babies (as in baby dolls)

I just love watching Lily play with her babies. It's especially interesting for me because I never really got into babies. I remember having them and going over to friend's houses that had them and always wanted to play with them. But I never really understand what the fun of baby dolls was.

In the past couple weeks, Lily has just become really intent on her baby dolls. She is pretty much always seen around the house pushing one of them in the stroller or wrapping them in blankies or patting their backs or putting them to bed.

Right now as I type I can hear lily sitting in her bed for nap time talking to her baby. Here's the conversation:

"It gonna be OK bebe, oh bebe....oh bebe....oh bebe, don't cry baby. It's gonna be OK. I'm with you baby. your mommy is gonna be home soon. I'm sorry baby. Sorry baby but it's broken (i have no idea what she is talking about). But it's ok baby. You must be tired baby. You are really tired baby. I'm going to put you to sleep baby. I'm wit you. I'm wit you baby. I'm your friend. Mommy is my friend."

SOOOOO PRECIOUS!!! I wish I could just bottle up this moment.

I guess i'm on a roll

Ok...I hadn't updated in 2 months and now here I am three times in a week. What is going on??

I just have a couple recommendations that I've got to get out and I didn't know where else to do it.

1. Whole Foods Organic Cage Free Chicken Breast!!!!! It is literally cheaper than the regular chicken breast at just about every grocery store I have ever been to. And if you have seen Food Inc (which I do recommend) then you can even eat your chicken in peace knowing it has not been horribly abused, but treated humanely :)

2. Anyone who likes good stories and good food has just GOT to check out this blog - www.epi-ventures.com. It is amazing!! My sister's best friend growing up writes it and it is really an awesome blog. The recipes DO NOT DISAPPOINT!!

that's all.

buddies

Wow...seeing these pictures in order like that just does something to me. I can't believe I get to be the mom of these two little people. It has been so sweet to watch them grow into little buddies.

Quick story from tonight. (it's not a funny one...) Today has been a bit stressful. Like this morning when I literally had to lock myself in my bedroom just to have a minute to talk on the phone with the AT&T guy (to cancel the service that I got suckered into by a guy who came to our door). Or like when I told Isaac we were going to the YMCA and you would have thought I told him that I was going to cut off his arm or give all his toys away. And then sometimes as sweet as those little voices are, and they really are sweet, when you have been hearing them non-stop for almost 12 straight hours with very little quiet, you start to think you might lose your mind. So by the time the kids were in the bath I was teetering on the edge of sanity. Luckily Dan stepped in and saved me. A few minutes later I was called back into the bathroom to dry off a screaming and frantic Isaac. (he had been warned not to throw water out of the tub and after disobeying was now not going to have any books before bed.) As I took him into his room to dry him off, put lotion on him, and put his jammies on, something happened to me. Right before I put on his night-time pull up I just had this thought flash into my mind - what if Isaac was kidnapped and whoever had him wouldn't know that he still needed to wear a pull up at night. And in that moment, I was undone. My heart melted. I looked at my sweet boy and all I wanted to do was hold him. I finished getting him ready for bed, I turned out the light, and I grabbed him into my arms. Isaac doesn't usually like snuggling or being held, but tonight as he sobbed, he held onto me as I held onto him. I nuzzled my face into his neck as he cried. I sat there and held him until he fell asleep and then I held him longer. One day he will be a big man with a bristly neck. But tonight he was my baby. I was such a gift.

As I sat there holding him I was reflecting on something. Sometimes there are really hard things that we face in life. Things that we just don't know how to get right. Things that we fail at. And in those places there is pain and there is longing. I believe that even in those places God is good to us. That God actually many times brings hard things into our lives to refine us and to draw us to himself. Being a mom has been that thing in my life. I want so badly to do it right, but it seems on most days that I just can't figure it out. I feel like I am failing all the time. It is frustrating and painful. And yet in that very place is also my greatest gift. I have never seen a more beautiful and awe inspiring gift than the gift of my children. And it is in that place, the place of my greatest gift that I am also being refined in very painful ways. Interesting. God is very creative and full of mystery.

We now live in nashville

So...it's been two months. We've moved across 2 states. We now officially reside in the south. There have been lots of changes and adjustments. There tons of great stuff about living in nashville such as, awesome hills everywhere, its just beautiful, the super cool artsy vibe, lots of quaint restaurants, new places to explore, our church that we LOVE LOVE LOVE, and so many nice people. There's also tons of weird stuff about living in Nashville, I've seen countless little boys (and I'm not talking babies, I'm talking 3 year olds) wear little jump suites that have been embroidered and/or cross stitched with things like apples, airplanes, frogs, their names, etc, I've also seen countless hipsters riding on vintage mopeds, there are no curbs anywhere, we don't have a garage or a basement, which I guess is normal, tons of gravel driveways...I guess you can get away with that when you don't have to shovel or snow blow (good thing we left our snow blower in chicago).

A couple notable events. My little Lily Belle turned two this past sunday. What a totally precious little cupcake she is. She really is. And I don't normally talk like that. She is just at this cute cute age. I just want to eat her up!! She is talking all the time about everything. I can't believe how must she talks and how clearly she is talking. The other morning she walked out of her room and said in the clearest little voice, "Isaac, are you watching Wipeout?" I just about fell over. I'm looking at her and thinking...aren't you a baby?? How come you can talk? And, how do you even know about the show Wipeout??

A couple funny Isaac stories.

1. The other day I'm sitting eating lunch or dinner with Isaac and he says, "Holy Crap!!!". I am shocked and look back at him and say, "We do not talk like that!! I do not want to hear you say those kinds of words. Where did you hear that?" He says, "I heard you and daddy say it." Oops... I say, "Well, mommy and daddy shouldn't say that either." And he says, "OK, it must just be for when you are putting things in the attic." I couldn't help but laugh.

2. We have taught Isaac to look at the clock and not get out of bed before 7:00am. It works, kind of, some of the time. So one morning recently Dan and I were still asleep and we hear this voice yelling, "Mmmmmmooooooooommmmyyyyyy, Ddddddaaaaaaaddddddddddyyyyyy, it's time to get up, it's seven!!!!!!" I vaguely remember him coming into our room and I said something like, just go play in your room for a little bit. Then again at 7:15 I hear, "Mommy, Daddy, It's 7, it's time to wake up." But I kind of just roll over and don't respond. then around 7:20 I vaguely think I hear some kind of banging or clanking around, but not enough to get out of bed. Then at 7:30, I see a little face staring at me saying, "mommy, IT'S SEVEN, time to get up!!!!!!" So finally Dan rolls out of bed and comes and asks me if I left out a container of ice cream last night. Of course I didn't!! We soon realize that somewhere between 7 and 7:30 Isaac made his way into the kitchen, got out a bowl and a spoon, he pulled a step stool up to the fridge and opened the freezer. He took out the ice cream, scooped it into a bowl and then went and ate a bowl of ice cream in the living room. That's what you get for sleeping in when you have a three year old. :)