Craziness.

Oh, dear.  I have so much to write, and no sooner do I sit down to type, it flies out of my mind.  I'm going to try to remember some funnies that we've had around here, but I'm sure I'm going to forget most of them...

* Elyse has been cracking me up with her new phrase, "that's really great."  She'll be telling me just about anything and will tack that phrase right onto the end.  She loves to give compliments now, too, with that phrase on the end.  She said, "Mommy, I love celery.  That is really great."

* My neighbor keeps giving the girls Oreo cookies.  I'm trying not to be mean, but seriously, too many Oreos!  My girls now leave the house like this:  Emily says "COOKIE!!!" and Elyse says, "Can we go see Miss I?  Can she give me a cookie?"  Of course, our normal playtime outside is after the girls' afternoon nap (aka right before dinner), and trying to get turkey and stuffing in a mouth after two cookies is practically impossible.  Okay, I'm done venting about generosity :)  We love her, seriously.  She give me Oreos, too.  That rant reminds me of what Elyse said the other day after getting her cookies... she says, "Thanks, Miss I- that was really really really great."

* Emily ate half of an earthworm the other day.  No amount of mouth rinsing could make me accept kisses from her that day.  I'm not sure if I can justify how it happened, but it did, and that's what matters.  She will find a way to put things in her mouth...

* Elyse fell off the bathroom counter last week, and that's how she got her possibly broken nose.  I felt awful about the whole thing. I put her on the counter so often to comb her hair, let her play with my makeup, etc . . .  I have thought so many times that I should NOT let her up there even though I'm right there, and sure enough, she did a nose dive last Saturday.  Her top lip was very swollen, and her nose about doubled in size.  After lots of blood and fruit snacks (Hey, whatever would calm her down!), I decided her poor nose looked suspiciously too large.  I took her to an after-hours clinic and waited for a couple of hours to see a doc... just to hear that she'd be a rare toddler to sit still enough for an effective facial x-ray.  Sure enough, she flipped out.  Daddy even came to hold her, and it was an epic FAIL.  Thankfully, her nose didn't show any signs of being crooked or deviated, so they told us a possibly broken nose is better than an obviously broken nose :)  She's had a nasty bruise near the bridge of her nose, but she says her "boo-boo is all better now, but it really hurts."  ?  This picture makes me so sad!  She looked so pathetic :(

* Emily is trying to run.  She's a riot.  She is showing lots of temper lately, and I seem to remember a certain sister of hers doing that around this age!  She keeps us laughing with her hilarious antics.  She CANNOT close her eyes for anything... it's so funny to watch her try.  We all end up laughing our heads off.  Her little eyes squint shut for about 2 seconds.  She tries to make funny faces and she'll always be the one to start the giggling during reading time before bed.

* Elyse loves to tell stories.  Most of them are in song form, and they typically end up being about Emily (of course).  Today's song was about how much Emily cries (?) and how she jumps out of her bed.  I wish I could get them all on video!

* Elyse's new obsession is with being tucked in.  She will ask for her neck to be tucked in, and if the blanket doesn't feel JUST RIGHT, we're summoned back into the room.  Needless to say, we put up with that about ONCE. :)  It's so hard not to laugh, though.

* Some of my new favorite times of the day are when Jordan and I sit on the couch after breakfast and drink our coffee.  The girls sit on the love seat together with their books, and they jabber and "read" to each other for a nice long time :)  Jordan and I love to watch them interact with each other... when they're not at each other's throats.  They are so much fun, I must say.  I remind myself of that a lot when we're having... ahem... "moments."  Like tonight.  They were playing SO WELL together, and I just couldn't resist starting a little Christmas baking.  I should have known that expecting my two sweeties to occupy themselves well the hour before bedtime was a big mistake.  Thirty minutes later: screaming, tattling, large messes, injuries, etc...  So, I put their pj's on, read to them, and enjoyed their last half hour of wake time while my baking waited.  Patiently.

* Wow.  I'm always amazed at what a ride mommyhood is.  Seriously!  How can two little people give you so much joy and work at the same time?!?!  :)   I love them so much!!!

Thanksgiving

I have a very full heart today.  It might burst.  Seriously.  I'm overwhelmed today with gratitude for all that my God has done for me.  I will never cease to be amazed at what a difference he has made & continues to make in my life.  How do you express gratitude for hope & meaning in life?  

I have a wonderful husband, two sweet & precious daughters, and a precious little boy on the way.  God's goodness is overwhelming.  

Love him!

 (Yes, this is Elyse sporting her latest injury... a more-than-likely fractured nose & a grand bruise!  More on that later...)

