A Birthday Sandwich

Recipe for a Birthday Sandwich:

1 slice of big sister with the flu (despite flu shot), prepared before birthday. Set aside and wait to heal.

5 days of birthday fun in the middle!

Add another slice, this time of little sister with pneumonia for 10 days. 

Enjoy your birthday sandwich!

The Birthday Child

Everything's been different

all the day long,

Lovely things are happened,

nothing has gone wrong.

Nobody has scolded me,

Everyone has smiled.

Isn't it delicious

to be a birthday child?

Rose Fyleman

Talking to the Espinosa Family

Dinner at Fuddruckers, where she spent $5 in quarters at the prize machine.

Ate ketchup and chocolate cake for dinner.

Cleats for spring soccer!

oooweeee! polka dot skirt!

Lots of fun friends at birthday round 3

so excited over chalk!

self dubbed: "the Jenga wizard"

Party animals, swinging from the ceiling on this crazy 5th birthday night.

Please Stay 4....

Overheard in van today:

K: "Did you know the praying mantis girls eat the praying mantis boys?"

N: "I SAW a praying mantis at our friends' house! But it didn't have a big belly. It was like a green stick. Yeah, that praying mantis was a boy. Because I didn't see any eyelashes on him."

Comment on a very quiet passing of gas:

N: "Welp, that wasn't a real poot. That was a whisper poot." 

Swimming Cats

N: Our friends C & H have a cat pool at their pool

R: Oh, a cat pool? For cats?

N: Yeah. For them to swim in. But kids can swim in it too.

R: Really? A cat pool? Are you sure it didn't have a toy cat in it or something?

N: Noooo. Like, there's the big pool, and then the kitty pool. For the cats, but some kids can swim. And babies too.

R: Oh! Got it. The kiddie pool?

N: Yeah. The kitty pool.

Half Naked Five Footed Aliens

Dinner conversation Tuesday night:

R: "So, today there was a rather large shirtless man sprawled out on the grass under a tree, about 5 feet away from our office windows."

N: "Was he human?"

R: "Yes."

N: "Why did he have 5 feet?"

A Couple of Randoms

There are at least 2 Concrete Randoms in our house. Then there's one Abstract Sequential, One Concrete Sequential, and one that is curly haired, learning to walk and so cute when he squanches up his nose at me and grins.

Random is fun. Random can be unpredictable, adventurous, exciting. But to us Sequentials, it can also be exhausting, confusing and infuriating. Our youngest CR goes through her day very much living up to the definition: "occurring without definite aim, reason or pattern." To the other Random in the house, it may be even more infuriating, because being able to predict a Random's next move is both a blessing and a curse.

A few "concrete" examples of the often predictable Little Random:

"Mom, what are we having for supper?"

"Soup."

"Can I have tomato soup?"

"That is not the kind of soup that I fixed tonight."

"Well, that's my favorite."

"You cannot always have your favorite."

"Well, I like tomato soup."

"I am so glad."

"Next time you make soup, can you make tomato soup?"

"I will make tomato soup, but it may not be the soup I make next."

"Well, I like tomato soup."

Just for fun, here's the Little Sequential, same conversation topic:

"What's for supper."

"Soup."

"Yum!"

More?

"We are going to Walmart. Please put on your shoes."

"Can I get some gum at Walmart?"

"No. You are out of fun money."

"I can use the card from Target."

"We are not going to Target. We are going to Walmart."

"Well, can I use your money at Walmart?"

"No. You can use your own money."

"At Target?"

"Yes, but not today. We are going to Walmart."

"But I want some gum."

"Since we are not going to Target, and you do not have money for Walmart, it seems like you will not have gum today."

"Well, I love gum. It's my favorite."

(There is more to this, I will spare you....)

And Dear Sequential:

"We are going to Walmart. Please put on your shoes."

"Yes ma'am."

How do I let the Random be random, and at the same time teach her that the world is ordered, by an orderly God (who, yadda yadda created randoms too yadda yadda) and there are expectations to be met, rules to obey? What does it look like to help her be all God made her to be, risk taking and competitiveness included? There are many questions, and yes, fears, we have as parents as we face the reality of the truth of this personality and the weight that comes with training such a one. In true AS fashion I have launched a thorough investigation to uncover the myths and truths of my CR child; how she thinks, how she responds to encouragement, discipline, ultimatums; and how I can outwit her by knowing her better than she knows herself. A Random Jedi, if you will. And of course, the Force is with me. Right?

As one of my faults as a Sequential, I may at times have difficulty being diplomatic about things. Move it or lose it, sister. God gently reminded me, through diplomatic, gracious friends with fantastic resources (here and here) and a heart to shepherd, that I cannot win this one. It is not mine to win. She is mine for a time, to love and inspire and train, but my job is not to win. If I can help her, and actually all of them - because they will all send me running to the library to research personality traits and child training at some point in each of their lives - discover their purpose is to glorify God and make Him known, then I have done my part. And I guess that is a win, in some ways. Which is nice. Because I hate to lose.

