A very Happy Birthday (plus two days!)

Happy Birthday to a very special lady, my Great Aunt Dort (the girls' Great Great Aunt Dort!!)!  

We love you!

Easter 2012

What a wonderful Easter celebration we had this year...

We kicked things off with an egg hunt at a local church Saturday morning.  We quickly learned not to show up late--even a couple of minutes--because children are like locusts and it takes next to no time for them to clean house.  Luckily, my sweet Emmy was OVERJOYED to have eight eggs ( four of which were given to her by a really nice lady) in her basket!  We'll know better next year (not that she needed any more candy...)

Checking out her loot before the illusionist show!  We couldn't stay too long because she saw a pink bike near the stage and excitedly proclaimed, "My tricycle! My tricycle!" and started running towards it in the middle of the show...

Finally a picture with the four of us!

We made Easter eggs that afternoon:

I was on high alert having Emmy so near to so many cups of colored dye.  Especially when she started mixing them.

Most of our eggs were cracked as she chucked them into the cups.

Easter eve...If there was ever a question that we have lap dogs...

Grandma's Easter bread!  Didn't taste quite the same as when she made it, but then nothing does.

Our attempt at a pre-church family photo via an old diaper box and the timer feature on the camera.  This is the best one of the crop.  I am laughing at it now, but, at the time, I found no humor in my 2 year old's crazies.  Poor Hannah.

I threw the camera in the car to attempt to get some pictures after church before Nick went to serve.

Later that afternoon, we joined up with our wonderful friends from church for an Easter celebration:

My girls after the egg hunt!

Emmy's buddies!

Emmy on the prowl.

The little kids getting coached by their mommies and daddies.

I seriously can't stop thinking about our friends' home.  I snuck up to their loft to feed Hannah and this was my view.  Pretty sure everyone thought I'd left because I was up there so long salivating over the backyard.

LONGEST. WEEK. EVER.

During a dinner conversation last fall, Nick informed me that one of his work projects would be serving as a coordinator for the Army Aviation Association of America's (AAAA) annual convention at the Opryland Hotel.  I distinctly remember him finishing up his explanation with: "...so I get to stay at the Opryland for nine days, isn't that awesome?!"  I also distinctly remember thinking to my eight months pregnant self, "That sounds like the opposite of awesome."

Fast forward a handful of months, the convention has taken place over the last week and a half (as did "spring break" for Emmy's Mom's Day Out), and I am not shy about admitting that I couldn't be more bitter of my husband for his current residence.  I'll give it to him that he has worked very hard on this convention, so he certainly deserves whatever perks might come his way; but, man, there's not much that I wouldn't do to get a break from the circus that is my home.  No rest for the weary, I tell you!

Jealousy fueled my bright idea to pack the girls up, hire a pet-sitter and drive down to Nashville for a sleepover with Daddy last night.  We arrived just 12 minutes before the closing call of the convention, which allowed us to sneak a peak at the expansive space filled with displays representing every army aviation organization under the sun, including the 14 aircraft that Nick helped to bring in.  Emmy, wearing her very own visitor's pass necklace, had a blast touring the different helicopters.  Nick was beaming as Emmy excitedly sat behind the controls. She started counting them at one point and decided there were 10 buttons.  (She likely came to that conclusion because 10 is the number she typically stops at, I'm pretty sure there are more than 10 controls inside a blackhawk helicopter.)

A quick wardrobe change and we were off to the pool.  Emmy is FEARLESS in the water.  Good gravy, she was making me nervous!  Nick was completely in control, though, as she hurled herself at him repeatedly from the side of the pool.  I need to get that girl some swimming lessons!

We quickly cleaned up and headed out to burgers and fries and ice cream for dessert. (I was salivating over the upscale restaurant options, but we'll have to wait until we have a childless outing for that kind of experience.)  Emmy was, quite literally, like a kid in a candy shop.  That energy barely wained by 11:30pm last night.  After three hours and two separate drives around the greater Nashville area in attempt to subdue our Emmy's giddiness, we packed up the car and the girls and I headed home to our own beds.  So much for the room service breakfast in bed I had so hoped for. :-/ It was good while it lasted...

Mr. Clint's little co-pilot.

Counting "buttons."

Sitting inside a Chinook with Dada and Emmy's new doggie souvenir.

Inside the Chinook.

My view while feeding Hannah...Completely engrossed in the Disney Channel.

Hannah gets her own cuddles in.

I want an indoor pool.  You can swim in thunder storms AND you don't have to put sunblock on!

My beauty.

The girls had to have matching suits.  I couldn't help myself. 

Watching the awesome water show while waiting for dinner!

I handed Emmy her ice cream cup, and as I ordered for Nick and I, I hear. "Ali, where's Emmy?"  We frantically look around only to find her sitting quietly at a table shoveling chocolate ice cream and "nummy bears" into her mouth.

Reading her "bedtime" story several hours before her actual bed time.

