And the answer is...

I've always heard horror stories about children saying outrageous things to strangers. So far, Lily has responded with normal answers to questions.

Today, however, she said something perfectly true, and neither rude nor grotesque. Just...shall we say, strange? I took the kids to the post office, where there is a six foot square room filled with people standing in line. When we apologetically squished in, the room was maxed out. It's always rather awkward, being shoulder to shoulder with perfect strangers, everyone holding large packages, trying to herd your children out of the way, and no one's really talking.

Finally, the littlest white haired grandma I have ever seen bent down and said hi to Lily. Lily smiled and said hello back (I breathed a sigh of relief). Then the lady asked her, had Santa brought her any presents this year? What was her favorite? The room was quiet, all the nice benevolent strangers listening. I wait for Lily's answer, all her beautiful presents flashing through my head-dress up clothes and shoes, baby dolls, books, music...

And Lily, looking up with her sweet innocent eyes, responded, "My icky ICKY bug."

Thanks Nina.

Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas!

Stories to remember

We’ve been telling Lily the Christmas story lately, of course, and it’s really sinking in. Today we were driving and Lily saw a building with a somewhat fierce looking grey haired king painted on the side. She called out in a frightened voice, “Look mommy! There’s King Herod!”

Lily loves a little stuffed black lab puppy which she borrowed from Aunt Nancy. When she wanted to name it “Lady” I told her that Lady is actually a brown cocker spaniel. She replied, “Well, actually, this dog is brownish black.” I stand corrected.

Lily is also learning the hard lesson of not bossing around Jonathan. Yesterday, though, she figured out a way around the rules. “You know, mommy, when I grow up then I’ll be Jonathan’s mommy and he’ll be my big sister and then I’ll tell him what to do. Won’t that be so fun?” Relationships are SO confusing!

Sleep over!

My cousin Alice and both my grandmas spent the night, and as if that wasn't enough, we all went to the Disney on Ice Princess show the next day! Lily's favorite part was watching the prince fight the fire breathing dragon to save Sleeping Beauty. Notice in the pictures how red the girls' cheeks are-not from the heat, but from the show!

First Snow!

Anna Visits!

We love Jonathan! (Especially his hair)

Lily makes a baby pile

Wilkins visit

Kajsa came with the kiddos to visit, and Lily LOVED Madeline. She and Jonathan are only a couple weeks apart!

Smarty Pants

A couple weeks ago, while Lily and I were reading, she said, "Mommy, let's take a hiatus. You know, a break." Uh huh, I said to myself. Then today, we had this conversation.

Lily: "I need a hiatus!"
Mom: "Lily, do you even know what that means, really?"
Lily:"Yes mommy! It means, I'm full of beans!"

Our bumblebees

Lily had a great time at the local church festival. Whenever she finished a booth and reached for the candy, she always chose the biggest lollipop she could find. Jonathan enjoyed himself but did not especially like the tights. Sorry buddy, your black pants could not be found. The highlight of the evening was definitely trick or treating Nancy, Marc, and Kyla!

Update

To bring you all up to date, we've moved to a new house at the lake. We love the area so much that we couldn't resist moving...just twenty five minutes away. And now we have a beautiful view, we're a block from Nancy, Kyla, and Marc (our family), and we couldn't be happier. Luke is in his first year of residency and enjoying it, and I'm with the kiddos at home having a rip roaring time. The new place is a little sixties, so we're picking out paint, doing a little remodel, and above all, tearing off wallpaper. A lot of wallpaper. Elk, pinecones, roses, boating scenes, plaid, teacups, you name it. I'll admit I got just a little depressed when after removing two layers off one huge wall in the living room, I discovered three more underneath! One for each decade. Yep. But we have all winter to work, and then when summer rolls around it is a mere block to the beach and it will all be worth it!

Silly kids

I just love my kiddos!!

Annual trip to Greenbluff

Spirits were running rather high.

Moscow fun

Lily is really enjoying trips to Moscow primarily to visit cousins. She and Alice love playing pretend games together. Here's a pic of Mackenzie a few days before Miles arrived. We tried to make it, but since he was a whopping eleven days late we missed it. We have since visited and Lily was so happy to hold him!

They say we look alike

Jonathan with uncle and grandpa. Definite head shape and ear resemblance. Features are a Grauke blend however.

Happy Cousins

Yes they do!!

Making breakfast

Every morning we watch the sunrise and enjoy the warmth. It's very relaxing!

Double bath

The bathtub in our new house has an annoying plug which will not stay plugged. End result, the kids went into the sink until we can get it fixed. And as for the hat, well, you find all kinds of hidden treasures when you move.

We've moved!

We moved. And this is how much fun we've been having. And here's our new view (of course that was a month ago, now the leaves are gone!)

Happy siblings

This was the first time Jonathan couldn't stop laughing out loud at his silly sister. This went on for a long time, so here's just a snippet.

Compliments

With the accuracy of description only a two year old possesses, Lily lined up her potato head family and said, "Look! It's Nina, Pa, and Jeremiah!"

In Which Jonathan is Tolerant

Saucer time

Happy Boys

The kids had fun playing with cousins over the weekend. Lily and Alice hugged affectionately and played dolls, while Clive walked over to Jonathan, squatted, and in the spirit of male bonding, offered him a car to chew.

Lofty Speak

This morning Lily was eating her oatmeal and proclaimed (and I quote), "I would also like raisin toast, quesadillas, cheese, and milk. I would like to have all these delights."

Lately

Part of the Covenant

Camping Trip

We had a fabulous weekend camping with all the family. As you can see from the pictures we had an absolutely fun time. We skim over the half hour of near panic which ensued from Gus locking himself and the keys in the cab of the truck. He couldn't push the right button, but he could open the window and crawl through the back into the camper. Ahh. This is living.