tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51849492527590707822024-03-14T03:54:41.957-04:00the fowlers live hereUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger569125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-66814864703555005332016-08-01T16:20:00.000-04:002016-08-01T16:20:03.816-04:00one year here. <div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/8SAvV4y7XfZaxGldLGngKg3qm2jerDS0MDUwu8TTQoT4rduiSJcPy0Czd-wGYphTCs4n_S3DcRzqCRn0BvqDiEsSndy3VWsJEJm2RI1nqFmCvd-NQXatG2UIVQMk5I2rfM0DepOBZ-lJu_TgGis9PA7D_uO_VmQhox0vc0siGdguhRkFuDJZNs-25gcEQX31cTNV9dDWMu5I3ePXTvJGoCO1CdgVMGCvwBDFyupDySCM8x4TskQhOp14xsTSx4ik4tvAe0gyUAwpweknvcUYpWdrMyP6UtMSVxQ2NuyGZbBjj7yh8PfOojSloS4YRNkdMDGOm7XiMFcIhnYNs1Bv8TXd3q1lOpasg02usPDXJgHXFHDd3hTF5CnU8xDQaqtlod79N9dPgnU7HO9R7WG_rVZIuhlyGjkcKZ-fb1hJ7VVUBXgkkyMfJNbrwbzdbEIHBQ78pN_79cLkKbisj5JaO76cJyl-GF9n1IvuEICd4j1Oa0mxlhWNVvK2PRmzqCbHAlQMqd-f5BxVZY5MikhSqHqe2cwsL0EmrMH-Msjo8Cxw8cMwyq8nFvKAgJBvhFk_S0adYoH93t5ICay53Z7elaMNpVX6BEM=w1680-h328-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/8SAvV4y7XfZaxGldLGngKg3qm2jerDS0MDUwu8TTQoT4rduiSJcPy0Czd-wGYphTCs4n_S3DcRzqCRn0BvqDiEsSndy3VWsJEJm2RI1nqFmCvd-NQXatG2UIVQMk5I2rfM0DepOBZ-lJu_TgGis9PA7D_uO_VmQhox0vc0siGdguhRkFuDJZNs-25gcEQX31cTNV9dDWMu5I3ePXTvJGoCO1CdgVMGCvwBDFyupDySCM8x4TskQhOp14xsTSx4ik4tvAe0gyUAwpweknvcUYpWdrMyP6UtMSVxQ2NuyGZbBjj7yh8PfOojSloS4YRNkdMDGOm7XiMFcIhnYNs1Bv8TXd3q1lOpasg02usPDXJgHXFHDd3hTF5CnU8xDQaqtlod79N9dPgnU7HO9R7WG_rVZIuhlyGjkcKZ-fb1hJ7VVUBXgkkyMfJNbrwbzdbEIHBQ78pN_79cLkKbisj5JaO76cJyl-GF9n1IvuEICd4j1Oa0mxlhWNVvK2PRmzqCbHAlQMqd-f5BxVZY5MikhSqHqe2cwsL0EmrMH-Msjo8Cxw8cMwyq8nFvKAgJBvhFk_S0adYoH93t5ICay53Z7elaMNpVX6BEM=w1680-h328-no" width="640" /></a></div>
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we've been back in the beehive state for a whole year now. </div>
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um, it's weird. the good kind of weird. </div>
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we miss georgia like CRAZY but luckily a lot of our georgia friends have reason to visit utah and so we've had chances to see a few of our favorite people. (if you're ever in the area, hit us up!)</div>
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the girls love it. we love it. and even though not quite everything has gone exactly according to plan, we're moving forward and checking off goals left and right. life has been good (and ridiculously busy) for us. well, mostly for the husband. he is my number one hero right now. he's working so hard and we love him more than ever for it. </div>
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here's to many more adventures, big & small, in our next year!</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/iZSmJ8SJElWpyTKmT_9o_70_PGLexTfAXaS2Y06V-poKB3RGD_dg7zWFyb7JdvVIRy49dQKcfrz4Bp3DbcTzd6aj-LqmYS8Fr-BAC4XVoymyxW-9-G7NZehqANSv5OoSW6bwn0RQ7q5DBBlxe1ZheCKd9T_bc3OSgduZ5gVFiBuXuCAO_tM0oKViKKaimZEzko8p4Yj1ia9IBu4-3MCRiJgVKxpbLRKJkBNdmBjqToeTxMje9_tVQKIbPIUlGRif9kxPYFZHIOMkxh2-0Kv8MUr4ZCFNrMUaOeuW4nkaHdibBMl4LZLC960-PvzV_kFNsX0eGUMFU0iLogspYWdTk8soxmwq-k8xmWYSYBNlsek4BMIYQNlLMl6UCAK-YxvnUAgp9MH3Wiynl9CGj-epBKySOClS4F4lFEwXV7RW8sOZfGSB2Va2G4UAORL4psTzQw7DbHmX69rZDg-_RqZ32fW3W3CWsuYhkbK4AyvXUXdIvTF3AHJBWm1goy5nENrrpP8GAGU-4E-7BfGqbPh0XYUDxyiWNgQ3Yhj5PYbDHrk-4FLEm4jsdRk3KHOvXPrmxnqxRM2SGOgnk0jA02ITEzTSByo3ELM=w1680-h838-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/iZSmJ8SJElWpyTKmT_9o_70_PGLexTfAXaS2Y06V-poKB3RGD_dg7zWFyb7JdvVIRy49dQKcfrz4Bp3DbcTzd6aj-LqmYS8Fr-BAC4XVoymyxW-9-G7NZehqANSv5OoSW6bwn0RQ7q5DBBlxe1ZheCKd9T_bc3OSgduZ5gVFiBuXuCAO_tM0oKViKKaimZEzko8p4Yj1ia9IBu4-3MCRiJgVKxpbLRKJkBNdmBjqToeTxMje9_tVQKIbPIUlGRif9kxPYFZHIOMkxh2-0Kv8MUr4ZCFNrMUaOeuW4nkaHdibBMl4LZLC960-PvzV_kFNsX0eGUMFU0iLogspYWdTk8soxmwq-k8xmWYSYBNlsek4BMIYQNlLMl6UCAK-YxvnUAgp9MH3Wiynl9CGj-epBKySOClS4F4lFEwXV7RW8sOZfGSB2Va2G4UAORL4psTzQw7DbHmX69rZDg-_RqZ32fW3W3CWsuYhkbK4AyvXUXdIvTF3AHJBWm1goy5nENrrpP8GAGU-4E-7BfGqbPh0XYUDxyiWNgQ3Yhj5PYbDHrk-4FLEm4jsdRk3KHOvXPrmxnqxRM2SGOgnk0jA02ITEzTSByo3ELM=w1680-h838-no" width="640" /></a></div>
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also, i'm pretty sure google photos is going to save this blog. <i>finally</i> i don't have to upload and then download and then upload again to get pictures on here. that has always been the most frustrating part and now it's a suh-nap! </div>
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it even does this ^^^ for me, which is super rad. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-40103450767262215162016-04-26T14:07:00.001-04:002016-04-26T14:07:22.647-04:00when our life got flip-turned-upside down and it all turned out okay. <br />
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<i>out in the backyard in athens.</i></div>
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<br />
this is a bit of a ramble. it's an explanation. i have a lot (like a <b>LOT</b>) more feelings about all of these things. this a brief summary of everything that happened during the time i was m.i.a. from the blog, so y'all can catch up if you want. <br />
<br />
my pregnancy with evangeline was one of the reasons i didn't blog for so long. man, it was rough. i can't complain too much, because i know many (<u>many</u>) people out there are struggling to have families, BUT. we had a completely different experience. we barely talked about having another baby and immediately got what we wanted. i mean, i expected to get pregnant but i also expected some time to <i>try</i> to get pregnant and to get ready (as ready as anybody can be, i guess). i thought maybe i'd have time to have everything in my life a little more organized. i imagined a spring baby. so when a couple of weeks after we decided to work on little no. three, ellie told me: "mommy, i'm going to have a little sister and she's going to be born before christmas" i laughed it off. i was still laughing a couple of weeks later when i discovered she was right. <br />
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at the end of april, i got sick. then sicker. it all started with a stomach bug, which i mistook for morning sickness until the rest of the family got just as sick as i did. that was a weekend to remember. we moved from bed to couch to bathroom, barely awake. i couldn't keep anything down and almost ended up getting an iv for dehydration. after a week everyone started getting better, but i stayed pretty sick. i spent two months just surviving, constantly in a fog of misery. i couldn't stand the smell of the stove or oven getting hot, so even just boiling water sent me running for the toilet. i had to put all of the spices in the garage because i couldn't go in the kitchen if i could smell them. even the smell of bread made me gag! every time i went into a grocery store i literally prayed that i would be able to manage the sights and the smells without ending up on the floor. once i even vomited so hard i scratched my throat bloody and had petechial hemorrhages around my eyes. i would just barely make it through the day, then another, then another.<br />
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<i> how i survived morning sickness: sitting on the beach while the girls played.</i></div>
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i was really thankful for people who brought food and helped us out,
because i was living off whatever sounded good (which was mainly
gatorade, cheetos, and soft pretzels). around mid-june i started feeling better, but only just. i still feel like i lost weeks of my life during that time. as the summer began, i slowly came out of the haze. i could cook and eat again for the most part, but i still had almost no energy. every once in a while it would hit me all over again out of nowhere. at the same time it started getting easier physically, though, it started getting much harder emotionally.<br />
<br />
several of our close friends experienced major, devastating changes in their lives during that summer. it was heartbreaking to watch families that we loved so much simply fall apart. i was so grateful for my boring, sweet, imperfect life. then, suddenly, our life decided to get not-so-boring after all.<br />
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in the fall, we learned that the house we lived in in athens needed to be sold. everything lined up just right for a really difficult transition. we didn't want to move when i was super pregnant or with a newborn, and we needed some time to make new plans, so we made the choice to move in with the husband's parents for a little while. it all happened in a matter of days. ellie had to leave her pre-k class after only two months. we had to say goodbye to our home after six years, the only home my babies had ever known. it was only 45 minutes away, but it felt like a whole other world.<br />
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<i>pretty babies saying goodbye to the athens house.</i></div>
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living with the grandparents (and a bonus uncle) was hard. and fun. and crazy. and frustrating. and stressful. and beautiful. we were really, really lucky. our family is too good. the kids and the grandparents were so happy together and i love that my girls had that special time there. it was nice to have that extra support through the end of that rough pregnancy, then again with a brand new baby, and some unexpected medical issues with poppy. we made really great friends, spent a lot of time as a family, and i think it made us all stronger.<br />
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it also pushed us in an entirely new direction. the husband had been doing school online for a while, but with all the changes we wondered if it might be the time to go back to a campus to finish (or start?) school. as we looked into our options, it all started coming together. he applied and was accepted into school back in utah. it was a huge, exciting, terrifying leap. knowing that we wouldn't be able to see our georgia family for a while, the time we spent living together was all the more precious. we had to make a lot of tough decisions, including what would happen to our sweet old boy judge. he wasn't doing so well physically. we were able to get him into a rescue program but it was really hard to say goodbye to our friend after eight years. it was hard to say goodbye to all of our friends and family in georgia. we had made such a wonderful life there and it broke my heart to go, but this new opportunity was the best thing for us.<br />
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<i>poppy taking a leap of faith into grammie's pool. </i></div>
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my sister flew out and she and i drove across the country with the kids in july (which is a whole other story). the husband stayed for a few more weeks, then joined us in utah. everything fit together like a puzzle: jobs worked out, hand-me-down furniture magically became available, and we were able to rent the most perfect little house. our friends and family were so helpful and made the move easy. now that we've finished the first year of this school adventure (with high grades might i add!), i know that everything that happened was working to get us to this point. we're busy and happy and we're working hard to get where we want to be as a family.<br />
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hopefully that's enough of an update to explain the past two years. life has been hard to us but sweet to us. so far, i've found that life just gets harder but it also gets so much sweeter -- and i'm ready for it.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-90955715427807305202016-04-07T17:54:00.002-04:002016-04-26T14:07:43.268-04:00coupla quotes.<br />
some kid quotes from the past few weeks.<br />
(i know, i'm way excited about them, too!)<br />
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ellie is 6. poppy is almost 4 1/2. evie just hit 16 months. just for reference. <br />
