Lily isms 5

Lily heard our rooster crowing:
"It's okaaaaaaay chicken friends!!!!"

"Zekey, you're driving Mommy crazy!"

As she snacks on my pita chips and hummus:
"Don't worry, I'm not eating ALL your hummus..."

Lily: my want to do paint finger!
Me: paint fingers? Paint your finger nails or finger paints?
Lily: finger paint! That's what my said!

"Go for it, Mommy!"

Lily: excuse me Mommy. EXCUSE me Mommy. MOMMY! EXCUUUUUUSE ME!!!
Me: yes Lily?
Lily: my toes are cold!

Lily: *giggling* my am laughing at you!
Me: yes, you're hilarious.
Lily: my am. My am funny!

Lily had a bag of Cheerios we took on a walk. On her own accord, Lily handed me a Cheerio to hand to Emma.
Lily: here, this is for Emma.
Me: that's very nice and thoughtful of you, Lily.
Lily: my am a good big sister.

Lily: Go Momma!
Me: No, we have to wait our turn.
Lily: what, again?!

"All my hands are busy!"

"Yeah! Let's do it, WOOHOO!"

Standing in the kitchen:
Lily: my hafta potty! I can do it all my byself! *runs to the bathroom*
(Note: I'm still in the kitchen, she is now in the bathroom)
Lily: MOMMY! I AM DOING IT ALL MY BYSELF. I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP. MOMMY. MY AM A BIG GIRL (etc...). MOMMY! I NEED YOU!!! I NEED HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLP!

we are having fun.

In a recent conversation with Jesse about various things, he said he was going to remind me that I had commented that (roughly), "for me, I find fun in doing stuff with our kids."  What I was really meaning was that we shouldn't postpone potential plans and trips "until the kids are older" because we'll miss some horrible times and wonderful memories to be made NOW.  He was grumpy that I had a good point and was trying to be silly.  So the other day when Emma was being difficult, he happily (and with a bit of snarky bite) said "but we're having fun!"

But you know what, it's true.  Emma is a handful.  Lily is almost 3 and learning boundaries.  As sarcastic or not as Jesse may have been trying to be, I told him to yes, please say that!  Sometimes, a momma needs a reminder.  All moms know in the back of their mind that, yes, this too will pass- whatever "this" is that is the current difficulty- and we're supposed to always be enjoying every single moment, but honestly, some days that's a tall order.  Like the days where I am always a step (or three!) behind Emma and I spend all day following her, cleaning up water from the toilet, water from Zeke's water dish, the dog food, pulling chairs away from the table in an effort to keep her OFF the table top...or when Lily questions and challenges everything from the minute she wakes up to the minute she goes to bed: we are having fun.  It was a good reminder, and I hope he occasionally and tactfully does remind me of that.

Anyway, deep contemplations aside, I will try and update this silly thing I neglect.

We are doing very well. Everyone is happy (occasional grumps aside), healthy and keeping entertained.  And in case you somehow have missed the memo up to this point, I am pregnant, which should be reason enough for why my blog has been so quiet for so long.  More on that in a minute: I really am going to try and post a picture update this weekend.  There's no way I will be able to post all the way back from April or whenever I left off last, but we'll see what I can do. 

The girls are little hilarious balls of energy.  Lily is almost done with naps (NOOOOOOO!!!), but after a week of no naps, she is taking one today.  Instead of nap times for her, we've had Quiet Room Time, which works very well, too, except she doesn't seem to grasp that that is MY time for quiet as well, and she needs to stay in the play room the whole time.  Regardless, she has been doing great with that and I guess I just need to make my peace with that.  I also need to start wrapping my mind around the fact that she will be 3 in a month...ugh.  Where has the time gone?  How do I have an almost three year old!?

Emma is a busy little handful.  Seriously.  I know there are more difficult children out there, and I'm not complaining!, but she is difficult for us some days.  But I suppose all children can be...all that aside, she is lots of fun and makes us laugh with her little 14 month old antics.  She is finally getting to the fun age and past the boring part- don't judge us, we prefer toddlers to newborns- and is an eating and sleeping champ.  Finally.  She loves animals, no surprise there, and I think her first word she really tried to seriously say besides "momma" was "cow."  I'm told she also tried to moo the other day.  Chicks might be her favorite, but she loves all little animals, or so it seems.  She really isn't talking or attempting to talk much, but she is signing please, more and sit, so communication is easing up with her, too.  

