New paint job

As most of you know, our house is in desperate need of a new paint job... or, hopefully, siding. For some reason, though, it was Kate and Anna's house that got repainted first.

This box, that Dave and I would love to have out of our house, is here to stay for now. It has been the girls' very favorite toy, played with every day, since November when I thought it might be fun to have as a club house for a week or so.

Forward roll

Anna likes to try everything she sees Kate do. A few months ago Kate learned to do a forward roll. As soon as Anna saw Kate do it, she tried to do one herself. With her one-year-old arms and legs being so short, she just kind of barrelled her head into the bed until she flopped over.

Her arms and legs must have grown in the last couple months, though, because now, at almost one-and-a-half, Anna has the forward roll down!

Kate's recital

Kate had her ballet recital on Saturday. I know I'm biased, but I think these videos are just the cutest things! Here's one:

Big girl

Yesterday at church, Kate said she had to go to the bathroom. We went into the bathroom, and Kate said, “I can do it myself.” “Oh, you can?” I asked.

She walked into the stall and locked the door. I peeked through the crack and saw her climb up onto the toilet and go potty. She then reached over, took some toilet paper, and wiped herself.

I backed up so she didn’t see me spying, and I almost cried at how big she seemed just then. Then she unlocked the door and walked out all proud of herself.

Of course, I still had to lift her up to wash her hands as she’s the height of the average two-year-old.

Stinky baby

This morning Kate told Anna she stunk. Anna went and got a diaper and tried to change herself.

Target

The other day in Target, Anna was, yet again, being quite difficult. As she usually does, she was standing up if she was in the seat of the cart and squirming too much to be carried. Allowing her to walk isn’t possible since she runs away and/or removes everything from the shelves. And, although I used to be able to at least safely contain her in the basket of the cart if I could stand her screaming, she can now throw her little leg up over the top, so she might topple out head first.

I’ve resorted to suckers, which gives me about 6 minutes to shop… not enough time. And, after she’s no longer distracted by the sucker(s), it takes me at least three times longer to get the things I need, since I’m constantly interrupted trying not to let her kill herself, get lost, or destroy the store (which is actually at the bottom of the list of concerns).

Anyway, halfway through shopping the other day, I was about to cry or scream. I’d been trying to be patient, but it gets frustrating. Just then Kate looked at Anna and said, “Anna, you are being really bad. I could even spell it, B… A… D!”

Sweet girls

Anna isn't always sweet. She is strong willed with a temper, but when she's sweet, she is really sweet.

Her newest "sweet" move is blowing kisses. She knows we love it, so she's been using it a lot.
We went out to play for a short while tonight after dinner. Instead of joining right in, I took a moment to sit on the porch and watch the girls play. I was struck by how truly blessed I am to have these little girls in my life, and, even more amazing, to have the luxury to spend every day with them.

I wanted to capture the moment, so I grabbed my camera. The first thing Anna did was blow a kiss. It really is her new go-to move!

Blowing a kiss.Looking cute.

Can anyone casually tell Dave that the only thing (aside from a cleaning lady, gym membership, and weekly massages, all of which I'm willing to forgo until the afterlife) that I really want for my birthday is a really expensive camera that will actually take these darn pictures instead of waiting so long to focus? It's my only hobby, and I'm so, so, so sick of really cute pictures that are completely out of focus! Seriously, tell him! Because I feel way too guilty, beause he just bought me an incredibly nice camera, but now I want one of those really nice photographer-like cameras!

Kate is still learning how to smile for the camera without looking a little insane. There goes my crazy baby!

Popsicles aren't lunch

On Sunday when I picked Kate up from Sunday School, she didn’t seem quite right. She fell asleep in the car on the way home, and when I finally woke her up and brought her in, she was burning up.

She didn't want to eat, and she was just crying. So, instead of giving her lunch, I let her watch T.V. and eat a popsicle and drink juice. She didn’t have much of an appetite all afternoon, but I tried to give her dinner at dinner time.

When she was eating dinner, I mentioned what we were doing after dinner. That inspired her to ask me what she had for lunch. I explained that since she didn’t feel good, we’d kind of skipped lunch.

She thought for a minute and explained, “This is my lunch. I didn't have lunch yet, so this isn’t my dinner. It’s lunch, because a popsicle isn’t a good lunch; it’s more desserty.”

My hidden talent

Kate, Anna, and I were having dinner tonight while Dave was at work. On these nights, dinner is pretty low key. Tonight I even let Kate bring her kiddy MP3 Player to the table. Near the end of dinner, I began to clean up and Kate was picking songs to play while she and Anna finished eating.

Kate bragged, "I can pick songs and eat!"

