Christmas Time's A Comin'

(That's our family favorite Christmas song, only because it's so great to dance to.)

We had a lovely day today that really captured what we've been up to lately. After church we tried out the new Tim Hortons--only minutes from our house!--decorated for Christmas, wrapped a few presents, and took naps by the fire while we watched football. Pretty great. I also washed a few new baby items, set up a changing station in our room, and packed the diaper bag to take to the hospital. Something about being only 3.5 weeks out is motivating me to GET READY!

One of my favorite moments was when Nellie asked me if she could use my stocking this year. I said it had my name it, and asked wouldn't she rather have her own? She responded, "but Mom, Christmas is a season for sharing!" I guess she has a point! And really, in the end, it doesn't matter at all!

It's a little strange to be decorating a new house with all of our old things, but it does make it feel like home! We've always had an enormous number of Christmas decorations because we got married at Christmas time (and thus got lots of Christmas decor as gifts) and I was a teacher, which meant lots of Christmas-y gifts. We're planning to get a tree this weekend. It's all very fun and exciting, but I can't believe how time is marching on toward the end of the semester, Baby #3, and more holidays. Never have I been so organized before Christmas--not only is my shopping 99% done, most of the presents are wrapped and bagged according to which family they need to go to. That's not to say there's not a lot to do...I need to make freezer meals, wash all the baby linens, set up the crib, pack a hospital bag, etc. Not to mention finishing out the semester. One more week of very focused work and I think I'll be home free on that end.

I should also mention that we had a wonderful long weekend! We hosted 15 people on Thanksgiving, and thanks to everyone else the dinner was delicious and plentiful and required almost no cooking on my part. I had fun decorating, setting tables, and enjoying both sides of the family being at the house. We also had our three nieces overnight for the first time, which was an adventure at 8 months pregnant but all in all it went REALLY well--I'm looking forward to the next time! I also wrote a paper that's ALMOST done, and Kevin and I got to go out to dinner for probably the last time in a long time because John was home and willing to watch the girls.

I should really go to bed--it's going to be a long week in a big effort to finish most of my coursework (plus two doctors appointments, volunteering at Nellie's preschool, and an extra meeting thrown in for good measure)--but I really don't want it all to end. It's going to be hard leaving the cozy, Christmas-y house tomorrow. But onward and upward, one day at a time!

Oh, Nellie

Yesterday, Kevin asked Nellie who her friends are in her preschool class. There are lots of girls with lovely names, and Nellie started listing them--Emma, Avery, Benicia, Olivia, Victoria, Vienna...

Kevin jokingly added "Laticiana, Mulan, Pocahontas..." to which Nellie 100% seriously replied, "no daddy, that's the morning class."

What's in a name?

Annie has taken to calling Nellie "Nellie Rose," or more precisely, "My NeNe Rose." So all day long, it's, "Where my NeNe Rose, my Mommy?" and other such Annie-isms. Very sweet.

On a different note, Nellie now has two different books about cowgirls (Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse and Nellie and the Bandit--both fun books) in which the main character's name is Nellie. Which makes me wonder if it's a country bumpkin name...? Oh well, we're keeping it!

Oh, and baby brother does not have a name yet, not even close.

Skype

Our babysitter got married Friday and for some reason wanted to take this week off. So after driving to Kalamazoo for a classroom observation, I came home to relieve Kevin and had to Skype in to two hours worth of meetings. The first hour went pretty well--it was only my local boss and co-graduate assistants and Annie pretty much just sat with me. The second half when we met with the Berkeley group via Polycom, I wisely muted our end. Very wise. I listened to the meeting with one ear and to Nellie with the other. This is about how it went:

Wow, are you Skyping? Who are you talking to? Is that Miss Jerilynn? HI MISS JERILYNN! Is Zion [Jerilynn's 8-year-old son who is kind enough to play with Nellie sometimes] there? Is that Zion's daddy talking [actually Niral from California]? Is Zion's daddy there? Who is that lady talking? Did she just say hypothesis? I know that! That's from Sid the Science Kid! Who is that? Bob? Your boss? What does boss mean? Hi Bob!

At some point, there was this annoying tapping noise that I thought was the headboard banging against the wall. Eventually I realized it couldn't be that--it was a woodpecker! Darn thing moved to the other wall and I could see it out of the window. So I went to shoo it away and told Nellie to tell me what the group was saying. When I got back, she was yelling at the computer.

