely gotten to talk to anybody!  The girls and I played in the snow while some other family members did a geo cache excursion, and Emma thought that was the greatest thing ever.  I have no idea what the ratio of real food to sugar was that Lily consumed, but she had a great time and went from aunts and uncles to great aunts and great uncles and I'm pretty sure she just got whatever she asked for.  By the time we left, the girls were exhausted and I'd eaten way too many sweets for the year.  We left about 5:45 and the girls were out within minutes of being in the car and slept the entire way home and then through the night.  Success. 

Friday was a cleaning and deer processing day.  Nothing too thrilling to note that I remember, but our freezer is now happily full.  

Saturday, Jesse's folks, Matt, Erin and Koleen all came to visit for the afternoon.  But first thing in the morning, Jesse took me out deer hunting for the first time!  We didn't see anything, which was a bummer, but that's ok because I didn't freeze OR fall asleep.  
I know you're jealous of my hat. 
When family arrived, we had such a good time relaxing and watching the girls play together.  Lily had a hard time remembering that Kole wasn't a baby, therefore didn't really want to be held and cuddled, but they all seemed to have a great time.  Erin and I had the brilliant idea that we'd let the girls decorate some sugar cookies, and while that was all kinds of hilarious fun, I think more icing and sprinkles just went straight to mouths than ever ended up on the cookies.  Which was fine as far as I was concerned.  They made a glorious mess and had a great time, so mission accomplished.  







Kole decided to forget the cookie..
and went straight for the sprinkles.  smart kid.

hold up your cookie, Lily!



xoxo
The girls and I were so tired from all of last week's adventures that we just relaxed yesterday and tried to get a few little things cleaned up and ready for this week.  Jesse and I got to go on our first date in who knows how long and braved the crazy world to go Christmas shopping for the girls.  We also picked out a Christmas tree, which we will be decorating tonight.  He and I got it set up and wrapped in lights last night so the girls could see it and be excited by it first thing this morning, and they were thrilled.  Lily had a small meltdown when I finally had to move all the boxes of ornaments and decorations away so she would stay out of them, but the anticipation of working on this when Daddy gets home from work is very real right now!



Anyway, that's all I can think of to report on, I'm sure I had more, but that's ok.  I'll hopefully be back soon!  Check out the (sparse) pictures I posted on my other blog and threw together!

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20 November 2013

Lily isms 9

Lily: Momma! Count!
Me: ok, why am I counting?
Lily: because I'm going to hide in the kitchen!
Me: *counts to 10* ready?
Lily: yes! Come find me, I'm hiding in the kitchen!!

Lily was helping me move laundry from the washer to the dryer:
Me: Lily, can you pick up the clothes we dropped on the floor?
Lily: no, I'm busy getting all these pajamas.

As she steals chips off my plate:
"Momma, I'm just sharing your chips."

A baby was crying at work.
"(Baby)! We don't want to listen to your bad attitude!"

"Oh, Momma. Playing at the Coleman's sure made me hungry."

Lily's stomach is growling:
"Oh, that's just my baby moving around."

She dropped an animal cracker on the floor. After staring at it, trying to decide what to do, she goes with,
"Don't worry about it, Momma." and walked away.

Both girls like climbing up on the back of the couch so they can see themselves in the mirror. Today, I told Lily to stay off and she asked why.
Me: I don't want you to break the couch. We can't buy a new one right now so this one has to last awhile.
Lily: but I have money in my purse in my room! We can buy a new couch with my money.
Side note, I have the best little girl ever.

Looking at pictures on my phone:
Lily: is this you Momma?
Me: does it look like me?
Lily: yes, see your funny face? That's you.
No, I was not making a funny face, just smiling.
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13 November 2013

the best laid plans...

Every time I post, I think that THIS time, I'll be back before long with another thrilling (hah) update.  And then it's who knows how long before I do...and pictures.  The pictures on my computer are a huge and scary task that is overwhelming right now.  I think about how behind I am on organizing them and I want cry.  *sigh*  But unfortunately for you all, I tend to write most when inspiration strikes and I have time.  As a stay at home mom, this combo rarely occurs at the same moment.  I've actually been working on this post for about 2 weeks now.

Anyway, here I am, better late than never I suppose.

