This girl. Our first born. Our almost four year old. Our Little. She keeps us laughing. Sometimes she talks like she’s grown. Other times she babbles while she pretends to be a baby.

Over July 4th weekend my parents were visiting and over dinner one night we were conversing about cocktails, specifically mojitos. Matt was talking about how you smash the mint leaves in the bottom of the glass before pouring the drink into it when Little piped up with…

“You can’t smash me, Daddy, because I’m a woman!”

We all burst into laughter. I’m not sure which was funnier, that she misunderstood “mint” as “men” or that she referred to herself as a woman.

Little has discovered that she really likes Chinese food. Or, more accurately, that she really likes eating with chopsticks (and she’s quite good at it, actually).

Last Friday we met Matt when he got off of work and went out to lunch as a family. Ahh…Friday afternoons off are so nice. Little wanted to eat at Pei Wei so that’s where we headed.

After our meal we had to have fortune cookies, of course. The fortunes in fortune cookies are always funny, but Boo’s really made me laugh.

“The best times of your life have not yet been lived.”

For the two year old. Well, yeah.

The last few weeks have been pretty busy around here. We’ve had playdates almost every weekday for the last three weeks, had VBS in the evenings the last week of June, had a visit from my parents over July 4th weekend, been adjusting to Matt’s new job and schedule, and doing laundry, lots of laundry.

Nothing real exciting has occurred, but life is good. We’re enjoying Summer, trying to stay cool, and beginning to gear up for school-time activities.

Hope everyone is having a great Summer!

About a year ago, Nap, Inc. introduced a new carrier, the Boba, designed for older infants and toddlers (9 months to 4 years), and as soon as I saw it I wanted one. They retail for $100+, and I just couldn’t justify the cost since I don’t have that many opportunities to wear Boo right now because I’m usually wearing Baby Girl. I did, however, begin entering any Boba giveaway that I came across and hoping that I might get one that way.

So, imagine my surprise when I received an email from Lindsey while I was out of town in which she casually mentioned seeing a comment on my blog from Drea about me winning the Boba giveaway on her blog. I was so excited! It had been a few days since Drea left the comment, so I quickly e-mailed her hoping it hadn’t been too long and she’d drawn another winner. It hadn’t! I soon had a shipping confirmation and the package was scheduled to arrive at my house the day after we got home from our trip.

The delivery guy in brown dropped my new Boba off during naptime, and I couldn’t wait until a child was awake to try it on. So, I unpacked it and put it on right away. After Matt got home I tried it on with Boo and wore him around the house for a few minutes. He didn’t want to get out, but he had to so Matt and Little could try it out. Little loved it, too (she rode again for a few minutes the other night when I was showing it to a friend and didn’t want to get out).

Finally I have a carrier that Matt hasn’t deemed too “girly” for him to wear! It is the Aspen pattern; very neutral, very lovely. And I think he liked the idea of wearing one of the older kids while I wear Baby Girl.

Now we just need the weather to cool down a bit so we can go hiking!

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for this post. I’m just excited about winning this carrier. And I love Nap, Inc. products and would recommend them to anyone.

Today I would like to compose a coherent and thought out post, but I can’t seem to string sentences together. What’s with that?? I would also like to post about our trip to my brother’s house, but I want to upload pictures and that’s not happening either (I can’t figure out how to get them from my phone to the computer).

Instead, I’m posting some random bits and pieces from our lives lately…

~Matt starts a new job on Monday. This is exciting and a bit disconcerting at the same time. We’ve drawn a paycheck from the same place for the last 9 years. Although I am thrilled for Matt’s new opportunity, there is a sense of stability lost at the same time. I have no reservations about him taking this new position, but there is a bit of “fear of the unknown” that I’m battling.

~One of our big changes with the new job involves budgeting. For 7 of our 9 years of marriage our primary income (the one we budget on) has been paid monthly. Matt’s new employer pays weekly. I have to change my mindset as I approach our budget for next month.

~One of the great things about Matt’s new job is his schedule. He will work 7 to 5 Monday through Thursday and 7 to 11 on Fridays. Because he is trading a 40-45 minute commute for a 15-20 minute commute his time at home won’t really change Monday through Thursday, but we’ll have an extra half day every weekend!

~Matt had to make this statement to Boo on Saturday: “Don’t ride your horse n@ked in the living room!” File that under things you never thought you’d have to say.

~Saturday I asked Little a question and she answered, “Indeed!” Sometimes she talks like she’s 30 years old.

~One of my bestest friends is having a baby in a few weeks. I’ve bought 4 gifts for her. I really need to stop (it’s not like I don’t have my own baby girl to buy for).