Playing Mommy

I've found that Emmy is my most accurate mirror.  Most of the time, she humbles me, but then, occasionally, she makes me feel pretty good about myself.  Those times come when I watch her care for her babies, knowing that there is only one mommy that she knows to emulate...

We have spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom lately.  All of us.  Molly, Darla, Hannah and I have cheered Emmy on multiple times a day as she spends time on the potty.  The show of genuine elation that will undoubtedly occur the time she actually produces something on her potty will be over-the-top, to say the least.  I imagine that it will someday be comical when I think back on how many meals Hannah has consumed while I sit on the bathroom tile waiting for Emmy to "finish." Better yet, Hannah's uncanny ability to keep eating as I replace Emmy (per her request), one-armed, onto the potty several times each "sitting" because she is easily sidetracked. (I got smart and purchased a step stool after the umpteenth hoist.  It was ridiculous.)

Emmy wanted to "help" me bathe Hannah.  Because Emmy's "help" is often times "not helpful," I got her set up with her baby doll instead.  She gave her baby the most gentle, thorough bath and finished it up with a big towel hug.  I couldn't help but smile watching Baby's bathtime, even as I cleaned up the shampoo spill all over the tile floor post Emmy's slip-n-fall.

The other day, Emmy fought me for my boppy nursing pillow.  Irritated, I decided to pick my battles and give it to her.  I turn around to find her "feeding" her baby.  Once again, I couldn't help but smile (and be impressed with her form!)

Virtual Playtime

Emmy and Clairey playing legos together.  Usually there is a need to fill the silence when Skyping, we should take a lesson from the little ones: sometimes the best calls are when nothing is said at all.

27 month Update

Time is flying by and I don't want to forget any of Emmy's precious 27 month innocence...

Besides growing like a weed, she is also developing her little (BIG) personality.  It's not a surprise that she is rather headstrong (it was pretty much a genetic certainty.)  She thrives in the "helper" role.  Give her a task, and the girl doesn't walk, she RUNS to do it.  Cleaning spills, stirring food creations, finding lost items, she's all over it.  The one trouble with her helpfulness is that she doesn't think that I can make dinner without her, which is only further complicated by the fact that our kitchen chairs are on casters and she can open the fridge on her own.

While she is tantrum-prone mostly when I am preoccupied or when she is tired or hungry, she is otherwise a very happy little lady.  She seems to favor her daddy's extroverted personality and jumps at the chance to "see friends."  She is initially shy in new situations, holding onto my leg, but typically warms up after a short time.  She is excitable, self-confident, remorseful and tender-hearted.  She is sensitive to the feelings of others around her, always checking to make sure that everyone is ok.  She has the memory of an elephant and gets lost in her story-telling much of the time (so do we.)  I'm not sure how many times Nick's family has heard about the haircuts Molly and Darla had over a month ago; and every night when we open her devotional, our page is marked with a note Mimi left us during our trip home last Christmas.   Emmy talks about "Mimi's letter" nightly.  Pretty incredible how much the "little things" matter to little people.  She is appreciative and is quick to say "thank you."  My favorite is when she thanks me after changing her dirty diaper.  I will always cherish her response when I told her that we were going to go get ice cream for snack a couple of weeks ago.  She looked at me in disbelief until I told her to help me find her shoes.  Then she started jumping up and down, pumping her fists in the air, squealing "YAY!"  It was like she'd just hit the jackpot.  I hope that genuine appreciation never changes.

We're not really sure how Emmy survives on the little food that she consumes, but I am a firm believer in you eat what you're given or you go hungry.  Most nights she opts out of dinner without so much as a bite.  She's a sturdy little thing, so obviously it hasn't negatively affected her growth.  The best breakfast she's eaten in a long time was a homemade cinnamon roll.  For lunch, she'd eat a truck load of turkey pepperonis, cubed cheddar cheese and canned mandarin oranges or pears in juice.  Snack favorites include air-popped popcorn, goldfish and Welch's fruit snacks.  For dinner, she loves beans, rice and pastas (to borrow Emmy's term.)  Much like her Mama, Emmy will do just about anything for some chocolate.

She remains a rockstar sleeper with one up to three hour nap a day (typically noon to three.)  Bedtime usually falls around 7:45PM and she sleeps until any where between 7 to 8:30AM.  She is still in her crib, and loves it.  She hasn't shown any interest in climbing out, but, because we know it's coming, the kit to convert her crib to a toddler bed is in transit and should be here any day now.

She most loves painting body parts and leaving imprints on paper.  Her favorite color is green, with purple as a close second.  She loves listening to music and headbanging to it.  It's really adorable watching her try to keep up with Lady Antebellum as they sing "Need You Now."  She's still a Katy Perry fan, and also enjoys Adele.  Emmy loves Caillou and Dora something fierce, which remains my go-to if I need to feed Hannah and Emmy's losin' it.  She takes wonderful care of her "babies,"  who usually have similar timing for the same needs as Hannah.  Mickey always "has a dirty diaper" when Hannah does.  She can sing her ABCs, but doesn't recognize the letters yet, except for "I."  She can count to 10, and can get to 20 with some help.  20 is her favorite number, probably because we cheer each time we count to it. ;)

Her ability to express herself verbally has truly exploded lately.  She's a little sponge.  Nick and I get such a kick out of her antics.  Lately, if we tell her "no" to one of her requests, she repeats herself, very slowly, as if the only reason we said no was that we are a couple of idiots who couldn't understand her the first time.  Another one of my favorite new Emmy-isms also occurs when she wants something: She comes up me, pulls on my pant leg so that I'll kneel in front of her.  She then, very gently, puts the palm of her hand on my cheek, looks me squarely in the eye, and calmly says, "Yook-a-me, Mama.  Dora."