SORRY MISS JERILYNN, BUT MOMMY DIDN'T HEAR WHAT YOU SAID, SHE WENT TO GO YELL AT A WOODPECKER!

So, so thankful for that mute feature.

Kid stats

After birthdays, we had well-child checkups. As usual, the girls are tall--Dr. Luginbill tells me that research suggests there is a 100% chance they will be taller than me--and otherwise there's not much to report! The appointment itself was pretty uneventful, except that I had intentionally planned all three of our appointments early in the morning so Kevin could come along, then he had early morning duty. But the girls brought along their doctor kits and were generally charming.

Annie at 2--

• Height: 2' 11.5"
• Weight: 24 lbs. 3.2 oz.
• Completely potty trained (except for diapers at night) by August, which is largely due to Nellie's help!
• Still loves her blankie and pacy, although the days of the pacifier are few. I hope. I am planning to send her to Emily's Pacifier Detox Center very soon.
• Has seriously the cutest little voice I have ever heard. I wish I could just bottle it up and keep it forever. Yes, we have a video camera, but have you ever tried to get a 2-year-old to say something at just the right time? Part of it is that she says the cutest things. For instance, she calls me "my mommy" and Nellie "my NeNe." As in, "did you see that my mommy?" or "where's my NeNe?" or "is that funny my NeNe?" That last one usually involves her doing something to impress Nellie, like dropping her fork on the floor or saying "poo-poo." She also picks up on silly things Nellie says and then repeats them very seriously, like calling me Mrs. Bologna every time she thanks me for something. She has very good manners, but it's always "thank you, Mrs. Bologna" or "sorry, Mrs. Bologna!"
  
• Counts to 20, knows the alphabet.
  
• Her favorite songs are "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Mean" by Taylor Swift (don't ask) and she loves to sing.
• Her favorite movie is Mulan.
• Mostly she just really, really loves Nellie.

Nellie at 4--

• Height: 3' 6"
• 38 lbs. 12.8 oz.
• Recognizes all and writes almost all of the letters in the alphabet. She is very interested in learning to read and spell words.
• Has a mind for song lyrics--she is constantly making up new songs that actually have rhyming lyrics or tell complicated stories, and she can repeat songs she's only heard a handful of times. Which makes me very cautious about what music we listen to!
• Is in a very helpful stage--love it!! Her favorite way to help is giving the dogs baths out in the backyard. It can occupy her for an hour--a quiet, peaceful hour. I definitely think 2 and 4 is easier than 1 and 3 so far.
• Refers to everything in Grand Ledge as Papa John's. That is, "Papa John's playground" and "Papa John's library" and "Papa John's McDonalds." Because, of course, we're living in Papa John's house.
• Is still very energetic, very silly, and very stubborn. She wore the same four dresses all summer (though at least 50% of the time she was in only underpants or a bathing suit), and I am nervous about transitioning to constricting fall clothes.
  
• Still prefers any kind of meat or vegetable over any kind of sweet. This morning for breakfast we had sausage, french toast, and strawberries. She ate one strip of french toast, a handful of strawberries, and three sausage links. Annie, on the other hand, has a sweet tooth like her mom. She spit out her two bites of sausage but ate an entire piece of french toast.
  

Birthdays! And thoughts on turning 30.

In the close-knit Wernet side of the family, we have lots of close-knit summer birthdays:

Jamie - June 21st
Annie - June 24th
Lisa - July 6th
Nellie - July 11th
Sarah - July 30th
Robynne - August 10th

I got to be first, and it was a big one--30!! Kevin threw a great party at Pam's house on Gull Lake. I hovered over weather.com all week hoping for no rain, and the storms stayed away! We had lots of fun--so much fun, in fact, that we decided to move the girls' birthday party from our house to Pam's to recreate the fun the next weekend.

I took the girls to Francis Park the morning of my birthday

Annie and I in the cold lake at my birthday party

And Kevin took me out for dinner. I did not eat that whole piece of cake.

Annie's birthday was nice because it gave us a great chance to celebrate Annie! We filled the living room with balloons and opened presents in the morning, then went to a Lugnuts game in the evening. And of course, we ate cupcakes. :)

Trying to get Annie excited about her big present--a doll highchair.

Balloons! And Nellie in her underpants (big surprise)!

