Let The Arguments Begin...

Well, it's been a hectic and busy and loud few years as the "twin girl Lairsey's" have grown up into "little girl Lairsey's".  We've enjoyed (mostly) the journey, but we have now crossed over :(.  Crossed over into the world of sibling arguments!!!  Up to this point, Eve has been able to boss and sass the little girls around and if they joined in, great; if not, they'd just say "no" and go the other direction.  This week, I overheard the first (of many, I'm sure) argument between Ellie and Eve.  It went a little something like this,

Eve: Ellie, those are my princess shoes I got for Christmas!  Take them off!
Ellie: No ma'am, Ebe.  I'm gonna take you home!
Eve: Give them to me!
Ellie: You are an E I E I O!
Eve: Well, you are an L O V E!!
Ellie: NO!  You are an E I E I O!

I couldn't help but giggle to myself, but then I wanted to cry...for a few reasons.  One.  That my girls will be bickering over toys, shoes, clothes, money, etc for several more years! Two. That my girls are even old enough to argue with their big sister!

Fun times ahead at the Lairsey house.  :)

Stay tuned!!

 

Talking Up A Storm

Some of Coleman's favorite phrases at 18 months are:

*You, You, You ... meaning he wants to listen to "You, You, You" from VBS songs.  He points (just like Eve does when she's doing the motions to the song), and I PROMISE when we were at Gatlinburg, I heard him say, "you, you, you, you can trust God!"  

*Get down!

*Get up!

*Shoes on

*Jesus, Amen

*Thank you

*Sorry

*Bird, up there
*Oh Toodles (from Mickey Mouse).  He says this with his hands over his mouth.

He LOVES to give his sisters a "hug, kiss" before nap or bedtime.  

He LOVES to run to the laundry room to put his shoes on when he thinks it is time to go. 

He LOVES to pull a toothbrush out of the drawer and chew on it.  

He helps putting diapers in the diaper trash can.

He helps me put the wet clothes from washer into dryer.

He walks around with the broom.

He LOVES balls of any kind.

He squeals and screams and giggles at the sight of any animal.

Cute stuff.  

Eve's Vision

The other day, Eve came up to me while I was making breakfast and said, "Mommy, when are we going to have little brown boy and girl babies at our house?"  I stuttered around, a little unsure how to respond and she kept going, "You know, the babies who don't have a mommy or a daddy at their house need to come live at our house."

Wow.  She IS listening.  We have several very special families around us right now that are bringing children home from South Africa, the Congo, and China.  Eve and I have had some very deliberate and detailed conversations about adoption and how awesome it is and how God loves those boys and girls so much that He gives them a new mommy and daddy.  Apparently, Eve wants to know when our family is going to join in.

Hmmm.  I guess I'll leave that one to God.  

Nonny

Nonny.  I've been thinking about her lately.  I miss her.  I wish she was here to watch our babies grow up.  I wish my little kids got to meet her, and have memories with her.  I know she would love being a part of our little Lairsey's lives.   I look forward to giving her a great big hug one day soon.  I love that woman.  One of the things she has forever left in my heart is a verse.  She sent me the verse in a handwritten note she mailed me after she found out about our first miscarriage back in July of 2009.  She died one month later, and that verse is still one of my favorites.

Isaiah 61: 1-3

  The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release the prisoners from darkness.  To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance for our God.  To comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - 

to bestow on them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.  

I want BEAUTY instead of ashes, JOY instead of mourning, and PRAISE instead of despair.  But more importantly, I want my life to be planted for the display of the Lord's splendor.  Let it be, Lord.  

Been A While ... Coleman Edition

Manna-Man.  Such a cutie.  My 18 month-old ball of joy!  His word count is sky-rocketing!  He can say just about anything we ask him to.  This week, we worked on please, thank you, and sorry.  He is close to saying all of his sisters names.  He LOVES balls and balloons.  He is typically a very happy boy, especially when he is eating.  Coleman is a great eater (as you can tell).  His favorites are muffins, applesauce, mashed potatoes, and chicken.  He is doing EXCELLENT at feeding himself.  Actually, he feeds himself better than Clara and Ellie do ... with a spoon or fork!  He is wearing mostly 24 month - 2T clothes, and size 6 shoes.  We try to keep his hair cut pretty short.  It's easy for me, and it is SO cute on him.  He HATES clipping his fingernails and toenails!  I loves taking a "baf".  He goes crazy when he sees an animal... so excited, but not eager to get close.  He is a snuggle bug with mama, and makes my heart melt.  He also loves to hold mama's hand.  Every time you ask him a question, he resonds with "uhh, uhh".  A sound people use to say no, but Coleman says it meaning yes. He is also quick to throw those chunky arms up in the air to say, "MEEEEEE.." when we ask "who wants to ____".  

That kid makes such a great ending to our family.  I cannot imagine our life without him.  My youth girls love to make fun of my by purposefully saying "Coleman" to me in conversation ... to which I always smile and say, "awwww, Coleman!"