Precious baby Jakob... we can't wait to meet you little man!

I hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful as you reflect on the 

goodness of God!

Where to Start?

Oh, there is much to share.  I am so behind, I can't even think of where to start!  We just returned from a nice, long trip up to Canada.  We spent time with Jordan's parents & even managed to sneak in a three-day getaway up to Quebec City for a church planter's retreat!  We were very graciously invited to this retreat, and it was such a blessing to us.  QC is a beautiful city and we spent time with some wonderful, godly people.  Our girls DEFINITELY did not suffer while we were absent, as Gramm and Pops spoiled them rotten.  For a little humor, you can read about their time with my in-laws here.  You'll laugh.  That is, if you have EVER been around children, you will laugh.  Jordan's parents live in a beautiful city (Ottawa, ON), and we had fun exploring the awesome sights.

(yea, we stayed in the most awesome hotel ever.)

Now that life has returned to normal, we are back to a fairly scheduled routine peppered with random happenings.  One such happening is that Emily is finally getting herself into a standing position (exciting, I know!).  You may ask, how can she be walking and not be able to do that?  Good question.  I don't know.  But she's doing it now, and she's just so pleased with herself.  Em also loves to pick lint out of her toes.  This girl...   *sigh*  She leaves a small trail of crumbs behind her wherever she goes, but she's happy as a clam most days.  Because of that, I'm happy to clean up :)  I love watching her walk (or waddle) around with her hands on her tummy and a little grin on her face.  She loves to ask to see the baby, and I still can't make out 80% of what she's trying to tell me!  Em's very attached to her daddy these days, and she will weep if she doesn't get her hands on him whenever he's home.  It's pretty cute.

Elyse has such an imagination!  She loves to chat on her little phone and make statements like, "Well, I was just calling to say 'hi'. . . How are you doing?" and "Well, Emmie was up on the table, and she fell off and got a baaaaddddd booboo, and she took a nap, and. . ."  It's quite funny, and, NO, Emily did not fall off the table.  My mom got the girls a treasury of Eloise Wilkin's Little Golden Books, and she LOVES a picture in the book that has a baby sleeping at the foot of the parents' bed.  She also just happens to be very sad about bedtime lately (perhaps because we shared a room in Canada?), and I feel there must be a correlation.  I hope this fear of bedtime disappears quickly!  I love when she reads to Em and talks to her just like she hears me talk to Em... "How's my sweet baby?  I love you so much..."

Elyse loves to do "ring around the rosie" with Emily now, and it usually ends in some major falling down.  Quite funny.  As well as they've been playing at times, they've also been fighting quite well.  Emily has totally figured out how to push ALL of Elyse's buttons, and it's all I can do to keep from laughing.  It's those little shoves she gives Elyse right during prayer time, or the way she steals her snack when Elyse walks away from it for one second... It's hilarious.  Don't misunderstand, Elyse finds a way to play the game, too, but her "pestering" is a little less provoking.  Our side-by-side stroller can be a huge source of contention these days, and it's probably for the best that a new little person will be taking Elyse's place this spring :)  "Mommy, Emmie's touching me!!!" is getting old already.

Elyse and Em are very excited about the baby.  I'm almost 19 weeks along, and you can definitely tell I've got a cantaloupe-sized uterus in me.  No doubt about it!  The girls love to kiss my stomach and even blow raspberries on their poor baby sibling.  I'm sure he/she will come out crying in self-defense.  I wouldn't blame the baby one bit.  I'm craving spicy foods and coffee, but my favorite snack is yogurt, berries & granola.  Buffalo chicken grilled cheese might be the best thing I've put in my mouth ever, and this poor baby will probably hate spicy foods someday.  Oh, I definitely have cravings for anything sugary or fruity, too.  HELLO, I am pregnant!  Yes, we plan to find out the baby's gender.  I can't wait!  He/she is moving a lot, and I think that's my favorite part of pregnancy.

That's the scoop here.  Can anyone tell me where this fall is going???

There's always a story.

Always.  Sometimes the story might seem unremarkable, and sometimes it's quite the opposite.  I don't feel like I have to post this story, but I don't necessarily want to forget it, either :)  AND, I know I can laugh about this because it is such a perfect reminder of one of our little mottos over the last few years of life... sometimes if it can happen, it will :)

I jokingly started 2011 by stating that our New Year's resolution was NOT to have a baby.  Well, technically, we will meet that resolution.  Don't get me wrong: I LOVE the way our girls are spaced 17 months apart.  It has worked so well.  It's crazy at times, but I don't think I've ever met a mother of two who has said it's never crazy at times.  That being said, Jordan and I thought that it would be wise to make the spacing a bit larger next time.  Normally, we're not very indecisive people, but in this situation, we just decided to put off thinking about having a third child.  Mostly because we couldn't decide when.  We live in a two bedroom duplex, and though we took care of upgrading the size of our vehicle this spring, a few other *ahem* major changes seem to be in order for the arrival of another sweet baby.  Here is the how-we-found-out story...  These details are not exaggerated.