As the wonderful parents that we are, we like to make sure our kids know that they're special but not that special. Just kidding. We do like to have shared birthday parties for the girls, though. Since so many family members were taking European vacations this year, we had a Wernet party with a Pooh theme the weekend of Annie's birthday, and a Princess and the Frog party for the Wacyk side the weekend of Nellie's birthday. I would call the parties successful (aside from the really gross Greek yogurt veggie dip that I served--I definitely should have tried it first), because the girls were generally good-natured, remembered to say thank you, and didn't have any tantrums. Really, can you ask for more?

Nellie at the Pooh party

I cut the cake while Annie dug her fingers in it--which I later realized

Most beloved present--princess pool

Princess and the Frog party

Nellie's favorite present--Rapunzel

As the title suggests, I am now going to pontificate on being 30. Actually, it will be brief, because I really don't mind. It is a little strange--I mean, am I going to have to start doing new medical tests or something? That makes me feel old. But otherwise, it was just a pretty normal birthday and really--I've always wanted to be 30. In fact, I remember telling Kevin very early in our relationship that I would like to date a 30-year-old (I was 19) because he would be better aligned with my preferred lifestyle (think pajamas and movies on the couch by 8:00, not going out to parties at 11:30. 11:30!! People are crazy.) What a weird thing to tell a guy you're dating! But it was and is true--I love babies and minivans and I was ill-suited to the college life. Of course, here I am back in college, but that's another story. ANYWAY, the point is that 30 could be harder, but I have everything I always wanted when I imagined turning 30--husband, 2.5 kids (quite literally), a house, I'm working on my Ph.D (actually much sooner than I had imagined), and I'm often in my pajamas by 8:00. No minivan yet, but maybe by 31?

Maybe this explains a lot?

Today in the car, I was singing the song "Ain't No Road Too Long" from Follow That Bird. When I got to the line, "you gotta learn to say yes when life says no" (which are, in fact, the words to the song), Nellie stopped me and said, "actually mom, it's 'you gotta learn to say yes when mom says no'."

Busy (mostly having fun)

I have been neglecting the ol' blog lately, and it's all because there's a lot on the Wernet plate right now and there has been a lot of fun to be had! Here are the highlights, which will get much more attention soon, especially since the camera cord has been located and pictures are ready to upload!

• Birthday party after birthday party
• Lots of fun at Gull Lake, some of which was a moms-and-kids adventure
• Getting ready to (gulp) move
• Welcoming Emily back to the U.S.
• Redoing the bathroom (see: getting ready to (gulp) move)
• Writing my practicum and conference proposals - which, if they get accepted, I will have to take a 4-month-old to!
  

Feisty child, chocolate child

I gave Nellie a time-out for going in the neighbor's yard and not coming back when I called her. She looked at me and said very firmly, "that is not desirable."


When I left for girls' night out last week (which, I will point out, only happens once every few months,) Kevin held Annie on the front porch while she cried dramatically. Kevin called me to say that she wasn't crying "Mommy," she was sobbing, "BROOOOOWNIEEEEES" because I was taking the brownies with me.

Poppy seed to lemon

At 14 weeks, the baby is now about the size of a lemon. So strange how the baby is always compared to some fruit or vegetable. We're safely in the second trimester, which has been quite a relief for me. I'm not sure why, but I've been particularly nervous about this pregnancy. Mainly, I felt so much better than I did with Nellie and Annie that I never really believed I was pregnant! Then with bated breath I heard that little heartbeat for the first time at 9 weeks, then again yesterday. Of course, there's also the fact that I already look about 5 months pregnant! Sigh.

So I'm feeling somewhat relieved, and the reality of a three-child family is starting to set in. But I know that the worrying never really stops! At first, it's that risky first trimester, then waiting for the ultrasound, then the anxiety of birth and actually getting the baby into the world. And then it's keeping an infant alive who is completely dependent on you, then keeping a toddler from running into the street, and watching for signs of all kinds of illnesses...and I'm not even a particularly anxious mother! Don't even get me started on the teen years--I've been studying recordings of 8th-grade algebra classrooms and I mostly find myself thinking, "how do I keep my children from becoming that?!" (So snarky!)

Anyway, the point is that the worrying never really stops. But it's nice to know that I can now drink a half cup of coffee or (gasp) a few sips of beer without causing any permanent damage.

