Life around here has been nothing short of chaotic lately. O, well, except for when we went off to Hawaii for a week, just me and the hubs. Yeah, that was nice. But now we are playing catch up in a mad dash. Maybe I'll get around to posting some Christmas projects and candy recipes... or maybe this will be my only post this month.
But on to the Christmas photo shoot of the girls:
They are such sweet sisters. They are really getting to play with each other quite nicely. They do each others' hair and play dress up. And even share pretty well. Ellie has taken a very nurturing role as of late. I always hear her saying things like, "It's ok, little smoochy. I just had to go get my Piglet, but I am back now." And she's also interested in telling me all the things Livvy needs, like her blanket and her Minnie. And M&Ms, obviously.
Ellie is also pretty interested in family relationships. A few weeks ago she declared, "I am Piglet's mom." She therefore feels entitled to have Piglet around all the time, you know, even at church and preschool. She is very interested in making sure Piglet has toys to play and snuggle with, and that she gets plenty of water. And that she has band-aids and gets her diaper changed regularly. I guess she's as good a mom as any stuffed animal could hope for. But the other day she and Steve had the discussion about how Steve was related to Piglet if Ellie was his/her (Piglet seems to be a little transgender) mom. Eventually Ellie came to the realization that Steve must be Piglet's papa, as in
grand-papa. Obviously. And the next day she came up to me and asked, "Are you Piglet's grandma?" Yes, I suppose I am.
A little while ago, after we read Olivia (the pig by Ian Falconer), Ellie asked me, "Are you a mama pig?" "No," I said, "I am a mama human." "What?!! You are not a mama pu-man. You are a regular mama!" A lot of Ellie's life is defined by being either regular or special.
And the other morning as I was getting ready, Ellie came in and told me, "Mama, you look famous!" I don't know where she got that from, but I'll take it.
And she loves her Christmas songs. I get lots of requests throughout the day. Sometimes it's hard to figure out which song she wants when she asks for "Newborn King." But she's getting really good at singing them herself. She knows a lot of the words to a lot of songs. It's surprising. Except not really, in that she has always loved music. She gets that from her dad. Although I will say that some lyrics might still be a work in progress. For instance, Frosty the Snowman was a "hairy fairy soul."
She is into all things Christmas, really. She loves the tree. She helped decorate it this year. Although the success of the decorating could be described in an overheard, "I'm going to put Santa Claus right here next to the reindeer." All the ornaments she hung are on the same two branches. But don't worry, they get taken down a lot to be played with.
And Olivia. She has become quite the declarative little person. She is very adventurous and adamant about her life. Nothing is a question in her mind. Everything is just an action, a proclamation. She rushes passed me and breathlessly yells, "I am running, mama!" or, unfortunately, "I am coloring on the door!"And she's a little independent thing. "Let me do it!" is her favorite phrase. I hear it twenty thousand times a day. Sometimes in an exasperated tone, sometimes in a little jingle, sometimes in a melodic song that goes on for several minutes. She's more interested in buckling her own seat belts and putting on her own shoes than Ellie is.
She is also very curious about the human body. She always wants to check people's bellies. And she strips just about every chance she can. So if you come over to our house and she's in a very weird combination of clothing, that's just because we have to put her in as many complicated layers as possible to get a few moments of peace. Otherwise, I'll turn around from making breakfast and there she is, naked as a little jaybird. It's actually the cutest thing in the whole wide world. If only she wouldn't pee on things, I'd let her go around naked all day long.
And everything in Olivia's life is beautiful. "Beau-iful jacket, Daddy." "Beau-iful new boots, Mommy."
She is learning her name finally. I don't know why it took her so long, of all things. But she will now tell you, "I'm Wuff-a!"And also "It's Wuff-a's turn!"
But one of my favorite things that happened recently was when I started decorating for Christmas. Steve and I were wondering if the girls ever notice that we change things about their environment, hang new art, paint things, change the table decor, etc. I made a wreath and hung it above the fireplace one night while the girls were sleeping. The next morning as I was making breakfast, Olivia came into the kitchen from the living room acting very excitedly like she wanted to show me something. I followed her to the living room where she was pointing at the wreath and exclaiming in a lot of gibberish over it. I did understand a few phrases like, "berry cole" (very cool) and "beau-iful". It definitely made my day that she thought my project was so cool.
And finally, are you ready for the cutest picture you've ever seen in your whole life?
No, seriously. You have to be really ready. Because after you see it, you can't unsee it, and all other pictures will be ruined. Even if they are of your own kids.
Ok, probably not if they are of your own kids. But don't underestimate the cuteness.
I mean, really? Could she be any more adorable? And that big sister kissing her on the cheek? I am a lucky mama, that's for sure.
They are my little sweethearts, and I love them so much.