Rewind to...
August 1:  We settle in at our cabin in northern MN, and this gal is starting to feel a little odd.
August 2:  I mention to my sweet husband that I'm not feeling so hot.  He gets this strange look on his face.  We drop the subject.  Entirely.
August 3:  Still feeling sick.  Pregnancy alarms sounding loudly in my head throughout the day.  I ignore them and decide to think about it later.  Leave Jordan out of it.
August 4:  My eyes pop open at 7am.  I just know it.  I wake Jordan up.  He gives me a small, shaky smile.  We spend the morning with my family & try not to think about our afternoon adventure into "town."

We sneakily manage to borrow my sister's vehicle to drive about 10 miles to the nearest town.  No major pharmacies.  Anywhere.  I dash into the only other pharmacy I know of, and I'm pretty sure it's got the same employee that worked there when my Grandma filled prescriptions 50 years ago up there.  Seriously.  I wrote a check for $13 (yes, folks, a check!), and walked out with a name-brand pregnancy test.  I mean, I did have two whole brands to choose from, and there was one of each kind.  Sweet.  We walk over to the local visitor's center across the street where "Crazy Dayz" booths were set up along the street.  Jordan occupied himself examining furniture made out of TREE STUMPS while I disappeared.  When I came out of the visitor's center, my pulse was still pounding in my ears & my knees were weak.  I've seriously only had that a few times in my LIFE, but my knees were practically shaking.  I walk calmly over to my hubby, who has now found a lobster trap he's interested in.  He's deep in conversation for, oh, perhaps TEN MINUTES while I pace calmly about 10 feet away from him.  He doesn't even look my way.  HE KNOWS :)  After eternity passes, he gives me the biggest bear hug and tells me everything is going to be okay.  He's right.  He's awesome.

Our heads were spinning that entire vacation week.  The humorous part was telling my family.  You see, my grandfather (who is 87, by the way) spends a great deal of time planning this trip every year.  He's endured us adding 5 children to our cabin over the last 5 years.  He loves each one.  But, we happened to kind of max out our cabin.  He started the week by just ASKING if we would please try not to add any kids next year.  All in good humor, of course.  We all reassured him that we'd take that into consideration :)  We had such a fun time telling my family that night around the bonfire that we'd have to go back on our word.  Gramps forgave us quite willingly.  He then promptly went to the office the next morning and reserved a second cabin :)  Ah, yes, life is unpredictable.  And, it's fun that way.  This is how my hilarious hubby decided to spread the news on FB... silly guy.

I can't wait to meet this baby.  There's something so fun about knowing God had our family planned long before we did!  And, I love having one less decision to make... you know, as if it's up to us anyways, right?  Three kids in 3.5 years is just plain ol' fun.  Kids really are a blessing from God.  We seriously couldn't be happier right now!

And she's UP!

Sweet Em is walking.  She's also tumbling a lot.  She's also the cutest little new walker in the world.  She started taking SERIOUS steps last week, but she then decided she needed a few days off.  Apparently?  She's getting braver and more patient, and she's toddling around the house fairly consistently now.  

AND, since I've been horrible at updates lately, I'm going to take this opportunity to give a 17 month update on Emily Mae.  Boy, she's a fun kid.  She's silly, sweet, and very spunky.  Jordan and I have been in awe of her silliness lately, but I think she comes by it honestly... *ahem*  I crack up as I will often catch her trying to get a glimpse of her own hair (which is usually hanging in her eyes).  She'll toss her head up and down and roll her eyes all around with a little smirk on her face.  Her newest antics are: screeching loudly, fake laughing, crawling stairs at the speed of light, inhaling yogurt, and randomly falling backwards for a laugh.

Emily was recently in a great eating pattern.  Lately, she's been picking at her meats & doesn't seem to love bread much.  She loves using her utensils, though, and I'm amazed at what I can get her to eat on the end of a fork!  Her current favorites are: grapes, oranges, cheese, pasta, oatmeal, and carrots.  She despises getting her teeth brushed these days, unfortunately.  Speaking of teeth, she has four top teeth, four bottom teeth, two top molars (they still haven't fully cut) and one bottom molar.  Seriously, those teeth take FOREVER!

