Purple Frosting, Purple Cupcakes

So, it wasn't hard to make purple frosting at all. I bought some frosting and some food coloring. And Tim made the cupcakes. He made purple frosting and purple cupcakes too!




Elizabeth thoroughly enjoyed her party. Thanks to everyone who came.

Child Birthday Party Planning

Elizabeth is days way from turning three. It's an exciting birthday because she's now old enough and aware enough to understand what a birthday involves. As she explained to her Daddy last night, "It's Advent. My birthday is coming. My birthday. I am excited."

Did I mention that she's speaking in complete sentences now and it's a pleasant surprise?

Anyway, we went to get party supplies for her family birthday party. I thought she would choose a theme like My Little Pony or Dora or something. Instead she liked the idea of so many possibilites but she didn't want to commit. In the end, we went with a party theme of


Purple.



That was the one steadfast decision she made. She wanted purple plates, napkins, and plastic table covering.

I'm wondering how hard it would be to make purple icing on some cupcakes?

Preschool Playdate

The girls and I are headed over to the playground at preschool. It's kind of a summer mixer, get-to-know-you, sort of event. Annie will see some of her friends from last year's class, and Elizabeth will be meeting some of her classmates for the first time.

Lots of firsts around here these days.

Potty Time!

Elizabeth is not learning to use the potty. For several months now, she would play at going potty. She would climb up on the toilet, wait, say "all done", then make unholy messes by stuffing as much toilet paper as she could into the commode.

I wondered aloud to Hubs when would Elizabeth start using the potty?

He had a hunch that one day, when no one was watching, she'd secretly slip away to the bathroom and sort it all out.

He was right. Elizabeth did just that.

She's been having success using the bathroom, wearing her Big Girl Princess Panties, and she's even spent an entire day dry. She's also creating opportunities to strip buck naked. She's been streaking in the library. I thought most girls waited until sorority rush to do something like that.

Sisterly Love

Mary, new, cosleeps with Mommy&Daddy. The older girls also coslept with us when they were younger and like to return to the bed sometime during the night. I mention this to set the scene I saw this morning.

Elizabeth, 2, woke up in our bed, facing Baby Mary. Mary was already awake, and smiled a big toothless baby smile at Elizabeth as she opened her eyes.

Elizabeth smiled back, sat up and said, "Meme likes me." E then stroked Mary's face and said "There Meme. My Meme. Our baby." And laughed.

Mother's Day

I was driving with the kids. (Incidentally, you can fit three carseats in the back of a 2006 Honda CRV.) Annie, 3, starts talking about Mother's Day. She states her intention to make a card for me. Elizabeth, 2, chimes in "Me too!" to show her ethusiastic willingness to also make a card for Mommy. Annie, thinking that Elizabeth has volunteered to help Annie with her card, tells Elizabeth very firmly that no, she can't help. I clarify that Elizabeth wants to make her own card, and Annie is molified. Annie asks if she can make the card when we get home. I informed her that Mother's Day was several days away and she had plenty of time to make a card for Mommy. She then asked if I would help her make the card. I told her that Daddy would be happy to help her. She then asked why Daddy would help and not Mommy.

Mommy: Well, Honey, you're making a card for Mommy.
[Lightbulb going off in a three year old's head]
Annie: Oops.

Elizabeth makes her debut...

...in the Quotable Quotes.

The girl likes to wake up early. When God smiles on me, Elizabeth's content to play in and around the bed quietly while I doze for a little while longer.

The other morning I hear one person having this two-sided conversation asking permission to watch a tv program and the response.

Elizabeth: Word World? [sounds more like wo-wol]
Elizabeth: No!
Elizabeth: World World?
Elizabeth: No!


Rinse. Repeat.

Slings, Sunglasses and Sunhats

Here's an oldie but a goodie. This picture was taken a little over a year ago. Elizabeth and I were at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes for a CLC retreat.