Been A While ... Ellie Edition

Elenor.  Her spunk is starting to come back.  She was quite a lively infant, and then she seemed to mellow out a bit as she started walking and talking.  She was calm and peaceful, easy-going.  But that change was only momentary!  Ellie is a fun two year old.  She loves to be loved on.  She will always snuggle, sit in your lap, or give a great, big hug and kiss.  She can be a bit whiney at times and can easily get her feelings hurt.  She is tough and loves to play.  She has lots of little friends she talk about from school or church, and I have heard from other parents, that their children talk about "playing with Ellie".  She is easy to love.  Ellie LOVES Mickey Mouse, well, really, she loves Minnie and Daisy.  She talks NON-STOP about BOOMER from Kid Focus.  (She is PETRIFIED of him, but always says she wants to "see Boomer" or "hug, kiss Boomer").

Ellie also wears size 2/3 clothes.  She is a bit taller than Clara, but a bit thinner.  Her belly doesn't have much of the "toddler pudge".  Ellie loves "Monna-way" and "Chicken-fay" (AKA Monterrey and Chick-fil-A).  She is very attached to her pacy, and still wants it clipped on before every nap and bedtime.  Ellie does NOT love the water.  She is very reserved and leary of "scary things".  She'd much rather be on dry land, watching, running, and playing.  Ellie loves to eat crackers, salad, and mashed potatoes.  Ellie loves to sing and dance.  She has a cute little dance where she puts her arms up at 90 degree angles by her face and rocks them back and forth.  It's adorable.  She crosses her arms up by her chest if she is upset about something she is telling you.  Such a fun personality.

 she loves hats, anything with pockets, and Coleman's shorts

 Ellie was the only little Lairsey that got to go with Daddy to Papa's 75th Birthday Party.

 Ellie was in timeout, and Coleman wanted to come sit with her!

 loving the swings!!  lol

 

Been A While ... Clara Edition

Clara is 2 and a half.  She is a lot of fun.  She is pretty consumed with our VBS songs, specifically "You, You, You, You Can Trust God".  She BEGS Eric to play that song for her over and over again on his phone.  She really enjoys baby dolls, and is such a sweet mama to them.  She is in 2/3 clothes, and wears pretty much whatever I ask her to.  Her shoes... well, that is another issue.  SHE gets fixated on one pair of stinky shoes and ONLY wants to wear those.  This summer, that pair of shoes is her purple, flowered crocs.  She ADORES those things.... and I don't.  Even though they have been washed multiple times, they still make her sweaty feet stink and she ALWAYS has dirt under her toenails, but she loves them!  Nothing Eric or I can do will convince her to change that.  Her favorite people are Daddy and Yaya.  She is SUCH a daddy's girl.  Doesn't want mama to take her to bed, change her diaper, give her a bath, sit by her at dinner, nothing!  When mama says, "Clara, I love you!", she replies quickly with, "I love daddy!"  Funny girl.  She and daddy have always been buddies,  so I'm ok if they stay that way!  Clara is another little mommy.  She repeats every direction I say to Eve, Ellie, or Coleman.  She points her little finger and puts them in their place.  No one really listens to her, but she is satisfied to know that she has said what was on her mind.

Clara is a fun-loving, happy girl.  She is super smiley and giggly most of the time.  She is stubborn and adventurous.  Independent and playful.  She climbs out of her bed "by myself, I not need your help".  She wants to take off her clothes and diaper by herself, wants to buckle her seatbelt, brush her teeth, and the list goes on.

Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse are Clara's favorite things to watch.  She loves to play with her Ariel baby.  Her favorite snack is yogurt or muffins.  She is not a good eater.

Been A While ... Eve Edition

Eve is almost 5.  She can taste it!  She is talking about it constantly.  She wants us to throw her a SKY VBS birthday party, and she wants it to be a surprise.  Just in time for her 5th birthday, Eve has stopped sucking her thumb!!!  She recently told me she needed to sell her silky at a yard sale because she didn't need it anymore ... Something tells me that is a little ambitious!

Eve LOVES "jewel-ery" and sparkles of ALL kinds.  Her new favorite thing to watch is Angelina Ballerina, and she practices her ballerina moves everywhere, anytime, and all over the house.  She is wearing size 5/6 clothes, and prefers to wear a dress everyday.  One of her favorite passions is having her fingernails and toenails painted in rainbow colors.  She is still very outspoken, and some times, can be a bit big for her britches.  Her favorite people include Mimi, Grandma, Jacqueline and Maddy, Rebekah Lott, Anna Joy, and Lydia.  Her favorite snack is a cheese stick.  Her favorite drink is water in a sports cup.  Her favorite side-item is green peas with mashed potatoes.  She does not love pizza (which I think is strange).  She loves to get gumballs for herself, Clara, and Ellie everytime we are walking out the door.  She loves to color and practice her spelling.  Right now, she can write Eve, Clara, Ellie, Dad, Mom, Love, You, and Baba without asking for help.

She will start Kindergarten at Grace Baptist in August.  She is excited about Ms. Ashley being her teacher again, and I am excited that she will be going to a christian kindergarten!

 Friends Lydia and Addison

 At Tennis Camp this summer ... she LOVED it!

 She has mastered swimming underwater

She loves butterflies and rolly-pollies