Twice as many moments: Blocks and towers (an update from the beginning of the year)

I had been thinking lately that I would like to post on this blog again, but then when I looked at it tonight (after not having looked at it in months and months and months) I realized that there was this old post from back in the beginning of the year that I never published. So here it is. It's was fun for me to look back and notice how much Maya and Ella have grown and changed in just a few months. I am going to make an effort to post something current soon! So check back.

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A lot has happened in the past two months! I will try to catch up. A couple notable things:

- We went to Florida for a week and a half.

- We got the terrible tenants out of the Springfield house, and it is now fully rented again. Everyone is paying their rent on time, they all seem like nice people. Fingers crossed for a good year. We've had to fix a heating system already this winter. We have a good person doing the snow plowing, which has been a relief to us.

- We've noticed that the dependence/insistence on using ONLY their favorite utensils and flatware is starting to fade just a bit. Two meals into the day, already each girl has used a not-favorite bowl or plate at least once, without fuss, and even on their own! Unthinkable a few days ago, it seems to be loosening up.

- Maya made up such a great story one morning. It was about her dream and how all these baby animals who were friends went for a walk and then a baby bird flew down onto the monkey's head and it started raining and they all ran into their houses, which were all next to each other because they were all friends and their mommies and daddies were inside and then it started to snow and they all got on snow suits and went out and played together some more. The end.

- 2/10/15 Maya got mad because I said she couldn't have more real food in a bowl and cup for her animals (she already had food for herself in another bowl), so she threw both the bowl and cup she was holding onto the floor, resulting in them both breaking (they were plastic, thankfully, so not a huge mess). Many tears were shed... they were her favorite bowl and favorite cup. We had a talk about how throwing stuff isn't the best thing to do when you're upset. Lesson learned? I hope so.

- Ella has been losing it at every little thing. When she doesn't get her way she cries very loudly. It's little things like I wouldn't carry her up the stairs in the laundry basket, they didn't play the song she wanted at HooteNanny, she didn't get the seat behind the driver in the car, etc. Brett and I have been trying not to give in to her so that she will stop this behavior, but Maya has been tending to give in to her sister more often than not. I think she doesn't like the loud crying.

Quotes from Maya:

"When you start to grow, you are a baby first." (Maya, explaining how things work to her sister.)

Maya wondered today: "Mama, why has it been winter for SO LONG!?"

Maya, to her sister, in regards to a block tower that was built: "You really are a great artist, Ella!"

Me: "I was thinking of making either fried eggs or scrabbled eggs for breakfast. Do you have a preference?"
Maya: "Pie!!"

Maya, very seriously: "Why is there morning and night? Why don't we just PLAY all day and all night?"

M to dada: "I think you're older than you were before."

"Our Christmas tree looks VERY fine!" (when she sees it first thing in the morning)

"Did you know that if you mix yellow together with blue, it makes green!?" (discovering things while painting)

(dinner conversation)
Me: "I might have red poop tomorrow."
M: "Why??"
Me: "Because beets make your poop red sometimes."
M: "Oh.... can I have some more of those? I like beets!"

"If I had 3 more forks, I could make a square!"

"I am a NOT sleepy one!" (turning on the light in our room at 6:45am)

"Come with me to look, Mama. It's better if we have two sets of eyes."

M: "Dada, Ella is using the tablet, and I want to do some important work!!"
B: "Oh. Well maybe you can do your work when Ella is finished. Then you can have a turn."
M: "But, my work is very, very, very, very, very, very, very, important! So I have to do it NOW."

"Mama, you know, lullabies sometime make me sleepy." (after listening to Hobo's Lullaby in the car)

"I just want to nurse, nurse, nurse, for all the days. I want to nurse until I'm big. Until I'm big and I have a baby. Then I will nurse MY baby!"

Quotes from Ella:

"Mama, I'm not doing anything really silly, I'm just making my 'magination up!"

"I have a nicey trick that's made of me--do you want to see it?"

"Mama! Maya gave me a hug and it was just the right size for me!"

"But you looked like a monster when you opened your bignormous mouth."

"I wish we had more sardines. Those were yummy in my tummy!"

Me: "Here Ella, will you bring this water bottle to Maya, please?"
E: "Absolutely!"

E: "I can't find Dada."
Me: "He's at Scrabble, sweetheart."
E: "Ohh.... I don't love Scrabble."

"I love you more than videos." (to me) ..."Can I watch a video?"

"I'm a hundred years hungry! Could we make something while Maya is napping, cuz I'm so hungry..."
What are you hungry for?
"Chocolate chip cookies` and scrambled eggs."

"Eating cereal is my exercise!"

E: "Here's some tea, Mama!"
Me: "Mm.. that's yummy! What did you put in it?"
E: "Honey, strawberries, strawberry jam, and onions.

"Wow! It's bigger than ever!!" (watching Peppa Pig on Dada's computer)

"Lollipops are very for licking, but mostly for crunching."

Me: "Why is there so much yelling going on in here?"
E: "Sorry Mama, we were just both panicking for that bed."

"I always eat the tippy top first." (about a big chocolate chip)

"I wish I could nurse all day and all night, and all day and all night, and all day and all night!"

E: "Mama, I'm worried I'm going to go down the drain!
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry you're worried. But Ella, you don't fit down the drain!"
E: "But this little bitty toe fits."
Me: "But that's attached to your body.
E: "Oh."

"I want to wake Grandma and Papa up so I can tell them that I'm awake."

Quotes from some or all of us:

E: "Oh no! This one is a little scary!"
M: "I'll hold your hand while we watch it!"

(Overheard from the other room where Maya and Ella were playing a very involved game with their stuffed animals...)
E: "Knock, knock, knock! Can I come in? I have a question!"
M: "Okay, but speak up. And speak loudly. I'm deaf as a post!"

Maya and Ella's conversation while playing a game of packing for a pretend trip to Florida:
M: "So, we have all our babies so we are ready to go!"
E: "Lets go!"
M: "OH! We need clothes for us! We're not dressed..."
E: "No, I don't want to wear clothes."
M: "Well, we have to at the airport, and in case we get cold."
E: "Well, I'm not chilly."
M: "But we have to wear clothes!!"
E: "No!"
M: "Well how about pretend clothes?"
E: "No!"
M "Well you HAVE to wear clothes to play!"
E: "If I have to wear clothes then I'm NOT going to Florida!"
M "But it's just for pretend!"
E: "NOOO!!"
M: "Okay. How about we bring the clothes in a bag, just in case we want them?"
E: "Okay."

Listening to Ella and Maya count (in perfect unison) as they look at number books with their flashlights in bed ... "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 20-10!"

M: "Are you tired??"
E: "No. I'm just yawning for fun."

A few things that I want to remember:

- Most of the time these days, the girls are so amazingly sweet to each other. Also they are very polite, most of the time.

- Ella's expression when she's excited about something, but also slightly embarrassed - it's so cute!

- Maya always being baby whatever Ella is pretending to be. Baby Pedro, Baby Susie Sheep, Baby George, etc.

- How the girls like to add "ies" or "zies" to the end of words: fanzies, nipplzies, footies, handies.

- Big thing right now is working through things by acting out the negative behavior in puppet shows/stories with us, for example: "...and then Emily knocked down Tom's sandcastle and Tom cried!"

- Maya asking, "why?" all. the. time.

And finally, some pictures from the past few months!