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so we had almost finished reading the first harry potter book, with just two chapters left to go.<br />
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<b>ellie</b>: i wonder what that thing in the forest was. the one that killed the unicorn. is it a monster?<br />
<b>daddy</b>: or is it he who must not be named?<br />
<b>mommy</b>: you think it was voldemort in the woods?<br />
<b>ellie</b>: don't say his name! it didn't have any fangs. it might be a monster.<br />
<b>daddy</b>: i don't remember about this book. he's back, right? did he have help?<br />
<b>mommy</b>: they think snape is helping voldemort.<br />
<b>ellie</b>: aaaaaaahhh! stop saying voldemort!<br />
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and when we finally got ready to watch the movie after we finished...<br />
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<b>poppy:</b> ooooo, i can't WAIT to see what hermione granger looks like!<br />
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about these tiny chicks we found at the craft store (see below) --</div>
poppy: "eeek! they scare me. let's buy them."<br />
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we bought some jelly beans. not the spiced kind, or the fancy kind. the regular kind. <br />
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<b>poppy</b>: ugh! the white ones taste like socks!<br />
<b>me</b>: what?! they're good!<br />
<b>poppy</b>: no! they taste like socks!<br />
<b>me</b>: how do you even know what socks taste like?<br />
<b>poppy</b>: remember back when i was three and i was so silly? that's when i tasted socks.<br />
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leaving storytime at the library.<br />
<br />
<b>poppy</b>: there was another boy in there. he kept coughing and "bless-you-ing [sneezing]." he had a LOT of bubbles in his nose. i think maybe he was sick.<br />
<b>me</b>: yeah, sounds like it. [um, GAG!]<br />
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<b>ellie:</b> except when i go to college, i'm going to be the smartest one in the class and all the boys will want to hug me!<br />
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the other day we had a late snow storm.<br />
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<b>poppy:</b> i hate this! it's supposed to be summer!<br />
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ellie loves to wake poppy up in the morning for what they call "secret playtime." we were laying in bed listening to them in the hallway and overheard this:<br />
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<b>ellie:</b> come on poppy!<br />
<b>poppy:</b> but my legs are tired.<br />
<b>ellie:</b> don't fake.<br />
<b>poppy:</b> no, ellie! my real legs are tired!<br />
<b>ellie:</b> you're faking! let's go!<br />
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<br />
<b>ellie</b>, <i>after an existential conversation about the end of the world</i>: so THAT'S what's going to happen when the world ends. i always thought some maniacs were going to come smash it into pieces.<br />
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listening to one direction in the van.<br />
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<b>poppy:</b> i had another dream that i met this guy.<br />
<b>me:</b> the one singing?<br />
<b>poppy:</b> yeah. i'm <u>sure</u> they know i'm a fan.<br />
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<br />
<b>poppy:</b> it's elmo's birthday!<br />
<b>me:</b> how old is he?<br />
<b>poppy:</b> i don't know. six, probally. (shrugs)<br />
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ellie had a substitute teacher at school. historically, that does not go well. i asked about how it went...<br />
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<b>ellie:</b> it was great! well, actually, it was embarrassing. i don't want to talk about it.<br />
<i> later, more of the story develops...</i><br />
<b>ellie:</b> the new teacher told us to color on the empty spaces. i told her that was wrong and she's not even our real teacher!<br />
<i>hours later, we learn what the real embarrassing part was...</i><br />
<b>ellie:</b> today... the teacher... the teacher called me... PAM.<br />
<b>me:</b> <i>(laughing SO HARD.)</i><br />
<b>ellie:</b> it's not funny. that's NOT my name.<br />
<b>me:</b> sorry! you just don't look like a pam to me. <br />
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<b>evie</b> doesn't say much of anything yet, but she does do a couple of little things that i love.<br />
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first, all of her animal sounds are the same noise and it's like a really throaty (and honestly, a little bit scary) "gwaaaccc, gwaaaaaccc." we hear it a lot. <br />
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also, when she asks for something, she opens her hand and says "uh?" and if i say no, she just keeps asking. something like:<br />
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<b>evie:</b> uh?<br />
<b>me:</b> no.<br />
<b>evie:</b> uuuuh?<br />
<b>me:</b> no.<br />
<b>evie:</b> uh?<br />
<b>me: </b>no.<br />
<b>evie:</b> uuuuuh?<br />
<b>me:</b> no.<br />
<b>evie:</b> UH?<br />
<b>me: </b>no.<br />
<b>evie:</b> uuuuuuh? <br />
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and she could go on all day.<br />
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she also shrieks (like, the most piercing shriek) with happiness often (ie, finding her baby doll, getting a cookie, etc). she also says "wow wow" really softly when she's impressed. most recently, ikea really wowed her. <br />
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she's obsessed with cookies and will smack her lips if she wants one, saying "mumm mumm!" we think she can talk but won't, because she already gets whatever she wants without saying a word.<br />
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until next time, love from the three best frenemies!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-51757461727959590112016-02-25T15:48:00.000-05:002016-02-25T15:48:03.698-05:00my tiger girl. <br />
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she will fight me, because this is the nature of two tigers. but i will
win and give her my spirit, </div>
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because this is the way a mother loves her
daughter.</div>
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- amy tan, <u>the joy luck club</u></div>
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<br />
i read <u>the joy luck club</u> a few years back. it was perfect timing. have you ever done that? have you ever read a book at the exact perfect moment in your life? it has only happened for me a handful of times. when i read <u>gone with the wind</u> a few years after i moved to the south -- that was perfect timing. if i had read it without knowing the places and the people i would have completely missed the feeling of it. if i had read <u>the joy luck club</u> before i had a daughter of my own, it would have been a nice book and an enjoyable read, but it would have been a completely different experience. honestly, i've forgotten most of the details of the story, but there was one theme that stuck. and it overwhelmed me. the mother, ying-ying, and her daughter, lena, are both tigers according to the chinese zodiac. it's a defining element of their relationship. tigers are mainly solitary creatures. they're cunning and fearless. they can be competitive, stubborn, and intense. and of course, two tigers will fight each other because that is their nature.<br />
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i started <u>the joy luck club</u> after ellie was born, when she was just starting to show her personality (i almost described it as her "little personality" but i had to correct myself - there is nothing "little" about it). after some calculations, i realized that ellie and i are also both tigers. one week earlier and she would have been an ox, but here we are: two tigers. i'm not generally invested in anything to do with the zodiac (i have a hard enough time remembering birthdates, much less signs and symbols), but i found this news so interesting. i think about it often. as i watch ellie grow, i see more and more tiger in her -- and in myself.<br />
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my little tiger turned six this week. she's fierce, more fierce than anyone i've ever known. she's passionate, about everything from her feelings on religious topics to the way her peanut butter and jelly sandwich is made. from the minute she wakes up, she's going. she has plans and projects and the rest of us have no say in the matter. we're all just characters in her play and she's a regular shakespeare. she inspires me and frustrates me and sometimes (most of the time) i don't know whether to laugh or scream or cry.<br />
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when she turned five, she decided she was old enough to pour her milk by herself. lately she makes quite a few of her meals herself -- cereal and sandwiches mostly, but still. she's starting to read and she's doing very well. her stories are elaborate. her drawings are amazing. she wants to be an astronaut, a dancer, a teacher, and an engineer (one that creates her own brand of motor vehicles called the <i>arrow straight</i>). she's beyond independent. she's so independent that sometimes i feel like she doesn't need me at all. <br />
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i forget that she's just a baby, really, until we're in the middle of an argument about which shoes she should be wearing and how to fix her bunched up socks and that she's late for school <i>again</i> and she breaks down and says "mommy, i just need a HUG." i forget that she's full of feelings that are too big for her mind. she's a giant tiger inside a little girl body. and i understand because i've been that tiger, too.<br />
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i see so much of myself in her actions. it's difficult for me to try and guide her through the hard things: the consequences of being stubborn and impulsive, the exhaustion of putting your passion into the wrong things, the loneliness of trying to do everything all by yourself and the humbling pain of having to ask for help. i want her to be kind and compassionate, but not submissive; intelligent and confident, but not conceited; brave and persistent, but not reckless.<br />
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there's one other thing that she wants to do when she grows up. she wants to be a mom. in all of her many little writings, the words she writes most often are "i love my mom." the first entry in her little diary: "monday. i love my mom." despite my temper, my pride, and my stubbornness; despite my many, many flaws, she still wants to be like me. she can see past my shortcomings to my tiger spirit and she wants to have that for herself. i want to give her that gift, even when she fights it. i can try my best to help the spirit that is already inside of her grow stronger and wiser, and help the spirit inside me grow stronger and wiser for her. i will win, i will make myself stronger and wiser, and i will give her my spirit.<br />
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she loves me fiercely because she knows that i love her fiercely.<br />
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because that is the way a mother loves her daughter. <br />
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happy sixth birthday, my wild little eleanor. </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-44026495944031106642016-02-17T14:57:00.003-05:002016-02-17T14:57:36.398-05:00back in the saddle.<br />
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yeah, it has been a long time.<br />
like, two years. <br />
sorry.<br />