Nellie, on Pregnancy (part 2)

I had my second doctor's appointment on Monday--the first after the first trimester, and all seems well, so word is officially out! When I got home, I told Nellie that the doctor had heard the baby's heartbeat and even heard the baby moving. Before I could even blink, Nellie had run over and pressed her ear to my stomach. She yelled, "quiet everyone! I'm listening to the baby!"

I clarified that the doctor needs a special machine to hear the baby. Everyone is coming to the next appointment (well child check-ups for our 2- and 4-year-olds are in order!), and I think we're all excited about that.

Father's Day

I tried to get Nellie to think about things Kevin likes on our way to buy Father's Day presents, so she wouldn't want to buy him a Rapunzel doll or something. Here were her ideas, in order:

• Skittles
• Coffee
• Flowers
• Motorcycle

I told her that daddy probably would like a motorcycle, but they are a little too expensive. She told me she saw someone buy one yesterday and it's not that hard.

Pain in the back

Well, I think I threw my back out. Is that what you call it when you're lifting a ridiculously heavy concrete planter, you hear a loud crack/pop sound in your spine, and then you can't move? Because that's what happened. Now I'm on good ol' regular strength Tylenol, which is harder to find than you might think, and alternating heat and ice.

The hardest part is trying to figure out how to avoid lifting and carrying things (i.e. people). I mean, it is seriously impossible. I think my whole life at home revolves around lifting and carrying things/people. Actually, the hardest part is feeling a tiny bit better and taking advantage of it by hobbling around the house making dinner, vacuuming, dusting, and picking up. Okay, I did that. And now I regret it.

I wish I had slowed myself down instead of the Lord slowing me down by force!

Nellie, on pregnancy

When Lane asked Nellie about the new baby, Nellie said I took the baby with me to California. True.

My grandparents did not know about the baby as of Tuesday, when my grandma asked Nellie if she was excited about preschool. Nellie responded, "yeah, but not nearly as excited about the baby in mommy's tummy!" They know now!

Every day, Nellie asks to see the baby, which means she gently touches my already-sticking-out belly button, kisses my stomach, and asks if she was kissing the baby's lips. Then she asks how big the baby is and says, without fail, "boy, just look at that big fat baby in there!" I'm only 12 weeks pregnant.

Nellie, on Mommy

Here is an interview that our wonderful babysitter Steph did with Nellie for Mother's Day. (With some commentary from me.)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
It's not safe for you to eat trees

2. What makes mom happy?
When I do something

3. What makes mom sad?
When she is at school and misses me so much (TRUE!)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
From when she says silly things

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Blonde hair and was trying to get in a crib, I saw everything in a movie of Jamie (It made a big impact on Nellie that I was being naughty and trying to climb into the playpen in an old family video!)

6. How old is your mom?
18

7. How tall is your mom?
20 and a half

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Do exercises

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
She homeworks

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
For gymnastics

11. What is your mom really good at?
Being really silly and listening to what I say

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Not doing anything

13. What does your mom do for her job?
My mom digs a treasure (Um, that's actually Dora's mom in the episode "Job Day.")

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Pretzels, pretzels, pretzels

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
making my tv good

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Cinderella (Before or after the visit from Fairy Godmother, I wonder?)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
play together, play all day long

18. How are you and your mom the same?
When we play outside together

19. How are you and your mom different?
When mommy...when I wiggle

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
When it's valentines day, because valentines day is about love

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
the zoo

Eat, Play, Love

That was a magazine tagline I saw today at the grocery store, and it seemed to capture the feeling of this first really summery day. The day started with donuts (when you anticipate a long Saturday of work, you really need donuts) and ended with s'mores. That right there should tell you what a nice day it was. :) In between the donuts and s'mores, we did lots and lots of work. Not the stare-at-the-computer-or-my-probability-homework kind, but the buggy, sweaty, mulch-hauling and flower-planting kind. I alternately thought how much easier it would be to do chores without the girls around, how much more pleasant it was with their "help", and how much easier it all is this year than last year or the year before.

The girls found bugs and bagged branches and weeds. They played in the sandbox and playhouse and watched a movie on the porch toward the end of the day. They ate raspberries and strawberries (lots of them). They fought, cried, and insisted on being held and carried. They made piles of birdseed on the porch so the birds could have lunch.