Jesse and I are keeping busy.  Jesse is thrilled I'm into the second trimester and have a little more energy, a little less grump and that I'm feeling majorly better.  Since we kept it quiet that we were expecting again for most of the first trimester, to sum up what you missed: I was tired a ton, felt sick when I ate, had zero motivation but overall, have felt a TON better than I did the entire pregnancy with Emma.  Praise God for all pregnancies and children being different.  According to our first calculations, I am 16 weeks and 4 days and due on February 3.  According to the 11 week ultrasound I had, I am 15 weeks 5 days and due on February 9.  I think a good chunk of the family is leaning towards the 3rd, but really, this baby will come when the time is right and due dates are ridiculous anyway.  One friend is trying to convince me to have the baby on his birthday (2/14) and I laughed and said no way, I don't have babies late.  Which may not be true this time, but I'm not afraid to go out and start jumping rope and doing squats to get things moving when it's closer to a due date.  I haven't felt up to much exercise, which is super annoying, but I have kept very busy/active chasing the girls and the three of us go on several 30+ minute walks a week.  And since I live in hills and always have one of the girls in the backpack, I think that's a sufficient work out for now.  I am (hopefully) getting over my Pregnancy Poison Ivy, which has me thrilled.  Jesse just thinks I'm allergic to being pregnant, but I just think I'm highly allergic to the annoying weed when I'm pregnant and I only have to look at it to get it, and have had 3 pretty severe rashes with all my pregnancies (not counting my miscarriage).  Fortunately, this one didn't cover me head to toe like the one when I was pregnant with Lily...

And now: pictures!  Some highlights, anyway.

it was hot, we had freeze pops

Brennan's visited and there were a lot of cute babies in the house.

Lily started enjoying dress up

Emma is going to have strong bones by the amount of milk she drinks

Lily learned how to use my camera and sometimes, even gets faces in the pictures she takes.

we played at the park

and love slides

Emma discovered finger painting! 

 And today during the rain,

Hopefully more coming soon...

Lily isms 4

Lily was trying to get Zeke to sit.
"Zekey! Sit! Sit buddy! Zekey, sit!!"
And when that didn't work, she started signing "sit" to Zeke.

I was rushing to get ready for church.
Me: where is my mousse? Lily, have you seen it?
Lily: sure have, just a minute!
She comes back a minute later with a stuffed moose Pillow Pet we have. So close.

We bought Lily a collapsable step stool for the bathroom so she could reach the sink. She enjoys carrying it around and setting it up random places to stand on.
"Look Emma, I need to show you something 'portant! This is neat!" as she unfolds it and steps up on it to touch the wall.

As she hands a sippy cup to a little kid:
"Here, chief."

"Let's don't!"

During bath time, she got water in her eye.
Lily: ow! My needs something! Yogurt!
Me: you need yogurt for your eye?
Lily: yes!

Me: Lily, what should I make for dinner?
Lily: I DON'T KNOOOOOOOW!!!!!! ANYTHIIIIIIING!!!!!

Lily is fighting congestion/snot.
Lily: Mom! I need yawn medicine. My don't feel good.
Me: yawn medicine?
Lily: yes! Yawn! Sneeze! My thoat hurts!
Me: ...
Lily: right there! (Points enthusiastically to the Gripe Water, for hiccups)
Me: oh, hiccup medicine?
Lily: yes! For yawns!

Jesse was getting Lily ready for bed.
Lily: this shirt! (Pulls out an old Superman shirt of mine) I want Star Wars jams!
Jesse: well, that's Superman, how about that?
Lily: ok, because my AM Superman!
(Disclaimer: she has never seen Star Wars or any superhero movies).

"Emma! Gosh, sweety heart."

"Emmy!! Oh no! These are my 'portant!!"

Lily isms 3

When we were outside playing, Emma wandered off.
"Well, I better find Emma before she gets in trouble!"

After Jesse showered, Lily was patting his wet hair.
"Daddy, you got rain on your head!"

Lily accidentally drew on herself with a pen.
"Oh no. That's ok, it happens."
Also, while snapping green beans, she shot a bean at her own eye.
"Ow! That happens."
--this is my current favorite thing she says.

Emma and Lily are playing in Lily's new sleeping bag.
"Come in here, Emma! It will be fun!"

"Let's get this show started!"

At a restaurant, Jesse stands up and says he has to go to the restroom. Very loudly, Lily says, "AGAIN?"

Me: Lily, are you tooting?
Lily: yeah, my am. It stinks!
Me: yes, yes it does.
Jesse: it smells like a stunk!
Lily: it DOES smell like a stunk. My need a bath.

a little summer update

Jesse tells me it is high time that I update my blog again.  Hmph.  I'd like to see him keep up a blog ;) 

The girls continue to love each other and I just love watching them grow up and play together.  It makes me so happy that I'm blessed to be a stay at home mom to watch their interactions.  They are both happy, healthy and hilarious; what more could a momma ask for?  Lily will proudly tell almost anyone who will listen that she will be "3 in September!" and that Emma is her little sister.  Emma isn't too interested in talking yet, but Lily talks plenty for both of them and Emma is trying her hardest to keep up with Lily in every other way possible.  She's trying to figure out how to run, but can happily spin circles, climb, walk backwards and today she was trying to jump.  Which was hysterical because she absolutely did not get it.  

What else can I tell you.  A few stories I've been meaning to share about nap times..

I tried putting Lily down for a nap one day and she was so upset that Emma wasn't in her crib, though I explained I'd bring Emma in soon.  Emma heard Lily crying and walked down the hall and started banging on the bedroom door until I let her in and ended up just letting her nap early.