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i'm not sure that blogging is really "in" these days but i miss it.<br />
and now that we've moved all the way back across the country (surprise!) i thought i'd start it up again to help share a little bit of our family with our loved ones who are far away.<br />
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let me explain.<br />
no, there is too much. let me sum up.<br />
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i stopped posting right about the time i got pregnant with little evie in spring 2014.<br />
yep, a whole person appeared during my absence (surprise again!).<br />
anyway, i was so, so sick with her. the worst sick. not-even-functioning-sick. then, in the fall, things got <i>really</i> crazy when we moved in with my husband's parents for an indefinite amount of time. our time there was fun and hard and stressful and happy and we'll never forget it. between the living arrangement and the newborn baby, i kinda went into survival mode.<br />
in the spring we got an idea. it was pretty out there, but we decided to go for it. the husband went back to school full-time and that meant moving back to where it all started, in utah valley. we were pretty nervous because, well, we're old and have a lot of kids and what were we even thinking?! but now we're in the second semester and things are working out better than we even imagined.<br />
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it's starting to feel as normal and calm as life with three little girls will ever be, so here i am. i'm ready to post some stuff for my benefit and for yours; because i will not remember my babies if i don't write it down and i think y'all might just be interested in our little fowlers, too.<br />
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plus i'm a nerd who likes writing. <br />
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we can be friends on instagram if we aren't already (because it can kinda be like a micro-blog, i've found, and it's a lot easier to maintain). if you're here solely for the pictures, that's your spot. on the blog i'm going to add a bunch of words and i can't promise it won't get super cheesy.<br />
fair warning & welcome back.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-30889522984329618802014-03-26T09:56:00.000-04:002014-03-26T09:56:49.721-04:00& some quotes. <br />
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and now</div>
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(drumroll please)</div>
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for the quotes.</div>
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with random pictures, as usual. </div>
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i know it's the only reason y'all still read this, to hear the crazy things my kids say. </div>
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poppy is starting to assert her independence, and she likes to pick her
clothes and dress herself. if i try to help she says "i need a turn!
give me a turn! i do it!" most of the time, if i ask her if she needs help she'll say "i'm fine, mom! i'm fine!" like some kind of fifteen-year-old kid. </div>
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ellie gave her first talk in primary. it was about Jesus. we were asking her what she knows about Jesus (a lot) and she told us this fact: "he helps santa claus deliver all the presents on christmas eve!"</div>
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we rode in an elevator at the mall, and poppy fell asleep in the car right after we left. when she woke up at home, she must have been having a nightmare about the elevator because she started yelling: "the bumping! the bumping! no no!" and reaching out to hold on to me. poor thing. </div>
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ellie: "i don't like t-rexes. they freak me out! they aren't meant to be liked, just like great white sharks aren't meant to be liked."<br />
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poppy's latest catchphrase is "whabout me?" (what about me?). she <b>hates</b> being left out. the other day i tried to leave her in the car with daddy while i got a couple of things in the store and she was wailing "whabout me?! whabout me?!" enough to break my heart. when i mentioned that daddy was there with her, she said, "not <i>daddy</i>!" (poor daddy.)<br />
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ellie misses her utah family a lot lately (so do the rest of us). some of the things she's said:<br />
"i think we should go spend some time with your family. you know, in utah."<br />
"can we go pick daddy up from work and get on a plane and go to utah?"<br />
"what if we just drive to the airport and get on a plane to utah right now?"<br />
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poppy keeps telling everyone she is older than she is. "i'm poppy. i'm six!" and she likes to tell people "my birthday is PINK!" (because she had a pink birthday cake) <br />
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after the time change, ellie said: "it's not hard for me to wake up early. i do it every day! i always wake up early!"<br />
she does. ugh. and she wakes poppy up, too. the other morning she told me "i have to go wake poppy up and make our plans for today." poppy wasn't ready to make plans, though, and i found her clutching her blanket and moaning "no, no!" while ellie tried to drag her out of bed. <br />
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poppy is very self-aware. we love to tease her. if you say "you're silly!" she always responds with, "i'm not silly! i'm poppy!" and if you try to say that you are poppy... "no! you not poppy, i'm poppy! i'm poppy!" it never gets old. <br />
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ellie couldn't sleep the other night, and daddy and i were up watching a movie. she came out of her room and declared "you guys are ruining my dreams!"<br />
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ellie: "this is what t-devils do to bones and carcasses. carcasses have bones inside of them."<br />
(she was eating french fries)<br />
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<i>we said goodbye to the mullet this month. happy & sad about that.</i></div>
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along with singing frozen songs at the top of their lungs (both of them, and they know most of the words), they often make up their own original songs. some of my favorite lyrics:<br />
"happy birthday to you, our princess! we love you and we care about you!" - ellie<br />
"golden saaaaaandals!" - poppy<br />
a whole song about peanut butter & honey by ellie<br />
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oh, and ellie's re-imagined version of "do you want to build a snowman?"<br />
<i>do you want to build a snowman?</i><br />
"i do!"<br />
<i>come on let's go and play!</i><br />
"here i come!"<br />
<i>i never see you anymore, come out the door, it's like you've gone away.</i><br />
"i'm right here!"<br />
(kinda changes the entire movie, huh?) <br />
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yes, together ellie and poppy act out whole scenes from frozen and i love it so much.<br />
and i guess if you haven't seen frozen, maybe you should. or come on over, we're probably watching it sometime today. <i></i><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-51811502204090195942014-03-25T09:40:00.000-04:002014-03-25T09:40:07.721-04:00adventure girls. <br />
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we haven't been around the internet much because, as luck would have it, every single saturday of march (so far) has been absolutely perfect. a lot of the days between have been perfect, too. spring is springing here in the south. don't get jealous just yet, though. march here is so unpredictable. the morning is a lion, the afternoon is a lamb, and then all night it is pouring rain. i got my box of warm weather clothes out of the attic, but i can't yet put away the winter clothes. some days are sweatshirts with jackets and wool socks. other days are sandals and t-shirts and pants rolled up. most days you start bundled up and end up sunbathing by dinnertime. it's been that way for weeks. </div>
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i'm not complaining. i know we only have a short amount of time before it gets sweaty, sweaty hot. for now, we wait for the weather to be just right and then we get out and enjoy every minute. </div>
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recently daddy and i were talking about our girls, and how they need adventure. lately i just can't get the quote out of my head that "all good things are wild and free." if there is anything that describes my girls, that would be it. wild and free. we came up with the "adventure girls" and since then we've been spending time trying to get out and let our adventure girls be as wild and as free as they please. </div>
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<br />and, thanks to this weather, every saturday has been a new adventure. </div>
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when we're not having big adventures, we are out finding worms and picking every dandelion in the backyard. </div>
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life is pretty good. </div>
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i'll post some adventure pictures and some really great kid quotes later this week. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-64176302429520408242014-02-26T10:32:00.000-05:002014-02-26T10:32:00.338-05:00party all night. <br />
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we had a few hours after the kids left, then some family and friends came for dinner and cake and more partying. the weather stayed beautiful all day long, so we built a little fire in the backyard and played outside more. </div>
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i took even less pictures of this event, believe it or not, but i do have a few to steal from grammie. </div>
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our evening was a lot more laid-back, and was full of roasting marshmallows, eating birthday cake, and opening more presents. she even got to open packages from far away family that came just in time. it lasted long into the night and i'm not at all sure how both girls made it without a nap. i thought poppy was going to fall asleep on her feet. they just played and played and played. </div>
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(she got a ton of puzzles for her birthday, which is perfect, because she loves puzzles.</div>
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she's done that one with the states at least seven times since sunday morning and even did it once with absolutely no help.) </div>
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after everyone left both girls snuggled up on either side of me and fell asleep. it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. </div>
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i can't say enough how much i appreciate everyone who helped make her birthday so special and memorable. she had the best day of her life and she spent it with so many wonderful people. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-7593002950073458242014-02-25T13:04:00.000-05:002014-02-25T13:04:01.407-05:00p-a-r-t-why? 'cause we got to. <div>
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i haven't been able to keep up with the craziness of my little girl turning <b>four years old </b>on saturday. </div>
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we spent last week busy gearing up for her elaborate, fun, and unforgettable day. </div>