The bathroom is still a mess from the remodel job that started Memorial Day weekend, and thus the dining room is full of bathroom and construction supplies, so we ate our meals on a blanket in the living room. We are covered with sunscreen and bug spray, and not a little sticky. Annie is still chatting and wiggling in bed while Nellie snores quietly--certainly the product of eating one s'more, two extra marshmallows, a graham cracker, and a square of chocolate.

I think the best part (aside from taming the wild beasts that the front trees and bushes had become) was being together the whole day. Between turkey hunting, Kev's work schedule, the construction, living with Grandma and Grandpa for a week and a half, and my 6-day trip to Berkeley for work, I feel like it's been a long time since we really spent much time together. It also got me giddily excited for the long summer ahead - birthday parties, long weekends at the lake, visits from Dave and Laurel, little sisters home from school, 4th of July, baseball games. It was a day for forgetting some big looming tasks--moving, getting our house ready to rent, writing a practicum...? Ah, well. Save that for another day.

Joy, excitement

That's what we were met with when we told the girls today that I'm pregnant. I wasn't really sure what to expect. Honestly, I thought it was most likely that Nellie and Annie would be mostly oblivious. But Nellie was truly, wonderfully thrilled. There were lots of "hooray, hooray, hooray!" and "A BABY! IN MOMMY'S TUMMY!" Annie would copy Nellie and squeal "a baby!"

One of the first things Nellie said was [and I wish I could inject her tone], "how did Jesus GET the baby in mommy's tummy?" And we responded..."I don't know!" Then she went into detail for Kevin how the baby starts out really tiny and drops into the mommy's tummy. I realized she was reciting what I told her from the baby magazine they give you at the doctor's office, so I pulled it out so the girls could see a picture of a fetus in the third month.

I don't think Annie really gets it, although I have a feeling when the time comes she's going to be a little mommy--she loves babies so much. But for now, Nellie is already smitten, kissing my stomach and asking how big the baby is now every few minutes.

We saw the doctor today, and heard the heartbeat even though it's on the early side (9.5 weeks). That was a relief, and opened the door to tell more family and friends. Not like I can hide it anyway; I already look pretty darn pregnant. But we're thankful; God is good!

Airplane

A few days ago, Nellie saw an airplane and announced, "hey guys, I see an airplane! It's really big, and it's not even flapping its wings!"

Thunder and lightning

Why are my kids not afraid of thunderstorms? Aren't all kids afraid of thunderstorms? I know I was...I'm pretty sure I climbed into bed with my parents as long as I could possibly get away with it. When I was too old for that, I would lay in bed listening to storms and think about all the terrible things that could happen, which were basically tornadoes and lightening striking the house and causing a fire. I remember telling a college roommate that one of the (several) reasons I was anxious to get married was so that I wouldn't have to sleep alone during storms.

So how is it that when I am looking at weather.com and Nellie sees thunderstorms in the forecast, she prances around yelling "yay! stormy night!" as if the circus was coming to town? It stormed all evening yesterday, and it was all very exciting for the girls. I have a vague memory of Kevin and I thinking through how to keep the girls from being afraid of storms, and apparently it worked (though I can't remember what we did.) Oh well, I guess it's a tiny parenting victory. Since we're in a phase of lots of public tantrums, potty training, preschooler attitude, etc., I'll take it.

Poppy seed

I was reading about Baby Wernet version 3.0 today. He or she is a tiny ball of cells the size of a poppy seed. I'm still in that 15-30% chance of miscarriage, being 4.5 weeks pregnant, so I'm always it a state of mild anxiety that something will happen, praying that each little cell division will be healthy. So it is so amazing, mind-blowing, really, to watch Nellie and Annie and think that once upon a time they were little poppy seeds, and I was worrying about their health and safety. Which I still do, of course, and always will. But to see them running and jumping, dancing and singing, talking and laughing, makes me realize again how incredible God's creation is.

Also, mom found out the big news today. We all had dentist appointments, and mom came to pick up the girls after Nellie was done so they didn't have to sit around waiting. I thought they had left, and I had to tell the hygienist (the x-rays and all), and mom came back for Nellie's coat just at the right moment. I must have looked like a deer in the headlights! Oh well, it's definitely easier for mom to know. And my advisor, Kristen, and co-RA Jerilynn. And of course, Kevin.

