Identity Crisis

Hannah is in the middle of an identity crisis...she thinks she is Aly. We knew she wanted to be just like her big sister, but she thinks she is her big sister. If you ask her what her name is she says, "Ahh-ye". We are working on it, but I guess Hannah is just to hard to say. Or maybe it is just more fun to be someone else...

I love that girl.

You've got mail!

My dad had to go to Texas again on business. When he got down there he found these fuzzy things, called Squirmles (pronounced like squirrel and animal put together). They are basically a fat, glorified pipe cleaner attached to an invisible string so you can make it magically move. But, my dad knows how much the girls love to get mail so he spent twice as much to ship them...two day air!! They we so excited to get them. Hannah really like hers. She has the orange one, which she calls "lellow". It even got to sleep with her. It is a pretty convenient 'pet'...I think when Sammy and Lily are gone we will just replace them with a handful of Squirmles!

Although their diets are significantly healthier from the absence of daily cookies and coffee, the girls definitely miss their Papa! Especially since they are used to seeing him everyday while we're at school. He missed his birthday and we don't know when he will be back... I guess anywhere from another week to two months. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. And when he does, we will have a big birthday cake waiting for him!!

Bedtime, sans Magenta

After sleeping with Magenta for nearly 3 years, Aly decided last night was as good a night as any to stop. She randomly told us she didn't want to sleep with her...that she wanted to sleep under her covers 'like Daddy' instead. That was that. She must have slept just fine because she didn't wake up until 7:45. She has NEVER done that...in her life...

For those of you wondering, Magenta is her pink dog sleeping bag from Blue's Clues. She would not lay down without it. She watched TV on it, took a nap on it, slept at night on it...you name it, Magenta was under her. I originally got it for her when she was a year old and we took the bottle away from her. Her sippy cups kept leaking and getting on the couch and that was an easier thing to wash than the cushion!! It stuck. Hannah even has the exact same one that I found on eBay, only hers is Blue...and she won't do anything without hers now! Aly still lays on it to watch TV, but it is sad our bedtime routine doesn't include her anymore :( Now if we could just ditch the night time pull-up...

Mom and Mommy

When Hannah says 'Mom', you would probably think she is talking about me...you would be wrong. I am MOMMY. My mom is MOM. She can't say grandma and I think she hears me call her mom, so MOM it is!

A Simple Reminder...

He didn't have to wake up
He'd been up all night
Layin’ there in bed listenin’
To his new born baby cry
He makes a pot of coffee
He splashes water on his face
His wife gives him a kiss and says
Its gonna be OK

It won’t be like this for long
One day soon we'll look back laughin’
At the week we brought her home
This phase is gonna fly by
So baby just hold on‘
Cause it won't be like this for long

Four years later ‘bout 4:30
She's crawling in their bed
And when he drops her off at preschool
She's clinging to his leg
The teacher peels her off of him
He says what can I do
She says now don't you worry
This’ll only last a week or two

It won’t be like this for long
One day soon you'll drop her off
And she won’t even know you're gone
This phase is gonna fly by
If you can just hold on
It won’t be like this for long

Some day soon she'll be a teenager
And at times he'll think she hates him
Then he'll walk her down the aisle
And he'll raise her veil
But right now she's up and cryin’
And the truth is that he don't mind
As he kisses her good night
And she says her prayers

He lays down there beside her‘
Til her eyes are finally closed
And just watchin’ her it breaks his heart
Cause he already knows
It won’t be like this for long
One day soon that little girl is gonna be
All grown up and gone
Yeah, this phase is gonna fly by
So, he's tryin’ to hold on‘

Cause it won’t be like this for long

This song, by Darius Rucker, makes me tear up every time. Great songs always do. We have so much to look forward to, but I can't believe how quickly the last four years have gone! It has been the most amazing journey of selfless love and the heart of Jesus! My cup is full. Life is good.

Waterpark Fun in January

At the last minute, literally, we decided to take the girls on the YL leader weekend after all. Since it was last minute, I had to drive the girls down to Great Wolf Lodge in Cincinnati by myself. They were good in the car though and Aly was sooooo excited when I told her where we were going. She immediately said, "We have to get my watering shoes!"

