Prayer Request

As many of you already know, my mother-in-law, Ruth is in intensive care after complications from surgery a week ago Friday. She's still not awake yet, but is continuing to make small improvements each day. The doctors keep saying the recovery road will be long but we're hopeful for a full recovery. Please keep her in your prayers.

No More Paci!

Well, we did it. While we've been talking for awhile about the Paci Fairy coming to our house, we couldn't quite bring ourselves to do it. But it's been getting a bit out of hand lately. Hard for us to understand because at preschool she doesn't have one at all - not even naps, but as soon as I walk in her room it's the first thing she asks for. Some days it was tough to get it out of her mouth for dinner! Well, Mike was fed up with her having it all the time and snipped the tips of two of them (as suggested by the pediatrician). She was very careful with her last paci, not wanting it to get broken like the others. Then it happened. Last Sunday she lost it. We turned the house upside down looking for it and finally she gave up to exhaustion. Unfortunately for Mike I was leaving the next morning for 4 days away for work. But he said she did great and only asked for it a little bit. So Yeah!....after a full week there is no going back. I'm so looking forward to paci-free pictures - even though this last one is pretty cute :)

Parrots in Disguise

Once our kids were beginning to mimic sounds and especially words, we became very cautious about what we and others said in front of them - not wanting them to pick up any inappropriate words. Thankfully, in our house the "s-word" is still "stupid" and we haven't had to address the real bad words yet. But what we didn't count on was how hysterical it would be to hear our words and phrases repeated back by our children.

Some examples of our little parrots:

The other morning Lindsay was doing something to annoy Katelyn when all of a sudden I hear Katelyn say "Lindsay, stop it! I don't want to have to yell this morning!"

Then this evening while Mike was diligently untwisting every wire twist tie, peeling back half a roll of tape, and cutting several plastic fasteners to get out Lindsay's Dora doll out of its packaging, several pieces fell to the ground. When I asked Lindsay if she was going to pick them up, her reply was "No, Daddy has to do it. He made the mess!"

My baby is 3!

I can't believe that Lindsay is 3. She on the other hand won't miss an opportunity to remind me. She got up out of bed Wednesday morning, stood on her tippy toes, stretched her arms up as high as she could reach and said, "Look at me Mommy. I'm bigger now. It's my birthday!" Wish I had my camera to capture the glimmer in her eyes as she said it.

This really is the first year she understands and is all excited about her birthday. She wore a pin to school and just beamed everytime someone said "Happy Birthday!" She loved all the phone calls (especially singing :)) and of course was enthralled with presents. She was willing to share though - She told Katelyn she could watch her open her presents!

After sharing cupcakes with her classmates in the afternoon, we had dinner as a family with a special guest - a giant Dora balloon that is still tied to the kitchen chair, now referred to as the birthday chair.

And since it couldn't really be a birthday without a cake and candles we got a small chocolate cake. The girls I think had more fun decorating themselves with icing!

Ever since the Toys R Us ad came in the mail 2 months ago, Lindsay has been asking if she was going to get a "jumpy thing" for her birthday. Well, I guess she did a great job blowing out her candles, because her birthday wish came through. She LOVES to bounce and this way she's contained so maybe's there's hope left for my couch cushions!

Sweet, Not so sweet - depends on the day

So they might look cute and despite every effort to fill them with sugar, they're not always so sweet. We've taken great pleasure at how well they get along and how they play so nicely together. Well apparently the honeymoon is over. We knew it would happen sooner or later - we were just hoping for later! It seems that lately we can't get through a day without some type of fight. Whether it's fighting over who's turn it is to pick the TV show or who gets to sit on the tall stool at the table (which is now in the basement BTW) or battles over basic necessities like getting dressed. Who knew that my threat to send Lindsay to school in her pajamas would backfire on me -- I think she actually took some pleasure in it this morning. Now that I think about it, it may become a regular occurrence ... much easier than struggling to dress a squirming toddler! The most frustrating (yet very entertaining) are the times when Lindsay picks up something that belongs to Katelyn. In the past Katelyn has been a very willing sharer, but lately if anyone, especially Lindsay, touches her stuff it's a big deal. So of course Lindsay picks up on this and LOVES to take things and run with them - with Katelyn screaming and chasing. Quite comical to watch if we can stop it before things get out of control.