"That's talent!" I commented

"What's 'talent'?" she asked.

"Something you're good at," I explained, grabbing a spoonful of yogurt for myself out of the big container on the table, and shoving it in my mouth.

She thought for a second, "Woh! You can eat and... stand!"

"Tragedy" strikes

Oh, what a blessed life we lead. In Kate's mind, the worst thing that's happened to her is... Well, I'll let Anna explain. What's she pointing at? She's showing you where Kate's balloon went. And there's the tragedy.

Well, Kate will get over it. She can't go on about it forever... but she can try. (5 minutes later)

Anna tried to cheer Kate up with a gift of a leaf. So, Kate could cry with a leaf in her hand.

Again, Anna, what happened?

A Note in Kate's defense: She feels awful. She's been suffering with Enterovirus, which has left her with painful sores in the back of her mouth and her throat.

Again

It's got to be the fifth time in the last month. We've now got it down to a system.

Step 1 The girls excitedly undress for the tub.
Step 2 Anna poops. Step 3 The girls move the party to the shower.
Step 4 (not pictured) Mommy sanitizes the bathtub... again!

Olives

Anna is a huge fan of olives.

This morning we had pancakes with a little whipped cream on top. What could be better than that? Apparently the answer to that is "olives,"" because Anna ate some of her pancake and then demanded, "Ahballs, Ahballs, Ahballs..."

When I finally gave her the "ahballs," she proceeded to dip them in whipped cream before eating them.

Good sister

Kate is pretty sick with a mysterious fever. A little while ago she was lying on the couch, watching T.V.

I rubbed her back for a little while.

Later Anna looked at Kate, declared, "Bap," and climbed onto the couch to rub her sister's back.

Rain, rain

Anna loves the song "Rain, Rain, Go Away."

Logical

Kate is watching Dora as I write this. Dora and her friends came to a big wall they couldn’t get over, so they were learning to “super jump.” Kate said to me, “They think they have to jump over the wall, but they could just go AROUND it!”

Did you know...

Kate has been thinking about how she came into our lives as a baby and has grown up to who she is now.

Nearly every day, she'll ask us about it.

“Did you know I was going to be a girl?”

“Did you know I was going to have orange hair?”

“Did you know I was going to have curly hair?”

“Did you know I was going to like orange?”

"Did you know I was going to like chocolate milk?"

I like it when she asks, because it makes me think, too. I’m so grateful to have gotten the two little girls God gave me!

Anna's puppy likes to give Kate kisses.

Our vacation

To the sink!

Why would Anna, 17 months old, be taking a bath in the sink when there's such a nice tub in our hotel room?

In case you hadn't guessed,

Answer:

It allowed me to clean her before attacking the mess she made in the tub.

Those faces!

She's not drunk.

It turns out the hat had a string dangling down, first in her mouth, and then in her eye.

Ice Age

Kate, talking mostly to herself, contemplated what the movie Ice Age might be about: "Ice Age... I wonder what that's about. Age is how you say how old you are, and ice is how you make something cold. That's weird."

Kate and Daddy Day

Kate and Dave ready for their outing, a Brewers' Game, of course!

Dave! Dave!

I gave the girls a bath, and I hadn’t brought all their clothes into the bathroom, because Dave was going to be up to help out at the end. When I got Anna out of the tub, Dave still wasn’t up there. I didn’t have a diaper, and I didn’t want to leave Kate unattended, so I yelled, “Dave… Dave…”

I went to the steps and yelled, “Dave! Dave… Dave!” Then, I'll admit it, I mumbled to myself about how I didn’t know where he was, what was I supposed to do, etc. Finally, I opened the drain in the tub, and ran into Anna’s room for a diaper.

While I was in there, I yelled out the window, “Dave! Dave!”

With more grumbles, I got Anna’s diaper on and let her run around in just the diaper while I went to get Kate out of the tub.

As I was toweling Kate off, in toddled little Anna, in nothing but a diaper, chattering away, “Day! Day! Eba bub eba… Day! Day! Buba Eba buba… Day! Day!”

Now you see why I had to admit I was mumbling and grumbling.

Wrapped around her finger

I thought these pictures were adorable.

The campout

Thursday night Kate and I camped out in the backyard, complete with a “campfire” and S’mores. Dave joined us for the S’mores and some bedtime stories in the tent, and then went in to sleep in the house with Anna. The experience thrilled Kate beyond belief.

The tent

Grandpa gave the girls a tent to play with in the backyard. It's been a hit! Kate, making her list of what to pack.

Kate and Anna playing in the tent.

Kate and her friend Emma who prefer to be called Laura and Mary when camping.