Hide and seek

Gloria really played her first game of hide and seek today with the big girls. I usually carry her with me when we play (which means I am always the first one found!). Today, after tagging along with me a bit, she went over to the counting spot and yelled "nine" about five times. Then, with this contagious little giggle went to find the girls, who had taken the clue and ran off to hide. She repeated this about six times and then announced, "Amen." We all laughed and figured that meant she was finished!

A little update

Well, the girls finally had their second soccer classes Friday morning, and Pawpaw and Manah were here to see. They did so great! Mariana was timid at first, but she really warmed up this time and impressed us all! Allia had a great time too. I don't have photos this time due do the really foggy, sticky, wet icky weather (can you tell I don't like humidity?), but I can't complain because at least the rain held off until the very end of Allia's class! They also received their shirts...and you will never guess what color Mariana picked...

She looks like a bright ray of sunshine with the orange shirt and orange hair!


Also, we are having potty training success!!! Yes, you read that correctly! Mariana is finally not going tee tee in the tub anymore (whew!!!). She now goes solely on her little potty. She even poops on it now except for an occasional dirty pull up at naptime or in the morning. She wakes up dry about 6 out of 7 days a week. She has even started asking to go or just going by herself and then calling me for help to wipe, etc. instead of only going when I make her sit on the potty. Therefore we are having many less accidents! I am SO excited. I thought it was a hopeless cause for a while there, so YAY MARIANA!!!! I am so proud of you, big girl!

Grandparent fun

Gloria enjoyed our visit with Manah and Pawpaw!

pretty

A pretty picture


And a pretty girl!

Manners

A long time ago, my mom got us this little book



Allia recently discovered it and read it on her own during rest time. It was great! (good job, Manah). Now she is really trying to practice what she learned (of course she is only 5 1/2 so she still does miss some opportunities for practice!)

A few examples:

The other day we received a birthday party invitation. I was discussing with Allia the fact that we probably would not be able to go.

Allia: Well, mommy, then we need to call them because my manners book said that if somebody invites you, then you have to call and tell them if you can come or not.

Also, the other day we went for a walk and ran into a neighbor who is overweight

Allia: (smiling after we start to walk away) Mommy, I noticed that man has a very round belly, kind of fat.

Mommy: (whew!!! glad she waited to tell me that) Allia, that was very good for you to wait until they were gone and whisper that to me. God makes people in all shapes and sizes, and we would not want to hurt someone's feelings.

Allia: Yep. That is what my manners book told me.

Weekend gardening

Allia was really Daddy's big helper yesterday as they planted some things in the garden. (Mariana was pretty tired yesterday, so she kind of just watched until naptime). Allia was rewarded for her hard work with a nice tall glass of gatorade (which she really liked) and the treat of getting to spend rest time out on the back porch reading with Daddy. They were two peas in a pod!

Finished!

Whew! I am actually finished, and we are so happy with our bedroom! Yay! (Of course, it is not perfect, but you can't see the little imperfections unless you get really close.)

A lizard!

The girls caught a lizard, and Gloria got to hold it!

Spring Break

We are having a relaxing week getting some extra things done and having a little extra "Daddy" time after a busy few weeks. We went to the park on a pretty warm day, and the girls were begging to go to the pool. So we decided to let them take a little dunk so that maybe they would stop bugging us. The water was SO cold, but after Allia got used to it she ended up swimming around a bit...in her clothes!




Today we had the highlight of our week...a trip to the Zoo! The girls were really looking forward to it, and we all had a really great time. Tia Nana even came with us, which made it extra special!





We were able to see this baby elephant's momma get a bath. It was so neat! She was lifting her legs and turning her head, flapping her ears. When it was time to spray off her underside, the zookeeper signaled her, and she did a handstand. What a show!


Gloria must have said "wow" about sixty three times today! But she was often in awe of the little things...pretty flowers, a turtle or fish in the water of the bear or tiger exhibit. It was cute to see the different perspectives of the girls.