~Matt’s Father’s Day gift was more coffee preparation paraphernalia. We have a friend who refers to Matt as Mr. Coffee. There’s a reason for that.

~The baby is teething. She’s been a bear the last couple of days.

~She also turned 5 months old last week. I’m struggling with the fact that she’ll start solid foods in less than a month.

~Little wrote her first sentence yesterday (in Matt’s Father’s Day card). I love you. I had to spell it for her, but she wrote it all. I’ll have to post a picture.

~I just bought Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I’ll let you know how it goes. This experience could be a deciding factor in whether or not we homeschool next year.

~I bought a new cloth diaper last week (in amethyst). I know you’re surprised.

~I got the kids a small inflatable pool today. They were so excited you would have thought we bought a water park.

And I think that’s all I have for now. Hope you’re having a happy Monday!

They discovered that if they lay in front of the air intake vent while the a/c is on it will suck their hair into the vent.

I love seeing how little children’s minds work!

Check out more Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom.

So, I’m going to remedy that now.

On Little’s actual birthday, we had a mini-celebration with her friends. She requested chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing and sprinkles, so that is exactly what we had. Her best friends came over for a playdate that morning, we had pizza and cupcakes for lunch, and she opened her gifts. That evening, we celebrated as a family with dinner at Chick-fil-a and her gifts from Mommy and Daddy.

A few days after her birthday, my parents came to town and we celebrated Little again. She spent the day with Bebe, Mommy, and Boo going to Build-a-Bear, having lunch in the mall food court (her choice), and riding the carousel. Unfortunately, Grandad wasn’t able to join us due to having a sick leg.

A couple of weeks later, Matt’s parents were able to make the trip to see us, and we had a fun birthday weekend with them. We took them to visit our zoo one day and spent the rest of the weekend enjoy spending time together.

I hate that I didn’t do a better job of documenting her birthday in a timely manner, but at least I do have a record of it now.

I am so glad you were born. Each day you bring joy, laughter, and love into my life. I thought my heart was full until you came along, but with each of you I’ve discovered a new depth in my ability to love.

I am so glad you were born. Sweet voices, precious baby giggles, adorable belly laughs. Unexpected bear hugs around the knees, snuggles on the couch, kisses from cute little lips. These things fill my days, my home, and my heart.

I am so glad you were born. We have our share of tantrums, whining, and tears (sometimes from Mommy, too). But the good days far outweigh the bad. Even in the midst of the hard times, looking into your eyes makes me glad that I’m the one you call Mommy.

I am so glad you were born. Watching each of you grow, seeing your personalities develop, observing your discovery of the world. God made you, He designed each facet of you for a purpose. His purpose.

I am so glad you were born. The days are sometimes long and hard, filled with teaching and training, with correction and cautions. Other days are fun, filled with light and laughter, with playing and pretending. But each day is a gift that we share together.

I am so glad you were born. We were given to each other for very specific reasons. I am to prayerfully help you become the women and man God has designed you to be. You help to make me a better person, mother, and Christian.

I am so glad you were born. You are gift like no other. It is a privilege to be your mother. I love you more than you will be able to fathom until you have children of your own.

I am so glad you were born.

This post was also entered into a contest to win a $100 gift certificate to Cottonbabies. If you’re a cloth diapering Momma you should check out the contest and check out the Cottonbabies website.

Little: “Mom, I’m so glad you aren’t married.”

Me: “Little, I am married.”

Little: “No you aren’t.”

Me: “Yes, honey, I am.”

Little: “No you aren’t!”

Me: “Yes, Little, Daddy and Mommy are married.”

Little (with a hilariously serious expression): “No you are NOT!”

Me: “Yes, sweetheart, we are. You know the picture on the mantle of Mommy and Daddy at our wedding? That’s when we got married.”

Little (with a wide-eyed, very serious look): “You aren’t married!”

Me (adamantly and a bit exasperated): “Yes, we are! You’ve seen the pictures from our wedding.”

Little (once again with the wide-eyed serious look): “You don’t have pictures because you are NOT married!”

Matt: “Please don’t say that in public!”

~Baby Girl stayed in the nursery this morning at BSF. It was the first time she’s stayed in a nursery. We both survived. In fact, she did great.

~Boo turned two last week. More on that when I get my act together and get pictures uploaded.

~Little and Boo go for their very first dentist appointments tomorrow. Should be interesting.

~We got new outdoor toys this weekend. The kiddos are having a great time playing in the backyard.

~Baby Girl has learned to roll from back to tummy over her left side.

~My best friend moves from 2 houses down to 20 minutes away next week. I can’t say that this makes me happy, but I’m excited to see her new house.

