Love, Me--Awww

Mikaela LOVES her baby sister and can't wait until Kerith is big enough to share bunk beds :)

Hats

Pre-4th of July Get-Together

Last night we went over to some friends' house for some good food and fellowship in celebration of the 4th of July. We had lots of fun and so did the kids. Mikaela just loves playing with the big girls, and she's in doll heaven at the Smythes' house :) And it's so cute to see the three 2-year-olds playing together--they're so funny!

My 2-Year-Old!

Well, we officially have a 2-year-old in the house now! On the day of his actual birthday, we went to some friends' house and invited another friend. They all had lots of fun playing together.

Little man is starting to talk more and more. It's so cute with his sweet little voice :) He also picks up all the things that aren't so nice that Mikaela says to him. He's getting so thick, and you just want to pinch him and squish him and tickle him :) His big milestones so far are being potty-trained (during day) and knowing his capital and lower case letters. He copies pretty much everything MJ does, from wearing her shoes to what she says to the very inflection of her voice. A couple of his new sayings right now: Hi, Yeyes (Kerith); sop it (stop it); Yeyes, nice...me (Kerith isn't being nice to me--ha, ha--also insert any other name); Pop's house; Manna's (Amanda's) house; I teeko (that tickles); I wok you (rock me); I cold; mine (he's a little too good with this one :) ); etc. All in all, he is so scrumptious, and we are so blessed to have him in our lives.

Elijah, Mikaela, Elyona, Joshua, Judah, Elijah & Nathan

Strong

The scene: Mikaela was carrying her container with her "big" dolls into a friend's house.

MJ: Mom, these are too heavy.
Me: You're ok--you're a strong girl.
MJ: Yeah, I am strong, Mommy.

Elijah's Pre-2nd-B-Day Party

On Sunday, we had all the grandparents and Auntie Monica and her gang come over to celebrate Elijah's soon to come 2nd birthday. Granddaddy and Grandma F got him a swing set; Pops and Grandma A got him a cool dump truck and a giant balloon of Lightning McQueen that got popped within 5 minutes by the ceiling fan :(, and Auntie Monica got him a tee ball set. I think we'll get lots of use out of these things. It's good we're finally getting some boy toys around here! The kiddos had so much fun with everyone here and were sad when people had to leave :( Thanks for everything and for coming!

Funny Kids

So little man is really beginning to show his sinful heart, but this one just cracked me up so much that any sort of teaching moment went right out the door :)

I was rocking Elijah last night and singing his song to him. Mikaela, who was in her bed waiting for her turn starts chiming in on his song. Elijah is facing me, so he can't see her, but as soon as he hears her singing, he made his "I don't know what you talkin' about, Willis" face, pointed his finger at her behind his back and said, "No! Bed--now!" I could barely finish the song :)
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Grandma A asked Eric if he knew where I kept the SOS pads. Mikaela's immediate response: "Try Walmart!" :)

A Couple More Family Pics

We went out to eat one day, and Elijah was totally out of it the entire time, so he slept on this couch they had inside. And Amelia and Mikaela had rainbow ice cream :)

My Cool Dude

Yummy--and No Clean Up on My Part!!

3 Months!

This little preciousness turned 3 months yesterday! She is such a little cutie, and Mikaela and Elijah just love their little sis--I hope they still love her so much when she starts taking their toys away :) She's getting to where she kind of laughs when Mikaela talks to her--it's pretty cute. She is still sleeping really well and has just been a pretty easy baby b/c she lets her mama sleep :)

Look--she's even signing "potty" to me! j/k But, yes, I do sit her on the potty. It's a pretty funny sight if you're not used to seeing a baby on the commode, but she actually does really well for me. Maybe she's going to be the one who's trained by her first birthday :)

"Ki-ten"

When MJ thinks we're playing with her or saying something to be silly, she says, "Are you ki-ten?!" (Are you kidding?!) :)

"Hat"

EM: (running into the kitchen--kind of sad-looking) "Hat!"
Me: Hat?
EM: Layla..hat..me (puff out bottom lip like he's about to cry) (Mikaela hit me.) :)

He's getting way too good at tattling--gonna have to work on that :)

"Whitey" Finger

The scene: cutting MJ's fingernails

MJ: Is this my big thumb (as I was cutting her thumbnail)? And are these little (talking about her other fingers)?

Me: This is your thumb, and these are your fingers.

MJ: (as I'm cutting her little finger) Is this my little finger?

Me: This is your pinkie finger.

MJ: No it's not! It's a "whitey" finger! :)

An Aha Moment

MJ: Mom, I'm gonna pick up my dolls!
Me: Huh?
MJ: I'm gonna pick up my dolls, and then I'm gonna pway with my amimals!
Me: Okay :)
MJ: I just had a great idea one! I'm gonna pway with my amimals!

BTW, she did actually pick up her dolls before going to get her animals out :)

The Limerick Challenge

This friend posed a limerick challenge. This is as good as it gets with me and writing stuff with rhymes:

I have a daughter named Mikaela

Who loves to dress as if going to a gala.

Her jewelry, shoes and crown,

Oh...and don't forget the gown,

Make her a princess who can sing acapella.