The Truth Hurts

Nancy likes to push the tiny "shopper in training" cart at the local store. Usually she is right on my heels, following at a halting pace. Today was no exception.

Nan: "Mom, your bottom is shaking!"

Me: "hmmm. Side to side, or jiggling?"

After a pause in thought: "Jiggling."

Uh oh.

Insightful

Here are the things Nancy Rose must mull over in her mind during carpool line. Sometimes she ends up sharing her thoughts:

"Me, Thomas and Daddy are silly. You and Kate are not silly. But, that's okay. We still love you."

It Was a Scratch!

I painted Nancy's nails the other morning and told her to sit very still, with her hands on her knees, until her nails were dry.

About 30 seconds later, she said "Mom! I need you! My nail got smudged and can you fix it?"

Here is what I saw:






And here is the dialogue:

Me: "Nancy, how did your nail get messed up?"
Nancy (incredulously): "I don't know!"
Me: "Did you touch it with your other finger?"
Nancy: "nooooo. m'am."
Me: "Did you scratch something with your finger?"
Nancy: "mmmm. noooooo. m'am."
Me: "Nan, did you pick your nose?"
Nancy: "Naw. m'am."

Whether it was a pick or a scratch, the purple polish doesn't lie.
Unlike the 3 year old.

Tiny Tidbits, Part 5

"Moooooooooooooom!!!!" (not Mommy, mind you)

"I need some twol-up paperrrrrrrrrr!"

Tiny Tidbits, Part 3

Already have one for today. I will let you figure out the interpretation. At breakfast:

"Mom, when I will be sick again, I will have the die-nah-ree-na?"

Tiny Tidbits, Part 1

Every day Nancy Rose says something worth repeating. This week, I hope to post one quotable per day. Here is Sunday's:

"Moooooom!!! I have a booger in my mouth!"

It's official; we have a nose-picker.

Nancy Is Three!

The main reason I am posting is because I feel very obligated to share about our second child's most recent birthday before our third child debuts. Whew. And y'all can forget about seeing Christmas - those pictures were boring anyway.

February 17 was Nancy Rose's 3rd Birthday! I remember (better than I remember with Kate) holding her in the hospital, she was red and screaming for 30 minutes straight, and Ryan and I looked at each other and thought "uh oh. too late to take this one back!" But she calmed down very quickly after that, and was the absolute easiest, most laid back and content baby I had ever had. I am hoping she gets one-upped come May, though. For her birthday dinner, Nancy requested nuggets, apples, peanut butter, Cheetoes, shredded cheese, carrots, and applesauce cake. I decided to divide all this up over the course of a couple of days, because the combo to me sounded like some kind of daycare snack-time on steroids.

Nancy has brought us so much joy and laughter! She filled our home immediately, and it feels like she has always been with us; I guess in a way she always has been, since Ryan and I knew we'd have more than just Kate and had been anticipating another child in our future since Kate was born. I just didn't know it would be this good, this much fun, or this much hard work. Nan's eyes are always smiling and she is great at finding ways to may fun things more fun. Nan, I could eat you up I love you so!

Eating "breabast". I wonder how long I can get away with Valentine's themed parties for her, complete with discounted paper goods and free leftover Valentine's balloons.

Trying to make 3. I love how she has to curl the fingers on the other hand at the same time.

Oh, my baby Nan! You are a big girl now!

Our "friend Belle", not our "dog Belle". And Belle's little sister Lucy in the background. Belle and Lucy did not nap later that afternoon because of all the sugar from the party! Sorry Elizabeth!

The party girls, minus our friend Amelia, who had a cold.

It's my party, I'll cry if I want to.

Birthday Round 2 - Family Dinner, complete with applesauce cake. Kate did the heart decorations all by herself! And that's Nancy's Great-Grandmother, "Monie", trying to avoid being in the picture, to no avail.

My folks got our family tickets to the circus, which was in town just a couple of days after Nan's birthday. She loves animals and the zoo, and now loves the circus.

If you saw this, wouldn't you have an expression like...........

....this?

Thank you, Mo & Poppa!

Today

Me: "Nancy, it stinks in your room. Do you have a stinko?"

Nan: "Nope."

Me: "What's that smell?"

Nan: "I burped."

Hightower Farm Field Trip

This goat was the size of a mule, he was huge.

One of the puppies loving on Nancy. She was in heaven with all the animals, but the momma pyrenees scared her. She was the size of a regular sized goat!

Kate holding one of the baby goats. I had no idea they were so cute and soft!