A Few Things That ARE Kid Related

1. I've nursed since August 2005. I had a four week hiatus between weaning Annie and having Elizabeth
2. I currently have no plans to wean Elizabeth. She doesn't like not-nursing. I'll probably wait until I"m pregnant. The milk changes and I imagine she'll be less interested in drinking it.
3. I know how to climb from my deck across the decks of a few neighbors and get to the ground. I know this because my daughter locked me out of the house and I had to climb down to let myself back in through the front door. I had my other daughter with me and my husband was out of town at the time.
4. I got in a car accident and had staples in my head. My head got cut because I had just puchased a high chair & it was in the passenger seat next to me. The baby was in the back and I didn't want to leave the hospital until a doctor explained to me twice how they were certain the baby was OK.
My car was totalled. The other driver was at fault, but the officer on the scene didn't ticket him.
5. I hammered a hole in the door to the bathroom because the baby barricaded herself in there.
6. I know the theme song to Elmo's World, Barney, & Strawberry Shortcake.
7. I know the villians' names in most of the Barbie movies.
8. Ask me my opinion about laundry pre-treater
9. Both my feet are injured from playing with the kids
10. I consider a cup of coffee my daily treat to myself. A way to take care of myself in the mornings when the kids are their most needy

Tempus Fugit

Happy Birthday, my little koala bear! It has been a year already? The time has flown by. We brought you home from the hospital and you were such an alert, awake baby. You would nap during the day, and had to suffer through sleeping through the noises of a rambunctious toddler. I don't know how your nervous system was able to deal with it. You took a shine to your older sister right away.

In an effort to keep up with the pace and action, you were rolling over by 3 months of age and army crawling by 5 months. Mommy prompted your first baby grins, but your first genuine laugh was in response to your sister. We sat on the sunny deck one spring afternoon. Your sister was playing peek-a-boo with you from the top of the Little Tykes slide. You sat on my lap wriggling your arms and legs as you giggled with glee as she appeared and disappeared from view.

As you continued to grow and develop, you sat up unassisted the next month at 6 months but showed little interest in being fed any pureed or jarred baby food. We waited a little while to introduce any solids, and once we did, you were determined to do it yourself. Cheerios and bananas have been a staple in the house during the last year. You also love to dip your fingers into yogurt, guacamole, white rice, and noodles, be it spaghetti or lo mien.

You walked by 8 months of age and quickly mastered your skill. You enjoy getting in on the action and excitement around the house by playing chase. You also love to climb. Now that you are a year old, most days you manage to scale either the chair to the top of the dining room kitchen, or the toilet to the vanity to sit in the sink for awhile. Some days you achieve both together. You protest vehemently when I pick you up to safely deposit you on firm ground. You have amazing balance and uncanny climbing skills.

You began speaking around the same time you started walking. Your first word was "mama." You call me when you wake up from naps, and when you need help with your sister. You will also sigh contentedly and say 'mama, mama' when I pick you up, snuggle you, and carry you around the house with me. You also like to say Annie's name too. You tend to clap and laugh or cry and struggle when you say her name. You say "Daddy." You know all your family. You sign for 'more,' 'eat,' and 'bye.' And there are other words you sometimes use, like 'hi,' and 'this'. You are certainly able to make your wishes and needs known.

You continue to laugh and smile. You wake in the morning with a delightful smile on your face. Mama and you spend a few quiet minutes together, changing diapers, playing pat-a-cake or having a nurse, and getting ready to start the day. You continue to smile most of the day as you made various discoveries as you motored about the house. Dad loves to tickle you. You love to play pat-a-cake and have 'Frappe, Frappe' sung to you.

There are many people who love you.

Little Women

"Mommy's Makeup. Ooooh, I'm so pretty. Oooohhh, Annie's a cutie pie. Betta No!"

Happy Birthday Annie?

Today is Annie's Birthday. Her family party is this weekend, but I wanted to make the day special today. I figured I'd make today a 'yes' day. To let her do things she'd like to do (that weren't utterly dangerous like drown her baby sister Elizabeth in the tub) to try and celebrate.

We spent nearly an hour in the tub, met Daddy for lunch--late of course, because tub time extended itself 45 minutes--played on the play park in the mall (no outdoor activities because of the rain), napped, watched the Princess Movie (worthy of it's own post), had noodles for dinner, and went to have ice cream with the cousins to round out the day.

The pinnacle of the entire day was the Happy Birthday Well-wishes of family and loved ones.

Annie's Godmother Kate & her baby friend Simon spoke with Annie in the evening. Kate had been working on having Simon say "Happy Birthday Annie" most of the day. She was continuing to coach and encourage him to speak while on the phone.

