Nathan

My friend drove Lila home from preschool the other day.  She has a nine month old baby.  When snuggling with Lila in bed that same night, Lila was thrilled to report that she got to sit by the baby.  This was the first time she got excited over a baby.  I asked her if she thought I should have a baby.  Miss Lila paused and then answered, "Yes!"  I asked what we should name it to see if she was thinking about a boy or a girl baby.  With her hands up in the air in a I don't know fashion she answered, "Maybe Nathan."  A big smile spread across her face because she thought that she had thought of something absolutely wonderful. 

Too bad this house is all pink!

Nlivia

Today, my friend called me and asked me if I remembered Savannah's imaginary baby in utero - Nlivia. It really took me back. I had completely forgotten about my little three year old who thought she was pregnant. I guess it was the natural path since I had just given birth to the twins. To give you an idea of how young Savannah was, here is a link to her random thoughta that include a quote about Nlivia.

I hung up the phone with my friend and went to get pick Savannah up from school.  Once in the car, I asked her if she remembered Nlivia.  She gave a little cough/laugh.  Her reaction fell somewhere between, "Oh my goodness, I used to think I was pregnant! and Oh, I was so cute." Next, Savannah asked me if I remembered how she used to tell me that Nlivia was as tiny as her belly button which, I did not.  I told her I thought she was cute with her Nlivia and plainly asked, "Where did Nlivai go?"  Savannah's thought for a moment and came up with this response. "Nowhere, I never had a baby in my belly.  I never prayed to God."

In this house, we pray to God for babies. "God puts a baby in your belly if you pray for it and He thinks you are ready to be a mommy," is my canned answer for "How do you get a baby in your belly?"

Ugh, she is growing up!!

Valentine's Day

This year, the girls and I decided to do a repeat of our crayon heart valentines.  You can revisit this post to see how we put it all together.  It is pretty easy and something every member of family takes part in.  The girls really loved lining up the stools so that they could watch the crayons melt in the oven.  FYI. . . don't forget about them in the oven and leave them in, uh well 30 minutes give or take, while you disappear into the office with the doors closed.  When you walk out will you will find a house full of toxic (at least my headache thought they were) fumes.  You will then find you and your family leaving the house for a many hours while it airs out in 20 degree weather, windows standing open.

This year, Savannah wanted to design her own template.  I showed her what I had available, and while she used a very similar layout, she put her own spin on things.  It gave me a chance to let her learn a bit about Photoshop.

Adeline was pining for her white mailbox since before Christmas.  She remembered that it was full of chocolate and was brought out on Valentine's Day.  Finally the day had come.  Each girl had a party at school to kick off the festivities.  After school, Alex took Savannah to ballet and left me to set the mailboxes up while Lila slept upstairs.  She woke before Savannah was back and came downstairs with her nose almost touching the floor telling me, "I'm not looking mommy."  I find it strange that my girls don't want to spoil their surprises.  Don't most kids jump right in given the opportunity?

I laid a blanket over the table so that Lila could wander the house in an upright position.  Once everyone was back home and seated, I lifted the blanket and the girls dug into their mailboxes.  In addition to chocolate, Adeline was thrilled to find Whiff -the only four eyed Thomas train, Lila loved her ducks and Savannah went right into reading The Sandwich Swap - a must read for all first/second grade girls!

After a heart pancake dinner and too many pieces of candy, the girls gave me their gifts.  Lila can stop telling me that she has, "a surprise for you.  It is a stuffed animal surprise.  But it isn't a bear Mommy."  Thankfully, Alex took them to the Dollar Store so they could buy to their heart's content for their Mommy while not breaking the bank. 

Savannah had a little surprise up her sleeve.  When doesn't she?  She set up some valentines for me and Alex and added an original song and treat.  I thought she was pretty clever.  She found a heart candle holder and set a hand lens beside it.  We, of course, were supposed to look inside the empty candle holder and discover what was inside!  Yep, you can't see love but when it comes to Savannah, it is always in the mix and LOVE was the answer she was looking for.  She also added a cute little bucket filled with M&Ms.  She did it all on her own and, as usual, I am impressed.

Heard

While trying to roll clay into a ball, Adeline stopped to announced. . .

I can't do that until I'm 55.

Savannah:  You mean 5 right?

Adeline: No 55!

She managed to roll one ball (with help) and turn it into a Baby Einstein caterpillar head.  The body will be rolled in about 50 more years.

Five minutes later while Savannah is continuing to impress us with her ability to make a rainbow out of the primary colors of clay, I hear, "Oh, Nannah, that is a wonderful color.  Good job."  (she sounded so grown up and motherly). 

Here are Savannah's creations.  A palette with paint brushes dipped and ready to go and a rainbow.

While playing with Lila. . .

A:  Lila you be the teacher and I'll be the children.

L:  Okay

A:  Lila, you got to teach me something.  Lila, teach me!

So Sweet

Savannah placed this on Alex's monitor yesterday after studying a table/check list he was working on.  Here is her check list/table.  Can I freeze her in time because this kind of thing is priceless?  ("tun" is supposed to be "ton")

Chick-fil-A and Painted Plate

Last Thursday, the twins had their first date!  They went to Chick-fil-A with Daddy.  The fast food chain was set up for a father-daughter date night, complete with hostess, waitress and cow dressed like a princess.  The girls were very excited to hear that it was a double date. . . with Charlotte of course.

Although I was not there, it sounded like a big success.  The service was good and apparently the chicken nuggets and ice cream were a success too.  There was a photo booth where the girls' pictures were taken with their daddy (see above).  To top it off, they were given a special flower before leaving.  I know this because when they arrived home, they came yelling up the stairs, "We have a surprise for you Mommy!"  Behind their backs hiding was a pretty, red carnation.  The girls thought they were doing something very special for me and were beaming with pride.  They are so sweet.

What a night and all for the price of $12.00.  Thank you Daddy and Chick-fil-a.

While the little girls were on their date with Daddy, I thought I would take Savannah somewhere special.  I figured a fast food restaurant pretending to be a fancy eatery was more fun the four year olds.  Savannah chose to go to The Painted Plate.  She is so careful and does a great job.  I can't wait to see how the plate turns out.  I love spending one on one time with her.  She is such a joy!

One for Apple Juice, One for Milk

Lila and Adeline LOVE to talk about when they were TINY babies.  They like to talk about how the doctors had to take care of them and how they pooped in their diapers.  Just recently, I was showering with Lila when she mentioned, "Babies drink out of those."  Yes, you can imagine what she was referring too.  "Not tiny babies because they are too sick," my once tiny baby, now four year old tells me.  Lila then goes on to tell me, "One is for apple juice and one is for milk."