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if you know ellie, you know that she makes plans. and when she makes plans, she makes big plans, and she expects everyone to help her make her dreams come true. even before poppy's birthday in <i>november</i> (yes, we've been planning since then) ellie has been talking about her rainbow birthday cake. over the months it evolved into a rainbow cake with a rainbow pony made of cookie on top and a rainbow unicorn pinata and basically inviting every person she knew to come celebrate. i'm not kidding when i say she would rattle off names of friends she wanted to invite, including most of the church nursery, her friends from primary, random kids from the park, adults that she likes, etc. in fact, we started back at dance class last week and on the way home she told me: "mom! there were so many new friends in there! you are going to have to call my teacher and find out all of their names." if she had her way, we would have invited to whole world to come. </div>
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(she's a friendly little thing, and i don't know where she gets it. she has forced her poor socially awkward mother to come out of her shell.)</div>
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unfortunately we don't have the space or means to accommodate such a party, though if we did, i would have gladly invited her entire universe of people. i took control of the runaway train and invited a few friends for a party in the morning (which still turned out to be 10 three/four-year-olds, all but one could come) and we made plans for an evening with some family and friends. we did a little decorating and baking and preparing each day of the week to get ready and keep her excitement from spilling over. </div>
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insane</div>
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and so, so much fun. <br />
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ellie woke up laughing on her birthday and we heard her giggling all the way into our room. she burst through the door and said "it's my birthday!" and we grabbed her to kiss her and checked to see if she'd grown overnight. </div>
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so began her epic day. </div>
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the kid party in the morning was amazing. ellie's aunt and uncle were so great to come and help and between the adults we were able to keep all the kids happy and out of trouble (for the most part). the weather was perfect and we were able to play outside and inside and, surprisingly, the house didn't even get trashed the way i thought it would. the kids played with sidewalk chalk and balloons and i didn't even have to plan anything as far as games. </div>
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we had a lunch of rainbow fruits and vegetables with "cloud popcorn" and and the kids ate in shifts, whenever they felt like it, picking at the food from the table. i was surprised again at how much healthy food was eaten just by having it in reach and available for snacking. i'm pretty sure every one of those picky kids ate something healthy before we went crazy with sugar. </div>
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i convinced ellie that the kids would do better with cupcakes instead of the giant layer cake she was going to have later, so rainbow cupcakes it was. they were delicious. </div>
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a note: if we ever do such a big party again, i think we'll have to make a no presents rule. firstly, she got so many great presents that i kinda felt guilty! spoiled rotten by her sweet friends. but secondly, opening presents was the only time when things got out of control. it was a madhouse and i was literally terrified for a moment. the kids were all so excited and yelling and couldn't wait and wrapping paper was flying and it was overwhelming, to say the least. </div>
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we saved the pinata for last, and it worked perfectly, so that we were all outside again and ready to go as the parents came back. ellie had her heart set on a pinata, even though i wasn't so keen on the idea. we didn't find the rainbow unicorn, but a friend of ours spotted the rainbow one and it was super cheap, so i caved. ellie was so happy with it. as you probably know, it's almost impossible for a bunch of kids her age to break a pinata. they still loved it, even though uncle miles eventually had to break it after daddy's sabotage didn't work. and it was very entertaining watching the kids take their turns.<br />
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i am so grateful that ellie has such a wonderful community of kids her age. i love them all. they're adorable and smart and funny. although it might not always seem like it, i'm so glad that ellie has dragged me into having a social life. everywhere so goes she makes a friend. just the other day, we stopped at mcdonalds for a second to get a gift card and she made a new friend while standing in line. after we left she was upset because she had forgotten to ask her new friend's name, and wanted to go back the next day to find her and introduce herself. </div>
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we had a great time and i'd do it all again in a heartbeat! it probably helps that i've been with the kids at church for so many years now, it's normal for me to be in the middle of a bunch of crazy kids. in fact, if i can recover from this weekend i was thinking about having a st. patrick's day party - but with some help from other moms, of course. </div>
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i'll post tomorrow about the perfect evening of our all-day party. see you then! </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-697181741943204182014-02-18T12:05:00.002-05:002014-02-18T12:05:31.672-05:00snowcation. <br />
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well, it snowed again. these girls and their wishes!</div>
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i keep thinking that the first go 'round was a warning, because the second storm (well, technically two storms in two days) was much worse. but last week everyone was still scared to death from january's experience and most people just stocked up on groceries and stayed home, watching the snow and ice pile up. the kids were out of school almost the whole week, and home depot even closed for the first time since we've lived here.</div>
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we were worried about losing power in our poorly insulated house, so tuesday afternoon between storms we parked the van in the garage to protect it from falling trees and headed up to spend some time with grammie and pop-pop.</div>
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and what a time we had! everyone enjoyed it, especially judge. </div>
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it looks beautiful, but don't be deceived. the second night it switched from snow to ice pellets, then back and forth from snow to ice. when the ice would come down it looked like the tiny beads of silica that come with new shoes. you could hear it against the windows, it crackled like someone opening a bag of chips or someone throwing tiny rocks at the window. the wind was blowing. it looked nice, but i'll bet it was miserable out there.</div>
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on thursday morning we ventured out. the snow was so crunchy, and when i cleaned off the car a little there were definite layers of ice, snow, ice, snow.</div>
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we found out laundry baskets don't make for good sledding, because they
dump you out at the bottom of the hill. we lasted mere minutes before we
had to come back inside for some hot chocolate and cookies. </div>
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we made it home safely thursday afternoon when the sun came out, and before the roads turned back to ice. things were fine in athens, no lost power or even lost trees (maybe a branch or two).</div>
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we're glad we had our little snowcation, though. it was probably <b>too much</b> fun. it has been hard getting back into real life after having our daddy to play with us and nothing on the agenda for days. </div>
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(we almost skipped valentines day because of the strange week, but i'll do a little post on our simple day later.)</div>
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goodbye, snow! maybe you don't have to come back next year after all. </div>
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now for poppy, who is talking so much lately! so so much!<br />
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<br />
as some of you know, when ellie first started talking she named her
special baby doll without any prompting or help. the name was
"anoggaday" and that baby has always been anoggaday ever since. we got
poppy the exact same kind of baby doll for her own (because you can't
have just one of anything with two girls), and a few months back poppy finally named her baby, too. the name she has chosen: "
teenahnah." and it's the same as it was with anoggaday, she has been
called teenahnah ever since. she also picked a name for her new christmas doll: "belinda" (her pronunciation "baywinda").<br />
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she makes a lot of her own theme music and plays out very dramatic scenes. "nuhnuhNUHHHH!"<br />
she says things like<br />
"no, don't do dis!"<br />
"who are you?!"<br />
"no, not my baby!"<br />
"mudder, no!"<br />
"i'm da queen!"<br />
she loves to do the scene where mufasa falls into the gorge during the stampede, and it's hilarious. "'car (scar), don't do dis!" "nooooooooo!" "help! somebody! anybody!"<br />
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she can be super girly and she loves makeup. the other day i took her on an errand to a big beauty supply store (without even thinking about how much she would like it). we walked in and she yelled "make up! make up!" and ran straight to that section. she even tried on a little eyeshadow (all over her face). the girls at the counter complimented her and she just batted her eyelashes and looked smug like, "yeah, i know."<br />
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she loves to brush my hair (and she really wishes she had longer hair). the other day i cut some bangs and when she saw it, she said, "hair diffwent!" and i asked if she liked it, to which she responded, "no. don't wike it. don't wike it." it's probably because her favorite thing used to be brushing my hair down over my eyes and fluffing it. <br />
<br />
she still uses her very quiet voice a lot
of the time, especially when she's just talking normally. the other day
she came in and kept trying to tell me something. i couldn't hear her
and kept asking her to repeat it until finally i had to put my ear in
her face. she said softly: "avocados are good."<br />
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she's right smack in the middle of the "no" phase, except she takes it to the extreme. </div>
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"NO, NEVER! NEVER!"</div>
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me: "poppy, get down from there!"</div>
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poppy: "no, i won't! never!"</div>
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me: "poppy, you need to sit down and eat your lunch."</div>
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poppy: "NEVER!" </div>
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and so on. </div>
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<i>we are phasing out naptime, but sometimes she just drops wherever she is. </i></div>
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so, in general, she's very dramatic. it's not always bad. </div>