The day I bought a pregnancy test

was April 15th. I was growing increasingly suspicious that I might be pregnant, and I wanted to take the test before Kev got home from work. I figured it would give us something interesting to talk about on date night that night! So I had to take the girls with me to Rite-Aid, which is literally 30 seconds from our house so of course I thought it would be a quick trip. But I was too embarrassed to just buy pregnancy tests, so I dragged the girls around buying potato chips, new brushes, hair clips, and milk. During which my mom called, so I was trying to make light conversation about weekend plans while the girls pulled every sheet of hair ties, barrettes, and hair product off the shelves and put it in the basket. I put it all back, then picked up Annie kicking and crying because she didn't want to leave to aisle. When it came time to pick up the product I had actually come for, I grabbed the first one I saw because there was an employee standing there and I was afraid she was thinking I barely had control over the first two, the last thing I needed was a third (and I was afraid she might be right.) After deferring 100 more requests from Nellie about things she wanted, we made it out of the store and to the car, which took a long time because Annie insisted on walking and both girls had to hold something we had bought.

We got home. I took the test first thing, but of course the girls had to be rightbyme the whole time, so I ran water in the sink for them to play in. They splashed and fought while my heart pounded and hands shook.

"What's that?" Nellie asked, reaching for the pee stick sitting on the shelf. "Nothing," I replied. "Don't touch that."

Well Nellie, those two little blue lines are our future. Deep breath. Here we go again!

Things to love about Nellie and Annie

Annie loves...

• Being held, cuddled, and snuggled.
• BABIES. Baby dolls, baby humans, baby animals, baby bottles, baby strollers.
• Nellie. Everything Nellie does is exciting and/or hilarious to Annie. Well, almost everything.
• Her pacy. Especially the one for infants with Pooh on it that she found at grandma's house.
• Grapes
• Carbs, and sweets. When we give the girls sandwiches, Nellie only eats the meat and Annie only eats the bread. Basically, Annie eats like me and Nellie eats like Kev.
• Books. It is currently 8:33; Nellie is in the top bunk sleeping and Annie is reading with a flashlight.
• Singing, and all things musical. She knows all of Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me, the Dora theme song, and Three Little Birds (Bob Marley).
  
• Taking baths, right up until the hair washing part.
• CHAPSTICK! I can't believe I almost forgot the chapstick.
• Her pink (well, brownish) silkie blankie.

Annie does NOT love...

• Not being held when she wants to be.
• That we're making her give up her bottle.
• When Nellie sits on her, takes her stuff, etc. etc.

Nellie loves...

• Talking. Moving. All the time.
• Learning new things - Kevin's been teaching her a lot about birds, and she also seems particularly interested in theology (being very concerned about whether or not animals go to heaven after we saw a dead squirrel in the road.) She also learned to milk a cow on Saturday at the Baby Animal Day on campus.
  
• That she is starting to read words. OPEN, mainly, and TREE.
• Playing a game with Annie that involves saying, "Okay Annie. You run this way, and I'll run that way." Runrunrun around the kitchen-dining room-hall-living room loop. Cue raucous laughter.
• Her cousins. All of them, but Robynne and Leah especially. It really is nice to have so many little girls close in age.
• The fact that we're getting ready to enroll her in preschool next year.
• Princesses, Dora, blah, blah.
• Gum. (Just like her Uncle Dave.)
• Doing gymnastics. We've been taking her and Annie to open gym for preschoolers where a gymnastics instructor is there to teach the kids tricks. I think it's what Nellie was born for. Annie likes it but mostly keeps an eye on the baby brothers and sisters sitting in their carseats in the corner.
  

Nellie does NOT love...

• Being told what to do.
• Bugs.
  
• Pop. I'm pretty sure we really just brainwashed her into believing she doesn't like it. Oh well!
  

Cordial glasses

I've never had cordial. I'm not really even sure what it is, and what I do know comes from that scene in Anne of Green Gables. But the summer I turned 21, I bought these glasses:



Erin and Steve took Kevin and me wine tasting up north, and I got the glasses as a souvenir. I thought they were pretty, but I never intended to actually drink out of them. I thought that someday, they would make good medicine glasses for my hypothetical kids. Which is what I told Kevin, and in retrospect I'm glad it didn't scare him away to hear his girlfriend was buying gifts for her future children!