Em's jabbering a lot right now.  Most of it is still unintelligible, but she's saying "baby" - "buhbee"... she says Mommy, Daddy, yummy, and Brynna clearly, and LOTS of words that only Mommy could interpret :)  The short list is: read, book, drink, and milk.  Her new favorite phrases are "what's that?" and "where's Daddy?"  I still love how she talks with her eyes- her expressions really make you think she's going to say something really smart, and what comes out is, "waneewomotomy" or something like that...

She loves to bounce in her crib just for fun.  I have a feeling she picked that up from her roommate...  She's still napping in the morning, but I try to keep it under 1.5 hours.  Lately, she's been napping 2 - 2.5 hours in the afternoon.  I think it's because she's been wearing herself out recently with the walking!  I have a feeling she's going to want to drop her morning nap this fall.  Elyse is still her best bud.  They are two peas in a pod, and I love it!  Em loves looking for Mommy's baby, and she even likes to kiss my belly.  She's pretty easygoing overall, but she's starting to get sick of the way her big sis walks all over her :)  Elyse is going to be in for it soon!

Here are my current fun's and not-so-fun's for her age:

fun's:

* I am loving how she reads her books.  She'll sit and mumble to herself with lots of inflection as she slowly turns each page.  Reading is her favorite after-breakfast ritual.  We'll find her in front of her bookshelf pulling every.single.book. off the shelves.

* I love hearing "yummy!" come out of her mouth with every bite of yogurt.

* She can't stand to have lint in between her toes.  I will often see her sitting on the floor holding her foot in her hand, trying to pick out some barely visible lint...

* I love when she bounces in her crib and yells "DADDY!" in the mornings.  I know it's been my "fun" for a while, but I just love it.

* Em giggles as she walks... I know this will wear off, but right now I want to savor every giggle.

* Emily enjoys cuddling with us, and I love that.  She still sucks on her index finger (I'm going to struggle with that one someday), but for now I'll enjoy it.

not-so-fun's:

* She fixates on certain things to the point of exasperation.  She will play with one toy for so long that she will end up hating it!

* Watching her smear food through her hair with a smile on her face.  I know this one's a repeat!

* Emily has gotten so many reactions from us about her screaming, that when she screams, we'll turn to scold her and she's grinning the cheesiest grin at us.  Whose child is she?

* She'll giggle at us when we tell her not to touch something, and her little finger goes towards the object.. and away again, and back towards it, and away again... she's going to be a feisty one!

* My baby girl is almost 1.5 years old!

 Emily Mae, you are still charming us.  I knew my second-born would be just like you, and I love being your mommy.  Your daddy & I can't wait to see how God will use all of you for his glory.  We love you & everything about you (EVEN your messy eating habits)!

And THREE makes FIVE!

Loving the thought of being a family of five.  It's had a few weeks to sink in, and I'm overwhelmed at the giver of life.  How he creates tiny, little people never ceases to blow. my. mind.  I will never forget seeing baby three for the first time weeks ago... his/her little heartbeat pulsing in a way that overpowered the entire view of his/her body.  Baby was blinking like a strobe light!  I'm told he/she was just a tad bigger than a poppy seed during this photo, and if a heartbeat on a poppy seed doesn't turn your mind to a very intelligent Creator, I'm not sure what could.  Baby is "scheduled" (whatever that means) to arrive 4/7/12, so we have some time to get ready for this new little person.  :)  This little baby is loved, and we can't wait to welcome a new member to our family.  

Em's Update

It's been too long.  This is what I hate about falling out of the blogging routine- NO UPDATES on my girls' growth and changing...  I know, my own fault.  Emily is going on 16 months, so here is a little update on my spunky Emmie-girl.  

* Poor thing has been cutting two molars for weeks now.  They don't. seem. to. be. moving.  I feel so badly.  Another bottom tooth has cut, so she now has four top, four bottom & two almost-cut-molars on top.  Teeth seemed to be "manageable" in the past, but these molars seem to make her kind of cranky.  I feel so badly for her, but if she's distracted, she's happy.  I love how big her teeth seem right now :)

* Emily is NOT my talker.  She loves to jabber & chit-chat about anything, but she will not win any awards yet for vocab!  She randomly pointed to a "doggy!" in a book tonight, and Elyse and I about had a cow.  Seriously, she would rather crawl around the house saying "Daddy!" than try to say "milk" or "cow."  It's funny.  She loves to point at the ceiling, cock her head, and just start muttering with her eyebrows raised.  It's awesome.

