The Magic of Mornings

9.9.2014

I feel like there is something so special about morning time. The light is gorgeous in our apartment {one of my favorite things about being on the second floor}, everyone is happy to be awake and to see each other {usually}, and I just re-fall in love with my family and the wonderful role of "mother" that I get to take on for another day. It's a great way to start the day!

On this morning in particular Irelyn slept in so I got to cuddle with Holland for a little while and then we ate breakfast together. When Irelyn woke up Holland was so excited to be the first one to hear her. She rushed into their room to attempt to get Irelyn out, rushed back to me to announce that baby sister was awake, and then raced me back to the room and by the time I got there both girls were giggling and just so happy to see each other. Also, Race was home for a few minutes when the girls first woke up and they were so happy to see him and hang out with him for a few minutes. I felt truly blessed.

And a random side note (lest you all think every morning is magical):
The next morning was not wonderful and beautiful. Irelyn was up a lot during the night so I was exhausted and grumpy, Race was not able to be home helping out, Holland woke up really crabby and fought me about everything and threw a BUNCH of tantrums, all before 8 AM, and it might have even been cloudy outside just to top it all off. Haha. Often pictures, videos, blog posts, Instagram, etc. can make life look so perfect {and honestly this morning felt like a little piece of Heaven} but know that I have crazy mornings/days/moments too. I'm just not usually taking pictures when I'm feeling crabby {and the light is gloomy}! Haha. 

 

Chatting with Holland {Part 2: Featuring Cousin Madison}

We have Holland's cousin Madison visiting us for the week while her parents pack and move all week long. Every day is filled with a whole lot of fun and a whole lot of crazy. I have been enjoying listening to the girls chat during meals and stuff. Most of the stuff they say makes absolutely no sense! And half the time I'm not even sure if I'm hearing them right. Anyway, I've been trying to record some of their conversations throughout the day and I thought I would put some of them up on the blog for everyone to enjoy!

The following conversations were from this afternoon within a ten minute period: 

H: Got this for my paint nails. {Talking about a spatula}
M: It's for my paint nails.
H: This one got for my paint nails. L-M-O-P Okay I need color. {Holland likes to go off on random tangents spouting parts of the alphabet}
M: Hey! You color my finger nails!

M: This is my finger! This one is for my toes.
H: It's for my toes. Okay...
M: Don't hold this! Okay?
H: K... my knee! My knee! It's my knee right here!
M: Got it.

M: You use it first. I use that one!
H: I'm using that one!
And...the fighting commences. Haha.

H: You can't take these away!
M: You have to share!
H: There's lots of books!
M: I don't want them. I don't like 'em.
H: You don't like them? Also, you can get down.
M: No, you can't get down.
H: You like this one?
M: No I don't like books
H: You like birdie?
M: No, I don't want them.
H: I can read you book?
M: No I don't want them.
H: This one's about a birdie. Come by me.
M: No I don't want to come by you.

{Holland just happened to be the peacemaker this time around...kinda. She wouldn't share in the first place and then she decided she could share her books but only by "reading them" to Madison. Haha. Madison wasn't having any of that! The girls seem to take turns being the peacemakers. They are both really sweet just also really stubborn and a little bossy towards each other!}

From breakfast on Sunday morning {and the rest of the conversations are all from Sunday}: 

H: She don't have any pants! 

M: Yeah 

H: It's a very hard day 

M: It's a happy day! 

H: I don't have any ideas! 

M: Clothes? 

H: No...

H: Ow! 

M: Did you poke yourself? 

H: Ya 

*Giggles from both girls* 

M: I have to burp again...see? 

H: Woah! It's getting to fall! 

M: It's getting to fall! You catch it! 

H: I did it! 

M: Ew! That's disgusting! 

M: Look at that spill! 

H: What? 

M: Oh! Don't touch it! Did you make a mess on your cereal? 

H: No! 

M: What? 

H: I need to feed that birdie! {Talking about the birds outside} 

M: No! That's the blinds! *giggles*{Pointing out the blinds on the window...I guess thinking Holland thought they were a bird??} 

H: I eat cereal! 

*Giggles from both the girls that scare Irelyn so she starts crying** {She was sitting in the bumbo on the table while the girls ate breakfast and chatted} 

H&M: I'm so sorry! Shh! Shh! Shh! 