Anyway, when Nellie was sick last week, I took the glasses out and for once, she actually drank her Tylenol. It totally worked! I thought back to when I bought them almost 9 years ago...and here we are. I feel like I've arrived.

Uncle Dave (in honor of his birthday)

Nellie and Annie LOVE Uncle Dave. They love all of their aunts and uncles, of course, but the fact that Dave and Laurel live so far away makes them a more exciting novelty. When the girls take a bath, Dave and Laurel come home to visit and their plane flies overhead. We yell "Hi Uncle Dave! Hi Aunt Laurel!" and wave at the ceiling so I can quickly pour water on their hair. (Annie still cries about this, but it kind of works.) When Nellie cries and can't think of a good reason, she tells me she's crying because she misses Uncle Dave. When I ask who we should pray for, it's always Uncle Dave and that he'd have a good day at school. When Dave and Laurel visit, it's pretty much a party all the time.

So we've spent some time thinking about what to do for Uncle Dave for his birthday today. Among the ideas was mailing him a letter. Nellie transcribed it to Kevin, and we thought you all might enjoy it. (Sorry Dave, you won't actually get the note for a few days.)

"Help Police Officer. I need help. My back hurts, I see you are building a bridge. I do what you do, but I pretend I'm a police officer. It is after 8 o' clock! How are you doing fire fighters? Do you see that big blue dragon? Annie I don't know what you're doing with that silly old bonkey! No!"

Happy birthday, Dave!

Girls' Weekend!

Kevin had to go to a conference a few weeks ago for work, and since it was the last weekend of my spring break we decided to have a fun girls' weekend. We started Thursday night with a movie night on the "new" comfy pull-out couch. Friday we went to Frederick Meijer Gardens to see the butterflies, then stayed overnight at a hotel in Grand Rapids so we could swim! Xander, Erin, Steve, Grandma Linda, Grandma Cathy, and Papa Roger all came to visit. On Saturday, Erin and I took Nellie to see Princesses On Ice. It was a true Disney show--lots of fireworks, glitter, magic, 15 dollar cotton candy, etc. I was a little worried at first; after all the other excitement, Nellie was a tired and told us on the way there that she doesn't like princesses...but of course she loved it! Here are some pictures (in reverse order.)

Nellie's most favorite: Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)

Tiana!

We're finally here! Who's most excited, Nellie, Erin, or Jamie?

Butterfly activities

Butterflies!

So nice to see flowers blooming

Pajama party with "Enchanted"

No Fever? No Problem.

It would appear that Nellie is sick. My first (and really only) clue was that the great Nellie, Empress of Energy, was tired. Yawning every couple of minutes, "my toes are too tired from walking in here" tired. Otherwise, she seemed fine. Mom and Dad were here for dinner and Nellie was all smiles, games, stories, and director of ticket sales for an imaginary baseball game.

Well, the first thing I did was take her temperature, and sure enough, 100.1 degrees. She, Kevin, and Annie were all sound asleep on the pull-out bed watching Snow White before too long.

The funniest part was when I overheard Nellie pretending to take Annie's temperature. She read off a string of numbers then said, "See Annie, you're fine. Not sick." I laughed at the Wacyk-ness of it. I know for sure they got that from me and my childhood, when it didn't matter if you were throwing up, purple-with-polka-dots, or suffering from internal bleeding. If you didn't have a fever, you were perfectly fine. Not sick.

And, for the record, whatever you were complaining about in the first place could be cured by taking vitamin C, or rubbing vitamin C on it, as the case may be.

Hey, a nut!

In preparation for Nellie's "Little Kickers Preschool Soccer" league coming up, Kevin bought the girls a new soccer ball today. Just for reference, the team practices for the first three weeks, with a scrimmage the final week. :) She gets a t-shirt. Our friend is the coach.

We took the ball to Kevin's bird dog trial today. At first, Nellie didn't want to play with it because she was afraid it would get dirty. After I told her that a dirty ball is cool because people will know she's a hard-core soccer player, she went to rub mud on it, which was preferable to her rolling in the mud, which is what she told me she was going to do!

Anyway, the girls had fun playing soccer at the farm. This evening, we walked to the park and Kevin taught Nellie about trying to score a goal and how to be a goalie. On her last shot of the night, she missed the goal and shouted "aw, nuts!" as she fell dramatically to the ground. She got up a moment later holding an acorn and yelled, "hey, a nut!"