* Em loves lights, candles, the sun, the moon.... anything bright.  She will point out any sun or moon in any book and say "Su" with excitement.  She specializes in pulling out her hair clips, finding her belly button & picking lint out of the hole in our couch.  She loves to get herself into trouble & always sports the best look of innocence.  I admit, it's hard not to laugh every time I call her name in "warning" and she crawls away from me at break-neck speed!

* She loves her daddy.  She lights up every morning when he walks into their room, & she yells "Daddy!" at the top of her lungs.  I must say, it's adorable.  She's very affectionate and will crawl over just to give a kiss or a hug.  She signs thank you often without prompting, but it's actually a kiss as she smacks her mouth :)  I love it!  She loves to try to get laughs out of us three (not a difficult task).

* Em still loves cruising around.  She has a little shopping cart that she uses to walk around, and though I've seen her stand on her own a couple of times, she will NOT perform for me :)

* I think she's getting closer to dropping her morning nap.  A catnap is still enough to keep her afternoon nap normal, but we have a lot of work to do in teaching her not to goof-off during nap time.  Seriously, she is a goober when Elyse is in there.  Sometimes I can almost see Elyse's frustration in her eyes... though she's usually giggling quietly at Em's antics.  Em loves to flop around her crib like a fish.  The other evening, the girls had been in bed for about 15 minutes when Emily started screaming at the top of her lungs. I rush in there to see her sitting in the middle of her crib, sitting up with a blanket over her head.  I pulled the blanket off, she flopped down and fell asleep.

* Em loves to eat!  She's doing well with her spoon & fork (It's only taken MONTHS of practice!) for the most part, but she still resorts to grabbing her yogurt with her fist every once in a while.  She does not like eggs most days, but that's all I can think of on her dislike list.  She still inhales bananas, and she gets so excited about yogurt & applesauce.  Oh, and anything sweet :)

Here are my current fun's and not-so-fun's for this age:

fun's:

* I just love her crazy hair that falls in her face.  I admit, sometimes it's a source of frustration, but it's so funny.  Watching her wipe it out of her face is just hysterical.
* She has a great sense of humor.  You can see it in her eyes & in every expression she makes!
* I love getting her slobbery kisses & big hugs.
* I love hearing "Mommy."
* I love how Emily loves to "read" her books & locate the celestial bodies of light.
* Em loves laughing at Elyse... we all play, and I feel 2 years old again.
* I love her face when I sit down on the floor with her to play.  She gets more excited than if I had given her 30 toys!
* I love the way she sleeps.. usually sprawled out on her side- legs and arms parallel, hair sprawled out over the sheet.
* I love watching her roam around the kitchen as I cook.  She'll usually find one toy to throw across the floor, chase down, and throw again.
* She loves playing peek-a-boo still, but she still smashes her face so hard!
* When I ask her where her cheeks are, she frames her cheeks with her hands and gives me a great, big cheesy smile :)

not-so-fun's:

* She has a very hard time letting go of things she shouldn't have :)  VERY. HARD. TIME.
* She is persistent.  SO STUBBORN.  It's a great reminder of my own weaknesses.
* Emily has found her nostrils.  You get my drift.  I had to scold her last month for having a bad attitude (aka. yelling in her high chair over a snack she didn't want), and when I finished, she stopped screaming, stared me down, and rammed her index finger up her nose.  She held it like that for a good while, actually!  It was everything in me not to roll on the floor laughing.  I can't believe my 15-month old gave me the finger.  Jordan and I have been laughing about that ever since.  The thing is, she does it often enough to reassure me that she knows exactly what she's doing :)
* She loves showing off so much for Elyse, that she often just loses herself in doing horrible things.  It's rough being a clown.
* She loves to drink bathwater, lick floors, chew on everything, and eat crumbs.  It's yucky.
* I'm so sad that she's getting so big!  When she's all stretched out in her crib, I'm reminded of how long she is.. how old she's looking... I miss holding my baby girl!  (So does my back :) 

Emily Mae, you are a joy.  We are reminded every day that God loves us deeply to give you to us!  We love your spunk, your sweet side, and your chubby cheeks.  Keep those kisses coming, and we'll probably forget about the messes you make.  We are enjoying watching you grow and change, but you'll always be our baby girl!  We love you!

Catch-Up

I am SO behind.  Ridiculously behind.  Here's a little update from our household.

