prayers, horseys, and attitudes

Eve really likes to pray...and I am glad :)  She usually volunteers to say the blessing at mealtime, pray before bed, and even raises her hand to pray at chapel/See You At The Pole for Mother's Day Out.  Her prayers recently have gotten more and more hilarious... mostly because she rambles on and on.  A few nights ago, her prayer for dinner was "dear heavenly father (she got that from her papa), thank you that we love EVERYTHING that we love and we eat EVERYTHING that we eat and we love our friends and our family and thank you that i dont want to eat ANY of my dinner.  amen."

I noticed a few red spots on the back of Coleman's neck this morning and pointed it out to Eric.  I'm sure it's nothing of importance, I had just never seen them before.  Eve heard me, and said "i know who can fix those red spots!"  "who?" "God can.  I can just lift up my shirt, and tell him to come out of my heart to go into Coleman's neck.  He can use his special tools that wont hurt Coleman, and he will fix those spots."  She lifts up her shirt and says, "Ok, God and Jesus...come out. (long pause)  Momma, why is he not coming out?"  i love the way her mind works.

Eric and Eve have some special things that only the two of them do together... like when Eric throws Eve into the mirror after her bath, or when they chase each other around and around the pantry in our kitchen, or when Eve gives daddy SPECIFIC instructions on hide-and-seek.  It sounds something like this, "Daddy, you go hide in the closet with the light off, and I'll go count to fifteen and come find you and when I open the door, you say 'rawr!!'" :)  Another one of those things is riding the horsey.  I'm sure LOTS of dads play this game with their kids, but I'm not sure how many dads can do the following tricks (as a horsey, of course).  First, Eve grabs a baby blanket to wrap around Eric's neck for reigns.  Then her commands go something like this, "Getttttty up, horsey!"  "Eat grass!"  "Get me a rose, horsey!"  "Give it to momma!"  Then Eric dumps her off his back onto the couch.  Eve and her daddy have a fun connection, and I look forward to watching it grow over the years.

Although I hate to end this blog on a downer...I want to document/remember the annoying, ridiculous, insanely silly, interesting things that are HUGE on Eve's "these things make me melt down" list.  Most of these things revolve around her morning routine.  It is a nightmare.  Really.  She can pretty much throw a fit about any of the following things on any given morning: choice of outfit, length of sleeves, pulling pants/tights up too high on her belly, wearing socks, putting on any shoes except flip flops in summer or her stinky, silver ballet flats in the winter, brushing teeth/brushing hair out of order, which bow/clip to wear, where on her head the bow sits, the position of her panties/tights, and putting on a jacket, sweater, or double layers of any kind.  We spank the girl... frequently... but still she cries about these things.  Boy, does she cry.  Eric and I have a really hard time understanding what it is that sets her off so quickly about these things.  I try to be accommodating to some of her quirky ways, but let's be realistic.  The kid cant wear the same red penguin dress with no tights or bow and her stinky shoes everyday!!!  :)

Clara, Clara, Clara.  I am amazed at the transformation in personality that I have witnessed in the twins over the past 6 months or so.  Clara is strong.  I always knew she was, but I had NO IDEA she was as feisty.  The girl knows what she wants, and she will let you know if you don't give it to her.  When we first brought the girls home from NICU, Ellie was the fussy, needy, 'i want to be held' type.  Clara was easy.  She slept excellently, didn't require much attention, and rarely cried.  Wow, how things have changed :)  Ellie is a sweetheart.  She is laid-back, gentle, easy to please, and happy.  She doesn't sleep quite as long as Clara, but she wakes up in a pleasant mood.  She is thoughtful and analytical.  Ellie is quick to catch on to "no" or a pop for disobeying.  Clara is a go-getter.  She is adventurous and determined.  She will scream instantly when you tell her "no" or take away something she has gotten into.  When she escapes from our barricaded living room and crawls quickly for the steps, she yells and kicks as soon as you pick her up to bring her back into the "play-zone".  She arches her back and fusses when you put her in her car seat and she takes whatever toy she wants regardless of who is/was playing with it.  Clara is also hilarious.  She giggles and chuckles constantly and can easily (and quickly) turn her screams of frustration into a belly laugh at something Eve or Ellie is doing.  She is a delight when she is satisfied.  If not, LOOK OUT :)  I look forward to watching her grow into a little girl who can reason things out in her mind...and hopefully reduce the melt-downs.              

The New (and improved) Lairsey Family

Coleman Jude Lairsey

born Thursday, January 19, 2012

at 2:14pm, weighing 8lb 6.7oz and 21in long

I am in ABSOLUTE LOVE with this little man. 

He likes to be swaddled and snuggled.  He is very content and happy.  Rarely cries. 

His sweet, smooshy face has captured my heart.  I could squeeze and kiss those cheeks all.day.long. 

Eve-aroo is his biggest fan.  She adores him, and he lets her hold and snuggle him to her hearts' content.  She is an excellent big sister...caring, loving, gentle, and sweet. 

The twins have also made the transition VERY easily.  They couldn't care less about their new house-mate!  Every once in a while they will glance his way, stare for a second, and then go on with their business.  I have forced them to hold him and kiss him, and they oblige me, but really would rather be playing with their toys.  PRAISE THE LORD!  :)  I was VERY nervous about the girls being jealous or rough with him... but God has been gracious to me.  My family has grown, and so have our hearts. 

He is my only child that was born with hair.  TONS of hair.  Last night, after his bath, I brushed it up into a mohawk...and it is ADORABLE.  When he woke up this morning, it was still holding strong :)

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!!