From the Mouthes of Babes...

Norah is interested in all things princess. I've discovered this also includes interest in their respective princes. If she's playing Ariel, I, or Daddy are often asked to be "Prince Eric". If she's Sleeping Beauty, our role switches to "Prince Phillip". So, last night as we were driving in the car (where a great deal of deep thought and notable conversation takes place), she asks,

N: Mommy, what's Cinderella's prince's name?
A: Ummmmm Charming?
N: Ooooo, Charming. Good name.


Probably in light of the "every princess has her prince" thought process, Norah has pondered some as to who her prince will be. As a result, we had the following conversation.

N: Mommy, when I grow up, can I marry Daddy?
A: No, sweetie, Daddy is my husband. But he'll always be your Daddy.
N: Ok, then I want to marry Eli.
A: Well, Norah, actually, you can't marry your brother.
N: Oh. (With understanding, and then concern) Then who can I marry!?
A: You can marry another sweet, Christian boy.
N: Ok. Then I want to marry Cal. (A friend from church)

I happened to have an errands at Cal's house later that evening, so naturally Norah wanted to tag along and check in on her prospect. While we were there, they had the following exchange.

N: Cal, when I grow up, can I marry you?
C: Ummmm....sure.
(Then, after some quick consideration)
C: No, wait! I'm older, so I will marry you!
N: Ok.

Eli Edition

I will be the first to admit that I grossly underestimated how much I would learn from becoming a mother. Sure, I'd heard about it from nearly every parent I've ever met, but I suppose I'm one of those girls who just has to learn her lessons for herself.

For starters, I now understand how there can be room in one's heart to love a second child (or any subsequent children, for that matter) even after feeling that there is no possible way that a love could ever match the one felt for your firstborn. This was a concept that plagued me with doubt and worry while I was pregnant with our son.

Of course, the moment he arrived, I realized I had no idea of the capacity for love with which God designed a parent's heart. (And oh, the parallels I can draw between that capacity for love and His love for us as our "Father"!) I cannot imagine my world without precious Eli in it! I love him so deeply, it almost hurts. Do I love Norah less as a result? Not a chance. Do I believe my parents now when they say it would be impossible for them to pick a favorite child? Absolutely. (Sorry, Amanda) This post, however, is dedicated to my sweet, "little buddy", who, I've decided, was hurting for some press time in Robinson County.

Eli is also the child responsible for teaching me the meaning of the phrase "cut the apron strings". I never really understood that phrase until I felt that now, all too familiar tug behind my back, resulting in the need to retie my apron...again. It makes my heart ache to think that it will one day be my responsibility and duty to "cut" those strings (especially when I consider how quickly these precious, wonderful childhood days are flying by).

My little man loves to be in the kitchen, whether he's helping me "cuk", unloading the dishwasher (one of his favorite pastimes--and he says, "Thank you ma'am" for every, single, piece of silverware he proudly hands to me), or banging pots and pans in the play kitchen. Unfortunately, he is equally fond of raiding the kitchen trashcan...but hey, nobody's perfect, right?

He loves listening to music, and is quick to pick up lyrics. Often times, if I interrupt a song by turning off the car, he will attempt to finish it out as best he can. He loves to sing with us. His favorite songs to date are "Jesus Loves Me", "Night Night, Little Eli God Cares for You", "Thank you, God", "This is the Bible", "Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter", and "The Trees are Gently Swaying" (Notice a pattern? We have been blessed with WONDERFUL Bible class teachers!)

He also loves to "dance" (with the unfortuntate rhythm of his mother), spin, and stomp, and will happily perform one or all three feats on command. In spite of not opting to walk until he reached 15 months of age, he now moves around like greased lightening! And when he runs, his flaxen locks flop precariously atop his sweet head, no doubt reminding his paternal grandma and grandmother of another towheaded, blue-eyed, fair-skinned boy from days gone by.

As his vocabulary becomes larger and his words more clearly pronounced, his appetite increases, and his features continuously change, I am constantly aware that he grows less baby and more little boy with every passing day.

But then...there are times when I still catch tiny glimpses of my baby. These windows of time seem to appear most frequently when he's sleeping peacefully, or is feeling insecure and wants to be held close.