* We vacated.  First week of August was spent with my family up in northern Minnesota at the lake.  This tradition keeps going, and I sincerely hope it never dies!  It is getting a bit tricky to get all of us actually there every year, but we're always so thankful that it happens.  The girls had so much fun with their cousins, and they both suffered from extreme grandparent spoiling :)  I'm so thankful for a wonderful family that we LOVE being with!  I am always so refreshed after an uninterrupted week with my three favorite people!

* Jordan had a big birthday :)  It was big.  It was fun.  My friend and I decided to surprise our husbands (who were only born one day apart) with a par-tay, and it happened to succeed!  We had a great time with the friends in our community group & with our local family.  I love this guy so much!  And, of course, what would a party be without a cake?

* My grandfather (on my mom's side) went to be with Jesus a couple of weeks ago.  I made the trip up be with family for the funeral, and I'm so thankful I could go.  It is never easy saying goodbye to someone you love, but there is such an amazing hope because of Christ.  Knowing he is with the God he loves is the greatest source of comfort.  It was sobering to witness the 21-gun salute he received.  I am always amazed at what an incredible sacrifice so many in our country make for our freedom.

* We survived Hurricane Irene!  I am usually known to poo-pooh hurricanes that come our way (honestly, normally they fizzle out), but this one had me a bit nervous!  We stuck it out, though, and it managed to leave us alone.  How can it be that the same God who makes a crazy storm like that love me?  Totally amazing.

* My girls are getting so big.  Elyse seems so tall and is looking very much older than three (I'm NOT ready for age 3 yet!).  Emily is a little butterball, but I know she'll work most of that off when she starts walking :)  Someday, right?  They just love each other right now, and that makes me one happy mama.  Elyse will come and ask me if Em can go with her into the bedroom, or the living room, or outside.  She's getting used to the fact that Emily totally ignores her requests :)  Poor thing.

* I'm looking forward to a calmer (perhaps?) fall and the potential it has to settle me back into a nice predictable routine.  Is that even possible?  Just curious.  I plan to try.  I hope all of you out there are well!!

Is it possible?

Is it possible to remember all of the little details I love during the day?  Probably not.  I sure hope I remember most of them, though.  I never want to forget the way Elyse still fits in my arms when I scoop her up in her towel after bath time.  I never want to forget the way her little toes barely peek over the edge of our couch as she sits close during story time.  I hope I always remember the way Emily holds her arms up in the air and waves her little hands around, just begging for me to pick her up.  I hope I never forget her baby smell when she's too big for me to hold in the middle of the night.  I want to remember the sound of every giggle & the sight of every little dance they do.  I hope I can commit to memory the way they light up when they see Daddy walk in a room & the way they play together.  I hope the phrase, "Mommy, can we cuddle on the couch?" never goes away.  (Okay, that one might end up a little weird in a few years, but I'm trying not to think of it that way...)  I'd be a happy woman if I could just keep putting one on each hip for a long time.  (Again, I know it's a bit creepy to think of that one long-term.  You get my drift.)  These little-kiddo moments are getting to me lately as I see my girls growing so fast.  I love them, and I know I'll love them as they get older, too.  I also know these moments disappear far too quickly.  The moments of girly gibberish & slobbery kisses I will miss.  The dirty diapers, I will not.  BUT, until the day when they're gone, I plan to keep recording each of the sweet memories.  I never want to forget my little girls.

Girls, Girls...

These two pumpkins are getting so big, and it's been a while since I updated what they are up to.  I'm not very organized about this, but here it is :)

Emily Mae

* Poor baby has been sick again.  I just know her immune system someday is going to be stellar.
* Em loves books.  Notice that I didn't say that she loves reading?  She just loves books.  She loves to flip through the pages and point out anything circular in shape.  The sun, the moon, circles, any round object...
* Em is cruising around, but she sits right down if I try to prod her to walk.  She seems quite determined to walk on her own time (hmm... that reminds me of someone).
* She LOVES locating her belly button.  She loves locating other people's belly buttons.  At any random moment.  Complete strangers have their shirts lifted and their belly buttons pointed out.
* Em loves to giggle.  She does a fake laugh at about everything when she's happy.  When she's not happy, she does a pathetic, fake sobbing tactic.  That isn't quite as funny :)
* She is still a total clown.  She is just waiting for an audience as she eats, goofs off and plays.  Elyse is her preferred audience, but she'll take anybody.

* She finally started saying "Mommy!"  I admit, she crawls around the house chanting "Daddy" most days.  She will try once in a while to mimic words we try to get her to say, but she is mostly content to make funny noises & squeal.
* She is getting quite attached to sucking on her right hand's index finger.  It's cute now, but...
* Em has mastered the look of false innocence.  It's priceless.
* Em's jabbering is so funny.  It's completely nonsensical, but she usually waves her index finger around while she does it.  If I only knew what she was trying to say!
* New favorite activities include: jumping around in her crib, screeching, throwing one toy across the kitchen floor just to chase it down, sticking her fingers in her nose, dancing, trying to get my phone, and wrestling with Elyse.