~Matt and I got to go out Friday night (thanks for babysitting, Mom and Dad!). All.by.our.selves.

~I’m contemplating buying a sewing machine again. Matt says I’m crazy and that I don’t have time to learn to sew (which is pretty accurate).

~I’m also considering taking up scrapbooking. Matt will probably say something very similar to his comments about sewing.

~We’ve planted a garden. Again, a post awaiting uploaded pictures.

~I’ve fallen off the “reclaiming my jeans” wagon this week. I need to get back on quickly! (so far I’ve lost about 5 pounds and several inches from my waist and lower abdomen, but I have a ways to go to get back into my jeans)

~Baby Girl has had a string of rough nights this week. We’re hoping to get a little more sleep sometime in the near future.

I think that’s about all I’ve got for now. More thorough posts to come soon assuming I can string together comprehensive thoughts.

Me: Would you trade your paci for a soccer ball?
Boo: no
Me: Would you trade your paci for a new dinosaur?
Boo: no
Me: Would you trade your paci for a new train?
Little: yeah, Boo, a new train
Boo: no, Mommy
Me: Would you trade your paci for a slide?
Little: yeah, Boo, a slide would be fun
Boo: no

Little: I’d trade my thumbs for an octopus!

Two weeks ago we had a TERRIBLE week with baby girl. She slept worse than she ever has in her short little life. I don’t know if it was a developmental spurt, tummy issues, or what, but for about eight days Matt and I got very little sleep. She would go to sleep with no problem, and then when she got up for her first nighttime feeding (around 1) it was like her little world exploded. She would only sleep if one of us was holding her, and we had to be sitting or standing. Any time we tried to lay back (like trying to sleep with her on our chest while we laid on the couch) she would wake up and cry. Needless to say, it was a rough week, and I spent most of my quiet time during the day trying to get some rest (when all three of the nappers cooperated).

Last week I wasn’t online much at all because we spent as much time as possible outside enjoying the GORGEOUS Spring weather. Tuesday morning we spent about 3 hours at the zoo, came home to eat lunch and nap, then played out in the yard for about 2 hours in the afternoon/evening. Wednesday we went to Bible study, and on our way home Lindsey called to say they were at the park. We spent about 45 minutes at the park, came home for lunch and nap, and then spent an hour and a half or so playing outside.

Thursday we decided to make a trip to the botanical gardens and check out a new feature they’ve added called My Big Backyard. It is a big garden space divided into various sections devoted to different outdoor and nature activities designed for kids. There are two big tractor tire sandboxes with shovels, watering cans, and pails in one section. Another area has a rope climbing area shaped like a giant spider web. There is a spot with hammock swings and a conifer “forest” to play in, an area with worm “tunnels” to crawl through, percussion instruments to play, houses to play in, a tree house and slide, and many other fun things to do. The kids loved playing in the big backyard, and enjoying a picnic lunch at the kid sized picnic tables. It was a great morning and something we’ll definitely have to do again soon.

Matt was off on Friday, so we spent the day cleaning house, running errands, and grocery shopping.

Saturday was the big egg hunt and festival at our church. The kids did egg hunts, Boo bounced in the bounce house, Little got her face painted, and she won a cupcake at the cake walk. We ended the festivities with hamburgers and yummy ice cream. Then we headed to Whole Foods for some more grocery shopping, and then came home and took naps.

Sunday, of course, was Easter. We celebrated Christ’s resurrection at church in the morning, and then spent the evening enjoying yummy food and good fellowship with friends.

All the fun this past week definitely made up for the lack of fun the previous week. This week promises more pretty weather, so I’m sure we’ll be headed to the park, playing outside, and doing any other fun things we can think of to enjoy Spring!

Little: Mommy, when will we die?
Me: I don’t know, sweetie, only God knows that.
Little: Why?
Me: Because God knows everything.
Little: And we only know a couple of things.

She is more right than her little three year old mind can grasp.

Sunday morning as I got ready for church Baby Girl sat in her comfy chair happily looking around. Little came up and started chatting with Baby Girl, and, of course, Baby Girl smiled and smiled at her.

After a few minutes Little told me that Baby Girl was giving her all the smiles. And then she told her daddy: “I’m all filled up with smiles because Baby Girl keeps giving me all her smiles.”

And my heart melted at the sweet sisterly-ness of it all.

If only they would still be this sweet to each other in the years to come.

Talking to Little:

Little: Question number one…Mommy. Who makes toes? (this is a little game she’s been playing lately. the answer is always Jesus.)
Me: Jesus
Little (deadpan): Jesus and God. There are a lot of toes.