Cousin Fun

Last week, we got to go to visit my parents. MJ, EM & KL all had lots of fun with Grandma & Granddaddy, all the aunts and uncles and all the cousins. We looked like quite a sight to people at the mall with all our strollers and gear :) There have been 3 new additions since our getting together last year! Eric missed the family pic again--he was a day late :( I'll let the pics tell the rest of the story :) Enjoy!

Where Are You?

Eric had gone up into the attic to do some work. Here's EM saying, "Air are you?" (Where are you?) and MJ doing the same b/c they both have to copy each other :)

Kerith Pushing Up

Here's little miss pushing up and smiling with MJ and EM laughing and talking to her :) It's a little long--sorry.

Some Cute Water Pics

It's pool time again. Now that it's out, I'm hoping they get to play in it often! It's great to have kids who are worn out and ready for bed come bedtime :)

My Talking Man

**I teeko (can mean "I'm tickling you" or "that tickles")
**Pips (can mean "chips" or "Pops")
**kyne (as he's pointing--means Kerith is crying and he wants me to attend to her :))
**pit, tow (means Kerith has spit some bubbles and he needs to get a towel to wipe her off :))
**I paw-ee (he needs to tinkle)
**poo poo (he needs to poop)

And there's getting to be lots more--but this is what sticks out in my brain right now.

More From Mikaela

I had just gotten out of bed this morning. Elijah had already come in to tell me good morning, so Mikaela came in.

Me: Mikaela, did you stay in your bed all night like a big girl?
MJ: Actually, I was just scared. (she's started saying "actually" a lot--it cracks me up :))
Me: Why were you scared?
MJ: Well, Elijah just kept waking up, and he scared me.

I guess that means she slept some on the couch--not really sure :)
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Mikaela has been reading lots of different books to me, and we've been watching some "Little House on the Prairie" episodes. In her little mind, she's always combining things we see on tv and what we read in her books and then acts them out with her animals or when she's talking to us. Tonight she told me, "My little brother, Arthur, fell out of the tree on his stomach." :)
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Mikaela's been wanting Eric to get her plastic swimming pool out so they could swim in it. So today he finally did. When she saw what he was doing, she came to me very excitedly and said, "Mama, Daddy got the swimming pool out, and now I can go put on my pink swimsuit! Isn't that amazing?!" :)

Pics at the Park

Too Sweet!

Watching TV With Daddycakes

Searching...

My sweet girl was looking for her cup or something earlier and couldn't find it and said, "It's nowhere to be found."

I'm not sure why that sounded funny to me, but it did--the things she remembers :)

"Mama--I'm Mary, and Ewijah's Joseph!"

Playing With Little Sis

Wips (Lips--lipgloss)

The Joys of a Sleeping Baby

At 8-weeks-old, this little preciousness has slept 8 hours for Mommy and Daddy for two nights in a row now!! And then she sleeps another 2.5 hours after that! Could this be a trend?! Even if it's not, this little one has been an awesome sleeper from the start. I don't know if it's just her or her bed, but she will continue to sleep in her little hammock bed as long as possible! Mommy functions so much better when given ample sleep time :) She is also smiling quite a bit now. This morning while nursing, she had to stop a couple of times so she could look up at me and smile--so cute. And she is very curious already. There have been a couple of times when MJ and/or EM were around, and she had to stop eating to see what they were doing :)

Each baby has seemed easier to me. I don't know if it's because my perspective of "easy" changes a little each time or what, but right now, Kerith is an easy baby :) Don't get me wrong--she does her fair share of crying--it just happens to be during the day and not at night :) And she gets held quite a bit too, but that works great with me b/c I like to hold her and so do MJ and EM :) And she's nice and chubby, so I don't have to worry that she's not eating enough :) She is oh so cute!

Mikaela's New Name

Mikaela Samantha Joy Axelson Burr Julia :)

Sun, Moon and Stars

MJ: Why was Kaferine tired?
Me: She stayed up too late and had been swimming. The sun makes you tired.
MJ: The moon makes me tired. And I think the stars make Elijah tired. :)

So I've been trying to get a good picture of Kerith at this age to put up on our wall. She has started smiling recently, so the other day I thought I could catch a few. Some of these, I know I wouldn't pick, but they're just kind of funny. I can't decide. Do I even pick any of these, or do we just make a trip to Olan Mills? :)

"Shoe Fly"

Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz (fly buzzing around the dining room while we're trying to eat)
Me: Shoo fly!
MJ: (whining) I don't wike shoe fwies!

A Note on Numbers

I've started working with MJ on recognizing the numbers 21-100. Here is a list of numbers I would give her: 92, 56, 38, 26

Here's her answer:
MJ: "ninety-two, fifty-six, thirty-eight, two-ty-six" :)

A Conversation Between MJ & EM

EM: "Wo Wo" (Word World)

MJ: "Don't say that."

EM: "Wo Wo"

MJ: (as she's laying on the pillow on the couch) "Pwease don't ask me that again."

Conversations Between MJ & Mom

This girl is sooo funny and is always saying things that crack me and Eric up. Here are a couple of recent conversations.