Elyse Noelle

* Typing her name reminded me that she named a little pony of hers "Ottoman" the other day.  Now, she refers to herself as "Elyse Noelle Ottoman."  I'm sure she'll fix that someday.
* Elyse is getting into all things girly.  I bought her some chap stick today (I'm sick of sharing mine), and I might as well have given her the moon.  My sweet neighbor came over with armfuls of new books and toys for the girls, and all Elyse could do was show her the new chap stick.  *sigh*  She has about 24,000 layers on as we speak.  She was very sad that it couldn't come with her to bed.  I also broke down and painted her toenails, and she just loves it!  It is pretty cute, I must admit.
* She's been talking up a storm, but singing is the new favorite activity.  She loves to make a medley of every song she knows.  I love that she'll just make up words when she forgets.  It's great.  The other day I heard her singing, "Our God is an awesome God, he went to work then took a nap..."  I wish I had listened closely to the rest of the song, but I was too busy laughing.

* She loves to hold hands.  It's quite possibly the funnest thing ever.  I got to sit in the back seat of our van with her last week as we drove home late, and she asked to hold my hand.  She said, "Mommy?  I hope we can see the stars and moon!"
* She is my classic anticipator.  She loves to remind me what will happen if she runs on the kitchen floor when it's wet... she'll slip.  She will shake her little finger around as if she's a very experienced teacher.  She's also so excited when we tell her when we'll be going on vacation, or when she's going to see her grandparents next.  She'll be eating her breakfast, and she'll say, "Guess what?  When Emmie's done with her nap, we're going to see Gramm & Pops!"  I hate telling her otherwise...
* She is still a Daddy's girl.  Daddy is the first person she wants to see every morning, and she asks for him all day.  I'm starting to wonder if she'll ever get used to the fact that he works!

waiting for Daddy

 Yea, that about says it all.

What's up?

Well, that's a good question.  What is up?  How we can be so busy with ordinary things is always a mystery...  We've got a busy July ahead of us, but we're thankful that the "busy" is fun.  That's always a perk.  Here's a little of what we've been up to lately.  Yes, it's so exciting.

* OBX trip over Independence Day.  SO fun.  We visited with friends and spent a couple of nights down there.  We enjoyed the beach, the park, and lots of good family time.  We knew it was truly a successful getaway when 2 full days seemed like a week  :)

* Birthdays!!  We've had some "little" friend's birthday parties and also had extra fun celebrating my nephew's birthday on Sunday.  He and my niece are now FIVE, and my mind often drifts down memory lane...  Crazy how long that lane is getting!  Shiloh had a beach party, and I was especially glad to see that my toddler is overcoming her intense fear of waves.  YES.  Em has not yet developed a fear of being filthy, which is kind of sad.

* Parks & More Parks.  We've been frequenting the park often, and though Elyse is having a blast, Emily just wishes she could walk.  I'm really hoping she'll brave a few steps soon, but I'm not going to hold my breath :)  She will try and try to get around, but when she fails, she'll just start playing in the dirt.  I happen to know from a little experience with my eldest that chasing a toddler around is actually worth it!  Em's doing well cruising around, so I hope she will get a bit more daring soon.  They both love the swings, but Elyse could go up and down slides all day long.  Yes, her going "up" slides takes a bit longer, but it's fun to watch her look of accomplishment.

* Swimming!  We've been swimming a few times this summer, and I'm thankful both girls are enjoying it.  I seem to vaguely remember days of lounging in beach chairs by the pool, but I think I'm getting an extra workout keeping two kiddos afloat.  That's good, right?

