vagenis

After a little discussion about who was a boy and who was a girl, Bev exclaimed,

"I HAVE A VAGENIS!"

I think we have a little clarifying to do about basic human anatomy.

facial expressions

The kids were being mushy and adorable with each other (pictures to come) so I pulled out the camera.  It's sad how rarely I take pictures of our everyday.  Anyway, somehow we got started on a little game of "facial expressions".

Top row (from left to right): happy, angry, excited
Bottom row (from left to right): confused, lovey, sad

 

Seriously though, my kids are the cutest on the planet.  I should probably have 100 more.

this post really isn't about the pizza.

Tonight we fed the missionaries.  We made homemade pizzas (our favorite), and got to know the new elders.  Our ward just transitioned from having THREE sets of full time missionaries, down to one.  It's a companionship of three elders, and my kids LOVE them.  They always love all the missionaries. 

After our message, as the elders were putting their shoes and coats back on, they asked the girls for high fives.  Bev looked them straight in the face and said, "no."  They all kind of dropped their heads, showing her how saaaad that made them, so she smiled and said "I give you a hug!"

She then went up to each of them, hugged their leg, and gave them a kiss on the leg.  Close call at her height, but they seemed prepared to control the situation as much as necessary.  They were walking out the door when Bev ran, full speed, up to Elder Filimaua, wrapped her arms around him and smacked a big ol kiss... on his crotch.  Front and center.

I lost it.  We all did.  Seriously, I haven't laughed that hard in YEARS.  It was hilarious.  And awkward.  And soooo hilarious.  Oh, man.

So, uh, how'bout that pizza?

how'bout'dis

Tonight at bedtime, Rauland ended up with Bev's favorite blanket and started teasing that he wouldn't give it back.  So the girls and I huddled up and started brainstorming ideas to get it back.

Me: "Let's tickle him.  When he laughs, we'll grab the blanky and run."
Fail.

Bev:  "OK how'bout'dis, how'bout'dis, how'bout'dis."  Then she ran up to him, full speed, arms extended, and shoved him in the gut.
Fail.

Len: "What if I sit on him and smack him with a pillow, then Bev can get her blanket."
Fail.

Me: "Let's lul him to sleep.  When he doses off, we'll grab the blanky and run."
Fail.

Bev: "OK how'bout'dis, how'bout'dis, how'bout'dis."  Again, she ran up to Rauland, full speed, arms extended, and shoved him in the gut.
Fail.

Finally, Lenna got smart.  She started to pry his fingers open (with surprising success), until the blanket fell out of his hands, and Bev then grabbed the blanky and ran.
Success.

It's so much fun watching their quirky silliness, and discovering the world through their eyes.  And "how'bout'dis" is definitely going to become a staple phrase in our home.

she tried to take off her pants, too, but i had to draw the line somewhere

Yesterday I took the kids to the park.  It was a last minute thing, so I just scooted them right on out the door without much thought.  When we got there, they had no interest in the playground... they just wanted to get down to the lake.  Hoorah.

LAKE > PLAYGROUND anyday.

I was just starting to regret leaving their swimsuits at home when this happened:

So worth it.

how big their brave is

I can't stop watching this video.  My babies are just too freakin' cute.

bffs

When we found out we were expecting our second girl, I immediately started hoping and dreaming that they would be best friends.  The kind of sisters who take care of each other and paint each others' nails, you know?!

We made conscious efforts when Bev was born to keep Len included, and make sure she knew it was HER baby sis.  I decided really early on, that I would basically force the "best friend" thing on them, and see how it went!  So when Bev would fuss, I'd call Len over and tell her "your best friend is sad, how do you think we can help make her happy?"  I verbalized that they were best friends all the time, and still do.

If you ask my girls who their best friend is, they will squeal and say their sister's name.  And it's sweet, because they know that Rauland and I are best friends, as well.  They've always had a really sweet relationship with each other, but the older they get, the stronger their bond gets.  They really DO take care of each other.

This morning, when I went in their room to wake them up, I found this.  They were just snuggling, and quietly giggling and playing with each others' hair.  Just, being sisters.  Best friends.

I've always dreamed this day would come...

Today I introduced the girls to the world of sewing.  And it was fantastic!  We all loved it.  I think weekly sewing lessons are in order.  It was such a great indoor activity, and we didn't even have the needle in!  Read more about it here.

two minutes of bev \\ 001

I've decided to take two minutes every so often to write down, word for word, what my kids say while they play.  I started with Bev, and during these two minutes I never said a word:

Mommy. What-what-what you doing? What-what you doing?  You coloring ok?
Mama, no-no-no this have stuffs, k?!  It how it goes, like that.

I have to go.  I hav'ta vacuum.  Ya.  I wanna vacuum.  Mom wanna help me vacuum?  Go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.

Child of God, k?

excuses, excuses

thanks for the picture, T

Bev has officially started coming out of her room repeatedly at night just trying to find excuses to get out of bed.  So far tonight she's come out to tell us:

1 - "Daddy, I want snuggles."
2 - "Hey, I'm thirsty."
3 - "I miss Roxy" (my parents' dog)
4 - "Daddy, I farted."
5 - "Daddy, I tooted again."

thing 2:

 

Bev woke up with sweaty curls on one side of her head this afternoon.  I'm being completely honest when I say this could be the next big thing in fashion.  But only if you pair it with a smile like that! 

phrases i hear daily + summer snapshots

"Mom, you're breakin' my life."  -Len

"Oh, cap."  -Bev

"You DID it!"  -Bev

"That sounds a good deal/ that doesn't sounds a good deal."  -Len

"'Nuggle, mama"  -Bev

"How 'bout I get three (fill in the blank), because I'm three years old."  -Len

two

This crazy little one turned TWO today.  So here are a few factoids about our Bev:

1. She's potty trained.  She doesn't even sleep in diapers anymore!  It's strange how bittersweet this is.  I totally thought it'd be the happiest day of my life to have both kids out of diapers -and don't get me wrong, it's freakin' awesome- but it's sad to feel like there really isn't a baby in our house anymore.

2. Speaking of babies, Bev LOVES THEM.  Her favorite game now is to pretend she's a baby.  She's pretty convincing too - she rolls, crawls, fusses, jabbers, and pretends to sleep.

3. Bev will do anything that she sees her big sister doing.  This can be good and bad :)

Love you babe, happy birthday!

bev

our little family

this little world of ours

is filled with things like rocks and sticks and dandelions and maybe best of all, ladybugs.

it's a sister thing

Bev, in exhausted tears, just requested "sunshine".  When I started to sing you are my sunshine, she stopped me and said, "NO. Nenna sunshine."

We brought Len in to sing to her, and it completely soothed my sleepy Bev right away.

fashion forward

I married good

Yesterday afternoon I was was in my room watching the girls. The next thing I knew it was dark out, I could hear giggling in the next room, and two and a half hours had passed. My sweet, sweet husband found that I had fallen asleep and turned out the lights, herded the kids out of the room, shut the door, and played with them while I rested.

 I married good, and I'm writing this down so that I never ever ever ever forget it.

wedgies and saggy diapers

All about Len:

 

All about Bev: