1...

Today I found myself continually thinking back to what I was doing at certain moments throughout the day, one year ago.  Because it was one year ago today that we first met, and you made us a family of five. 

The first time I laid eyes on you, I remember thinking you looked just like Mason did when he was born.  Even now after a year, you still favor him most, but you have developed your own look that is unique to you.  You started out as a fairly laid back little baby, but as your personality develops we can definitely see that you have an emerging will and persistance.  Sometimes it just hides behind your sweet smile and your cuddles.

You started walking about a month ago, and you love to explore your surroundings, but you will always come back and find me, wherever I am in the house.  Despite your mobility, you still love to be held and carried on my hip.  I love that.

Your diet is all table food now.  You love any fruit that I give you, but the vegetables you like are very limited to the occasional green bean or small bite of broccoli.  You love chicken, especially in the form of a nugget, and yogurt, quesadillas and grilled cheese are some of your favorites too.  By twelve months old you have 14 teeth--quite a mouthful!

You still wake up once or twice during the night, but I don't mind.  I've come to get used to our little midnight meetings.  Up until now you have always gone back to sleep pretty easily.  But lately there have been several nights where you become wide awake and ready to play. 

You're a climber!  I have found you in some pretty unlikely places, and therefore have to keep a close eye on you.  You also have the same love for the toilet that your sister had when she was a baby.  More times than I care to think about, I have caught you with your hands swirling around in the potty water.  I try to keep the bathroom door closed, but with a brother and sister constantly going in and out, there are plenty of opportunities for you to make a stealth entrance into the forbidden room. 

You are beginning to imitate lots of things we do.  You not only copy our gestures, but you are also beginning to imitate using pretend play.  When I vacuum the floors, you will often find something that you too can push around like a vacuum cleaner.  You hold your baby doll and kiss and hug her, most likely from the way you've experienced us loving on you.  You hold anything that looks like a phone to your ear. You dance and clap every time you hear music or a beat, and you love it when I chase you around or play hide and seek.  Spending these days with you is priceless!

Mollie, I thank God for the extraordinary little girl you are growing up to be.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made, inside and out.  I pray that you would always have a heart full of love for God and for others...so many many things I pray for you, sweet girl.  Happy First Birthday--What a marvelous day it was when you were born!

Popping The Top...

Earlier this school year, Mason told me he wanted to be the first 1st grader to Pop his Top (of a canned lemonade) at school, which is a big honor each first grader gets to do in front of the whole school over the morning announcements, once they've reached a certain number of Accelerated Reader points.  I was very proud of Mason for making this his goal, regardless of whether he would accomplish it or not.  He worked really hard, reading new books every night and testing on them every day, and he tried his best to mentally keep up with his points so that he'd know how much he lacked to reach his goal.  Over the past few weeks he knew he was getting close.  But finally yesterday I got a call from his teacher stating that he, and another one of his classmates, had both reached their goal, and the two of them would be the first 1st graders to 'pop their tops'!  The kids all get so excited about this, and it's such a big honor that the families are even invited to attend and watch as the students are broadcast over the televised announcements.  Matthew even found someone to cover his class for 20 minutes so he could be there to watch too.  Mason was so excited to get to school this morning--he emerged from his room at exactly 7 a.m. dressed and ready to go (an entire hour before we actually had to leave.)  Here are some pictures I got of Mason and his sweet buddy, Gabriel, both excited to be the first to receive the award this year:

Popping their tops

...and wearing their new t-shirts that say "Accelerated Reader. Independent Reader."

The boys with their principal, Mrs. Happ:

Way to go, Mason and Gabriel!  We're so proud of you both!

3...

Last Friday Ellie celebrated her third birthday.  (These years have gone by so quickly, and I'm left wondering when she changed from a toddler into a little lady.)  I tried to fill her day with special things, so she would know how precious she is to us, and why we were celebrating her on that day.  She started the day bright and early with Matthew waking her up before going to work, to take her out on a breakfast date.  When he asked her what she wanted to eat, she said, "Cracked eggs, pancakes, and donuts with sprinkles."  He opted for donuts.

