Eden lately

Our sweet and funny girl... don't want to forget a few things that have happened or said the past month:

- The last line of our traditional meal prayer at my parents house is "thank you Lord for daily bread" and Eden quickly put her hands up in a question and scrunched up her face while saying "I don't have any bread?"

- The picture above is of her bible she got on Sunday. She already has a couple and one with her name on it but when we picked her up from bible class she ran aka. galloped down the hall while waving it in the air. She then had to bring it into the restaurant that we stopped for brunch. She had such excitement and joy to have her bible! Oh what an example of how WE need to be excited and joyful to have God's word at our fingertips. Thank you Eden for your genuine spirit and pure heart!

- Her continued love for rolly pollies, villains, rocks and squishy amphibian toys.

- We asked her a question at the table (in the picture above) and she said VERY slowly "Hmmmm.... let me see...." and after 2 seconds of pause she put her pointer finger to her chin to "think" We laughed SO hard and the best thing? She laughed too!! She knew it was funny =) I love that she can laugh at herself and doesn't get her feelings hurt when we laugh. Claire had a hard time with this even at a young age and still does but that's what makes them each unique. My girls can be night n day!

Totally Batty for Candy

This pictures CRACKS ME UP!! Earlier this week this girl was caught red handed with the most fitting shirt for the occasion=)



I was getting ready for work and Eden just seemed a little more mischevious than usual so I thought "I'll make my shower REALLY quick". As soon as I got out I called for her but she didn't say anything. Of course my heart started racing and I first checked the door to make sure it was locked. It was so I kept calling her name and I finally heard her. She was in the pantry with the door closed. I opened the door and there she was with chocolate chips in her hands and all over her mouth. She looked at me and said "I sowwy". It was the cutest thing and I had to just hold my laughter! Oh she keeps us on our toes!

Big Girl

Eden is now officially potty training and I've been surprised at how self motivated she has been! She has completely taken the reins on this one but I think that's why it's working out so well.

Back on Wednesday Eden went on the potty for the very first time... for Poppa! He didn't even realize that he got this first moment until I told him later! He and Elaine were over watching the girls while Neil and I got SPOILED with amazing seats to the Spurs game (HUGE thanks to Rachel and Dan!) It was a great night for all of us. I was a little sad I missed her first time when I'm with her all the time but I've gotten her 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. and it's been very exciting! She's getting the hang of it but I'm still letting her take the lead more than I did with Claire. If it's one thing I've learned in parenting, you have to be on your toes and ready to do things differently with your kiddos. They all have their personalities and learning styles and what a beautiful testimony to how God creates each and every one of us unique!

Two funny potty stories - I just can't resist! Eden does get a little motivation to potty by two chocolate chips =) SO now she says "Treat?" with the most adorable grin, scrunched up face and her shoulders to her chin. Of course I say she has to actually go to get the treat but then she says "Pee pee?" and I say "yes" and she says "Toot?" and just laughs because she's making a hilarious joke!! She thinks she should get a treat for a toot - SHE'S my little toot! I call her that all the time. Isn't that a lovely term of endearment?!

This potty story is one from Claire. The other day she was in the bathroom doing her business and yelled at me "I'm done" so I ask "did you wipe?" and she said "No that's a dirty job and I don't like dirty jobs" Guess she doesn't mind me doing them =) Don't worry, I didn't.

Sickie and some Funnies!

Eden's been sick this past week so we've gotten some cuddle time while she stayed home from MDO both Tuesday and Thursday. Just started with cough, runny nose and then fever set in Tuesday. Her breathing sounded very labored to me so gave her a nebulizer treatment Tuesday night and took her to see Dr. Gulde Wed. She LOVES going to Dr. Gulde's office - the fish tank, stickers, the TV, the attention but she isn't always keen on the nurse or Gulde himself. She did great with him this time! So still and quiet. All in all she tested negative for RSV and flu but he didn't like what he heard before and after her in office nebulizer. He is treating for RSV and we'll go back Wed. for him to listen to her lungs again. She has been feeling fine since Friday but we've been diligent in our 4 treatments a day! Her is the little sickie with her turtle, blankie and crusty nose - I didn't ask her to smile - she did that one on her own!

And so now I must tell you two funny stories! One for Claire and one for Eden =)

Claire LOVES the movie Thumbalina and at the end she almost marries Mr. Mole which isn't her ideal match since she is in love with Cornelius. Just the idea of marrying a mole is supposed to be repulsive in the movie so jokingly Neil asked her the other night "Claire, would you marry the mole?" and as serious as could be she said "If I loved him" and that made this mama's heart smile!! Pray she continues to follow that heart and be true to herself!!