A nut, indeed! That girl cracks me up.

Can't take it with you

After church today, we picked up donuts at QD like any other Sunday. We ate them at home, and while I cleaned up the kitchen, we heard emergency sirens come closer and closer until it sounded like the trucks were on our street. Which they were. Because the house across from us, where a family with a little girl Nellie's age and a newborn live, was in flames. Smoke poured from the bedroom windows and flames were already shooting out of the front living room window. It was terrible. From the way the firefighters were working, it was clear that no one was inside, but the thought of all the family lost had me in tears on and off all day.

Plus, their family is so like ours. The girls like to play together at the park down the street, and always yell hello whenever they spot each other coming out of their houses. Remarkably, they seem to have the same energy level, and make up games together that involve little more than running and falling down. The little boy was just born at Christmas.

Our neighbor two doors down is a firefighter, and she housed the dad the and kids for the day. The mom was at work. I was there when he called her to tell her that there had been a fire, and when the fire department told him not to expect to recover anything from the house. The three-year-old was still in her jammies, so we packed up some of Nellie's clothes for her. Nellie took it all in stride. She was fascinated by the fire trucks (all six, plus an ambulance, police car, and two regular fire department vehicles) and was mainly concerned that her friend had plenty of princess clothes. Nellie helped me deliver them, then stayed to play Barbies while I went back for a portable crib and bouncy seat.

It's hard to know what to say, or how to help, in this situation. What would I do in this situation? If I lost all my worldly possessions? I mean, I know it's just stuff--stuff I complain about dusting and organizing and finding places for. But still, they're the artifacts of our lives, and the lives of others who came before. And what, what would I tell my kids? I hope it would be this: "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21).

All in all, it was a grounding experience, and a good reminder. Our stuff isn't that important. And you can't take it with you.

Things Nellie says

N: I think I want to be a police officer when I grow up.
Me: That's nice. You know, police officers can be boys or girls. [I really don't know why I said that.]
N: Umm...I think I'll be a girl police officer.

To Kevin: Hey buddy, you better get going to work!

And....back to winter

At the bird sanctuary

Annie hates sledding

Rose petal snow fort

Oh, fake spring, how you tease

Nellie-ism

When Nellie's hand or foot falls asleep, she says it's "dizzy." It took me awhile to figure out what she meant by that!

Talking, talking, talking

Here are some of the question's Nellie has asked in the last few days.

• Is God there? In that chair?
  
• Where does God live? Where is heaven?
  
• What's his name? [Who's name?] Dave and Laurel's baby. [Note: To my knowledge, there is no such baby.]
• When are Uncle Dave and Aunt Laurel going to have a baby?
• When I grow up, will you still be my mommy?
• When will I be a grownup?
• When can I ride on an airplane?
• How does a toilet work?
• What's science?
• What's a week?

Annie is also saying more words than ever. Her favorite is probably "no," the answer to every question. It's also a great word to scream when you're having a temper tantrum because no one understands you. A few new words from today were "oatmeal," "strong," "crown," and "church." Annie also loves to sing songs, and knows quite a few--Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Jesus Loves Me, ABCs, I've Got the Joy Joy Joy Joy... She also counts, although the only recognizable numbers are 2 and 9.

Nellie spells

her name, mainly. But she can write it! Aren't you impressed? Of course you are. :)

Bunk beds!

Nellie and Annie share a smallish room, so we kind of knew bunk beds were inevitable. Things were getting crowded and their sleep wasn't great anyway, so we decided to ditch the twin and crib for twin-over-full bunk beds at Christmas.

It's actually going pretty well! Nellie calls the two beds "the tree house and the cave." Mostly she plays on the top bunk, and both girls sleep in the full bed. They are very cute cuddled in there together! We were a little nervous about the mattress when it was delivered--it came rolled up in a package about my size. But it puffed right up and it's really comfortable!

The girls have slept in the beds every night since we put them together, and there's not too much silliness at bed time. I actually think bed time is going better than ever. We finally bought new sheets today, and Kevin and Nellie are upstairs right now putting together the under-bed storage. So I'll post pictures of the finished product. In the meantime, here are some from the big reveal on Christmas Eve. None of Annie--she wouldn't come in the room for a while. Poor thing, I think she was a little young to have her crib disappear. She seems to have adjusted, though!


!