Later that evening we met up with family friends of ours (who have been a big part of our life since the day she was born) at Chick-fil-A--another one of Ellie's favorites--to enjoy some nuggets, playing on the playground with her buddies, and sharing some birthday cupcakes.

Then on Saturday, we celebrated with family.  All four grandparents and sweet Aunt Natalie came to town to share the day with us.  (Mollie's birthday is only 5 days after Ellie's, so we were celebrating her too!)  I love this picture of the three of them checking out one of Ellie's new toys!

Mason spent his very own money to buy her two new Matchbox cars.  Thanks brother!

Thank you to our dear family and friends who shared her birthday with us.  She had lots of fun!  Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet Ellie!



Ellie's Wish...

With Ellie turning 3 in one week, Matthew and I have been asking her what she wants for her birthday.  The answer she repeatedly gives us: Sprinkles.

Well...that seems easy. 

And while this picture has absolutely nothing to do with birthday sprinkles, it pretty much sums up the essence of Ellie these days.  (Perhaps she's really wishing for cooler weather.)

Adventures In Grocery Shopping...

Every Monday morning, after we drop Mason off at school, the girls and I head over to the grocery store.  I usually only go once a week, so we have quite a bit to buy and it can easily turn into a big ordeal.  This morning was no exception.  Since Mollie came along and now needs the child seat in the shopping cart, Ellie has been demoted to walking.  However, Ellie doesn't consider this a demotion at all.  To her, it spells freedom.  Freedom to walk anywhere she wants and touch every item of food on every shelf of every aisle.  As I'm keeping a watchful eye on her, I didn't notice that Mollie was attempting to shimmy out of the cart's safety belt.  So as I'm putting produce in the cart, some food catches her eye as I'm tossing it in.  But before I can blink, she stands straight up and turns around to leap for the food.  The weight of her head pulls the rest of her body over and she falls into the front of the cart.  But she didn't just fall the way a usual 11 month old might.  Her feet went over her head, resulting in a forward flip onto the food.  I immediately grabbed her to comfort her, and then I gave her a 9.8 for her gymnastics exhibition.  Then the horror set in--you know, the what ifs.  What if she had fallen out of the cart onto the hard floor, instead of into the front of the cart.  So I stand there thanking God over and over for not letting her fall onto the floor.  And then I thanked the eggs for sacrificing themselves to break her fall.  For the remainder of the shopping trip, I'm holding Mollie...

Moving on and passing through the bakery section, we see donut samples set out.  I have to confess, our favorite thing about Monday morning shopping is the donut samples.  Because I've learned that nothing keeps little girls on task at the store like deep-fried white bread slathered in a sugary glaze.  As I'm giving Ellie her 'your limit is two' speech, a nice lady approaches me.  She tells me that she doesn't go to church often but that she is drawn to me and wants to give me this witnessing bracelet about Christ because my family looks so precious.  But if I'm being honest here--I'm pretty sure it wasn't the preciousness that drew her, but more the fact that, with two little mischief makers, I must've struck her as a person who needed Jesus at that moment.  So as I'm politely letting her witness to me with the bracelet, Ellie is readily taking advantage of my distraction and making more than her fair share of returns back to the donut samples.  At this point, other shoppers are even acting as accomplices, helping her reach the donut tray as I'm giving her the "stop it...that's enough" gestures from across the bakery.  I guess she wasn't picking up on those gestures.  I could've told this lady I was already a Christian and believed in everything she was telling me.  But she was doing such a good job, I didn't have the heart to disappoint her efforts, so I maintained the status-quo as the role of the heathen...and I got a cool bracelet thrown in as well.  :)

Continuing on, Ellie then announces that she needs to use the potty.  I'm 3/4 of the way done at this point, and there's no going back.  So I did the unthinkable.  I tell her HEB has no potty and that she must hold it until we get home. We press on through the freezer section (which I'm now thinking is just a cruel joke because we all know what the cold does to one who needs to use the bathroom.)  So now I'm holding Mollie in one hand, pushing a cart, and speed walking through the freezer section with Ellie 'holding herself' for all the world to see, in a race against time to get my child to the bathroom.  When we finally do get to the bathroom, it turns out that all she had was a few "dribbles".  In my humble opinion, this could totally have waited.

