looking at houses

On the way home from getting the twins bday pics made (and stopping for lunch at Fujiyama), we hear Eve in the back seat say, "Can we go look at houses?"  Eric and I are dumbfounded... mostly because we dont really do that.  I laugh and say, "That's my daughter" because I LOVE to ride around looking at houses (it comes from my mom and dad's love for moving :)).  Then Eric says, "Why do you want to look at houses?  What kind of houses do you want to see, Eve?"  She surprised us all when she replied, "I just wanna watch my movie a little longer!"  To which Eric answers, "Nope, she's my daughter!"

words and phrases

We have been trying to help Eve understand the "right" words to say and the "wrong" words to say... and I think she is finally getting the hang of it :)  Recently, she asked me "does our family say 'seriously?'" when she heard someone say it with a mean tone of voice.  She knows that our family doesn't say words like "hate" or "kill", so when she hears me say, "i hate that happened..." or Eric telling us about someone being "killed" in the news, Eve is quick to correct us by saying, "mommy and daddy, our family does NOT say hate or kill!  That is not very nice!!"  I have to agree with her and apologize, hoping that sets a good example to her in the future.

On the way home from school today, I was stopped at a red light by our house.  From the back seat, Eve hollers, "Should I say 'go, lady' or will you?"  I laughed and said, "Mommy doesn't say 'go, lady'".  To which she replied, "Well daddy does.  He said it tomorrow, so he'll say it again today."  

our brother's name

When asked about what Eve's little brother will be named, she responds "Coleman Dude" :)

Close enough, right??

Christmas Was Crazy

Christmas WAS crazy, but good.  Clara and Ellie were fighting off RSV (which was then passed to mom and Eve) and resulted in a pretty bad first-ear-infection for Clara.  All in all, it wasn't a bad week of sickness for us, just bad timing!  

Here is a list of some of the highlights of the past two weeks: 

*the Hilley's looking at Christmas lights in a 15 passenger van (courtesy of poppa)

*the twins 1st birthday party x 3

*visiting our old nurses in the MCG NICU

*being at home Christmas morning with our sweet, little family

*hearing Eve say that "no one's christmas trees are beautiful...only mine and momma's"  (side note: we did not put up a Christmas tree this year, so Eve is referring to the two 2-ft trees we had outside our front door that she hung every ornament she made at school on...very tacky, but she adored it)

*"oh dear" coming from the backseat when Eve saw houses decorated for Christmas

*Eve singing 'Away in a Manger' loud and proud at Lairsey family Christmas 

Happy 1st Birthday to my Christmas Miracles!!

Clara and Ellie are ONE!  My sweet miracle babies are celebrating an important milestone!

Clara is sprouting her 7th tooth!!  She has just suffered through her first bout with RSV, and was a champ!  Clara is VERY expressive!  She has several "Clara" faces ... one of my favorites is the scrunched up nose and pursed lips.  She will do that to me when she is mad, or trying to be funny.  She has mastered clapping and playing peek-a-boo.  She is great with a sippy cup, and is a fairly easy eater (although she does NOT want you to break things in little bites--she wants to do it herself!).  Clara is getting more and more comfortable standing up on her own, but can only make it a few seconds before she realizes what she is doing and squats down.  She loves bathtime and playing with Eve.  She is very adventurous with the stairs, and loves to crawl away from you quickly if she thinks you are coming after her :)  Clara is definitely a vocal little girl.  She squeals in a VERY high-pitched voice when she is happy, mad, or sad.  She and daddy love to sing together, "Everybody Ought To Know...".  She has captured daddy's heart and knows how to draw a crowd with her laugh and smiles.
Clara wears 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
Her favorite toys are baby dolls, cookies from Eve's barbie kitchen and a ladybug rattle.  

She weighs 19 pounds, 15 ounces.   

Ellie is an eater!  Daddy affectionately refers to her as "slim".  It doesn't matter if you give her bite-sized pieces of food, or the entire cracker, roll, piece of bread, etc. she is going to shove as much food as possible into her tiny little cheeks.  Ellie only has 2 teeth, but that has not slowed her down in the food-department at all.  She will catch up to Clara in no time!  Ellie is up to 16 pounds, 12 ounces.  She has several tricks.  Her favorite is "how big is Ellie?" "soooo big" with both arms straight up in the air.  She is also a pro at waving and saying "bye-bye".  We never go very far away from her beloved pacy.  That is a life-saver!!  Her favorite toys are the elephant rattle, a green stick from a flower, and anything musical.  Ellie LOVES to dance, to any music.  She immediately starts swaying back and forth as soon as she hears it.  Ellie is a happy girl who loves her momma.  When mom is holding her face to face, she'll lean her forehead towards mine and just sit there for a minute with a huge grin.  She loves to snuggle and give kisses.  If someone is sitting on the floor while she plays, she will eventually crawl over to them, pull up to standing, and just hang out there...holding on to a shoulder.  Ellie LOVES Clara.  The girls have really started interacting with each other... usually culminating in Ellie giggling at something Clara is doing or a face she is making.  Ellie is very good at telling Clara "no no" with her pointer finger wagging.  As it stand right now, Ellie seems to be fairly submissive and obedient; while Clara likes to test her boundaries.  Our biggest battles right now are the toilet seat, the blue birds Nonny gave to Eric and I on our entertainment center, and the digital box.

Ellie wears 9-12 month clothes, and size 3 diapers.  

Her smile lights up a room.

           

Happy Birthday to my sweet babies!  Mom and Dad are so in love with you both, and are amazed at how much love God continues to give us for our growing family.  We are excited about the weeks, months, and years to come.  We are eager to watch you learn and grow and develop into the beautiful girls of God He has created you to be.  You are a joy.  The Lairsey's are blessed!!