Then there was this one:

Me (to Matt): Little told me today that I am a princess.
Little: I was just pretending!

Ouch!

And, filed under statements you never thought you would have to make:

“Boo, don’t put your bacon in your ear!”

which ranks right up there with the admonition we had to give Little when she was about 15 months old: “Don’t lick the toilet!”

Yep, never a dull moment around here.

Little is all about snow this winter. She talks about snow, asks when it is going to snow, and plots the things she will do when she finally gets to play in the snow.

Imagine her disappointment when our first snow of the winter left us with barley a 1/2 inch dusting (in fact, I think the layer of dust in my house is deeper than the snow was on the ground). When she looked out and saw the “snow” the following conversation ensued:

Little: Mom, can I play in the snow?
Me: Little, there really isn’t enough snow to play in.
Little: Can I make a snowman?
Me: No, baby, there isn’t enough snow.
Little: Can I make a snow angel?
Me: Sorry, sweetheart, there isn’t enough snow.
Little: Well, can I at least make a footprint?

Fortunately, there was enough snow for her to make some footprints.

So, that was our first encounter with snow this year. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the weather people started forecasting a big snow headed our way. We were supposed to get 6-8 inches, and everyone was very excited (and very anxious to get to the grocery for bread and milk). This is the South, people!

There was enough for the little people to go out and play, which they loved.

check out the tiny snowman; that’s all the snowman they could build

And the next day the ice made it perfect for sledding. They loved this too!

Little was much more impressed with this snow, but since it was mostly ice it posed challenges of its own.

She couldn’t make a snow angel because she couldn’t push her arms down hard enough to break through the ice crust.

And poor Boo had trouble walking in it. Just about every time he took a step he lost his balance as his foot broke through the ice crust and fell on his bucket. I so wish I had been filming him when he first went out; he stepped over the transition point between our concrete patio and the grass, lost his balance, and went sprawling face forward into the snow. It was hilarious!

That was the first of our two snows in a week and a half span. I’ll post about this week’s snow soon.

~ “Mommy, when baby girl is born you’ll have a little tummy again!” [yeah, i hope so ]

~ We were playing “trip” and I was supposed to travel to her house in the living room. When I came into the living room there were toys, cups, blankets, etc strewn all over the place. I said, “How does this house get so messy?” She replied (with a straight face), “I don’t know. I never met you before.”

~ And last, but not least, we were watching the finale of The Biggest Loser last week and Little was in here with us during the last few minutes before bed time. They were showing the “before” pictures of the contestants and Little said, “Why do some daddies have pull b00bies?” I’m not sure what the pull part means, but Matt and I both just busted out laughing.

~A couple of weeks ago she was telling us about an episode of Caillou she likes. In the show there is a big storm and Caillou’s home loses power, so the family has a “camp out” in living room to stay warm around the wood burning fireplace. In Little’s words, “And then Caillou’s daddy puts some wood in the TV/XBox thingy and makes a fire!”

~When we went on vacation a couple of weeks ago my parents borrowed my aunt’s minivan so we could all ride together. The van has a TV/VCR in it, so I was telling Little that she would be able to watch movies in the car while we traveled. She asked (with awe in her voice): “They have an XBox in their car?!” (Obviously watching Netflix via XBox is making a big impression on her life!)

~Wednesday evening we were sitting around the dinner table chatting about our days. Matt and I were asking Little about her morning at BSF and inquired if they went outside since it was a pretty day. She said, “We didn’t get to play outside, but we went on a walk outside. And it was more fun than a duckling!”

~On Thursday’s all of Little’s closest friends are in school or mother’s day out programs. We usually use the day for errands, doctor appointments, or just stay-at-home and chill days. This week Little was asking when she would be old enough to go to school (which is a fairly common refrain around here) and I told her that when she started school she would probably stay at home with Mommy and Jack and we would have school here. Incredulously she asked, “We’re going to build a school, Mommy?!”

~And still on the school topic, on Saturday she was pondering things school related when she asked, “Mommy, when you are my teacher can I still call you Mommy?”

We also had several in-depth conversations this weekend on a variety of topics including Heaven/death/Jesus, school, and automatic car washes. She’s growing up, that girl!

All last week Little had a kind of random cough. She would have coughing “fits” where she would cough a lot for a few minutes and then would go hours without coughing again. It was a bit strange, but I didn’t really think much of it; I thought it was just allergies or a cold coming on or something. She didn’t show any other symptoms until this weekend when she started running a low-grade fever. Her fever has gotten up to 101.5, but she still doesn’t really have any symptoms other than the cough and fever. She is a little lethargic and whiney, but for the most part she’s just Little.

