Off to Neverland...

Well, just a quick post to say we are STILL waiting. And getting antsier by the minute, I might add. She is moving like crazy but apparently at this point is still quite content to stay cozied up for a bit longer.

We had a nice relaxing weekend here at home, and I totally let myself rest as much as I wanted. I have realized this time that, despite the fact that the house is not spotless and I have some projects yet to do, we will be bringing this baby home, Lord willing, to a MUCH more settled "nest" than ever before, since AG was came one month after we moved into our house and we had dozens of boxes yet to unpack, and then with LL we'd scheduled a major reflooring job for the week before she was due and then she surprised us early, and we came home to most of our furniture and our refrigerator all crammed into our family room. So it's been nice this time to take it a bit easier, though now we are probably even more ready for some action!

Today I went in to let AG know her rest time was over (since it was a "no napper") and she immediately told me she was "playing Wendy" (from Peter Pan) and then gathered up a host of dolls and animals to play all the roles in the story. Then for the entire rest of the afternoon and night she expected to be referred to only as "Wendy" and she did not fail to call LL "L Michael" or "Michael L"continually, as this is LL's assigned role since "Michael has to be somebody with hair." She asked T to be the crocodile and then directed him to get on his "tummy"... he cleverly sought another role and she said, "Oh, you can't be the crocodile because you can't open your mouth wide enough?" This PP theme continued for her without a break. Later when she and T were playing around she accidently knocked off and broke his glasses (which thankfully he was able to fix...). Anyway, LL started chanting, "Daddy broke it...Daddy broke it" and AG said, "I broke them...no, I'm sorry, WENDY broke them!" On and on I could go, but you get the picture. As for my part in the storyline, I was flattered to be "Mommy Tinkerbell"...any help I can get in imagining myself as lightweight and perky right now is welcomed!

Hope you all have had a nice weekend and your week is off to a great start!

Leapin' Lizards

Tonight we had a fun family event... an old-fashioned indoor lizard catching! Just before putting the girls to bed we were all in the family room, and LL exercised her radar for moving objects in high places (previously used to detect the racoon or "doggie," as she called it, in our tree and several planes almost invisible to the human eye, which she is able to spot from inside our van in the midst of many more obvious distractions...) to point out to us a little gecko-like lizard on the wall. So T and I got together a haphazard plan to catch it quickly using a bowl and a grocery sack, and somehow this led to my climbing onto a nearby chair to assist in the capture. Well, this seemed like a fine idea and would have been no big deal, I'm sure, except that I am a total chicken when it comes to little creatures such as bugs and lizards actually touching me. So as we started to remove the bowl/bag with lizard (hopefully) inside from the wall, I am almost certain I felt the lizard on my hand, and I totally freaked out, jumping down from the chair and stumbling around, breaking a beloved but repairable item of the girls in the process (which was regrettable, certainly, but preferrable to my leg or neck). I am sure it was a sight to behold my 9 month pregnant frame descending and dancing around like, well, like someone trying to get away from a wily little lizard. Anyway, this was lost on the girls and T at that moment, as we quickly regained our focus on the escapee. Thankfully, it was probably stunned and didn't go too far or too fast, and T was able to grab it and put it in a jar for observation before letting it go outside. The girls were riveted by this whole event, an emotional roller-coaster ride of sorts, and certainly more exciting than our typical bedtime routine. They seemed to think the lizard was pretty neat, once it was in the jar, and LL must have said the word lizard 100 times at least as I put her to bed moments later.

Baby update: Still waiting! Since LL came 8 days early, I must admit I am kind of surprised to have had no major sign of action just 3 days from our due date. Of course we are trying to be simultaneously patient and ready to head to the (blessedly nearby) hospital at a moment's notice, since surely she will come sometime soon... For the last two days T's been suggesting that I jump around to get things going, so maybe we should just let some more lizards into the house...

We appreciate everyone's prayers in these days of anticipation and wondering, and we'll keep you posted as we have news to share!

Babes in Toyland

AG and LL are really at such sweet stages and do things each day that just melt our hearts. Here they are "co-driving" the cart on a recent grocery shopping trip. Of course they weren't this happy and cooperative the whole time, but the "bumps in the road" of their sisterly relationship are, at this point, blessedly few and easily overcome! Here's LL trying on one of her latest finds, my "ruby red slippers." She is a shoe scavenger, always checking by the doors to see if there's a new pair left for her to model. And when they're about 20 sizes too big, who cares if they're on the right feet?