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before i leave the house without her, she gets right in my face and says sadly, "mom. wait. don't go. don't leave. mom. don't leave." it's heartbreaking. </div>
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but when i get home or pick her up from somewhere, she acts like we haven't seen each other in years and it's the best. "moooooooom! it's you! you're here! you came back!" complete with tight hugs and a million kisses all over. </div>
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the other day i went to get her from nursery at church. she was busy reading a book, but when she saw me come in her face lit up, she said, "MOM!" and tossed the book behind her. it made me feel like a million bucks. </div>
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she's really, really good at making people feel special. </div>
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love her. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-65060083598742435622014-02-06T10:19:00.001-05:002014-02-06T10:19:30.324-05:00some more quotes: ellie. <br />
i have a lot of quotes to catch up on. we'll start with ellie. <br />
some of these are months old, but i want to remember them, and i hope you enjoy them, too. <br />
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ellie is finally old enough for primary at church! she's a sunbeam, and, yes, those pictures above are the <b>best</b> pictures i could get on her first day. she was too excited to hold still. or be serious. she loves it, and because i've been helping out in primary for <i>years</i>, i love it. she finally gets to have all the fun with us. she has learned so much already and loves to talk about the things she learns. <br />
<br />
however, i'm not always sure what she learned or made up. for instance...<br />
on the way home from church last week, she said:<br />
"Jesus threw a big fireball at the earth and that's how all the dinosaurs died." <br />
<br />
well, it could be true? <br />
<br />
moving on to more random quotes. <br />
<br />
ellie: "mommy, can you get out?"<br />
me: "why?"<br />
ellie: "because you're wrecking our playtime."<br />
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<i> "writing emails"</i></div>
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"i'm not dumb! i'm funny and silly!" (the girl knows how to deal with teasing, that's for sure.)<br />
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ellie went to the park with her school friends and rode in another mom's
van. when she got in, she sniffed around and said "well, my van smells like
fresh bacon!"<br />
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we were having a long conversation about life and death, what happens to your body when you die, etc. (i know, she's only almost-four but seriously. she wants to talk about this stuff.) so then she started talking about God and Jesus and then we talked about how Jesus died. then how Jesus came back to life. and, as ellie says, "yeah, 'cause that's how Jesus does." <br />
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i made quinoa the other day and she actually tried it and actually <b>liked</b> it. <br />
"mommy, what IS this yummy stuff you made?"<br />
"can i have more of this vegetable oatmeal?"<br />
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<i> she made a beach on a cold, cold day.</i></div>
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daddy was teasing her.<br />
her response: "stop saying mean things to kids who are just walking around!"<br />
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there is a song on the movie "pocohontas" that goes "savages! savages!" <br />
instead, ellie was singing "sandwiches! sandwiches!"<br />
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talking to a pretend boy: "hi, it's me, ellie. i'm all grown up now (hee hee hee)."<br />
<br />daddy was talking about "dealing with adults" at work all day, then ellie piped up:<br />
"i'm just dealing with an adult who is being pretty mean right now." (him)<br />
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that's all for today, but i'm sure i'll be back with more. i can't even keep up with the stuff this girl says. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-13457377394403805012014-02-03T10:05:00.000-05:002014-02-03T10:05:00.836-05:00corn festival(s) part two. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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so this actually happened several months ago. but i did put out the first part and i really, really love these pictures and loved our time there so i had to post the second part. i guess you can think of it as the long-awaited sequel?<br />
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(see the first part of our <a href="http://nationalfowlers.blogspot.com/2013/11/corn-festivals-part-one.html">corn festival adventure here</a>.)<br />
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at the beginning of the school year some other moms and i put together a little co-op preschool (joy school curriculum, the same i did when i was her age!) for ellie and her friends. it has honestly been so much fun and i wish we could do even more. sometimes poppy and i drop ellie off and get to have a little alone time, which has been great. every time poppy gets a chance to participate, she has the best time. she thinks she is the same age as all of ellie's friends and she loves to feel like a big kid.<br />
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<i> (all the girls, plus poppy, and our only boy off to the side. </i></div>
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<i>i am so in love with this picture. all these sweet kids learning about the world together.)</i></div>
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anyway, we took the group on a field trip to the pumpkin patch back in october and it was, as usual, so much fun - despite the rainy, gloomy day. it was just as fun the second time around because we got to do completely different things that we didn't have a chance to do the first time. we learned about pollination and how pumpkins grow, picked our own tiny pumpkins, and played so hard. they are all really smart, fun, <b>good</b> kids and i love that ellie has such wonderful little friends.<br />
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here are some pictures from our day:<br />
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<i>(dear santa, we want one of these for the backyard!)</i></div>
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we just had school at our house on friday and it was so much fun. </div>
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while we were getting ready for everyone to come, we had a little exchange that i have to share. </div>
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me: "ellie, you have to finish your cereal. your friends will be here soon!"</div>
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poppy: "ellie, your friends will be here soon!"</div>
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ellie: "poppy, they can be your friends, too. they can be our friends! we can share friends!" </div>
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poppy: "okay!" </div>
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my heart almost burst. seriously. and the thing is that they are all so sweet to poppy. they don't even treat her like the annoying little sister (that she can sometimes be). </div>
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love all these kids.</div>
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the girls met santa for the first time this year.<br />
in fact, i don't think they even really had a firm idea of santa until this christmas. now that they get it, they love him, but i think they still get the feeling that he's not quite all he's cracked up to be. we aren't very santa-centric in our house, even with the elves. we just don't take him too seriously, we treat him like the fun he is.<br />
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they were so sweet and happy about sitting on his lap. not one bit afraid, but maybe a little bit shy. (maybe, somewhere deep inside, they realized that they had met this santa before...)<br />
poppy just wanted to talk to santa about princesses. <br />
ellie asked him for a lightbulb. again with the lightbulb! she said it was for me. i finally came to the understanding that she wanted me to have a nightlight in my room, just like hers. very considerate (but i wonder... because of how often she sneaks into our bed, she possibly just wanted a nightlight for her "other" room). <br />
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besides learning a little more about santa,<br />
this christmas i tried to teach the girls about giving. i kept change in my pockets so that they could each put a little money in the salvation army buckets every time we saw one. </div>
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the first time we did it, ellie was slightly upset. </div>
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"no mommy, that's your money! that's for you!" she said. </div>
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so we talked about how some people don't have enough food to eat, or nice clothes to wear, fun toys, or warm houses and beds. i told her that, because we have all those nice things, we need to help people who don't.<br />
this made her more upset at first. </div>
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"no! mommy, no! i don't want them to take our house! i don't want them to take my toys!"*</div>
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so i took the opportunity to explain to her that nobody was taking anything from us, because we were sharing what we have so that others can have more. the more we shared, the more she understood. in the end she loved knowing she was doing her little bit to help (and poppy just loved putting money in the bucket, maybe next year she'll be ready to talk about it). both girls loved yelling "merry christmas!" to the bell ringers and anybody else that happened to catch their eye. </div>
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and my favorite thing that the elves did was bring money to girls so they could go
pick presents for toys for tots. the girls were so excited about the chance
to help santa give toys to kids who might not have very many toys. it
was great, and the girls loved it, but next time i'll have to leave a
little more time to do it.<br />
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as soon as we told her the idea, ellie really
wanted to give a train from ikea - and when she gets something
in her head she doesn't want to do anything else. unfortunately, we didn't plan well
enough to drive an hour one way into atlanta the saturday before
christmas to get that train. she wasn't as happy with her second choice
toy (a doctor kit), but surprisingly she wasn't even sad about giving toys away. she
was just sad that it wasn't the toy she wanted to give. (as for her grumpiness, she was coming down with the flu and the fever started later that evening, so i don't blame her.)</div>
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poppy loved giving her toy (a magic princess wand) and she thought the greeter at walmart was santa. she kept trying to show him the toy she put in the box and said "dat's santa. he my best fwend."**<br />
he didn't really notice but she didn't notice that he didn't notice so it was all good.<br />
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i can't wait to do it all over again. watching my girls being kind and generous just filled my heart. it really brought a special spirit to our christmas and i hope we can do even more next year. </div>
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*by the way, i'm so glad ellie is a girl who expresses herself and asks real questions. i know some kids go through that phase of questioning and asking "why?"