At the beginning of the month we went to a friend's farm in Campobello. They have a few goats, a couple of Great Pyrenees dogs, chickens and a peacock that they think wandered over from not-to-distant Hollywild Animal Park. We had so much fun seeing the baby goats and puppies. It was fun to hang out and meet some new friends, too, and see the Hightower's home. We appreciate them opening it up to us to explore and let all the curious kids poke around. 

I was fascinated at how they came about getting the land, choosing to build there and starting a small farm. Ryan and I really, really would love to try that kind of adventure one day. Do you ever feel like someone else is living the life you want? Sometimes I have to force myself to trust that my suburban life can still be one of adventure and it is exactly where God wants me to be. But it does not sound nearly as exciting to me to say "I went out and threw some zinnia seed out on the ground" as it does to say "I milked the goats this morning before breakfast".  Of course, I'd like to think I could hang with the toughest of tough hands and not mind rolling my sleeves up and getting dirty, but I must confess: the most adventurous thing I did while at the farm? Nancy fell in a puddle of mud and poop and I did not cry or stress out (too much. Jill Peterson had to convince me Nancy would not contract Ecoli). I felt pretty proud of myself!

Another One?

Eating a messy snack at the kitchen table. Me: "Nan, don't put your hands up in your hair, please." Nancy: "I just stretchin', Momma!"

Excuses at age 2? Yikes.

SheNANigans Turns Two

Nancy's birthday was the 17th, and we had family and the McGowans over for dinner and presents on the 18th. I was really excited about her birthday, just because it was fun buying stuff just for her, and making her dirt pie just for her, and serving shredded cheese because I knew she'd love it....sometimes I deal with the "second child guilt" of not spending as much time with her as I did when Kate was Nancy's age. I know she's not thinking she's getting the raw end of the deal, but I know I'm not giving her all I've got, so I had so much fun thinking about her and her little life and what she has added to our family and loving on her the way her two-year-old self likes to be loved on.

I don't remember Kate really getting the present thing by two, but Nancy was all in, and even jumped up and down a few times saying "I so excited! I so excited!" She didn't seem to get tired of opening them, either, and kept saying "pesent! i onna openit! i onna openit!" She kept us laughing all evening, she is such a funny girl. I was also really glad to share the night with all four of the McGowans, and they kept their boys here for the whole ordeal, which lasted until after 8 o'clock. It is so fun to see Cohen in the background (who until recently Nancy called "co-wee", but now she says it right and kinda makes Emily and me sad) and Cort running between Kate and Nancy checking out all Nancy's new goods.  You can hear Cort in the video below and see Emily holding Cohen in the background. 

And pay no attention to the giant bow on Nan's noggin. I couldn't find our small pink bow, so I used one of Kate's and Ryan gave me a hard time. Some kids look fine in the big bows, but our kids just look ridiculous for some reason. Maybe it's because the bow has only a few hairs to hang on. I apologize, Nancy.

"Messy hayunds"

Nancy wanted to wear all of her new clothes and "dayunce". Below is a video of her putting on her new dress and dancing, ever so subtley, for my mom.

Happy Birthday Nancy Rose!!

Yeah! I am so excited about Nan's birthday this year, for some reason. It has been fun to plan for it and really, really fun buying her presents. Maybe that's because we have all the clothes and toys we could ever need already, so whatever we choose to buy is what we know she'll love, no matter how impractical (like 5 sticker books of 500 stickers each. I think I'm going to regret that.)

Since we didn't have the camera until last Christmas, we only have a small amount of digital photos of Nancy Rose tiny, so I included my favorite one, and then added some cute and funny ones just for sentimentality's sake. We feel like she's always been a part of our family and she's been around forever, even though it has been the fastest two years of our life so far! 

I'm interested to see how year #3 shapes up...she's very opinionated (that's the grandparent way of saying demanding) and gets very upset when we change our mind or tell her we are going to do something else (again, a nice way to put "whiny" and "she throws mega tantrums"). But thankfully, whether it's grace or experience or both, we seem to be able to laugh in the middle of an "opinionated upset" and see the forest, not the trees.

We love you Nancy Rose!!!

"New" Nancy, in a bassinet loaned from Emily and a blanket from Sara Fowler. This blanket is Nancy's favorite, her "night night".

Jim Halpert hair.

"What? Something on my mouth? Where?"

Last May, our peonies bloomed HUGE! To prove it, we took this picture!

5 months

1 Year Portrait

Eating her first birthday cake.

This was her first birthday cake, and I'm posting this mainly for Emily, who I'm not sure I ever showed her a picture of how the cake turned out before it was cut. Em loaned me her Wilton cake stuff  and  I pieced together a cake that (sort of) looked like Belle. At the very least, the birthday girl recognized it as a puppy and that was all I was after.