marbles and teeth

so m's been potty training for a few weeks now. she's been doing a pretty good job overall. we told her she'd get a marble every time she went pee-pee on the potty. within a few days, she had earned ten, which we promised would merit a new swimsuit. so off to target we went to pick out the cute little number you see below. and, a few days later, we took her to the rec center to strut her stuff. it was a lovely little family date, and m could not have been happier in her cool suit. she even went potty (in the toilet, mind you, not the pool) two times while we were there. nice work, little lady.

swimmer girl (32 months old)

other fun developments: m is a big fan of praying before meals now. she usually wants us all to pray. when it's her turn, she actually has some wonderful things to say to Jesus. sometimes she even says an extra "amen" in the middle of her prayer. never hurts.

m's also quite fond of the library these days. lately she's been enjoying amelia bedelia ("milly dilly," in her words) and lots of other classics. she also likes to "read" e books from time to time.

other m words: "klanteen," her name for her water bottle, which is called a klean kanteen. and she's loving plurals lately, even adding an extra "es" here and there ("sockses," "shirtses," etc.).

one i-love-being-a-mom story from this past week: at bedtime, as I was changing e’s diaper and after m climbed into her bed, m sat with her head tilted to the side and said, “i love you, b.” i responded with "i love you, too.” she then said, “i really like you. you’re so pretty,” to which I said, “m, you’re so sweet” and gave her a big hug. then she said, “our love echilla-chuller.” (we love each other.) i just smiled and laughed and hugged her...lots of times. and then when i checked on her 20 minutes later, i walked in and she said, “b, i missed you” as she put her arms around me. i said, “you missed me? ah, m…” and she said, “i love you, too.” oh my. love her.

e is now nine months old (what?!) with two little bottom teeth, is starting to say “mama” and “dada,” does a little arm shake for a wave, says “buh” for ball, does the sign for “more,” had her first pureed curry last night, and won a blinking contest with the guy next to us in line at the post office earlier today. love her, too.

artsy dandelions

a few weekends ago, our church joined up with some other local churches to host an art benefit for a housing community. a and i got to participate in different ways, a chose to express herself artistically by running around collecting dandelions with her couldn't-be-cooler buddy j, and e just tried to eat dandelions. all in all, the event was a huge success. this coming weekend, all the money made will go to a renovation at this community housing center!


the fun bags i made for the event, inspired by bend-the-rules sewing, a book written by amy karol, a favorite craft blogger of mine and fellow mama as well. (thanks, sis, for the book!)

smooth operator

even though it makes me cringe every time i see it, it entertains me to see the way a bonds with his little "tough as nails" girls. here he is with m when she was a baby and current-day baby e, as the family acrobats perform their fancy standing trick.

m - april 2006 (7 months)

e - may 2008 (8 months)

e throws in a little "so big" for good measure

so proud

lovin' livin'

some snapshots of our life in the past month...

fun with forts (made out of sideways pack & plays)

aubrey and e

somebody got too tired riding her bike and had to hitch a ride home

splashing around on one of the first really warm days of the season

tickle those ivories, girls

my mom taught us how to play the piano when we were little girls before we took lessons. even though i did my fair share of complaining, i'm so thankful for the opportunity my parents gave us to study an instrument. though i don't get the chance to play a "real" piano very often, it's one of my favorite things to do...just so worshipful and therapeutic, too. in the meantime, i sometimes bust out the old-school casio and let the girls go to town. i'd love to start teaching m soon, too, as she is so into music.

m at six months learning the ropes

m (2.5) now showing e (8 months) the same ropes

see? just like this.

e rehearsing for her first recital

pondering her next piece

short break to work the camera

another break to practice "so big"

flashback to m reeeally getting into "so big" at about the same age

watch out, beethoven!

one thing is for sure: this pianist is loved.

dedicating the babe

in april, our church had a dedication service for the babies/toddlers. m was dedicated when she was just a few weeks old, so this was e's turn. it was such a special time for all the families. here we are surrounded by our church fam. (thanks, a, for snapping the photo during your visit!)

remember these moments

one day i walked into the living room to find this scene:

melt my heart

e seems to be saying, "could someone please get this 32-pound lady off my back?"

okay, sometimes it's just plain fun to be a mom to daughters.

more melting of the heart

e at 7 1/2 months

g & a

our neighbor garret has had some opportunities to rock it out in boulder lately, and we've had the privilege of seeing a few of his shows. these photos are from a night at starbucks in april.

garret works the mic while his brother taylor and sister brenna look on

the lovely aubrey

the girls and i soak up the show

i heart bowling

In the last few weeks, I have had the privilege of bowling twice...after a loooooong hiatus. The first occasion was at the home of Mark and Karin Stroessler, where we did Wii bowling. Um, fantastic. Can't wait to do it again. And then, we went to actual bowling lanes last weekend with some friends (mamas from play group and their husbands...thanks for the photo, Meg!). We had a great time. My first game would have made my Oak Lanes coaches from Huntington cry. I didn't even break 100. But I redeemed myself a bit in the 2nd game with something like a 160. This one's for you, Coaches Bill and Steve.

no words

Jesus is alive, guys!

So, Easter was definitely a few weeks ago, but I am just now finding the time to share about our celebration. We had an incredible weekend with our friends here as we anticipated Sunday morning. We loved being at Jason and Jenny Ballard's place all night Saturday as we held a prayer vigil. And Sunday morning was an awesome celebration, complete with mimosas! Mercy understood things a lot better this year. In the days preceding Easter, she would randomly say, "Jesus is alive, guys!" Indeed, Mercy, He is. And on Sunday morning, during our sunrise service, Mercy exclaimed as the sun started to rise, "Jesus is coming!" (Well, she actually said, "Jesus is tumming," but close enough.) Amen, sister.