In the end, we all made it home in one piece, with no major accidents (either medical or tee-tee related), and can now enjoy a freshly restocked pantry.   I know this might sound crazy, but I have to admit that I really do love days like today.  The days of grocery store adventures with my little ones.  I'd love to keep them young forever, and we could live in the days where everything is an adventure!  But now I should rest...because next Monday's shopping trip will be here before I know it!

Spanish Heritage Program...

Yesterday Mason participated in the Spanish Heritage Program at his school.   Last year, his kindergarten class dressed up like los viejitos and did a little dance.  But this year, since they've had a year to learn more of the language, the first grade dual language class had speaking parts. 

His class recited a poem about the Mexican flag, and several of the students had individual speaking parts explaining the meaning behind the colors and symbols of the flag.  Mason's part was to explain the meaning behind the eagle with the snake in its mouth, which is in the center of their flag.  (Sorry the video is so shaky.  It turns out that videography can be tricky while trying to keep tabs on two busy little girls.)

 

Update On The Little Three...

Lately I have not done a great job at posting updates on the kids.  I guess we've just been busy getting back into the routine of school and football season.  So in an attempt to catch up, here is a bit of what they've been up to:

Mason is enjoying the first grade.  His favorite part so far is the AR (Accelerated Reader) program.  At his school, when a first grader reaches a certain amount of AR points by reading and testing on AR books, that student gets to "Pop The Top" of a canned drink given to them by the principal, in front of the entire school via their televised morning announcements.  While it might seem silly, it's quite a coveted honor amongst the first graders.  I guess you could call it their initiation into a new world of independent reading.  Mason made the proclamation to me yesterday that his biggest goal this year is to become the first 1st grader to pop his top.  I don't know if he'll accomplish this, but he is trying really hard--bringing home new AR books to read and test on every day.  Even if he doesn't reach his goal, I'm so proud of his desire to try.  And I know that through this, he is improving his independent reading skills, which is ultimately the most important goal!

The funny thing is this though--Mason is pretty much a tea/water drinker only, so he doesn't have a lot of experience with the tabs on canned drinks.  The other day he was concerned that when the time comes for him to 'pop his top' in front of the school, he would have trouble opening the tab on the can. (And for a first grader, this is embarrassing stuff!) So he asked me if I could buy some canned drinks at the store so he could practice at home.  What a funny boy!  Can you guess what's on my shopping list this week.  :)

Ellie turns 3 next month, and she is becoming increasingly independent.  Picking out her own clothes and putting them on by herself is one of her favorite things to do.  (And it actually helps me out a lot that she can do this now, when I'm trying to get 4 people ready and out the door to get Mason to school in the mornings.)  The only problem is, she tends to be a little eclectic when it comes to her choices in outfits.  They always seem to be mis-matched, ill fitting, or seasonally inappropriate. 

If this isn't enough, she also likes to wear both her underwear and shorts/pants backward.  I frequently give her the 'tag goes in the back' reminder, but she is always quick to notify me that her tags go in the front so she can see them.  So, there she is looking very unique for the day.  But since I'm confident that she won't be going off to college still wanting to wear her pants and underpants backward, I concede and let her be...well...unique.

And as for Mollie--my sweet little Mollie--She is 10 months old now and is turning into a little monkey!  This girl loves to climb.  She will climb up anything that is within her reach.  In the last week I've caught her climbing onto the lowered dishwasher door, she uses a little rocking chair to boost herself up onto the toybox in her room, and I've even found her teetering on the arm of the sofa.

 She has been rising up to the standing position without holding onto anything, and just this week she started taking a few steps by herself--usually between 2 and 4--before crashing down on her bottom.  She thinks this is great stuff, and it is pure joy watching her excitement.  She is a go-getter and will readily handle herself against Mason or Ellie.  If they take something from her, she has no reservations about climbing right over them and taking back what is rightfully hers!  All four of her 1 year molars are coming in, but it doesn't seem to be bothering her at all.  She still wakes up to nurse at least once during the night, and she is eating about 30% baby food and 70% table food. 

These kiddos sure keep me busy!  I love watching them continually develop into the little people God is creating them to be!