Another nap time, I knew Emma had fallen asleep quickly and heard Lily calling me.  I didn'twant her to wake up Emma, so I hurried back to find her standing in her bed, telling me she had to potty.  So I took her and explained it was time to be quiet so Emma could nap and she proudly told me she had covered Emma up with her blankets once she fell asleep.  Sure enough, Emma was buried in blankets.  Lily said she had climbed into the crib to cover her, which I wouldn't be surprised if that's what really happened.  This nap time didn't last, Lily wouldn't leave poor Emma alone to sleep and kept crawling into her crib.  When I'd go in to kick her out, she'd cry and say she just wanted to be with Emma and to play with her.  How can I say no to that?

This past weekend, Jesse and I took the girls to the Hildebrand grandparents for an overnight so he and I could go to a wedding Saturday.  I think Lily would have been just fine at the wedding, but chasing a 13 month old all day was less than appealing.  And I was pretending to be the photographer, so I couldn't very well help Jesse watch the little girls, and we didn't think they'd be too thrilled with me completely ignoring them all day.  From the Grandparent Report, they behaved and had a ton of fun.  I even got some pretty art projects for my fridge.  Sunday, we all headed to Columbus to go to the zoo.  It was a pretty hot day, but at least the girls and I had a blast!  I had been looking forward to taking Lily to the zoo since she was probably Emma's age and we finally got to go.  And the timing worked out great because Emma loves animals now too and got so excited every time she saw animals.  And Jesse just bought me a new 50 mm lens for my camera and the zoo was the perfect place to really give it a good test.  For the record, it's my absolute new favorite.  I think Lily's favorite was kangaroos, as that was what she kept asking to see from the minute we walked through the gate and after we saw every other animal.  

"look Momma, like a 4-wheeler!"

a favorite of mine

Lily standing like the flamingos

another favorite of mine

I asked Jesse if we could smuggle this guy home.  He said no.  He is no fun.

Other than that...not a whole lot is going on.  I loaded my first batch of green beans into the canner today and have probably another half load to do tomorrow.  Maybe I will get Jesse to snap the beans for me.  Oh, that's really about it for this time.  We've been keeping busy with summer stuff around the house and as few trips as possible because we really just like being home!  I'm still taking pictures of the girls, I realize I haven't uploaded any to my other blog in probably a few months, but I'll post some there soon.  Maybe I'll do better about keeping up here...

Lily isms 2

My apologies for bad formatting. I'm posting from my phone as these funny moments happen, and who knows what goes on in the phone formatting phase.

I asked Lily to feed Zeke, which she happily did. After he finished eating, I asked how much she'd given him.
"A little more than enough."
Ok, perfect amount.

We have wild lillies growing by our creek. One day when we were walking to take care of the chickens, I thought Lily would enjoy sharing her name with the pretty orange flowers.
Me: do you see those orange flowers? Those are called lillies.
Lily: those are daffodils?!
Me: no, they are called lillies. Just like you!
Lily: no! Those aren't mine! Those daffodils aren't mine!

As she is "doctoring" Jesse and removing "ticks" and "splinters" with tweezers:
"Don't worry, my am very good at this."

Getting ready for baths.
Me: ok, come on girls, bathtime!
Lily: my not need a bath! My am not stinky! My am beautiful!

"See you later, Emma alligator!"

Our cousins, Rick and Nikki, are visiting and being troopers and sleeping on an air mattress. Yesterday morning, Lily decided to walk on the mattress while Rick was still sleeping and buried under blankets, and tripped over him.
Jesse: what did you trip over?
Lily: a turtle.

Lily isms

Lily is absolutely cracking Jesse and me up, and I feel I haven't been able to adequately share the humor we see every day. As a result, I may try and just post some funny things she does and says to keep up and so I can look back in several years and remember.

The other day, we were driving to work and she was rambling on and on and finally, got really excited and said "Momma! Look at my sparkle!" I was confused, I knew her clothes didn't have any sparkles so I just said "that's nice" and continued driving. She was presistent and kept stumbling over her words, like she does with a new word she is trying to remember. She went with "sparkle," then tried "twinkle" and "sprinkle" and finally said "Momma! Right here! On my leg!" I looked back quickly and saw she was pointing to the freckle she discovered on her leg the other day. Sparkle, freckle...similar.

Jesse was driving with her another day (after a doctor appointment) and he told me their conversation went like this:
Jesse: did the doctor look at your belly?
Lily: no
Jesse: why?
Lily: Because.
Jesse: Because why?
Lily: NO! MY said because why!
I try really hard not to leave an answer at "because I said so" but I think that's what she was going for with her response to Jesse.

As she's jumping on the couch, minus the cushions: Mom! My am hoppin' everplace!

Another Jesse and Lily driving story. As they're passing a skunk that had been hit recently:
Lily: what's the smell?!
Jesse: that's a skunk.
Lily: stunks yucky! We gotta get outta here! Stunks are stiiiiiiiinky!
Please note that she refers to "skunks" as "stunks"