Nothing too thrilling has been happening.  Jesse and one of our neighbors built our chickens a fantastic run, which meant that we had somewhere to kick the chickens to while Jesse cleaned out their coop and got it ready for winter.  Speaking of chickens, I realized I never shared a tragic story.  The girls and I went down to take care of them one day and Emma was off wandering around outside the barn while I finished up, but I could see her through the window.  As I tried to rush and finish before she made a break up the hill for the road, I grabbed Lily, shut the coop door and took off.  Without latching it.  Jesse and Richard were fortunately the ones who went down the next day and saw the massacre, as I probably would have burst into tears.  It seems that something scared them in the night out of their coop and killed 4 of them.  We're blaming raccoon, but I'm skeptical.  It wasn't a coyote or hawk or anything predatory like that, as the chickens were still there, just dead, and raccoons apparently kill for fun, the nasty things.  We have had a live trap down there ever since and not caught anything, so who knows.  Regardless, our happy family of 8 chickens is down to 4, 3 of which would have been my suggestions to be knocked off...but the raccoon didn't take my opinion into account.

The other day when inspiration struck and I was feeling extra emotional about how fast the girls are growing, I wrote this: Today, I'm thankful for the moments I let myself stop the work and have fun with my girls.  It's hard sometimes to seize the moment as a mom and just stop in the middle of a task or take a break half way through the dishes for a tea party or a story.  But today, I'm supremely thankful I did when two incredibly giggly girls came running into the kitchen and Lily yelled "come tickle us, Momma!" before running off, Emma trying to keep up.  Jesse can attest to the fact most times, I say, "I'm almost done, I'll be there in a few minutes."  But tonight, I was able to let it go and go tickle my girls and listen to them giggle.  I'm also so thankful I can be a stay at home mom.  I saw online this past week something about how being a parent is more like flipping the paddles on a pinball machine and hoping for the best, as your child is more influenced by media, the times and their friends.  While I guess I understand to some extent, I don't agree.  I'm a stay at home mom.  Why can't I be the major influence on my kids?  And yet another perk of the fact we will be homeschooling the girls, and have been planning that since years before we had Lily.  Jesse and I can and do take a very active role in shaping and molding, why would I trust someone else to do that?  Have those parents SEEN what is on TV??  There is a reason we don't have a TV and why everything my girls do watch is carefully monitored.  I was reminded of that tonight and how even at 3, Jesse and I are shaping Lily when she reminded me I needed to change the lightbulb in her Minnie Mouse night light.  When I brought it back, she asked if it worked now and I said yes.  As I plugged it in and she saw that it did work, she quietly but excitedly said,"oh thank you, Momma, for getting a new light for my Minnie light." ...my heart just melted.  Jesse and taught her that, not her friends, not what she's watching on TV, and certainly not the times in which she's being raised.

Pregnancy wise, I'm doing okay.  I'm tired.  But, let's be honest, I'm 28 weeks pregnant and chasing two little girls.  I guess I can understand why some parents spread out their kids a little more than 21 and 20 months apart, but I'm so glad our kids will be close in age.  I caught a nasty cold almost 2 weeks ago and I think I might finally be over it.  I blame sudden weather changes and riding four wheelers in the rain, haha oh the trials.  Anyway, that first week was exhaustion and miserable.  And really, the person that invents a cold medicine for pregnant women would make a killing, especially if it worked!!  As it was, I tried an apple cider vinegar and honey remedy and I feel it helped, but nothing is gonna work like all the medicine I CAN'T take.  This pregnancy has been absolutely different again than the other two, so to all you people who claim and believe the old wives tales about how your pregnancy can predict gender, I call shenanigans!!  While we don't know what we're having, this pregnancy is much more similar to my first with Lily.  I had one innocent lady say she knew her second was a boy because her first was easy (a girl) and her second was polar opposite (and a boy).  I laughed.  That's nice for her.  My first was super easy, second was hard and miserable and guess what: two girls!!!  We'll see what happens this time.  So far, the only difference we're noticing is how sensitive, emotional and hormonal I am.  Poor Jesse.  It's a good thing he's been through two pregnancies with me already and knows it's pregnancy related and I'm really not crazy.  When neither of us knew what to expect with my first pregnancy, and we thought morning sickness was a joke and we couldn't fathom why I was so exhausted and unmotivated (hah!), he may have thought I'd gone off the deep end.