Kate: [singing] Happy Birthday to you
Simon: silence
Kate: [singing] Happy Birthday to you
Simon: silence
Kate: [singing] Happy Birthday dear Annie
Simon: Ha Buu-day Lizabeth.

Yes, Happy Birthday Elizabeth.

The Family Bed

I've been getting both of the girls settled to sleep in bed with me while Husband has been away.

Tonight, around 4:30 am Annie was snuggled on one shoulder and Betta was snuggled in on the other. From a sound sleep, Annie giggled. From an equally sound sleep, Betta giggled in reply.

The Evolution of a Babywearer

So when I was pregnant with Annie, I saw the Snugli's and the Bjorns at Babies R Us. I'd recently gotten a hands-free device for my cell phone and when I saw those carriers, I thought, "A baby hands-free device is brilliant! I will so need one!' And I registered for a Snugli. I got the Snugli at a baby-shower.
The idea of a hands-free device for a baby is brilliant, but a Snugli not-so-much. It wasn't comfortable to wear and the material that was responsible for keeping the baby attached to the straps kept coming undone. It was fundamentally unsafe.

My pediatrician recommended the Dr. Sear's Baby Book as good reading on the care and raising of a newborn. Dr. Sears goes on at length about his NoJo baby sling. The sling seemed to make sense, so I got one of those. It worked so-so for awhile. Here's one of the few pictures of me wearing the NoJo, although there are loads of the Husband using it.

Then a distant relative noticed that I was trying to wear the baby and turned me on to babywearing and all the wonderful options that are available out there. I stumbled across both thebabywearer.com as well as NINO. She helped me find a mei tai of my very own. A mei tai is an Asian-style baby carrier. It has a peice of fabric to support the baby's body, and long straps to comfortably and safely tie the baby to the mama's body. Below is a picture of Annie and I at Merrifield Garden Center.

I got pregnant around the time this picture was taken. I used the mei tai for another six months, until Annie started to walk and my belly popped. Once Annie could walk, she wasn't interested in being carried until she'd perfected her new skill.

With the second baby on the way, I knew I wanted a better ring sling than the NoJo. I picked out an Ellaroo lightly padded ring sling in Lilac passion and my mother in law purchased it as Elizabeth's birth gift. I have lots of pictures of the Husband wearing it, but none of me. It's currently on loan at the moment. When it makes its way back to me, I'll post a picture of me wearing it.

During the same time that I acquired the Ellaroo ring sling, I was looking at a forum called The Baby Wearer. I was learning lots of information about babywearing and parenting in general. There are avid babywearers on this forum, and some people even develop collections of carriers, or at least keep an eye out for beautiful carriers. I think the carriers are nice, but nothing ever made me think, "OOOh I want that" until I saw a Sakura Bloom ring sling.

The Sakura Blooms are double-layer duponi silk. The color combinations are eye-catching and breath-taking. And the silk is so luxurious. I sighed over these for months, thinking I would never have one. My mother-in-law offered to make me a double layer silk ring sling for my birthday (can you tell that I have a great mother-in-law?) and I busied myself looking at fabric samples to choose a great color combination.

The Husband suprised me with my very own Sakura Bloom as a birthday present. I wear it everyday.

You would think getting one of the most lovely things you've ever seen would create contentment, yes?

Weelll, the summer is upon us, and we'll be at the pool and at the beach. Doesn't it make sense to have a carrier that's waterproof? I've ordered a solarveil ring sling and it's on it's way now...I'm sure there will be more to my evolution as a babywearer as I continue having kids.

Maybe one day I'll even wrap my kids up in a long peice of fabric.

Elizabeth's Baptism

Betta was baptized awhile ago...March 3. We asked good friends of ours, John and Nicole Freeman, to be godparents to Elizabeth Claire. I don't have too many photos, but here is one that shows off the gorgeous baptism gown.
My mother in law made the gown from my wedding dress. There is also a matching bonnet to go with the coat and gown.

The baptism was lovely. Many good friends and family came. We enjoyed having everyone. I really love baptisms. I love welcoming a new member into the Body of Christ; I love that the little one is now free from the stain of original sin; I love having a living saint in my house.