This leopard was gnawing on a bone. We got to see his big pointy teeth in action!








These monkeys were really entertaining!




And of course they loved the petting zoo!




Both girls agreed that one of their favorite animals was the giraffes. I thought this was funny because the giraffes really didn't do much. I guess it was just neat to finally see them in person! My favorite (besides watching the girls in their sweet amazement) was definitely the elephant bath!

More words and a ponytail

Gloria's vocabulary continues to explode! Some of my favorites from the past week:

Aaaaammmm (Amen...she says it exactly the same way the other girls did at this age!)
Tiyyya (tortilla, this one is for you, Lita!)
Puh duh (puzzle)
Keee (kix)
Dowww (down)
Ton (tongue)
bat (bath)

And her first ponytail yesterday. I just didn't want to have to brush her hair out of her face all through mass. She actually left it in all day! (not so with bows or clips-I've tried).

She really likes this little perch. She can reach the buttons for the play microwave and pretend to cook things in it.

Redecorating

It definitely says "spring," don't you think? Way better than that drab maroon. It really was getting a little old.

Danger?

Well, Gloria can now climb up into Allia's top bunk quite quickly all by herself. And she loves company! She assumed this position tonight and suddenly had a few visitors join her. I felt secure enough with her legs in there and sisters nearby to sprint for the camera!

Soccer

We had the girls' first day of Hot Shots soccer (a little non-competitive soccer program for younger kids at our neighborhood park). They both did great. Mariana wanted me there the whole time, so poor Gloria had to look longingly at the park for 45 minutes. But we all survived, and both of the girls had a great time. I did not get photos of Allia playing since by her class, Gloria was way ready to play at the park. But here she is afterwards with the patch she earned for participation today.







*Edited to add that Allia wore these shin guards all day. She even napped in them (yes, she was so worn out that she took a nap!) and only took them off for bathtime!

WORDS

I made a list of the older girls' words at 14 months because it seemed like their vocabularies just exploded at that point. I think Gloria actually had her explosion a little earlier, but for consistency's sake, I waited to make her list until now. So here it is...

Da-deeee (Daddy)
Ayyya (Allia)
Mannah (Mariana and/or Manah)
Seesah (Jesus)
Maayeeee (more)
Ah, duh (all done)
Deeeee (drink)
Tay ceeooo (thank you)
Nigh, nigh (night night)
Hieeee (hi)
Bye bye
Daaaa (dog)
Mow (cat)
tuh, tit (touch it, as in her diaper when I am changing her. I tell her "don't touch it, and she says "tuh tit" over and over while she tries to touch it!)
bahdoo (balloon)
Tuhtuh (turtle)
pat,pat (on one of us, usually followed by "awwww" because that is what we always say)
Seeuuu (shoe)
Wow
Pati (paci)
Sih sit (when standing in her rocking chair waiting for me to notice)
Nooooooo (nose as she points to either her nose or someone else's)
Mouuuuuw (mouth, sometimes she points)
Up (as in hold me)
Baaaah (ball)

What a talker! And I thought the other two were verbal. Whew! I am sure there are a few others I am forgetting, but I will add them later if I need to!

You want WHAT?

After finishing an NFP teaching session this evening, I returned to my family to enter this post-bathtime conversation:

Allia: Pleeease, Daddy.

Daddy: No, sweetie.

Allia: Mommy, will you please blow dry my hinee.

Mommy: What? Silly girl, we blow dry your hair not your hinee.

Allia: Well, Daddy does it for me sometimes. Daddy please. I didn't dry it enough with my towel.

Mommy: Do you have hair on your hinee that needs blow drying? (I was trying to help her realize the silliness of her request).

Allia: Yeah. Here look. (Mommy gets mooned).

Mommy: Nope, I don't see any hair there. We are not blow drying it.

Mariana: Here, check mine. (Mommy gets mooned again!)

Mommy: Nope. No hair. Now can we please just get ready for bed?!