The girls are doing well, busy as ever.  Nothing new to report here, that I can think of: they just continue to make me smile and laugh daily, and I try to remember through the hard times and difficult moments that it will pass.  Lily is an absolutely wonderful little girl who is hilarious, but of course there are times that she is a handful and we struggle.  Last night being an example.  I put dinner on the table, told her to hop up in her chair and as soon as her rear hit the chair, she pushed back her bowl of dinner and yelled, "I DON'T LIKE IT!!!"  Emma sat there inhaling, and there wasn't a single thing in dinner that Lily didn't like, but I'm sure Lily was just being 3 and tired.  I tried to get her to eat a few bites, and really just angered the beast and we proceeded to have a full on melt down at the table about not liking dinner- without even trying it- complete with tears and throwing herself on the floor. We were able to tag team parent and handle the tantrum, but we held our ground and she went to bed without dinner.  Jesse and I are definitely noticing that there has been an increase in meltdowns since she has stopped napping regularly, but I think it's just part of the transition?

Other than occasional tantrums, Lily is the best 3 year old ever.  She still loves to love on Emma, even as Emma becomes more opinionated and demanding of her own things.  I'm trying to encourage Lily to ask politely and kindly if she may play with one of whatever Emma is getting into, vs being bigger and more dexterous and just taking it.  Emma definitely has a strong opinion and while the girls may resemble their dad more than me, this one IS me, I'm sure.  Mom, I'm so sorry.  I'm kidding, but only partially.  Emma is a fully opinionated tornado and I will have my work cut out for me, but she is doing just fine.  She is learning that she's a ham and can make people laugh and will do all kinds of silly antics for friends and family to get them to smile and clap for her.  She isn't thrilled with talking yet still, but she does say "yes" and "no" as well as sign some.  If I'm really lost I ask her to show me and she runs off.  She definitely understands what we are saying the majority of the time.  Side note, babies/toddlers trying to master running is probably my favorite.  I'm not sure if it's universal, but my girls' arms go with the run, so they flap and look like they're trying to take off.

Jesse is doing well.  He's been working on the bunk beds and I'm so excited to see them done!  He says there is still quite a bit of finish work to do, such as sanding and staining, but they're starting to look like beds!!  Of course, he would have had them completely built the weekend he started if the girls and I weren't demanding of his attention and if other projects that need attention take priority.  They're getting there though, and I think he's having fun.

And other than that...I'm tired of working on this post, so you'll get it today as is.  I'll get to pictures maybe during nap time.
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11 November 2013

Lily isms 8

"Don't worry about it, Mommy!"

Heard coming from the bathroom:
"Emma! I need to go potty! Can you please move??"

While investigating my teeth:
"Oh, these teeth are shark and these are sharker."
We apparently need to enunciate "sharp" better.

Driving in the car one morning, Lily was looking for the sun (all said in 3 year old giggles):
"Oh, there it is! It's hiding behind the clouds! And the trees! And houses! How silly, it's hiding behind EVERYTHING!"

"Oh NOOOOOO! ZEKEY SLOBBERED ON ME!!!!!"

Watching Jesse tie his tie one morning:
"Daddy, that's a nice white tie, it matches your shirt!"

"Momma!!! Emma had a bless you on me!!!!!!"
Translation: Emma sneezed on me.

We fought colds a few weeks ago and Lily woke up sounding bad:
"Momma, I have a terrible cough."

After spending the evening with our friends, where Lily helped the 14 year old milk the cows, Jesse and I commented on the way home that she smelled like a cow.
"Oh yes, I helped Paul milk Queenie and Buttercup, that's why I smell like a cow a little bit."
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21 October 2013

Lily isms 7

As she is burying herself in the laundry to "hide":
"Ok, hang tight."

"Momma, you're a goof."

"Oh, that's so nice."

I had Lily feel the baby kick.  For the record, she wants a brother.
Lily: why was the baby moving?
Me: just wiggling! Your little brother or sister is getting ready to come out and wiggle and play with you!
Lily: oh! He'll need a skirt to spin with me and Emma!  But I don't have one for him yet.  I will hold him, all my by self.

Background: Jesse is growing a goatee on a trial basis.
Jesse and Lily were reading a story and Lily reached up and started pinching his facial hair.
Lily: what's this?
Jesse: it's a beard, do you like it?
Lily: no! Take it off!