until your ears bleed, but i can't think of a time that i have ever been
annoyed with her questions. i don't recall her ever just asking "why?"
instead she asks specific questions about what things are, how things
work, and why we do things a certain way. and she really, truly wants to
know and listens to and understands the explanations.<br />
it's one of my favorite things about her. <br />
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**gosh, penelope is cute. i mean, i just can't get over it. i think two is just the most adorable age. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-38204913274019824942014-01-30T10:45:00.000-05:002014-01-30T10:45:00.571-05:00the day after. <br />
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these girls played in the snow for a surprisingly long time yesterday. </div>
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i was beginning to think maybe they were meant to live somewhere snowy.</div>
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then we had another twenty minutes of panicky screaming because of frozen toes and fingers and i thought... nope. </div>
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snow, you were fun while you lasted.</div>
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we'll see you again next year! </div>
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(but can you make it on christmas day next time?)</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-58689411011514841382014-01-29T10:53:00.001-05:002014-01-29T10:53:13.290-05:00the snowy day.<div style="text-align: center;">
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our wishes came true yesterday.</div>
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it snowed! </div>
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**unfortunately for many, many people, this weather has really hit the metro atlanta area <i>hard</i>. people have been stuck in traffic almost 24 hours, sleeping in their cars or finding shelter at local businesses. (all metro home depots have been open to stranded motorists. i really appreciate that mr. fowler works for such a good company.) kids had to spend the night at school. at least one woman gave birth in middle of the traffic jam. for the most part, the weather is bringing out the best in people and they are taking care of each other well. but still, our prayers are for all those who are trying their hardest to get home right now.**</div>
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we have it made here in athens. the snow started late enough for every one, including our daddy, to get home safely from work and school. he even made it to work this morning without any trouble. we're just here enjoying every minute! </div>
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we had the forecast the day before, and the girls must have felt the excitement because they woke up at 5:30 in the morning yesterday. </div>
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after lunch, when the flakes started falling, i tried to get the girls to look. </div>
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ellie: "no, those aren't snowflakes. snowflakes don't look like that. they should be sparkly and blue."</div>
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when the snow finally started to accumulate, they got excited. we went outside to experience it. </div>
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it was poppy's very first time in the snow. </div>
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it was just like one of ellie's favorite books, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snowy_Day">the snowy day</a>. she made footprints, hit the snow off the branches with sticks, and made the tiniest little snowballs. poppy discovered that the snow tasted like one of her favorite things: ice cubes. they loved it... until poppy's hands got cold and she didn't stop screaming for almost fifteen minutes after we came inside. </div>
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after daddy came home, everyone had a good nap (except mommy, but that's how it goes sometimes). we went back out - with gloves! - and played more. </div>
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ellie finally got to make a <i>real</i> snow angel! </div>
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snowballs! run, ellie! </div>
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poppy getting sneaky with a snowball.</div>
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they were so worried about leaving snowdog, but we knew it wouldn't be melting. they could hardly sleep, they were just too excited about the day.</div>
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the first thing they did this morning was check out the window to see if the snow was still there. </div>
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it was! they begged to go outside in their pajamas. we started our morning off right with some snow cream and some snickerdoodles and we're getting geared up for another day of playing in the snow, followed by plenty of snuggles.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-33128169633793011592014-01-28T09:23:00.001-05:002014-01-28T09:23:44.097-05:00elves roundup. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
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i just wanted a little roundup of all of cookie & dot's fun hijinks and adventures leading up to christmas.<br />
(that way all these ideas are in one place for next year, too!) <br />
<br />
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<i> the jingle bell necklaces were a hit! </i><br />
<i>the girls spread christmas cheer everywhere they went for days.</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
they are seriously so much fun. the girls looked for them every day for about a week after christmas, they missed seeing them in the morning (but i was glad to have a break, honestly). i did hear one idea that i think i'll do next year: instead of leaving christmas eve, they stay through christmas day to watch the kids unwrap their presents. i mean, how adorable.<br />
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elf on the shelf may be our biggest tradition so far at christmastime. we don't really do anything that takes a big effort - except this. i just can't help it with the elves. i love it as much as they do and it's so easy to make their day whole day a little more magical. </div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
i bet you can't believe i actually got a "new year" post in before february, because even i'm not quite sure how this happened.<br />
<br />
2014 has brought a case of the winter blues.<br />
after all the fun and craziness of christmas, new years, and for us, daddy's birthday and our anniversary, it's kind of a bummer getting back to real life. okay, it's a serious bummer.<br />
we miss the excitement.<br />
yesterday poppy went into the living room and asked, "mommy, where da tree go?"<br />
i told her it wasn't coming back until christmas again, and she was heartbroken.<br />
"oh no! it ruined," she said with a frown.<br />
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it's hard when daddy goes back to full-time work after having a day off in the middle of the week for two weeks straight. <br />
it's hard for us girls to get out of bed in the morning when it's a freezing polar vortex outside.<br />
it's hard to do anything but snuggle on the couch at night when it gets dark so, so early. <br />
we take every opportunity to get out when the weather is nice (and it is nice every so often), but most times we spend the morning baking muffins, waiting for our sunny playroom to warm up, and the evenings reading and watching our favorite shows under our warmest blankets.<br />
in other words, we're hibernating. <br />
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(it didn't help that we had the flu at our house for two weeks.)</div>
<br />
okay, so january hasn't been all bad. it's just a little slow and cold and moody.<br />
there is one really big bummer, though.<br />
even with the beyond freezing temperatures, we haven't had any snow! not even a flake!<br />
oh, what we'd give for just a morning of snow that melted by the afternoon. the girls have no memory of it ever snowing. they make "snow angels" on the carpet. some nights we put a bowl of water outside to freeze and it completely makes their day when we check in the morning and find a giant ice cube. actual snow would make the dreams of two little girls come true.<br />
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(sheets of ice on the <i>inside</i> of our windows during the polar vortex.)</div>
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<br />
come on, snow! we need a little cheering up!<br />
and freezing rain doesn't cut it. it just makes everything worse. <br />
<br />
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on a happy note, i think we're nearing the end of the blues. valentine's day is around the corner and it is less than a month until ellie's birthday! <br />
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(in the meantime, i'll be posting some of the things we did since i blogged last: christmas, parties, fun. anything to chase the blues away.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-51140961379171633172013-12-06T08:40:00.001-05:002013-12-06T08:45:05.113-05:00attention: santa<br />
this year, for the first time, we had the girls tell us lists of what they wanted for christmas so we could send letters to the north pole with our elves.<br />
<br />
wait, you remember the elves, right? cookie was our elf last year and
she was so fun we decided we needed another, and the girls named her dot
(short for polka dot). (note: poppy originally wanted to call her
cinderella, but she has several cinderellas and wants to call everyone
cinderella, including her pretend baby sister, so we went with a more
original name.) <br />
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<i>cookie and dot arrive</i></div>
<br />
<br />
cookie and dot have already been a lot of fun, but a couple of mornings
ago they weren't able to make it back from the north pole. the night
before the girls refused to go to sleep until it was almost ten and
they'd had a couple of time-outs. we even had the elves call and tell
them to go to sleep but the girls were too busy playing dress up and
making pretend birthday cakes. in the end the elves were just too tired
to make the long trip back and had to stay at santa's all day (uh oh). <br />
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<i>they brought snow!</i></div>
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<i> they girls are so amazed by the elves</i></div>
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<i>stuck at "the north pole"</i></div>
<br />
<br />
good news: we're back in action and ready for more fun. i hope we can keep up the good attitudes, because these girls sure do need some help in that department. i'm not sure if it's cabin fever or the holiday crazies but they sure have had a hard time when it comes to listening these past few weeks.<br />
