Valentine's Crafts

We are all not doing well. Aaron has a hurt back, I sprained my ankle, Reese is getting over some kind of fever virus and Saige is just whinny. I decided I needed to do some crafts. Crafts make us all happy.

I was inspired by three different blogs and I sort of just put them all together into one "love tree". We are going to try and do our bible verses again. I love hiding the Lords words into their hearts. Reese has often gone back to a verse I taught her when she is scared. That is exactly what we're to do as well. When we are scared, afraid, sad, or even happy we should fall on the Lords words to help us through our circumstances.

So our verse of the month is... "We love because HE first loved us" 1 John 4:19

We talked about talked about what this meant. I wish I had it on video to hear back. Listening to them try and process it was the sweetest.

We made a tree and put heart leaves on it. Then we (I) wrote the names of the people them told me they loved. Precious. Then we prayed. I love how it turned out!





Poor Reese, you can tell shes sick.

Hookie

We have all been so busy lately. Aaron has a very hurt back that has required a lot of random doctor appointments, the girls are in school, ballet, along with play dates and birthday parties, we have church, bible studies etc. I was especially tired this week and when the girls got up on Thursday morning I decided we needed a family day. I asked Reese if she wanted to go to school or the zoo?? The girls just about burst with excitement and off to the zoo we went.

We finally rode the train that has been there for a long time. I've been waiting for Aaron to ride it with us. The weather was PERFECT! The sky was big and blue and the air was cool and crisp. The best part is there wasn't ONE field trip, camp or day care there. Actually there weren't many people there at all. Aaron likes to do what he calls "speed zoo" to get everything in and out quickly but on Thursday we just enjoyed the zoo. The animals were very active. We saw a sweet baby monkey and Saige announced to the other people that the baby was drinking the mommy's "booby milk" The Baboons got into a fight, the bears were out climbing rocks and the new chimps were playing happily.

I loved watching the girls see everything. They were especially happy to be there with daddy. You could just tell that this family day meant as much to their little hearts as it did mine.

Paci

This morning, Saige got up and announced that she was a big girl and she wanted to throw her paci away. Reese and I got out of bed to watch this miracle occur. Sure enough, Saige threw it away and shut the door. She was very proud of herself. Later, I asked her how she was going to go to sleep. She walked into her room and laid herself on the floor and said "like this" and then she said "I threw my paci away, is it in heaven? Did it die?" I just said yes, hoping that she wouldn't ask for it again. I don't believe that we're done with the paci issue just yet but one can hope!

Saige speaks spanish!

This morning Saige ran out of the bathroom and said something to Reese. Reese's eyes got really big and she shouted "Saige you speak Spanish???" Saige looked at her and said "what?" I guess whatever Saige said Reese did not understand. haha

It tough being two

Saige is really trying to show us who is boss. I really dislike this phase. It just plain sucks having to get on to her a lot lately.

The other day at school I packed a 100 calorie chex mix for the girls. They LOVE them (hahaha). That day I also packed some peaches in a container for them. Saige needed helping opening both containers but would not say please. Her teachers asked her to say it over and over and thats when the "stand off" began. She just stared at them. Her teachers decided not to give in to her and would not open the rest of her lunch. (She had a few things she COULD open by herself so she didn't go hungry!) I'm glad they did this though. She needs to learn that she can't control everything.

It is much worse at home though. She won't listen to us one bit. We've tried different discpline methods for a while and one that seems to work best is time out and not letting her have her way. It seems to be working. I've heard over and over that three's are worse and if thats the case count me out! :)

The rocking chair

I bought a pretty cheap rocking chair when I had Reese. It was good but not the big comfortable ones that they sell at baby stores. I didn't use it all that much for Reese. She slept in our bed for a long time and didn't "require" a lot of rocking. At 17 months one night when I started to rock her she pointed to her crib and said "there". I got a little teary eyed and put her to bed. In a way I was thankful because I was about to have Saige.

Saige required so much rocking that my butt went numb many many many nights in that chair. At one point I remember thinking I hated this cheap rocking chair more than anything else in the world. I swore that I was melting into the chair at times too. We were one. That was when I knew spending more money on a chair would have been a smart decision.

We got past the HOURS of rocking but Saige still likes to be rocked before bed. I kept thinking she would stop wanting to rocked but she loves it. She lays her head on my chest and rubs her baby and almost goes to sleep. She even drools on me sometimes. Her legs have gotten long but it is SO special.

Tonight the rocking chair broke. :( The poles in the back completely fell out. For the first time in 32 months I did not rock her to sleep. She got a little weepy so I held her and sang a little song. Before going to bed she asked for a new pink rocking chair. I wish I could run out and buy a new one but seeing that she will be 3 in May I just can't justify buying one. haha! I admit that I have a lump in my throat and will probably cry at the thought of NOT rocking my sweet baby at night. Just sad!!!

Phone pictures

Here are some old pictures I got off my phone.

Reese and Saige at A Bunch of Fun! Reese was doing a puppet show and Saige was trying to strip!








Reese's new way of going on a walk w/o a double stroller




Reese at her dance class.





Saige loves to play babies. She put her baby near her chest and said "My baby is drinking booby milk like baby Annie does!" haha




The girls at McDonalds the other day. We were waiting on the Bowles crew!





My sweet babies taking a big bubble bath. This kept them busy for a long time!




Saige likes to dress herself ...and I didn't feel like fighting her. She thought she looked so cute! Love this kid!

Reese has a new sleeping habit

When we first had Reese she was so sweet but would not sleep unless she was with us (in our bed) or in a swing. We slept just like this (well minus all the blankets) for six months.



We fixed this problem and never let her sleep with us again. BUT...lately she now comes into our room and crawls in bed with us. At first it was in the 5:00 hour and it wasn't a big deal. Now it is like 1am or earlier. She is soooooo sweet and snuggily though. Thankfully our bed is a king and she fits in nicely! I told her to stop coming in. We will see how that works. LOL!!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

My top 5 favorite things about my girls

Saige
1) that she lets me still rock her to sleep every night and sometimes she will drool on my chest
2) her emotions. She is always a 10-most excited, very happy, VERY unhappy. She can go from 0-10 in one second. It can be hard to deal with but it is also fun.
3) Her vocabulary. She can talk and talk (wonder where she gets that from????)
4) How much she loves playing babies. She is such a little mommy.
5) How much she loves for me to hold her. Sometimes it makes things hard because I need to clean or do laundry but it is really really sweet. She is still my baby.

Reese
1) Her imagination. She is constantly pretending to be a singer, princess, puppy, lion, frog, etc...the list goes on.
2) Her sweet disposition. She has to be the most loving, caring child.
3) How much she loves sweets. We're two peas in a pod when it comes to chocolate.
4) How much she loves her Daddy. She literally leaps for joy when he comes home.
5) How much she loves animals. I've never seen a child so into animals. We're thankful that Nana has provided us with the zoo membership.

I am so blessed with these two girls and love them to pieces.