Big Sister Quote of the Day

The other day Addie woke up crying, which might be the first in a very long time. I heard Ellie get up and go into Addie's room to calm her down.

Ellie: Oh Sweetie, what's wrong? Ohhhh... Did you have a bad dream? Do you want me to snuggle wif you for a mindute? Ok. I can do that.

When I went in (it was time to get up for the day anyway) I found Ellie laying in the crib with her baby sister, scratching her back and snuggling. Addie's eyes were closed and she looked so secure.

Stained glass windows

Addie recently made a stained glass window at school, and everyone knows that Niffers LOVE stained glass windows. Apparently so does Ellie. She liked Adddie's stained glass window so much that she was anxious to hang it up as soon as we got home.

Ellie: Hey, Mommy, guess what?! For your bird-day you can hang dis up on your window. Oh! I know! You can hang it on my window 'stead!
Mommy: For **MY** birthday we can hang Addie's stained glass window in **YOUR** room?
Ellie: Yeah, it's for your bird-day.

The rest of the car ride home was filled with a joyous melody coming from the back seat:

"... Stained glass windows all day I ree-ah like dem stained glass window... Stained glass windows. Every day is like the same... Dey just help make my heart sing the same on every day. I ree-ah like stained glass windows and Addie likes them too... They are so pretty because they make my heart sing. Every day I'm happy. Stained glass windows. Stained glass windows... I ree-ah like my stained glass windows..."

Though I had never heard the tune before, I couldn't help but think the lyrics were near perfect.

And then, to top it off, Ellie colored me a picture of a pretty stained glass window the following day. She presented it like it was a Picasso, and quite honestly, I like it just as much!

Wordless Wednesday

Touche

Ellie: Stink of a number, Mommy.
Mommy: Any number? Like when I count to ten?
Ellie: Whatever number you want to stink of. I already know da number.
Mommy: You do?
Ellie: Yep. I already know da number you are stinking of because I already know dat.
Mommy: Oh? What number am I thinking of now?
Ellie: What ever number you just thunked.
Mommy: Ah. You're a smart one.
Ellie: I know dat.

Ellie's long distance relationship

About a year ago we visited some friends in New Mexico, who have a boy (Graeme) who is 4 years older than Ellie. They also have Olive (a year younger, almost to the day) and now new baby Callum (born in May). We have told Ellie that we plan to visit Graeme again soon and apparently she has been thinking about him ever since.

I've discovered Ellie singing to herself recently, and though I can't figure out what song she is singing, it has something to do with "missing you every day" and "walk with me in da woods" and "hug me forever."

And when I ask her what she's doing, she shyly says, "Oh, I'm just sitting here stinking about my Graeme. I am ree-ah es-cited to see him again soon."

Ellie on divorce

Ok, it's a bit depressing, but it made me chuckle non-the-less...

Ellie: Mommy we are not married anymore?
Mommy: We're not?
Ellie: No. You will not give me your ring so we are not married anymore.
Mommy: Oh, I'm so sorry, but my ring is very important to me.
Ellie: It's very important to me too so dat's why we are not married anymore and we're now DEAD.

I'm THAT parent now

When Ellie was about 20 months old (if my memory serves me right) another child bit her. The teachers at daycare told me about it (man was that a big bruise on her arm) but they never told me which child bit her. I always wondered if that was a sign that they never told the other parents, but I'm assuming it was because they didn't want me to hold it against the biting child.

However, Ellie was talking by then and she told me it was Lucas. The teachers were right to not tell me because after knowing which child bit my precious little girl, I had a hard time "liking" him. Every time he acted up, in my head I would think something about "yeah, and he bites too," even if the acting up was a normal thing for a young boy to do.

Well apparently it's my turn now. Little Addie bit little Michael yesterday. The teachers are not sure why and they said they were really surprised, but were also surprised when Addie (on her own accord) went over and gave little Michael a hug for his owie.

So... today I'm finding myself on the other side of the story and it's just an interesting perspective. I know it's "normal" for children that age, but it's a first for me. At least I'm comforted by the fact that she gave him a hug afterwards and knew she did something bad. Yay, partial credit!

Wordless Wednesday

Neighbors

Today's post is brought to you by the letter R. R for random.

Every now and then I wish that we had more kids in our neighborhood who are the same age as ours. Sometimes I look at the setup that my sister has with Adam's kids and their neighborhood and I get a little jealous. There are young children everywhere there and therefore lots of oppoturnities to have friends near by.

However, lately I've been finding myself more and more appreciative of the setup we have. No we don't have many kids the same age as Ellie and Addie, but one would have to presume that they will come out of hiding once Kindergarten starts and Ellie starts to ride the bus. Surely there are kids hiding in their houses that we aren't aware of. I've seen them from the corner of my eye.

And then there is Olivia. She's our next door neighbor and is beyond sweet. I remember when we first met her (just about to turn 7) we said "If Ellie is half as sweet as Olivia is, then we've done something right." I think we're on the right track.

But 3 years later and Olivia is still great. She LOVES to play with our girls. She actually ENJOYS it and doesn't see it as "a chore" to hang out with them even if they're so much younger than her. The result is magical. Ellie will go on bike rides around the block with Olivia. Addie will draw chalk pictures on the sidewalk with her. There are even times when Olivia "watches" both girls and keeps them both entertained while we take a break.

Olivia... we so very much appreciate you. I love watching how my girls look up to her as the "cool big kid." And I love being able to relax a little too.

Anyway... that's my random thought for the day. The end.

Tid-Bits

For the most part, Ellie is pretty good at sharing her stuff with Addie, but it made me laugh one day when was passing out candy and said "I will share. One for me and one for me."

One of the things I love about living in Gunbarrel (North part of Boulder) is the hot air balloons that take off nearly daily from a nearby park. Ellie loves them too and told me recently, "Hot air-o balloons are very special to me because dey make my heart sing." I couldn't have said it better.

I love how when you take Addie to Gramma's house, she automatically goes over to the shelves and starts handing you the stuff to put onto higher shelves. She knows how to child-proof places.

I love how Addie seems to enjoy my new stained glass photos as much as I do. She points to them and babbles a little every time she sees them, just to make sure you see them too.

I love that when I went to go wake up Ellie the first morning after we got back from England, she gave me a great big sleepy smile and then put her arm around me and went back to sleep.

I love that when Addie saw a picture book of bears at the book store, she squealed with delight and ran as fast as she could to the book to show us.

I love the fact that the first time Ellie ever tried the climbing wall at the rec center, she made it all the way to the top and rang the bell! Sometimes her courage astonishes me.

I think it's a bit strange how Addie insists that all dolls (including the Barbies) do NOT wear shoes. I wonder why.

Is there anything better than ice cream wars, where Ellie and Daddy fight over who gets the next bite, inevitably resulting in lots of laughter and giggles, perhaps even a snort or two, ice cream coming out of your nose or a toot - all of which create even more laughter? No, I guess that's as good as it gets.

I love how whenever Ellie sings the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" she bends over and pats her butt like the dog does in this video. Then proceeds to laugh and laugh, because let's face it... it's pretty darn funny.