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<i>they wrote us a special note on the chalkboard</i></div>
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<i>they decorated the little tree </i></div>
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<i>they gave us a list of holiday books to get at the library</i></div>
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anyway, without further ado, here are their lists as told to me (with a little prompting/translating from us - you know, asking questions and the like). also, they hadn't done this before, so they were a little unsure about what was going on (you mean we get to ask for stuff? he doesn't just bring whatever he likes?).<br />
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dear santa,<br />
i would like a bathtub, a baby bed, a potty, a mommy & daddy bed<br />
for the dollhouse and i would like a new rapunzel dress,<br />
a new lightbulb, a food cutter and a new stable, too.<br />
i would like even a new cookie cutter. a new flowered cookie cutter.<br />
well i would like candy, too.<br />
love, eleanor<br />
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dear santa,<br />
for christmas i would like cake, a pink elf too,<br />
olivia books (mhmm!), three cinderellys, pink candy, and that's all.<br />
love,<br />
poppy<br />
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notes for grammies: <br />
ellie is getting a couple of things that will cover the "food cutter" and "cookie cutter" requests. we are also getting a new nativity set that is for play, that's what she meant by "stable" (they played too hard with the tiny one we had and two wise men are missing heads this year). she does want new dollhouse furniture and i have no idea what she means by "lightbulb."<br />
apparently anything "pink" will make poppy happy.<br />
i'm sure we'll talk more about this before christmas, but i thought i'd give you some insight into their little minds. and they don't need much.<br />
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<i>the elves made us breakfast yesterday. said ellie: "let's hope they make this again tomorrow!"</i></div>
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<i>it's the little things that make them smile. </i></div>
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i can't believe christmas is right around the corner.<br />
please say a little prayer that these girls won't get any coal in their stockings (just kidding)(mostly). <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-47762594023445310722013-11-29T14:23:00.001-05:002013-11-29T14:23:08.413-05:00two years old!<div style="text-align: center;">
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our beautiful little girl turned two last week. can you believe that?! two! </div>
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we celebrated all weekend with her and it couldn't have been better. on her birthday we visited the zoo and, despite the chilly weather, it was a great day. the girls loved feeding the little birds and probably would have been satisfied just doing that the entire time. we had a dinner of pizza, her favorite. we had a big pink cake, because every time i asked her about her birthday she would say "PINK! PINK CAKE!" and i just had to make that dream come true. (adorable: we lit the candles and she immediately blew them out, before we could even sing.)</div>
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a little about her lately:</div>
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she is in full on little girl mode. she loves dress up, jewelry, princess, dolls, ponies, etc. she's still pretty rough and tumble, though, and likes "nunuh tuhduhs" (ninja turtles) and "pewpews" (guns). she loves "pwaygrounds" and can spot one from a mile away. if we are going anywhere, she always asks to stop at the playground while we're out. she and ellie are very active. it seems like she and ellie hardly ever walk, they prefer to run/jump/climb. they basically travel by parkour. they're both very active emotionally, too. they're so dramatic right now, too. when they are upset they'll say things like "i just can't do this right now!" (poppy's version is "can do dis!") and when they are excited they both let out high-pitched squeals and jump up and down. they love getting pretend scared and will let out great screams, usually in public. needless to say we get a lot of stares (and laughs) when we go out. they use their imaginations all day long and i love to hear what they're thinking. </div>
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one of my favorite things about poppy is her silent anger. when she gets hurt, whether it's physical or emotional, she will walk around dejectedly and sometimes just flop onto the floor and close her eyes, much like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VinOIVqWWWA">this clip from arrested development</a>. it is so hard not to laugh, especially when i know she really is hurt. she doesn't always do that, but that's what she does in public. at home she'll just belt out a long string of scream-words that don't really make sense but she sounds very upset. my other favorite thing is that sometimes she puts her hands over her mouth when she laughs, like a shy little lady. it kills me! </div>
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and speaking of which, she definitely has her own little language and i understand most of it but not quite all. i love to hear her say the princess names: "cindawelly! mehrda! no white! punzel!" </div>
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some of her catchphrases: </div>
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<br />"ah love it!!" or "oh, i lyke dat." (it's that long, southern "lyyyke")</div>
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"yeah, nummy nummy!"</div>
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"uhhhhh, wussatt?" (what's that?)</div>
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"daaaaad" (i love that she is calling him just "dad" lately.)</div>
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"check it ouh" (check it out) or "fine ouh" (find out)</div>
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"'mon. follow me!"</div>
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"dat's MINE!" </div>
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"no! don't do dis!" (when i buckle her in the carseat, etc)</div>
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"yay! fwends!" </div>
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she loves when you say "i.......love.......YOU!" with her and then point at each other. she'll say it and then laugh so hard and say "again! again!" if you let her ride on your back like a horsie she will deem you her "best fwend!" and she especially loves her "unkies" (uncles) and poppop for that reason. </div>
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she has really sweet moments when she will run up and hug people tight, pat them on the back, and give them kisses (and she always goes for the lips). she still has a hard time waking up and just wants to snuggle for a while, really tight. i love that. i have such mixed feelings about her growing up. i guess i'll just take as many snuggles i can get while the getting is so, so good. :)</div>
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two years ago i was dreaming about my brown-eyed baby. she's better than i ever dreamed. </div>
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penelope elizabeth, you're amazing. i love being your mommy. </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-60399181905881197232013-11-08T08:56:00.002-05:002014-01-31T15:25:55.039-05:00corn festival(s) part one.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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we have this great local farm with a pumpkin patch, corn maze, and activities in the fall. in the late spring it's all about the strawberry picking. get this: we had never been! well, we went once in the fall, but we only rode the wagon around once and didn't even take a second look at the pumpkins. ellie didn't care, she was barely 18 months old.<br />
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this year we ended up going twice, so i guess we we made up for lost time. the girls are at this perfect age for having fun and being interested in <i>everything</i>. basically anything is a good time when you're with them. we went to what ellie dubbed "the corn festival" first with some friends (it was so hot and sunny we all got sunburned) and then again with ellie's preschool group (and it rained on us most of the time) and each visit was so much fun.<br />
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these pictures are from our sunny, sunny day: <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-37229410946813248572013-11-06T09:28:00.000-05:002013-11-06T09:28:00.015-05:00halloweenies. <br />
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<i> i did not tell them to pose like this. they are seriously gazing at each other lovingly.</i></div>
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i really overdid it. i've always made costumes for the girls, but this year i got a little too ambitious. the girls are finally in a stage where they can entertain themselves and leave me alone (for longer periods of time, at least) to do big projects. so when ellie got her heart set on being merida from brave, i found a pattern online and made it into my own. i didn't want poppy to be left out, so i got an equally intense snow white pattern and told myself i could do it.<br />
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well, several trips to the fabric store for the right materials, lots of ripped seams, lots of interruptions, lots of chocolate, and some long nights later, i did it! they turned out really nice, and they are washable and durable so they girls can wear them for dress-up, too. part of me is more than ready for the next sewing project and the other part of me hopes that next year's costumes can be done with some makeup and a hot glue gun.<br />
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<i> we get this face a lot lately. </i></div>
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as usual, the days leading up to halloween were so exciting. every time we went to the store we had to visit "the spooky aisles" and the girls would shriek and laugh and want me to tell them about all the "pooky" and "cary" stuff. on halloween day we walked past a woman dressed as a witch at the store and the girls immediately started screaming their very best screams. i didn't even see her until they started screaming and the poor woman was so startled. then the girls started laughing and i explained to the witch that they loved spooky things and being scared. i think it made her day.<br />
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<i>she loved that it was a good dress for spinning. </i></div>
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the girls did trunk-or-treating one night and regular trick-or-treating the next, with a halloween party in between. it was just about a full 24 hours of partying. we're so lucky to have so many things to do and such wonderful people to do them with us.<br />