But just when we're ready to throw in the towel and send them off to boarding school, they resurface those sweet sisterly tendencies. So just before I threaten to remove every television in the house, Katelyn will selflessly agree to watch yet another episode of Dora. My favorite moment was the other day when they were opening an Easter package from Aunt Jane (Thanks, Aunt Jane!). There were 2 easter baskets in the box, each filled with the exact same items. The only difference was that one basket was purple and the other was yellow. Lindsay picked up the purple one (I think because it was closer). Apparently having the purple one was very important to Kate. Of course Lindsay then decided she wanted the purple one too. As I was trying to rationalize with Katelyn that the basket color didn't really matter, Lindsay looked up and asked Katelyn if she wanted to trade. Maybe you had to be there, but the sweet look on Lindsay's face as she offered the basket was so genuine and Katelyn seemed utterly shocked, yet managed to remember her manners with a huge smile, thank you and hug for her little sis. So sweet!

Well, I've rambled quite enough for today, but wanted to share some pictures from our recent Easter activities.

Egg hunting - we had several egg hunts this year. Here's one with at Nana & Grandpa's house with their cousins Ally & CJ.

Preparing treats for the kids classmates (Thanks, Aunt Kathy!):

Lindsay's Easter bonnet parade:

Coloring eggs:

Easter Dinner with Great-GrandPop, Nana, PopPop, Kelly, Keith, Ally & CJ

All I Want for Christmas is ....

my two front teeth!!

Two weeks ago, Katelyn lost her first top tooth while having her teeth cleaned at the dentist. The hygenist panicked a bit until she found the tooth stuck in the collar of Katelyn's shirt. We knew that her other front tooth was also wiggly, so it was just a matter of time. Well, the other night while brushing her teeth (and then nearly fainting at the sight of her own blood in the sink) - Katelyn was able to use a washcloth and pull out that other front tooth - Go figure!

Spring is probably my favorite season. I love the transition to warm weather. Beautiful sunny days in the 70s, light breezes, not yet in the heat of the summer, birds chirping, gorgeous trees and flowers blooming everywhere.... (So at this point maybe you're thinking there she goes just rambling...but wait, there really is a tie to my Christmas title.) Now that it's staying light later, we spend a bit more time outdoors in the evenings. The other day after walking out front, looking across at the trees, Lindsay proclaimed "Look, Mommy there's snow!"

Even after seeing the blooms close up she still wasn't convinced that the treetops weren't covered in snow. Maybe we will need to plan a winter trip to NY one of these days, so my dear sweet daughter will be able to tell the difference between a snow covered tree and one in full bloom! ;) Although, she is also asking what Santa is going to bring her for her birthday....maybe she just likes winter!

Miss Matched

Lindsay has certainly been showing quite a streak of independence lately. Pretty much anything you ask her to do, her response is "No". Often we're lucky enough to witness a really good tantrum...you know the laying on the floor, kicking and screaming kind. What she doesn't understand yet is that she's child number two. As a new mom with Katelyn I would have been mortified if she'd done that and I probably gave in to quite a bit to avoid those sorts of public displays. But having been there done that and seeing that the bargaining often doesn't work out for the best, Lindsay gets the opportunity to display her emotions - even if that means other parents have to step around her in the daycare hallways. I've learned to patiently wait out the tantrums and not let my blood pressure rise (too much) and I'm learning which battles to fight and which to leave alone.

So, while I'm just a little envious when I see kids dressed in beautifully coordinated outfits - down to the socks and hairbows, I've accepted that matching clothing is just not one of the battles I'm willing to fight. Lindsay has been especially picky about what she wears these days. It started out rather innocently as she would get dressed in her jammies all by herself. I remember thinking -- wow she's getting changed all by herself - how can I complain if she doesn't match or if her shirt is on backwards -- and while they weren't meant to go together she does look kinda cute.

Well....she's branched out now into choosing her clothes during the day now too. At first it wasn't too awful ... I mean red does go with light blue a little right ... and her toenails do match her shirt.

But it gets better .... I guess I forgot to give her the fashion lesson about mixing patterns ;)

And this past Sunday's outfit by far takes the cake - yes she did go to church in March wearing a Santa dress and teal pants with pink flowers. And oddly enough there are so many kids at our church that I don't think we even got any strange looks.

So I'm learning to enjoy the fact that most days she gets dressed all by herself and that she's learning to make choices. She sometimes even asks now if her clothes match (note - it doesn't affect her decision to wear it or not yet though). And I know only too well that she'll eventually learn to coordinate but that she'll get much pickier about what she wears - so I'll just laugh and take lots of pictures to embarass her with later!