Brendan's prayer

Heard tonight at Family Home Evening prayer:

Brendan says, ". . . And bless Mommy, and Daddy, and Eva, and Darby, and Brendan, and I pray that the baby will come out before Mommy tumbles over . . ."

Gee thanks, Son.

Remembering Darby at two

Two years ago today I was looking at her and thinking what a blessing she was

Her loves

-dancing

-babies

-her family

-bath night

-piggyback rides on Daddy

-coloring

-dresses, shoes and girly things

-being read to

Her dislikes

-being chastised or told "no"

-strangers

-being put down for bed at night

-the vacuum cleaner

-not getting to do the "big girl" things that Eva gets to do

Her talents

-talks very well, in full sentences, with correct pronouns most of the time

-does a masterfully dramatic flop to the ground upon not getting her way

-loves to help clean up

-counts to 10 (courtesy of hide n seek)

-eats just about any food (even likes strong flavors like garlic, lemon and salsa)

-fairly proficient at a matching game on my iPhone

She is a cuddle bug with crazy hair. She has the most kissable cheeks. She makes me smile with her bouncy little run. She doesn't "finish" her kisses. She likes dogs in theory, meaning that stuffed animals and pictures are great and huggable but when she meets a dog in real life, she freaks. She sings the first half of a dozen songs but won't finish them. She has a tendency to bite, unfortunately. She is not very ticklish. She doesn't like to hold my hand while walking. She is kind of clutzy. She is very picky about which pajamas she wears each night and which book is read. She sleeps with about 5 stuffed animals. She can't say the "dr" sounds so she "grops" her sippy cup or wears a "gress". She is very tall and heavy (only 7 pounds separate her from Eva and about 6 inches). She always dances in a circle and gets dizzy. And she is my Sweetness, Pretty, DarbyDoo, Crazy Mazey and Baby Darby.

We are so grateful to have her in our family. Happy Birthday Darby Jayne.

Darby is two . . . finally

I say "finally" because she has seemed like a two year old for months now. Now its official. She turned two today! Daddy and I woke her up with the birthday song and she just beamed. She clapped for herself. She wore a poofy birthday dress to church and loved it. Nursery gave her a birthday card and she came running up to me after church , exclaiming, "Mommy I got a picture!!"

She opened her present and cards before lunch. Her eyes would light up with every card and I am happy to say her piggy bank was a hit (with the older two as well).

She was happy and chipper all day. The day ended in a nice dancing session with Daddy and a rice crispy treat made by Eva and Mommy.

I know she does not really know what a birthday is because she is too young but she sure loved all the attention. We adore this little one.

Girlday Party

Due to the impending arrival of baby #4, Jason and I decided to combine the birthday parties of Eva and Darby and hold it on a day before I would deliver. This past Saturday we invited some of the girls' favorite people over for cake and ice cream. There were no party games because I needed to keep things simple. However, I did make the cake. The girls agreed on a rainbow cake. There are things I will do differently next time I make it but I think it turned out cute. And no one is 42. Eva will be 4 and Darby will be 2.

Darby was still a little clueless as to whose birthday it was. She kept saying "Happy Birthday!" to different people. Eva, however, was loving it!

The kids all played inside and outside for two hours. Here is Eva giving her good friend Abby a squeeze.

The adults had pleasant and funny conversations. And of course, Eva and Darby got lots of birthday attention, which they both basked in. It was a good time.

Daddy Daughter Date

Ice cream, a playground and a horsey ride . . . what else could a 1 year old girl want?

Darby's First Dental Visit

I scheduled the girls to go in at the same time for my sanity's sake. They were both pretty good. I guess I am lucky that my kids neither fear nor hate going to the doctor or the dentist. Eva went first because she is "the big girl". She always gets compliments on what a good patient she is.

It did not go as smoothly with Darby. Of course, her desire to be a big girl like her sister worked in our favor but she's still stranger-shy and it was no different with the dentist. So she sat on my lap and cried during the exam (not too hard) but quieted down when the dentist "painted" her teeth. We do that at home with fluoride mouthwash and a Qtip.

It was over in five minutes. We love our pediatric dentist too. I don't mind these kinds of appointments and neither do the kids (for the most part).

38 Weeks

C'mon baby. You can come any time now.

The Perfect House

Our kind friend Carolyn sent the kids this wonderful gift around Christmastime, a huge cardboard house.

It came in very handy one rainy day when there was, according to the kids, "nothing to do". Jason and I set it up and they set to work coloring it and playing inside. This lasted over an hour and has gotten play time ever since. The girls still color on it daily and Brendan's favorite thing is to pretend he's the mailman.

It has been a great toy and I will be sad when the kids destroy it beyond repair, as I know they eventually will.

Exploring

Jason here. So on the day off Christine and I decided that we had to get out of the house. We have a good amount of forest not too far away so I took Thing 1 and Thing 2 out for a stroll. It was a cold day so the kids bundled up. I took them into a wooded trail that I go running on. Plenty of mud and trees and birds.


It was cold enough that there was a thin layer of ice over the puddles which is perfect for breaking. Brendan got a little over enthusiastic and tried to break the ice with his foot and got soaked with freezing water up to the knee. Oh well, he had a great time.






We walked down a lane until we got to a small creek - Jacobs Creek to be exact. By this time both kids were tired of our walk and wanted me to carry them home. With promises of hot chocolate and a bit of racing, we made it home in record time.

Recent Brendan-isms

Today Brendan had an appointment with his allergist. It was just a follow-up on his asthma. The doctor asked him about his breathing and then if his nose was stuffy. He told the doctor, "I pick my nose a lot. Sometimes stuff is in there and I try to get it out but I just push it up more." As I hide my laughter and duck my head, the doctor has a chat with Brendan about how blowing your nose on a tissue is better than picking it. He tells Brendan, "If you blow your nose and you still need help, you can go ask your mom." Brendan replies, "But she's not a doctor. She can't help."

Brendan has been into maps lately. We got him a TAG reader and a world map for Christmas. Today he was trying to remember the names of all the continents. He could remember all but two (Europe and Antarctica). "You are forgetting the big one that is really cold," I prompted. He answered back, "Chile?" It took me a while to get it, and then I laughed and laughed.