We went to Sam's Saturday morning and I was reminded again of how sweet this age is. They are so easy to please (most of the the time!) and unaware of so much "darkness" around them. We were walking innocently toward the bakery and meat department when we passed a massive, creepy display of Halloween decorations, complete with about a dozen different skeletony creatures in a big haunted-looking tent. "What's that, Mommy?" AG asked as we approached. I felt fairly certain we could get by it without a problem by explaining it was just some "silly" decorations, and we thankfully did...AG didn't seem too interested. LL probably checked it out more, noticing the "horsies!" and "man" on the other side, a skull-faced grim-reaper character with nothing more than typical 22 month old interest.

A while later we passed a display of dolls in boxes with all sorts of baby accessories. AG showed them to me and said, "I may come back for one of these when I get a mommy." She's been talking about what she'll do and need when she becomes a mommy for a few months now, and it's so sweet to me that when she sees something in a store that she likes, she thinks about wanting it for her own babies instead of asking for it for herself now.

We watched the classic version of "Peter Pan" again this weekend and since then the girls have run in countless circles around the family room (LL actually spins fast while AG circles her) yelling in sing-song voices, "I'm flying, I'm flying, I'm flying!"

So when they are asking for the fifth cup of milk that day and needing to be bathed, diapered, carried, snapped into seats, etc., I will try to remember these and the hundreds of other examples of just how sweet these times are. And I will hope the days of fears of the "dark" things and immediate thoughts of wanting things for themselves will wait a while longer... and that the girls will always "fly" with such delight!

AG's New Endeavors

AG had a great time at dance class last Monday and has been eagerly awaiting getting to go again later today! She is in a class with about 8 other 3 and 4 year olds and really seemed to enjoy getting dressed in her new leotard ("farkly" with a few rhinestones!) and tights and carrying her new dance bag (which went empty, but came home with new pairs of tap and ballet shoes). Here she is, all ready before her first class: And here's a picture I took to put on the bulletin board at her preschool. Doesn't she look like a big girl?

Big Ideas

AG has been telling me about what she wants to be when she grows up lately, and it's not ever just one thing, or even just two, but a series of interesting jobs, like "singer, nurse, doctor, firefighter" or even more fascinating, "bunny, carrot, doctor, princess, king, queen." I'm glad she's setting lofty goals!

She's also been measuring things lately, and reports statistics like, "You're twenty thousand tall" or "You're leg is twenty four." The other day she told me my nose was "one and a half hours."

Last week her preschool teacher came over to meet her and visit before school starts in a few weeks. And today, just a few hours from now, she will go to her first dance lesson! It seems that as my own social calendar is in a bit of a lull, hers in getting unusually full...although I guess at 3, her social calendar is mine and vice versa! So, in these days of 100+ temps and waiting for the baby to come, we are glad to have some diversions! We'll keep you posted on upcoming events and news...

All Dressed Up...

Just a few of LL's latest fashion experiments:

She's not always into hats, but add a cute pair of sunglasses and she even wanted to keep this look inside!

Here she is looking up at one of the many planes that flies over our house:

All that modeling and splashing makes a girl tired...it's good to have a Blankie at the end of a busy day!

Weekend Update

On Thursday, T's mom came to spend the day and night with us and graciously provided some "Nanacare" for the girls which was much appreciated by T and me and much enjoyed by AG and LL! That morning I went out for a pedicure (which is a treat anytime, but at 8.5 months pregnant, it's surely one of the most enjoyable and NEEDED types of pampering possible!). Then that night, T and I were treated to a night of babysitting and a wonderful dinner out. A pedicure and date night within 12 hours? Somebody pinch me! These are a few pictures Nana took before we went out.
Notice that AG can comfortably sit on my tummy with some room to spare!
The girls were not sad to see us leave that night, if they even noticed, as they were watching the Mary Martin version of Peter Pan with Nana. AG has not stopped talking about it since then and gives glowing reviews of it all, along with a pretty thorough explanation of how this movie differs from the Peter Pan book she's read at Nana's and the animated version she watched there before. AG seems to like the fact that Captain Hook was not at all scary in the older movie, although LL has been going around all day saying, "Captain Hook...mean guy!" and while playing her little animal sound game she said, "Alligator say...tick tock!"