H: Baby sister is so crabby mommy! She's coughing! 

M: You're drinking your milk! Why would you bite your spoon? 

*Silly noises from both girls* 

M: I burped! 

H: I burp too! 

M: Ewww! That's disgusting! 

H: Ewww! That's isgusting! 

M: That's isgusting! Is that your hair? 

H: Yeah. 

M: You got it on your head? 

H: You can't go on my head! You can't go on my *BURP* 

M: You burped! 

All finished with breakfast and just playing around the house: 

H: I need this pillow! 

M: Ahh, nahh, I need another pillow! 

*Giggles from both girls while sitting on the couch** 

H: Jump! 

M: No jumping on the couch! {Apparently some of the things we say stick...at least some of the time!}

H: I need to jump on the bed-y!

M: This is a couch! 

H: This is not a couch! 

H: I'm not the queen! I'm Elsa! 

M: You Anna! {Of course they talk about Frozen all the time...what kind of two- and three-year-olds would they be if they didn't?!} 

H: You puppy Madison? You puppy? 

M: You have my puppy?! 

Post-nap snack conversation: 

M: I burped! Excuse me! Ah Ah Ahchoo! Excuse me! {This whole sequence was repeated about twenty more times! Haha} 

M: Is that yummy?! 

H: Mmmmhmmm!

M: I don't like it! 

H: Okay.

M: Did you say that?! 

M: Is that chocolate milk? It smells like milk! 

H: I have milk too! 

M: Just like chocolate milk! 

H: Chocolate milk like me! 

M: I don't have any chocolate milk. 

H: I don't have choc. milk. 

M: Are you eating chocolate milk? Or drinking it? Chocolate milk? Let me see! 

*Toots. Giggles* 

M: I tooted! 

{Neither one of the girls had chocolate milk. I guess it was just wishful thinking. Haha.} 

M: Hi little baby! 

H: Hi little baby! 

M: Peek-a-boo! 

H: Peek-boo! 

M: Listen to my baby ever! 

H: She wanna say hi to me! 

M: Peek-a-boo! 

H: She's saying hi to me! 

M: Peek-a-boo! 

H: Peek-boo! 

M: You're so cute!

{This was all a conversation with Irelyn}  

It might be a lot of work having all three girls around but they sure are great entertainment when I take the time to just listen to them talk. It's like getting a little glimpse into what they think about/how they think. 

And here are the cute faces of those silly conversations 

{along with Irelyn since I just can't leave her adorable face out}! 

Chatting with Holland {Part One}

Holland has been talking for a LONG time and I have yet to document it on the blog! Recently she has gotten even more entertaining and I've been writing some of the adorable and funny things she says down and I just wanted to compile them somewhere so that they're all together instead of jotted on whiteboards, chalkboards, in my phone, in notebooks, and just all over the house. So here are some of the funny things my sweet two year old is saying these days!

{E: Emma, H: Holland, M: Madison--Holland's cousin}

Some examples of Holland being the absolute sweetest: 

H: I always love you so much! I can hug you!

H: Hey mommy? You wanna hold me super bad?

H: You being a princess mommy. Like soooo princess. {As she brushes my [super greasy] hair}

H: Hold me closer!

H: I wanna hold you closer.

H: I got you so closer! {As she is holding me or Irelyn or Race}


Some "phone conversations" Holland has had. {With herself on her fake cell phone}

H: Hi Granddad! It's good to see you! I touched the water today for like....three hours! Hi! It's good to see you! {We had gone to the aquarium that day}

H: Hello daddy! It's good to see you daddy! I text my daddy! It's my daddy calling me?

H: Hi daddy! It's good to see you! I talkin' to my granddad!


Loving on her baby sister: 

H: She's done eating! Poke poke! *Kiss* {She actually said poke and didn't poke Irelyn but she did kiss her}

H: She wanna hold me so closer?