I love the person I am watching him become. He is such a content boy. He's obedient, helpful, and
I can already tell that he has a tender heart. (He can hardly take seeing his sister disciplined with even a stern word).

As much as I love watching him grow, I will soak up every remaining second I have with this precious, perfect, chubby cheeked, baby boy, and hope that in so doing, he will always feel his mother's love, even when those apron strings finally meet their day of reckoning.

From the Mouthes of Babes...

N: Mommy, do you know Samson?
A: I think so, what about him?
N: Jemima cut his hair and he wasn't strong anymore.

Rekindled Romance

I have recently fallen back in love with my sewing machine. In days gone by, I might have settled for "forty winks" or caught up on my favorite tivo'ed show while the kids took their naps, but not lately. Lately, I just can't get enough of the happy little whir of my sewing machine.

In recent weeks, I've made a new dress for Norah (and Ellie)




Which, thankfully passed the "I know you I've walked with you once upon a dream" twirl test.





I love sewing clothes for Norah! (Even when I have to rip the zipper out three times before I'm happy with it...but it does look nice, doesn't it?) I've discovered the secret to success (at least for now) is choosing a pattern with a very full skirt. As long as it "twirls very, very fast", I'm in like Flynn.

I made a "tag monster" for Eli (which he enthusiastically refers to as "Mah-suh")













And one for Norah too... (which she loves, in spite of the fact that I left off it's "fangs")














And one for "Baby Davy" (with Converse sneakers for added cuteness)



My latest obsession has been felt food. It is fast, easy, and patterns aren't really necessary. (Although, Skip to My Lou has a great one for the sandwich set) I started with some iced, sprinkled donuts...

And followed up with a bacon, egg and pancake breakfast plate (you know, for those kids with a heartier pretend appetite)

Fortune Cookies...














Strawberry- topped cupcakes...










Flavored tea bags, perfect for tea parties!







Ravioli with marinara (hands' down, the most creative use of pinking shears I've found, to date)

And a sack lunch special, complete with ruffled potato chips, swiss cake roll, and a vinyl sandwich baggie! I'm telling you, it's addictive, this felt food sewing! My mind is still churning with thoughts of sushi rolls, fancy cakes, cinnamon rolls and a Thanksgiving dinner!

But don't worry...the kids (and Jason) still see me on a regular basis. Norah has even started helping me sew. (She can correctly identify the presser foot lever, the presser foot, seam ripper, pinking shears, scissors, straight pins, thread, and needles, so I hope to put her to work for me in the Pigtails & Puddles sweatshop sometime soon!

Double-Teaming Chores

I recently mentioned that Eli's vocabulary has really taken off. His language comprehension is also great. He is extremely obedient. If I tell him "No-no" one time, he immediately responds, no matter how lucrative the offending action. This makes parenting him such a joy. It's funny to be able to give a semi-complex command to such a little person and watch them comply without hesitation.

Case in point, I filled the laundry basket with the sheets from our bed (which is in the very back of the house), then jokingly told Eli (who was, as usual, at my feet) "Hey buddy, do you wanna take the laundry to the garage for me?" He grinned, as if happy to be helpful, and started pushing.
He kept going until he was road blocked by his sister, who decided she wanted in on some of the action.













Oh, the bliss of watching beautiful, sibling teamwork! Together, they made it all the way to destination: garage. And received adequate praise from Momma. I love having such good little helpers. I seldom unload the dishwasher without the unsolicited help of one or both of them. Now, as long as I can keep child labor law enforcement off my back, I think I'll have a pretty sweet deal by the time they're 4 and 6!

Handwriting Hullabaloo

Back around Christmas, Norah started getting the hang of writing individual letters, so Jason and I made a deal with her that when she could consistently write her name, unaided, we would take her for ice cream.

Exhibit A and B both bear witness to the fact that she has it down. (She's especially proud of that lower case "r", which was the last letter for her to master) After a lot of practicing, she's been consistently writing her name for about a month , so we figured it was high time for Mommy and Daddy to pay the piper.

Since she had worked so hard at accomplishing this feat, we wanted it to be a special memory for her when she reaped her reward. We dropped Eli off with Mimi and Papaw so that we could have a "big girl" night. Jason and I took her to one of our favorite spots....the "Fountain Plaza" (at least that's what we call it). She LOVED it! It was a beautiful, cool night. There was a light breeze that would intermittently send the spray of the fountain our way, but not enough to be offensive. And to cap it all off, a rainbow formed right through the middle of the fountain! (Thank you, God, for such a beautiful, special night)




The little lady got her ice cream... which she received with a smile.