Other favorite phrases:
"C'mon, I show you!"
"Hear sumpin'?" (while cocking her head to the side)
"Mol-Mol, Dala own food!" or "Mol-Mol, Dala dat's EMMY'S" (when they try to steal her food or stuffed animals).
"Dada/Mama doin'?"
"Dada see bugs??" (while opening her mouth in preparation for brushing her teeth...Emmy believes that there are bugs that show up in her mouth before bedtime that must be brushed away, it makes brushing her teeth a tad more doable.)
"Mama.  Dora.  Clicker here.  Press buttons." (As she stuff the remote control in my hands, points to the buttons and commands me to turn the TV on to Dora.)
"Mama says NO OPENING!" (Said while holding onto her treat in the grocery store.)
"Helpa Mama!" (used interchangeably when she wants to help me cook or if she needs me to help her out of whatever bind she's found herself in.)

Just Three Words...

HERE GOES NOTHING

So, Nick mentioned awhile back that we should cloth diaper our children.  I laughed at him.  I told him that when he started doing the laundry then I'd consider it.  The discussion was shelved.

Fast forward to last fall...During a visit to Kris' house, Andy, the garbage aficionado, saw me throwing away a soup can.  He stopped me dead in my tracks and told me that it went in the recycling and not in the garbage can (where I was putting it.)  I am out of practice with sorting trash because we don't at our house, there isn't any recycle service in Clarksville and I'm too lazy to drive our recyclables to a center on the other side of town.  Admittedly, I lied to Andy when he asked me what color our recycling receptacle is.  I told him green.  Since then, I have been really ashamed of myself for lying and for my substantial carbon footprint, of which I'm newly aware.

My personal contribution to the destruction of planet earth has been weighing on me, especially as I have been polluting it with even more disposable diapers since Hannah's birth.  During a chat with my girls' beloved pediatrician, Dr. Seawell, I mentioned that our contribution of diapers to the landfill is pretty staggering.  She asked me if I'd considered cloth diapering.  Long story short, she was in the same boat as I (except for the 4 year old recycling nark nephew part.)  She'd used disposable diapers for her older child and cloth diapers were no where near her radar as she prepared to give birth to her second child.  After a friend insisted that they really weren't as complicated as they seemed, Dr. Seawell gave them a go, and has never gone back.  Her argument was a compelling one.  I figured if my children's doctor was able to carve out time for it, cloth diapers really must be do-able.  I left the appointment with Hannah's clean bill of health and a mental checklist of all that I needed to learn about cloth diapers.

During naptime that day, I waded through the flood of information on the internet and decided on the Bumgenius All-In-One Freetime diapers.  If nothing else, the name gave me confidence that this new venture wouldn't be all-consuming.  The major selling point was that they are just like disposable diapers except they are washable (and way cuter!)  There aren't multiple pieces to keep track of as it's all sewn together, which, I've read, is appealing to cloth diapering skeptics.  Because of the super intuitive design, I can use the same 21 diapers for Hannah until she is potty trained.  Not to get too gross in my detail, but in the way of poop, because dealing with it was a leading concern of mine, breastmilk poop is water soluble and cleans easily in the wash.  Once Hannah starts solids, there are flushable liners that I can place inside the diaper so that I don't have to handle any more poop than I already do.  Prior to my research, I had awful visions of dunking diapers in the toilet.  YUCK!  Another major selling point was that I don't need to be laundering them everyday.  Obviously, once Hannah is using less diapers a day, my stash will go further, but for now it'll probably be about three times a week.  Not too bad!  

Additionally, the financial ramifications are incredible, especially if we cloth diaper multiple children.  I have read that, on average, a family will spend $1500 on disposable diapers per child.  With my calculations, I would say that's not too far off from our "investment" (If you could even call it that.)  To furnish my stash, along with 2 wet bags to keep the dirty diapers in, a travel wet bag, and the recommended laundry detergent, my initial buy-in was $425.  I'm pretty excited about this.  It's pretty much all I can think about.

We are now a week into the new diapering regime, and it's gone smoothly except for just one unanticipated issue....Emmy insists on wearing them, too.  I can't say that I blame her, they are so much cuter than her disposable duds.  The good news is that we have very few "new" diapers going to camp out in the landfill for the next 500 years, the bad news is that I am a cloth diaper laundering fool.  I am thinking that potty training our eldest is right around the corner....

Aren't they pretty??