Lily: why is it dark out?
Me: because it's night and the sun is setting.
Lily: oh, the sun is going to bed?
Me: ...yes.
Lily: oh, is he getting jams on?

Me: Lily, do you want socks so your toes won't be cold?
Lily: no, they can be cold all day long!

Me: come on, time to get dressed.
Lily: no! I want to wear jams all day long!

16 October 2013

where is October going?

Life continues to move on quickly, and we are already halfway through October!  Jesse and I keep discussing things we need and want to get done before winter hits, and if we don't crack down, we may not get them all done!  We are slowly but surely checking some things off our list, but when I look at the calendar, I have a mini, pregnancy a blamed moment of panic.  I'm more than halfway through this pregnancy and haven't done even a tiny bit to prepare.  Fortunately for me, I'm laid back and don't care.  Yet.  Keep reading and I'm sure in a month or two, I'll be singing a different song.

The first weekend in October was a busy one.  Jesse got moving on our chicken run on Saturday with Patrick, and both got doused in poison ivy.  The only reason I mention this is because a) I'm not sure I've ever actually seen Jesse have it and b) this of course means that I have it again.  Ugh.  I wish I wasn't so incredibly allergic during pregnancy!  I'm not sure how I got it, but I'm thinking that one of the girls got in it and I of course picked them up and am now sporting a huge, nasty and miserable spot on the inner part of both elbows and on my neck.  Fan.tastic.

Sunday was a better day, as we went to North Bend State Park with the Coleman's for a picnic and fishing.  We all had a blast, but poor Emma was absolutely miserable from skipping naps and a teething related diaper rash.  Fortunately, we planned ahead some with an escape plan, so Jesse and Lily stayed to fish and Emma and I headed home to relax and deal with teething.  From what I hear, Lily did a great job fishing and loved it, catching 4 fish and even touching one (I was still there for the first catch).






first fish she caught!
Then this past weekend, Aunt Jess and Uncle Richard came to visit.  We didn't do too much, but the girls loved having them here for a short time.  We did go to the outlets in Flatwoods and get some incredible deals, as well as eat an entire bag of marshmallows and Reese's cups around a couple campfires.

Other than that, we're keeping busy.  As I mentioned, slowly we are getting projects done.  The girls are doing great and are definitely keeping me on my toes.  Lily is getting smarter by the day and I love listening to her vocabulary grow.  More so some of the words that she is trying to use vs the amount of words and questions she asks in the day, but that's just part of being 3!  Loads, and loads, and LOADS of questions.  Emma is busy.  Always on the go or getting into everything imaginable.  She's picked up on several signs and the other day, after carefully dumping a cup of water on the floor, looked at me quite innocently and signed "all done."   ...she's a smart one.

I'm feeling pretty well, just tired a good chunk of the time, but no surprise there with chasing two little girls around all day!  Braxton Hicks have started (woo...) and baby has figured out how to have the hiccups.  Which honestly was really annoying with both the girls because of how they had themselves positioned in my belly, but this isn't so bad so far, and s/he doesn't seem to have them with the same frequency as the girls.  Both girls seemed to wedge their heads right behind my right hip bone, so hiccups were really awkward and grating.  This baby is head down (to the best of my knowledge) and more centrally located and sometimes stretched out with his/her head behind my left hip bone.  Tons of movement, and maybe it's a blessing of being taller or maybe just a blessing of my children, I seem to have more wigglers than kickers/boxers.  I occasionally have felt a decent kick, but thankfully, all of them have avoided painful organs or a painful intensity.

Jesse is doing well too, as far as I know.  He is looking forward to a few projects, but unfortunately, is having to be patient and not jump into them full force yet.  Once he gets going though, I'm not sure he'll stop.  The list of "after the bunk beds" projects is growing and we're both excited about that.    
first project: a bird house!


constructing some shelves
 Oh, and today, the girls and I went to the park.  I was hoping that I would be able to get some cute pictures of the girls.  Like a rookie.  I did get some cute pictures, but not really what I had in mind.  But that's ok, life will go on and maybe if I ask nicely, Jesse will agree to help take more pictures some nice day.





"hey Momma, check this out!"

this face cracks me up

"don't worry, I'm just climbing."


goober
That's it for now!
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