The resort was great! Whoever thought of putting a water park indoors was a rich genius!! Hannah loved the water...Aly loved the room more. It was a great weekend to spend time together, reconnect with some YL friends and have the girls around the YL 'culture'. There is nothing like it. What a great ministry!

Setting up her 'bed' when we got to the hotel.

Hannah went down the slide all by herslef....Aly wouldn't even go near it!We didn't get to go on the slides this time, but look at how cool this place is!!

Parental Rejection

I had my first experience with parental rejection this morning.

I had to take a sick day today because of 'the sickness' at my parents right now, so I got to drop Aly off at school. Normally, grandma does the drop off and I pick up. When I got her out of the car I reached for her hand to hold it until we got inside. Until now she loved to hold my hand. Not today. She saw some other girls walking without holding their mommies hands and she pulled hers back and said, "No, mommy..."

She put her thumbs under her backpack straps and walked a step behind of me, like a teenager at the mall with her embarrassing parents. She is just too cool.

As long as she snuggles with me at home...this is just the first of many I'm sure :(

It's a bird...it's a plane...

No...it's a hairbow!! Yes. A hairbow. In Alyssa's hair. Finally, after 3 1/2 years I have a picture of the child with a bow in her hair...

It didn't last long...she took it off when we got out of the car to go into school. At least it's progress.

6 Steps to a PERFECT Friend

Aunt Emily bought the girls gift cards to Build-A-Bear Workshop for Christmas and we went to use them today. We picked the wrong day, but it was worth it. This store was made FOR Alyssa...

STEP 1: Pick the Perfect friend to make.

There are dozens to choose from, but they both picked puppies this time. Hannah got a scruffy one and Aly got a velvet one....very cute!

STEP 2: Wait in line (if there is no line, skip to STEP 3)...

We had to wait almost an hour and a half today...it wasn't too bad, except for the really annoying mom behind us talking to her friend on the cell phone about her ex-husband and his new girlfriend...seriously?!?!?

STEP 3: Stuff your pal to perfection.

STEP 4: Dress your new friend and brush their fur to make them soft and cuddly.

They each dressed their puppies like Disney Princesses. Each one matched the dress up clothes they got for Christmas. Hannah's is Tinkerbell and Aly's is Cinderella.

STEP 5: Name your new friend and make them a birth certificate.

Hannah named her puppy, Dewy. She has been watching Scooby Doo a lot...so Dewy it is. Aly simply named hers, Puppy. She refuses to give her animals names - they are simply called whatever they are. Very practical and uncomplicated.


STEP 6: Take your new friend home and love them to pieces!!

Thanks Aunt Emily...We love you!!

Popping Popcorn

We had a movie night last night to watch "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". We popped fresh popcorn in the 'old time' popper, like grandpa's that Santa brought Aly for Christmas, and put melted butter and cheese (which is actually popcorn salt...I don't know why she thinks it is cheese - maybe because of the bottle it is in) on it. The movie is actually really cute and has some adult humor in it. Hannah didn't make it all the way through and Aly started to lose interest, but movie nights are one of my favorite things!!

Fort Daddy

Dan and Aly built a huge fort yesterday! It is still up...as fun as it is, I am hoping it is not a permanent fixture in the family room now...

Inside view
Backdoor Tunnel

Sisters gotta hug!!

Well, actually...

I know I posted this on Facebook, but it is too cute not to blog about so she remembers it later! The other day I asked Dan if he wanted tacos or meatloaf for dinner. Here is how the rest of the conversation went:

Aly: "I want tacos!!"

Me (This didn't surprise me since tacos are one of her 3 favorite dinners): "Ok! And, we can have meatloaf on Friday then, right?"

Aly (thinking): "Well, actually...I am not going to be hungry on that day..."

What?!??! What three year old says that?? It is even more funny because meatloaf is another one of her favorites...and, when I did make later in the week, she actually ate a lot of it! She never ceases to amaze me with what she says...