H: {While holding Irelyn's feet and making them "run"} Run! Run! Run! Run! Run! Run! Squeeeeeeze the poops out! Squeeeeeeze the poops out! {Irelyn used to poop EVERY time I changed her diaper so I used to say this to Irelyn while I held her legs against her tummy to make sure everything was out. Haha. Apparently Holland remembers that and decided to copy it recently! It cracks me up!}

H: {I don't know if this one exactly qualifies as loving on Irelyn...Irelyn was crying and this is how Holland responded} Shh shhh... It's okay baby sister! You're gonna be okay! {A little pause and then...} HUSH THE GUB BABY SISTER! HUSH THE GUB! {This is a phrase Race uses on the girls. Haha. It was so funny to see Holland respond just like me and then just like Race!}


And some randoms: 

H: I have my two heavy girls! {While carrying dolls around. I have said this about Holland and Irelyn a few times while carrying them down the stairs at our apartment complex. Haha. She picked up on it pretty fast and says it about her dolls all the time now!}

E: Are those fruit loops?
H: FART loops??

H: I cried in blanket and then in bedroom. {Talking about nap time--it's hard stuff!}

H: I just spank my bum!

E: Do you know what color that is?
H: ....
E: It's purple.
H: Oooh that's so silly!
{A lot of things are "so silly" to Holland}

H: You gonna eat all the pananas {bananas} all gone? Awww that's so sad! {She randomly started calling them pananas after calling them bananas in the past. Random, but it's so dang cute!}

H: Look at your pants! They're mine! I match like you! I have pants! It matches just like mine...or yours! {Holland noticing for the first time all day that her and Madison are wearing matching pants...this was after nap time...so it had been a while!}

I love this girl of mine so much! She brings so much joy to our home every single day and she is a dang smarty pants! There will probably be more of these posts to come as I'm sure the things she says will just get more and more amusing over the next few years!

Sunday Family Photos 08.17.2014

These are from the first Sunday in our new ward {We moved about a month ago--I don't think I've written about that yet}.

We are loving our new apartment and the ward we moved into. Holland hasn't cried once going to nursery {!!/Knock on wood} and we are already making some new friends! We haven't always been super great at being involved in some of our previous wards and are trying to make a better effort this time around. We haven't missed a Sunday yet so that's a good start!

I really like trying to match everyone on Sundays and today I felt like it worked out particularly well so of course we had to take pictures! Holland was not in the mood at first but as soon as she knew she could show off her new cupcake toys {thanks Aunt Tyne!} she was fine.

I sure do love this family of mine!

Lakeside Lavender Farm

Claire and I took our girls to a lavender farm yesterday. It smelled absolutely amazing and was such a gorgeous place to get some pictures of our girls!

There is just so much beauty in this world Heavenly Father created. It was wonderful to be able to capture some pictures of this small part of it. 

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I was originally going to end this post right at the sentence above but for the sake of journaling I wanted to write a little bit more about the details of this day/week. 

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I love how these pictures turned out and how peaceful they look. This week has been anything but peaceful. Race has had some bad back problems and because of that I feel like I have been running around like a crazy lady. Race has been to doctors, physical therapists, a spine specialist, and a chiropractor trying to figure out what is going on with his back and he has been on some pretty strong pain killers so the girls and I have been driving him around to all of these appointments all week. The girls have been such troopers through all of this. Irelyn sleeps tons and is pretty good in the car and Holland has been so sweet to Race. She keeps talking about how his back hurts and he has to go to the doctor. I'm sure Holland also hasn't minded eating out three times this week. Ketchup with a side of chicken nuggets might just be her favorite meal ever! 

Anyway, when Claire told me about these lavender farms earlier in the week I knew I wanted to go but wasn't sure how to fit it in with everything else. I am so glad we found the time to go though. I might have been way exhausted and a little stressed while we were there but there were a few little blessings about our afternoon at the lavender farm that I want to remember:

• Irelyn slept in her stroller while I got some photos of Holland and then she was so sweet when I woke her up take some pictures of her {I know, I'm crazy for getting her up to take pictures!}. 
• Holland was in a good mood and let me take lots and lots of photos of her {with some marshmallow bribes}. 
• Holland didn't have any accidents while we were out and about {We bring her toilet with us everywhere so she just goes on that in the car}!
• And finally, I was able to enjoy some of Heavenly Father's beautiful creations. 

I know that I will cherish these photos for years to come because someday my girls won't be little and things won't be this same kind of stressful and I'm sure that I will really miss this time in our lives. 

Anyway that's my spiel! Now here's to a relaxing weekend {hopefully}! Happy Saturday everyone!