MJ was sitting on the potty, and I came in to see if she was finished.

MJ: "Mom, the baby's just tryin' to come out."

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As many of you other nursing moms know, when it gets close to feeding time or if the baby starts crying or something, your body naturally starts "letting down. So I normally will just hold my chest really tight with my hands to stop the flow :)

MJ: (with her hands on her chest) "Mom, my milk's just coming out."

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Mikaela has gotten pretty good at knowing the different rings on my phone and who they belong to. So one night I was cooking dinner, and I hear, "Mo-o-o-m, it's your sister!" Sure enough, my sister had just called. I just think it's funny that she actually knows everyone's rings :)

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This was a couple of weeks ago. They'd been watching an episode of "Word World" where Bear is helping Sheep learn to ride a bike, and every time Sheep would want to quit, Bear would tell to to not give up.

Me: (After Eric's phone cutting out on me multiple times and me trying to call him back multiple times) "I give up!"

MJ: (running over to me, putting her hand on my shoulder) "Don't give up!"

I just lost it :) Obviously, these are all much funnier in person :)

Elijah Update

Well, for about two weeks now, I can finally call Elijah officially potty-trained!! He started out telling me by signing "potty," but for the past two or three weeks now, he just says, "paw-ee," (potty). Part of the test is taking two long trips to Walmart without having any accidents :) So, what do I consider "trained?" Whenever he consistently is wearing underwear and telling me he has to go without going in his pants first. We do still wear a diaper during naptime and nighttime. To me, "trained" means during wake times :) And yesterday he even started pulling his underwear up and down on his own! Yes, there will still be accidents, but they are much further apart now. Now it's Kerith's turn :)

He has also started to take an interest in the alphabet (after many, many, many episodes of "Word World" on PBS :) ). He even knows quite a few of the lower case letters! I don't feel like I've really worked with him a whole lot on his letters. I guess it just means more when it comes from a talking pig, duck, ant, bear and sheep :)

Recently, he has started calling me "Mommy" rather than just Mama. It's pretty cute :) And in the last couple of days he's started saying "nope" instead of just "no." A couple of other things he's learned from MJ: the letter B is B-yuh, bye is bye-yuh, go-uh, o-wuh, no-wuh and so on :)

And a couple of the funniest things right now are when he says, "I re-ee!" (the first e being short--for "I'm ready") when we're in the car about to pull out of the garage :) and "I d it!" (I did it! after going to the potty or pulling up his pants, etc.).

My Talking Copycat

My little man is finally starting to say more and more words. Here he is saying "Layla" (Mikaela), Dak (short for Daddycakes), and I still can't quite make out what he says for Kerith. I figured I better get this recorded soon before he started saying their names correctly. I almost hate to correct this stage of talking :)

And here's my little man copying MJ. He literally copies almost every single thing she does. I can't ever get to my camera soon enough though to get all the things he copies when they run around the table like this. Maybe b/c I'm usually laughing at how accurate he is in copying all the things she does. I managed to get a tiny piece though, so here it is :)

A Couple of Mother's Day Pics

Unfortunately, my sweet, wonderful, awesome husband can't read my mind on how to use my camera and take pictures the way I would like for him to (hence the very clear, dirt background). And there were a few mosquitos that were freaking MJ out. So put together an uncooperative kid, a non-photographer husband and a mom who's making us all late for church, and this is all you get :)

Kerith's First Coos

This is pretty much for the grandparents and family to see, I know. But Kerith is starting to find her voice, and it's pretty cute :)

More Splash Park Fun!

Well, it's that time of the year again when they turn on the water at the splash park! The park is about 30 minutes from our house, but it's free and is totally worth it b/c we usually end up spending 3-4 hours there. We're going to make a real effort to make it as many Fridays as we can. Last week, the water was on the whole time we were there, but today, it didn't even come on until around 12:30 and was still having some problems. MJ LOVED the water last week and still got in it today, but the 2-year-old boys are all scared of the water right now (or something). Elijah copies everything else Mikaela does, so I thought he'd be right in it with her, but he still didn't want to get in today :(

Last week, one of the other moms asked me if it's been any harder with three kids. The only thing I could think of was that I don't get to take as many pics as I would like b/c I seem to always have a kiddo in my arms :) Oh well--I like having them in my arms, so I guess that means I'll just have to have fewer pics sometimes!

Here are some pics of what we were able to get last week and today.

What a Dork!!

On Tuesday, I thought I should actually get my kiddos outside and try to get them to run around some. Eric gives me a hard time about keeping them confined within our 1000-square foot house :) Well, the mosquitos have been pretty bad. Elijah's legs had looked like we put him in a mosquito pit or something. So I got everyone outside, went inside and grabbed the Off and started spraying everyone down (except for Kerith). When spraying, it surprised me at first b/c the spray came out of the top rather than the side and it bubbled up white on our skin. I thought this was kind of weird but didn't stop. Then I thought, "Wow, they really have made this stuff smell better--it smells very fruity." I went to take the Off back inside and happened to look at the can to see that I'd just sprayed all of us down with Mango Splash Glade air freshener :)

Our Future Baseball Player??