This is the scene T came inside to find after spending a few hours working on the yard this a.m.:

He's not usually one to spot a photo op and grab the camera, but he couldn't pass this up! Needless to say, it was a lazy Saturday morning for 3 (or 4?) members of our family! He got a little time to relax with the girls later, too:
We're trying to get a few things done, but mostly just enjoying these last days before things get kicked up a few notches around here when a certain little someone arrives!

Hope you all are having a relaxing and fun weekend, too!

Doodle Bug, Big Sister Lessons, etc...

Here's AG with a picture of flowers she drew this week. She wanted to put it in a frame, so it now holds a place of honor on the counter in her bathroom (her chosen spot!).
Another day, she drew a big circle on her doodle board and said, "This is your tummy" (to me, of course...it was a pretty big round oval!) Then she drew the baby inside, with arms, and my head, neck, and legs. Here's the finished work...(looks familiar to me!):

There's been alot of talk this week from AG about when and why babies need bibs, pacifiers, car seats, etc. Here she is giving LL lessons on how to be a big sister to a little baby:

And here's one of LL being the caretaker of one of her babies...Got milk?

*OK, when I wrote that earlier I was referring to her milky "soul patch," but now as take a second look at the picture I realized that, based on the doll's positioning, you could be taking my question another way... Anyway...

Hope y'all are having a good Saturday afternoon!

Leader of the Pack

Here's our view everytime we've walked around the block for the last week. Last Sunday night I took the girls for a walk, and AG said she wanted to ride her trike, so LL and I strolled along behind her and I wondered how far she'd make it. Well, wasn't I pleasantly surprised when she made it all the way around our pretty big block! No complaints, either...only a comment as we neared our street: "I think getting tired or something....I'm going to need some cooling off when we get home!" and a proud exclamation to herself when we approached our driveway: "Good job!"
We've all gone around together a few more times this week so T could see and appreciate this accomplishment, too. Last night there were a few times when I tried to pass her with LL in the stroller, but NO deal! She only rode faster to catch up and wanted to regain her status as leader, and I must say I thought it wise to go along with this so we didn't get run over. It may be awhile before she takes to the road, but for now we have a sidewalk hog in the making.
Peeking out the window on a lazy afternoon...

Hope y'all have a good Monday!

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

As the realization hits me that with a new baby on the scene, LL will seem to grow up overnight in some ways, I wanted to record some more of the sweet things she says these days. She started talking earlier than her big sister and has surprised me with how well she pronounces most words, but there are several cute "LLisms" that she continues to use. I know these could disappear from her vocabulary any day, replaced by their more accurate counterparts and fully developed sentences. So for now, some things I can't help but smile when I hear:

"bunna"=banana (one of her first words, and she still likes the shortened
version!)
"showoh"=stroller
"Avrace sleeping/nightnight/kiss"= always talking about her big sis!
"colo sheep"= she's always called crayons "colos" but lately has added
a new word to let us know she wants a coloring sheet!
"walla"=water
"rock/swing/play. Minutes"= this is how she let's us know she wants to
do the activity she is currently doing a few more minutes.
"music on"= said about a dozen times a day...it was the first thing she
said this morning when I went to get her out of bed.
"clown nice"= we saw a clown yesterday at the library and she was a little
unsure about it; since then she's reminded herself of these
reassuring words from Mom regularly!
"Daddy/Avrace/Mommy slilly"= letting us know she thinks we're silly
sometimes, too!
"(animal name) say....(sound)"= a current favorite game, she randomly
starts this and her favorites are lions, tiger, and bees.
"drummond"- drum. She used to say "drum" but we got this little book
at Chick-Fil-A about a boy named Drummond, so I think this confused her.
Another cute confusion: Just this morning, I gave her a sucker on the way to Bible study, and from then on she's randomly been saying "soccer ball"...I think she is calling her sucker a soccer ball!

It's so fun to see how quickly she's filling in the blanks on songs she loves to sing, too. She can make it through the ABCs, but this is what it sounds like: "ABCDeeefFG.HIJKOOOOP.QRSTyoufV.WXYandZ." "Frinkle, Frinkle Little Star" is another one she's adding to each day! She's sure to have a good stock of ways to entertain a little sister when the time comes...