No she didn't!

Downstairs on Friday, I could hear Emily from her crib above me playing car during her nap. Buddin buddin, beep beep, laughing, using the rail for a steering wheel, all of it. She had a great time. When nap time was over and I went to get her, I said, "Emily, no ma'am. We do not play in our crib. You lay down, close your eyes and go night night." She looked at me, put her little hand out towards me, and said, "Mommy hit it?" with this angelic little look on her face. Oh, my. It just doesn't seem right spanking a baby when you are laughing so hard. Terrible twos, I hear you coming and I am terribly afraid.

Daddy Time

I realized there are no pics of my handsome hubby on the blog to date. This is just negligence on my part and I need to fix it. Hannah and I took a quick trip to the library last night to grab a couple of books and pick up a movie. When we came home, it was time to snuggle with Daddy. This is most definitely his love language and hers too. Apparently she was cold and this robe is big enough for both of the skinnies in our family!

Reminds me of days gone by:

Snow-ish

This is the girls enjoying our very own quarter-inch of the white stuff.

Btw, these pictures were taken before Emily figured out how she really felt about it. And yes, Hannah coordinated our outfits!

Housekeeping

Two things I need to blog about...first, you see the "Inbox Dollars" and "Send Earnings" pics on my blog. Just last week, thanks to a link from a blogger Stacy C follows, I got into doing more online surveys for a little cash here and there. Already, Dollar Surveys has deposited money in my paypal acct for participating. (Happy ebay shopping to me!) Also, I earned a $20 reward for Hannah's Upromise account through ERewards surveys. I can get/give money from referrals but I don't like to send people unsolicited email like that so if you want to know more let me know you're interested.

Secondly, April was kind enough to give me an award and I want to share the joy!

The rules are as follows...
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

2 Nicholson Girls (I have enjoyed getting to know these beautiful girls better)
Whose Oxygen Mask First (Always makes me laugh)
The Rider Family 5 (I love blogs from people I want to know better!)
Jonah's Journey Home (Co-worker of Daniel adopting a beautiful boy from China this week)
The Timmons Family (Always nice when someone you love/admire blogs)
The Rogers Family (ditto)
The Horton Family (ditto)
The Laney Family (One of my first and most thoughtful blogging friends)
The Waddell Family (A great friend and I LOVE her kids eat free list)
The Cotheran Family (the best blogger I know personally)

The Will, the Bladder, and the Budget

Hannah'sstrong will has its benefits on occasion, this time in the area of potty training. She was not easy to potty train but at each juncture once she decided to cooperate, the next step was always easy. Last night was our third night with no pull up or diaper. I am so proud of her! Just last month she was sleeping in diapers and waking up wet 100% of the time. I bought one bag of pullups, explained the situation, bribed her with quarters, and voila. She began waking up dry 80% of the time. After said bag of pullups was gone, as promised I did not buy more and I have not had to change her sheets yet. I know that is in my future at some point but I am really happy to have her reach this milestone. Definitely a budget booster!

favorite conversations, part 3

With both girls, from the very beginning I would count buttons, snaps, etc aloud as I dressed them. This was mainly to distract them from crying/protesting while being dressed and to help them learn to count. With most clothes, we only get to three at most so Emily blew my mind today.

Me: One
Emily: Two
Emily: Tee
Emily: Or
Emily: Fi
Me: Five
Emily: Sis
Emily: Memen
Emily: Ay
Me: Nine
Emily: Tih

favorite conversations, part 2

We were outside last week enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. (At this rate, even I am starting to believe that my Aussie hairspray is turning the earth into an oven!) Hannah runs to show me Emily trying to climb up the slide by herself, ladder and all.

I can't tell you what an awesome feat of little muscle this was to watch. Three or four times she had to pull her entire body weight up a distance I didn't even think her legs could possibly stretch. She was so determined and so focused and once at the top, so proud. With Hannah's coaching, I helped her slide down. We repeated Mimi's new feat three times and it was obvious she was exhausted and so she moved on to ball chasing. Serveral minutes later, I had to go inside to use the facilities, gave Hannah instructions, and left the door open so I could listen to them play in the fenced-in backyard. Here's what happened next.

Hannah: laughing
Hannah: silence
Emily: crying
Hannah: Mimi are you okay?
Emily: crying

Hannah, running to the door: Mommy, Mommy, I need your help!
Me, running to the door: What's wrong?
Hannah: Mimi broke her hiney!
Me: (Surveying the situation and also thinking mother's should just get permanent catheters at delivery) But what happened?
Emily: crying and spitting out grass
Hannah: Mimi broke her hiney!

Me: But what happened? How did she fall?
Hannah: She was at the top and she just lay down and plop down on the ground.
Me, motioning: Did she fall from here or here or here?
Hannah, pointing to the top: Mommy, Mimi flied! Se flied down!

Don't worry, Emily was fine. I think Hannah is now actually a little jealous of her temporary super powers.

a few favorite conversations, part 1

Daniel had 1/1 and 1/2 off this year and it was nice to have some help recovering from Christmas. We tackled several projects, and one of those was taking the recycling to the recycling center. Traditionally, Hannah goes along for the ride and I have fifteen minutes or so of watching just Emily.

Daniel: Hannah, let's get your jacket on and get in the car.
Emily: Mimi's! Mimi's cacket! Mimi car!
Me: Daniel, Emily wants to go with you.
Daniel: Silence, look of dread.
Emily: Mimi's! Mimi's cacket! Car! (desperate now and very cute).
Daniel: All right. I'll take both of them.
Me: Thank you!

At this point, I can hardly hold back the smile thinking of the joy of fifteen minutes alone in my house...this never happens. I come up with the wild and crazy plan of watching tv (something non animated) while folding the laundry.

Garage door opens.
Back door shuts.
Car door opens.
Car door shuts.
Back door opens.
Hannah walks in.

Daniel: Hannah's going to stay with you.
Me, running: No! It's okay! Go with Daddy!
Hannah: (with huge tears) But I have to stay with you 'cause you don't have a buddy. I want to be your buddy. You would be all by yourself, mommy!

At this point, I saw the depth of her feeling and realized she had come up with this all on her own and I melted. I nixed the laundry idea and we had a mother/daughter snuggle fest. I was happy just to sit with a three year old who was thinking of someone other than herself.

Pictures

Sorry it's been a while since I posted any pictures of the girls. I cannot believe how much they've grown. Emily is quickly approaching 2 and Hannah 21. :)

Eating my birthday cake:





The kids table, before the food started to fly:

Cousins Hannah, Brent, Emily, Lizzie, and Sarah at the Snook/McKelvey/Wilcox gathering this Christmas.