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on halloween night, we trick-or-treated in grammie and popop's neighborhood. ellie got tired pretty early and told me she wanted to go back to their house.<br />
"what about candy?" i asked.<br />
"i can just get candy from poppop."<br />
how about that for strategy?<br />
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they both ended up helping with handing out candy and i think they enjoyed it more than trick-or-treating. they were yelling at kids in the street to come get candy. poppy kept saying "kids! come ova heah! kids! come on!" and she handed them candy out of her own bucket. ellie helped herself to the candy while she waited for kids to come by (and i think that's another reason why she liked handing it out). they were so sweet, i think my heart almost burst. toward the end, ellie said, "this is a great night."<br />
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she was right. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-42915743788424582642013-11-04T14:39:00.000-05:002013-11-04T14:39:12.486-05:00falling for fall. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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this past month fall fell, and we fell for it. hard.<br />
<br />
we've soaked up every last minute of corn mazes, pumpkin patches, halloween parties, football games, and beautiful days at the park.<br />
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i've got a bunch of great pictures from our many events. i'm having a hard time deciding what to post first, and i'm working on all the posts right now.<br />
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today i have sneak peek with a few quotes, because these girls... oh man. they keep me on my toes.<br />
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some of poppy's newest catchphrases:<br />
"follow me!"<br />
"ah<b>love</b>it!!"<br />
"yeah! awright!"<br />
(she gets pretty excited.)<br />
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she's starting to speak in real sentences now, and i can understand about... 85% of what she is trying to say.<br />
last week she she was crying and came to me: <br />
me: "poppy, what happened?"<br />
poppy: "ah bumpah mah head." (bumped her head)<br />
me: "oh, i'm sorry, what were you doing?"<br />
poppy: "runnin' awound ih suhcuhs." (running around in circles)<br />
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and another morning she came into my room asking for something that, for the life of me, i could not understand.<br />
"nuhnuh tuhduhs, mommy!"<br />
another what?<br />
what turtles?<br />
she patiently repeated it for about five minutes later i finally understood that she wanted to <span style="font-size: large;">watch ninja turtles</span>.<br />
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as far as ellie goes, one word: sassy.<br />
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after gymnastics, we usually head to the playground for a few minutes before we head home. one day we made other plans and we <i>weren't</i> heading to the playground. after class, i watched as ellie stood up in front of everyone and announced: "we will not be on the playground today. we are going to make cookies! see you next time!" then she came to me and said, "don't worry mommy, i told my class that we can't play today." yep, you did.<br />
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lately when she says something rude, i try to correct her and tell her how she can express herself politely. it's totally backfiring, because not only does she have a polite/sassy reply, she imitates my tone. instead of saying, "let's go already!" she says "i'm sorry mommy, i thought you said we were about to leave." sheesh. <br />
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oh my children. where do they get this stuff?<br />
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keep on the lookout for the rest of our fall fun. :)<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-14248830479742253682013-09-27T10:49:00.000-04:002013-09-27T10:49:04.886-04:00rocky mountain high, part ii<br />
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ever since we went to utah, ellie talks about it. a lot.<br />
and asks if we can go back today. or tomorrow.<br />
and talks about real (and make-believe) adventures in utah with her grandma and grandpa.<br />
<br />since i hear there is snow on the utah mountains already, i thought i'd post a few more pictures from a sunday drive with grandma and grandpa in provo canyon. it was beautiful. and poppy slept the whole time, which was equally beautiful.<br />
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here are some memories:<br />
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ellie loves utah so much, she even made a proclamation: </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"did you know? i belong in utah." </span></div>
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i'm telling you, we should have teleportation by now.</div>
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it's just not fair to me, the one who has to break this girl's heart every day. </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184949252759070782.post-16709436658636264902013-09-22T19:09:00.000-04:002013-09-22T19:09:12.265-04:00last month: quotes<br />
it's fall, y'all. today it's official.<br />
<br />
another thing that is official: i'm officially bad at blogging. well, at keeping up with it.<br />
the honest truth is that i've had a rough month, but i don't know if i can keep saying that because it seems like just about every month is rough. in the past two weeks i had puking kids and literal trails of diarrhea around the house soooooo, rough applies. again.<br />
i guess rough is our norm.<br />
<br />
since i left the summer unfinished (to say the least) i thought i'd give you some highlights from the past little while in the form of quotes and some end of summer pictures. <br />
they're pretty good, because poppy has gotten a lot more verbal lately and ellie is a jokester. <br />
buckle up for the ride.<br />
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ellie: "uh, yeah, i don't think so, tim."<br />
(she has no idea what show that comes from.)<br />
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whenever poppy gets into predicaments (often): "hep, mama! hemme! hemme!" <br />
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ellie: "ugh! SUPER WHY! it's killing my ears!"<br />
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ellie: "poppy, you are wearing me out." <br />
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ellie: "mommy, you threw away my BEST balloon!"<br />
(it was a garbage balloon that she found running errands.) <br />
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poppy and ellie both get little spanks when they fight. we hate it, but sometimes it's the only way to break them up. they get pretty fierce, like, they do actual wrestling moves on each other. not kidding. last time poppy knew she was in trouble for fighting, she immediately said "oh! no 'pank me!"<br />
(and sometimes her charms work on daddy, and he pretends to spank her and drums on her bum instead.) <br />
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me: "sorry, we're all out of chocolate."<br />
poppy: "awwww!"<br />
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poppy: "p! p!"<br />
me: "yes, poppy starts with 'p.' that's good!"<br />
poppy: "p! p!"<br />
me: "that's right, 'p' for poppy."<br />
poppy: "poop!"<br />
me: "oh! you have to go potty?"<br />
poppy: "uh huh! pee! pee!"<br />
(great job <i>mommy</i>.) <br />
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<i>(don't worry, it is mostly grapes and only a little bit sand in her mouth.</i>)</div>
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ellie has a new thing lately - being worried, then relieved.<br />
examples: <br />
<br />
we had to go to the doctor and we were talking about it.<br />
ellie: "mommy, am i going to get a shot?"<br />
me: "no, not this time. i don't think you'll get a shot today."<br />
ellie: (wipes forehead) "WHEW!"<br />
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i told ellie about a friend who is having surgery. i explained it a little.<br />
ellie: "i don't want to have surgery."<br />
me: "you don't have to have surgery. someone else is having surgery."<br />
ellie: (wipes forehead) "WHEW!"<br />
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ellie has been going to gymnastics!<br />
every week, ellie asks: "is poppy old enough for gymnastics this week? i think she is getting bigger."<br />
poppy: "nastics me!"<br />
sadly, poppy is not old enough yet. <br />
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ellie's time-out advice: "poppy, you just gotta listen and say the right words."<br />
poppy: "o-tay."<br />
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we've watched some lord of the rings lately. ellie asked to watch it when she was awake and sick at 3 am. some of her comments:<br />
ellie: "can we watch the first one, with just one hobbit that turns the trolls into statues?"<br />
ellie: (every twenty minutes during the fellowship of the ring) "okay, so, next are they going to throw the ring into the fire?" <br />
ellie: "are those the misty mountains, mommy?" <br />
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poppy enjoys it, too.<br />
poppy: "hobbits! hobbits, mama!"<br />
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ellie: "when poppy was a baby, she chewed an animal's hand off of its body."<br />
(not true!!!) (creepy!)<br />
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<br />
commercials have been getting the better of them. because
of the frequent hot pockets commerical on hulu, ellie thinks hot pockets
are the tastiest idea in the world. she says: "i think hot pockets are
so delicious, mommy!" and we try to convince her they are not, in fact,
that delicious. she wants to have a party and serve hot pockets to
everyone. when she takes bites of food she'll say, "oh wow, that's hot!"
(from the commercial).<br />
best of all, they both will randomly sing
the little jingle together, and poppy can actually pronounce it very
clearly. "hot pockets!" <br />
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and my personal favorite is....<br />
<br />
me: "what should we have for dinner?"<br />
ellie: "bacon! i like bacon. poppy likes bacon, daddy likes bacon, you like bacon."<br />
me: "i do like bacon."<br />
ellie: "so prepare the royal bacon!"<br />
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yeah, all that cuteness kinda maybe almost makes up for the trails of diarrhea... </div>
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well, it's a close one. </div>
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see you later this week with more kid smiles and stories! </div>
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xoxoxox from fowlerland</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3