And speaking of this weekend…my parents (Bebe and Grandad) came to visit. It was Little’s “birthday” weekend (a few weeks past her actual birthday, but more on the birthday in another post) and she had a big day planned to spend with Bebe and Grandad on Friday. Friday morning came, and when my dad woke up his leg was bright red and swollen up really big. Instead of our intended outing he started his day in the minor med clinic getting an antibiotic shot and oral meds for the infection. Over the next couple of days the leg didn’t get any better, and Dad ended up in the hospital on Sunday for IV antibiotics and observation. Fortunately, now his leg seems to be doing better. Hopefully, he’ll be able to head home in the next day or so.

I’ve also been trying to fight the cough thing that Little has going on, but now I seem to have developed an icky sinus-y thing. I’m all congested and coughing and headache-y and such.

We did have a good day on Friday for Little’s big day (minus Grandad); I’ll try to post more on that later. But overall, this weekend and early part of the week certainly hasn’t turned out quite like I thought it would.

Matt said a few weeks ago that sometimes conversing with Little is like dialog from a Naked Gun movie. She is always mis-hearing something we say and repeating it as something that cracks us up.

A few weeks ago we were sitting around the dinner table and Little filled a lull in the conversation with some chat about parks and playgrounds. During her discourse she mentioned that we have two parks that we go to and a mall (meaning the mall play area). Matt said, “Yeah, the mall is kind of like a park.” And Little said, “Not a garlic park, Daddy!”

Whaa? Where does she come up with these things?

But the chickens don’t just stay in the closet. Sometimes we have to get them off the dresser or out from under the dresser. Sometimes they are playing in the shower. You never really know where the chickens are going to be, but wherever they show up we have to herd them back into the closet.

I’m glad there isn’t something “scary” lurking in the closets around here, but chickens? Where does she come up with these things?

A few months ago MomSelect sent me an offer to receive 4 tickets to the Thomas and Friends Live! On Stage show that is touring this year. Little loves her trains, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to take her to the show. Unfortunately, the tour did not come to West Tennessee, so last weekend we loaded up the kids for a quick trip to Nashville specifically to see Thomas.

The show was cute, and both of my kids seemed to enjoy it. It was definitely corny, but what do you expect from a kids show? It took several minutes before the trains first made their appearance, and Little got a bit antsy waiting for them to come on stage, but once the trains were there she pretty much sat enthralled for the 45 minutes prior to intermission. Boo, on the other hand, clapped and sang and grinned and cheered all the way through the first part. There were several times where they asked for audience participation (make the sound of the train whistle, sing along, call for Thomas, etc), but Little would not participate (while Boo was too young to really understand).

Here are a few things I learned from taking my little people to see the show:

1. Seats in the first tier are better than floor seats (at least at our venue). We were able to get good seats with our passes.

2. An hour seems to be about the extent of my children’s ability to sit still and watch something. They both did great up until intermission, but the 30 minutes after intermission were harder. By the last 15 minutes, Little was asking if it was time to go yet.

3. I will never again drink the fresh-squeezed lemonade at Sommet Center. At least not while eating blue cotton candy. Let’s just say that the kids were fine, but apparently wee babe #3 was not to keen on the combination.

It was a tough weekend for Matt and me, but I’m really glad we had the opportunity and made the effort to take Little to see Thomas. She may not remember going since she’s so young, but she was very excited about it and seemed to really enjoy seeing the trains live on stage.

Last night he was playing with Little’s grocery cart, pushing it through the living room and kitchen. While he was in the kitchen he stopped at the pantry and played for a while. Matt and I looked over and Boo was taking canned goods out of the pantry floor and putting into his grocery cart.

It was so cute. And so amazing to see him make the groceries/grocery cart connection at this young age.

As an aside – as I type this post my friend’s little boy and Little are pushing each other around the house in Boo’s dump truck. They are just cracking up at the fun they’re sharing. Oh the joys of childhood!

I love that Little is conversant now, but as she gets older we lose more and more of her common mispronunciations. For instance, she used to say the sweetest little “ah-hoo” instead of “uh-oh”. We still have a few remnants of her early language, but every time I hear her say “lawnt” (want) or “goy-ul” (girl) I realize just how quickly her language skills are developing.

My little girl is rapidly becoming a preschooler and leaving her “baby” ways behind. I wish I could hold on to parts of this age (not the tantrums, thank you, though), but I know the next stage holds lots of fun and funny things as well.

The best I can do is capture a few snippets of her sweet little voice on video and record the things she says here on the blog. But can’t she just say “rimma loom” (living room) forever?