And she spent some (much needed) private time with Mommy and Daddy.




She loved watching the fountain. Honestly, I think she would have been happy with just that as her reward! She kept leaving the ice cream with us while she walked along the railing. (Which gave Jason and I a few, quiet minutes to enjoy together)














Another accomplishment that I'm even more proud of her for is her continued scripture memorization. (Which, unlike her penmanship development has required absolutely no bribery) At 3 years, 4 months old, she also has learned a total of eight Bible verses and the scripture references for each one.

Proverbs 17:17 ("A friend loves at all times and a brother is always there to help you.")

Psalm 118:24 ("This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in in."

Zephaniah 3:17 ("The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. The Lord will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love and He will rejoice over you with singing."

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ("All scripture is God-breathed.")

2 Timothy 3: 16 ("Pray at all times.")

Genesis 1:1 ("In the beginning God created the heavens and earth."

Matthew 6:9-15 (The Lord's Prayer, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.")

Ephesians 3:20-21 ( "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, forever and ever.")

I have never been exceptionally good at memorizing scripture, and Norah has been such a blessing to me in this regard. Each time she learns a verse, she teaches it to me (as it requires a lot of repetition for her to retain what she is learning, so I get to hear her recite it over, and over). I pray that this bond of sharing scripture is one that we are able to share throughout the rest of both our lives. (And of course, I pray the same for Eli, too)

She is growing up before our eyes, so rather than fight it, worry ourselves sick, or cry over it, we choose to celebrate it...at least for today!

From the Mouthes of Babes...

One morning, after a well-check visit to our doctor, I reprimanded Norah for being too rowdy. One of the consequences for her behavior was to have to ride home from the doctor's office with no music and no toys. She was pretty bewildered. I, on the other hand, had to muffle my laughter as the following verbal exchange took place in the backseat:

N: [Pointing outside] "Look! A little bird. Maybe that will cheer me up! Little Bird, would you mind cheering me up, please? Oh, you will. Thank you so very much!"

This morning Daddy scolded Norah for using her outside voice inside (at the crack of dawn). It was interesting to see what she took away from his rebuke.

J: Norah, I have asked you several times not to yell indoors. You may play, and have a good time, but I do not want you to be loud. Do you understand?
N: Yes sir.
J: What did I tell you?
N: I can't have any fun. (She said this completely sincerely, as if it really were the correct answer to his question--she wasn't pouting or complaining, just stating a fact. Incidentally, Jason explained to her again what he said, and we think she got it the second time.)

After playing with a friend from church/Daddy's work...
N: Mommy, when Nathan and I were playing swords, he started towards me and he yelled, "SHARKS!"
A: Norah, are you sure he didn't say, "Charge!"
N: No, Mommy. He said sharks.

Favorite Norah-isms of late:
"Hoolie Loop" (hula hoop)

"I fell in the heart with __________" (N's take on "falling in love"...thankfully no boys outside of her family have been inserted into the blank just yet)

At 17 months, Eli's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! He has recently attained the ability to repeat nearly any word he hears. For memory book purposes (because I'm an even worse book keeper than I am a blogger, lately), here are a list of some of his favorite words lately:
"Key Cat" (kitty cat)
"Mahk" (milk)
"Cup"
"Druhk" (drink)
"Jooos" (juice)
"Dah-bah" (diaper)
"Taah Taah" (tractor)
"Buck" (book)
"Bird"
"Ahh Duh" (all done)
Back-back (backpack)
"Truck"
"Ockapuh" (octopus...courtesy of one of his favorite picture books)
"Nana" (Banana)
"Nah Nah" (Norah, actually very distinguishable from "banana")

Favorite Animal Sounds:
Elephant ("Buureee!"--he makes a trunk with his arm when his does this one, so cute!), Dog ("fuh fuh"), Owl ("hoo hoo"), Sheep ("baaaa"), Rooster ("err err err!"), Cat ("meow"), Chicken ("cluh cluh"), Cow ("mmmmmmm!")