* SHARING.  We've been working a lot on sharing lately.  Emily's getting to that age where she's more persistent, and Elyse has been at that age for a while.  It's kind of hilarious to watch them both persist, but they can get quite loud.  I made the mistake of bringing home a toy yesterday that I got on clearance at Target (one of those plastic balls that bounce and light up...) for the girls to share.  It took all of 1 minute to hear how that was going down.  After numerous talks about sharing & generosity, I resolved to accomplish the task of DINNER, so I set the egg timer for 2 minutes, and we started the routine of taking turns.  Elyse was very puzzled at the beginning of the experiment, but she then started standing in front of the egg timer to wait for the "ding."  After a turn or two, she started giving the toy to Emily during her turn, just so she could wait for the "ding."  She ended up forgetting about the toy altogether by the time we served dinner.  Oh, my.  Emily obviously learned nothing during that whole process :)

* Jordan overheard Elyse having a "picnic" with Hippet (her little stuffed blanket animal) at bedtime the other night.  Her imagination is really getting active!  She stretched out a blanket on the floor in her room today, invited Emily ("Emmie, come here!") and spread lots of books out for them to read together.  I knew the camera would ruin the moment, but I had just had to record it.  Elyse had an eye exam today, and it was the first exam that they could ask her to tell them what she was seeing.  The eye chart consisted of lots of objects, most of which she knew right away: birthday cake, hand (she said "five" for the 5 fingers), a duck, a truck, etc..., but one picture seemed to stump her.

She finally came up with "birthday chair," so that's what it is to her :)  ???  Speaking of Hippet, today Elyse asked me where he was born.  Hmm...

* Emily's talking is cracking me up.  She uses so much inflection to say so little.  I have no idea what she wants to say, but it comes out as just a series of soft little noises with lots of expression.  She pulls out "Daddy!" all the time now, and I quite like it.  I believe I heard her say "Mommy" today, but it's unconfirmed...  She's also being quite a ham lately.  She'll close her eyes and rest her head against the back of her highchair while she's eating.  The food sometimes makes it into her mouth, and sometimes doesn't.  Elyse loves to remind me to pay attention to what Emily is doing.  Why, thank you, dear.

That's what's up.  See, I told you it was exciting!

The Scoop

It's been a while since I've blabbed online, so here's a brief update:

* Speaking of the "scoop," I do wish I wasn't attracted to ice cream.  This time of year, I always love a good bowl of ice cream.  I never pay full price for a carton, but it's almost always B1G1 at one grocery store I frequent, so I then purchase TWO cartons.  I've found a couple of frozen yogurt favorites (triple chocolate trumps the others), but either way, it's not the best attraction.  Moderation, moderation...  Am I the only ice cream addict out there?

* My girls have been up to their usual antics.  They keep me and each other entertained with goofiness quite often.  Their favorite new pastimes of theirs are beating on the washer & dryer as I do laundry, closing doors (just for the fun of it), burying themselves in clean laundry (yes, I do eventually fold it), reading books together, wrestling "gently," and laughing hysterically at nothing.

* I've had to tell Elyse quite often that certain foods are good for her.  That should help her understand why they don't taste awesome, right?  Well, she'll remind me that certain foods (aka desserts) are "so yummy for you!"

* Apparently, it's a cool thing to be funny around here lately.  As Elyse will watch Emily get scolded for something (which can happen quite often some days), she'll tell me afterwards that Emily is "so very funny."  She will also tell me how funny she is when she herself is getting scolded.  I have to remind her that funniness is subjective.

* On our anniversary a few weeks ago, Jordan showed Elyse our wedding album.  She must have remembered, because as I was folding laundry, she held up a white hand towel to her front & asked, "is this your wedding, Mommy?"

* Elyse said, "Thank you, Mommy Heijermans!" the other day.

* Emily is pulling up on everything these days, and she's officially started cruising around.  I had the most difficult time in Target today trying to keep her strapped into the cart.  She was desperately trying to turn around and stand up on the seat.  My eldest was sitting illegally in the base of the cart removing caps from all of the products I was getting ready to purchase & throwing them out onto the floor.  I totally felt like one of those out-of-control moms that I pity as I walked through the store.  Anyone else been there?!?!

* Elyse has FINALLY moved on to other favorite songs.  "Jesus Loves Me" is the current favorite, and I love that she will start singing about anything and everything right in the midst of the song.  I enjoy hearing her set everything to music these days.  She seems to be getting better at finding the melody, too :)

* Emily, Emily, Emily.  That girl.  She knows how to make me laugh.  She can turn any rotten situation into the Emily show.  I think we're in for it.

* Elyse has been calling Em "sweet girl" or "baby girl" all the time.  I didn't think I called Emily that very often, but apparently, she got it from somewhere!

* I get such a kick out of watching Elyse mother Emily.  She puts on a different voice and will remind her not to put certain things in her mouth (good luck, Elyse), not to drink out of the wrong cup, not to throw her food, etc...  We've already had to have talks about who the real mommy is.

* I haven't been doing much blogging, but I have been trying to mentally record lots of fun moments lately. I hope my memory holds up on me.  Some things are too precious for words, like slobbery kisses, bear hugs, bedtime giggles & family dates.  How do you capture those?