Moving on to Eden's story. I think she's a little confused - poor baby! She's been hearing about baby brother for a while now and she's also been around a lot of pregnant women and their bellies (I know A LOT of pregos right about now!) The other night we were sitting in her chair doing our bedtime story and she pats on my bre*st (yes, we use the correct terminology in this house) and says "Baby?" and I say "No honey" so she pats the other one and asks again "Baby?" and I tell her that mommy won't have baby brother in her body like she sees other mommies. It was so cute. She's done two more times since then. It's interesting to see her process all of this as well =) I wish she could understand it a little better but she will someday!

A Train Ride

Two videos from our New Year's Eve day with the Zorn's at the zoo! Had a great time but riding the train and feeding the ducks were by far the girl's favorites! LOVE the giggles and screams of joy on the train ride =)

Untitled from Kathryn Lewis on Vimeo.

Untitled from Kathryn Lewis on Vimeo.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

You know you're getting old when...

your doctor tells you to get a colonoscopy sometime this year. WHAT?! I do have colon cancer in my family history but now? He just kept saying "Now that you're about to be 30...." yeah, he said it 3 times.... thanks for the reminder doc!

My 30th is right around the corner and I've actually been looking forward to it because I think 30 is going to be a great year! And when I think about all the things God will be doing with me and my family this next decade, I get excited. But I will admit that yesterday was the first time I really felt like I'm getting older. That and when I realize that some of my students were born the year I graduated high school!

Tact

So, teaching a 4 year old about tact is interesting... they are so brutally honest as times that you don't know whether to laugh or cry!! She likes to tell me point blank that I smell or that I need to shave. I tell her that even though I, or others smell (because I've been taking care of kids and haven't had time for a shower), you keep it to yourself. Or you can say "You need to shave Mom" with a little less of a disgusted tone =) Tonight's bed time convo was worth posting and it showed me that she just might be learning...

Claire looking at her fuzzy heart pillow that desperately needs a washing...

"Mom, that's daddy's gel on my pillow." (he likes to use it when he tucks her in)
Me: "Yeah, it's getting a bit dirty - we'll wash it soon."
Claire: "It's kind of yucky but I won't tell him that."
Me: "You won't?"
Claire: "Nope... he's kind of a good guy."

I laughed out loud and kissed her - she didn't want to hurt daddy's feelings. I think he's kind of a good guy too =)

Wizard of Poz

For about a month now, Claire has been asking about watching the "Wizard of Poz" - not sure why the P is in there but it's super cute! I hesitated because I didn't want the monkeys and witch to be too scary. Well, she watched it and LOVES it! She loves the singing and the characters. Her favorite being the "munch-ins" =) She said she wanted to be a "munch-in" for Halloween this year but I'm thinking I might have convinced her Dorothy would be fun because she has cool red shoes! There are a number of parts that we skip. On Sunday, she wanted to watch the tornado at the beginning and as soon as it started, both girl's snuck into the tent. We caught these pictures as they couldn't resist watching what would happen next...

The future's so bright....

I gotta wear shades!

Monkey See

Monkey do!!

Our little monkey has been watching her sister very closely the past few weeks. Today I found her doing the cutest thing! Here she is being a big girl brushing her teeth... tippy toes and all

She wants to be just like sister =)

Convos with Claire

A few light bulbs have gone off in Claire's head the past couple of weeks. I have two to share!

A couple weeks ago Claire was riding around with Billy and I and she saw someone smoking in the car next to us. This was the conversation:

Claire: "Mom, that lady's smoking. That's dangerous"
Me: "Yes, it is. It could make you sick."
Claire: "We should tell her mom!"
Me: "Oh honey... she already knows that she could get sick."
Claire: audible gasp - "What? She still does it? Why?"
Billy: "Sometimes people do things that they know are bad for them."

Claire was so confused by this. What a sweetie being so concerned for people. Just this week after just meeting a man, she randomly told him "I have to tell you something" which of course made me nervous because I didn't know what she was going to say! He asked "What?" and she said, "Smoking is bad for you." After finding out that he smokes himself, I was embarrassed but he quickly said "You know what? I think you were supposed to tell me that today because I've been trying to quite." Hopefully an almost 4 year old gave him something to think about! =)

The next convo was just this morning. We were on our way to drop her off at school and a song came on K-LOVE talking about someone coping with losing a loved one.

Claire: "Is this guy sad?"
Me: "Yes. He's singing about someone he loved that passed away."
Claire: "But they're in heaven?"
Me: "Yes. He's saying they are in heaven and he'll see them again soon."
Claire: "But Jesus is there! We shouldn't be sad."
Wow - she made me smile
Me: "That's right! We can be happy because they are with Jesus but it is still hard to say goodbye to someone you love."

Of course tonight before bed she was such a big girl and asked "Can we talk?" She asked to talk more about Jesus. Long story short she wanted to take her purse and turtle to heaven with her because she would miss them! I tried to explain that they were just things and we can't take anything to heaven with us. She wasn't too sure about this and was convinced that she would need them there because there aren't any toys in heaven =)

Tough things to realize and think of as a little girl but I'm so glad she is learning and asking questions. She's always wanted to know more and more and I pray she never stops asking questions and learning about everything around her.