Alyssa's 'Real' Bible

Dan and I have been talking about how to teach the girls about Jesus and the Bible since before they were even born. Up until now, it has been informal conversations, activities and traditions, but now that Alyssa is getting older and asking more questions, we know we need to be more intentional about what we do. We still don't really know how to go about sharing the gospel with a 3-year-old very well (so if you have suggestions, let us know!!), but we have started to do the activities they send home with her at church every week. With that, there is a memory verse they do each month. We started reading it together every night before bed and talking about what it means. Since her Bibles were all 'storybooks', the verse wasn't in it and we just read it from the paper.

One night she asked me to read her the verse from my Bible! So I did and she said she liked that version better. We decided we need to order her a 'real' Bible with the actual text. I ordered her one online, The Veggietales Bible, and told her it would come in the mail. She was soooooo excited! She asked if it had come everyday I checked the mail and was so disappointed when it hadn't.

Then, today, when my mom brought them home she asked my mom to check our mail to see if her Bible had come! It wasn't in the mailbox, but it was on the porch! My mom gave it to her and she immediately got a crayon so she could color in it, 'like daddy' (when he underlines verses). She also asked for some family pictures to put in it, 'like daddy' (to use as bookmarks). She took her Bible upstairs to her room and laid down on her bed to 'read' it. She told us we all need to be quiet because she was 'reading her Bible and having a quiet time'! Precious.

The Bible I got her is really a good one for young kids. It is NIV, so the text is the actual scripture, not a kiddie version...which she pointed out right away because it was just like mine. It also has chapter introductions that are more kid friendly and little excerpts about the text throughout. It also has some Veggietale stories mixed in (which are pretty silly), but she seems to like those too. She will probably grow out of it in a year or so, but for now it is serving its purpose and she loves it!!

Her first memory verse, by the way, is Matthew 5:16:

"In the same way, let you light shine before men. So they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven."

We pray her excitement and enthusiasm for God and his word continues as she gets older!!

Arctic Blast

We have been hit by the first snow storm of the season that dumped about 6-7 inches on us in total..which resulted in the first snow day too!! I think I have already said this, but Alyssa LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to play in the snow...Hannah does not! She went out once and cried the whole time. I have tried to get her dressed for the snow so many times since and she fights me like crazy, so Dan usually just takes Aly out and we watch. Here are a few pictures from one of the snow dressings...she most definitely can not go out like this!! Maybe it is because it is hard for her to move in all the gear. Either way, she must take after me...I like the snow when I can watch and snuggle inside, but don't want to be in it!!

Aly and Dan made another snow man - or snow blob as it turned out. They had to get creative again: pop cans for eyes, pretzels for a mouth, lime green travel grill lid for a hat, tennis rackets for ears and old wiper blades for arms. Hannah has been calling him 'Snowy' and it stuck. We finally got Hannah to go out again last night. It didn't last very long, but she did enjoy riding on the sled. Aly, of course, had a ball!

"Two Thousand and Ten" or "Twenty Ten"??

Who really cares!! All we cared about today was lots of friends, food and football!! We decided to have a little tailgate party with a few close friends...which quickly turned into a large party with a ton of close friends! Many of which we have not seen for a while since they moved far away! It was so good to catch up with everyone and cheer on our team to VICTORY...finally - after three straight bowl losses! We had sooooooo much fun!!

Aly with Kayley...she loves older girls!!

The kids also had a blast and did a real number on the play room!! Who knew kids could play with EVERY SINGLE TOY we owned?!?!? The first wave of kids had a slumber party in the loft...then later that night five of the six girls (yes, 6 girls...Eli was a very lucky little man!) came down and did an impromptu...and very unconventional...fashion show!!

Alyssa, Hannah, Reese, Avia, Max and Daniel watching the Grinch!

This was halfway through the game...

Alyssa, Hannah, Olivia, Kirstin and Kendall's fashion show...yes, Kirstin has a diaper taped to her face...I guess she was going for the 'Osama Bin Ladin' look!!

Aly was so happy...she said 'take a picture of all my friends!!'

Check out all the shoes...and this is only half of them!!

I think 2010 is going to be a great year - no matter how you say it!! We have a lot to look forward too and even more to be thankful for!!! So, heres to a new year and roast duck (fresh from Oregon) for dinner tomorrow!!