Just some tidbits, here and there…

– I can finally share the big news… my sister is having a baby! YAY!!! She’s due in mid-September, and we can’t wait to meet our little niece/nephew. Our three year old niece, Kendall, is super excited about being a big sister, even though at first she told my sister and brother-in-law that she’d rather just have Emma.

– It’s already February 2nd. I can’t even believe that, can you?

– Ana has become quite the conversationalist. In addition to talking all of the time (even if it’s nonsense that we can’t understand), she’s started answering every question with a resounding, “Of course!” and has started repeating most of the things we say. Wes was walking her up the steps at the church yesterday, saw an older gentleman at the door, and said, “Hey, Frank!” Ana raised her own hand (in imitation of her Papa’s gesture) and belted out a tiny little, “Hey, Frank!” of her own. (This prompted a brief discussion on how we’re to address our elders.) She’s just growing up too fast. I was getting her dressed for church yesterday, and when I pulled out her dress shoes, she told me, “I can do that.” And she put them on her feet and pranced off like a big girl. Sniff, sniff. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m glad for the help!

– Emma has discovered BC. Oh, she’s always known that BC is around and enjoys petting BC while she’s watching TV, feeding BC fish sticks from the dinner table, and pointing BC out to us. Lately, though, she’ll get down in the floor next to BC and just laugh and laugh hysterically at her. BC doesn’t know whether to run or lick her when she starts this. (We’re not sure what she finds so funny… but it’s hilarious to watch her!) Emma has also become quite the dancer as of late. I only have to say the word “dance” or some variation of it, and Emma starts swinging around her hips and shaking her arms, all while smiling. There doesn’t even have to be any music playing. She makes me so happy!

– I made a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies for the Super Bowl. Since Wes and I had the aforementioned chips and dips, I thought the girls would enjoy having some homemade cookies as a special treat. I brought them into the kitchen to get their cookies, and when they saw an old box of Ritz crackers next to the plate of cookies, they immediately started asking for the crackers! I give up. The next time I want to treat the girls, I’m just going to save myself the trouble and buy a box of crackers. They’ll love it! (They managed to eat the entire box of crackers since then, and when the crackers were gone, Ana told me, “Now I can eat a cookie, Mommy.” Em also requested a “coo-key.” Well, sure, if there are no crackers, cookies will have to do!)

– We booked the Disney vacation yesterday. Woo-hoo! Wes told Ana that we’re taking a plane to see Mickey’s house. Then, he told her, once we get there, we’ll have to take a train to see the castle. (You know, one of those tram/monorail things.) Now, Ana is convinced (and appropriately thrilled) that we’ll be taking a train all the way to Mickey’s house. Hmm… Emma is also excited about seeing “MeeMee,” as she calls him and is fascinated by the videos on their website. Yeah, I know we said we were going to wait for the check to come in before we booked anything, but we could pay for it now and found such a great deal on airfare that we just went for it. I have to admire/appreciate the fine folks at Disney who make booking an entire trip (airfare, transportation, tickets, rooms, even food plans) so easy. This whole process has been completely unstressful. We’re leaving on April 20th and will be there for five days. I think that many days might end up being overkill for such small children, but we’re going to make the most out of the experience and take things at their pace and speed. This will be a great time of the year for Wes to get away since it’s right after the Easter holiday and right before the heavy tourist season starts. We just need to get another super tall Maclaren stroller so that neither of us kills our backs pushing around the extra-short jalopy stroller that Emma has been using up until now. (We did the math, and for what stroller rentals would cost us, added with the inconveinence of being without strollers at the airports, it would be smarter in the long run to just buy another Maclaren. At the risk of sounding like a commercial for Maclaren strollers, I’ll just tell you that they’re awesome. Sturdy but lightweight, easily carried like a backpack, and tall enough that they’re easy to push for miles and miles. Totally worth the price.)

– I stopped to put gas in the car the other night. It took a long time because I didn’t know what side of the car the gas tank was on, I couldn’t find the button to release the door, etc, etc. It was during all of this that I realized something – this was the first time I’d ever put gas in this car! Wes had done it every time up until then. I’m sure he would have done it this time, too, had I not beaten him to it on a night that we were in two separate vehicles because he had to be up at the church earlier than I did. Anyway, this might seem like a really small thing… but Wes is good about so many things that the little things (like pumping gas for me) just go unnoticed sometimes. And while I can do something like this on my own (once I figure out my own car – ha!), I so appreciate a husband who makes taking care of all three of his girls such a priority. Thanks, Wes!

– The girls and I cleaned the house last week. I realized that I haven’t dusted the china hutch since we moved in (eww), so there was dust everywhere. I was coughing, Ana was coughing, Emma was coughing, and the dogs were sneezing. It looks sensational now… but I think I’ll have to re-wash all the china for my own peace of mind before we eat off of it. Other surprise moments were when I went to wipe down the ceiling fans, light fixtures, and all other high-hanging items. (I manage to do this once every few months, which is better than the china hutch but still not good.) How does dust collect and multiply so rapidly on surfaces like that? How does it even get up there? These are the kinds of things I sit around wondering about.

– I’ve been memorizing Scripture this year. One verse a week. Some verses are ones that I memorized at least ten years ago. Even without reviewing them in the meantime, I’m surprised to find how they still come to mind fairly easily, even when I didn’t even remember that I knew that verse. I’m excited to know that at the end of this year, I’ll have fifty-two pieces of Scripture that will be written on my mind and heart in a similar way. (Hopefully even better, as I make an effort to review them more often.)

Hope you’re having a great start to the week!