The New Phases

Lucy likes to create spaces.  She will load up toys, blankets, pillows, shoes, clothes and anything else she can think of and create a little nest.  Um...I guess she never grew out of that nesting of her younger days.  She has a need to have things close around her.  I blame it on being squished in the womb.  It's interesting to watch her craft, but very much a mess.  In the last week she has created 3 spaces.  I've allowed them to stay for a day or so before I make her clean it up, but then she just creates a new one.  She made one in the closet the other day and insisted on sleeping in there.   Elsa joins in on the nest building when she feels like it.   

 {Lucy and Elsa built this 'nest' on Thursday night last week in anticipation of me letting them sleep in the living room on Friday night.}

Today I was lazy from 12:30 - 5:00 and had fun watching Lucy and Elsa entertain themselves while I plunked myself on the couch (well, as much plunking as you can do with kiddos).  They played McDonald's and were happy when cousin Mallory came over for a bit.  I love watching my girls get better and better at using their imagination and playing independently.

If I want Lucy and Elsa to go play quietly in their room, all I have to do is ask them to go clean up their bedroom and playroom.  At first they will clean, but eventually it will get really quiet and I know they are trying to be sneaky and play instead of clean.  

My girls like to draw and color.  Sometimes themselves (the youngers) and sometimes they come up with masterpieces.  Lucy and Elsa have done some step by step art at school and it has started expanding their drawing horizons.  Leta still loves to draw her circle/triangles everywhere.  Literally, we have had pages and pages of this same design.

Leta and Annie are so crazy and cute.  One minute they'll be screaming because they both want the same toy and then if I give it a few minutes of scream session, surprisingly the one with the toy will decide to share.  It's usually Annie who decides to share, mostly because Leta is a huge screamer who always wants what Annie has and Annie likes the high-fives and big to-do I make over the fact that she actually shared.  (May I also add, that this doesn't happen all the time.  We have plenty of LONG scream sessions.  I may or may not be a tad scarred for life in my hearing ability.)   

I love this picture.

Leta is sprouting another tooth.  The way I look at it, we have been teething for the last 5 years.  Annie started teething at 4 months and got hers fast.  Leta is slow and steady and is just now getting her last "fang" (I think proper term is K-9...and Ryan just laughed at how I spelled 'canine').  This means Leta has had a big time fever.  Thank goodness for Tylenol.  

I also like to give Leta and Annie frozen blueberries to eat, especially in this heat wave and with Leta's sore mouth.  The blueberries are already messy, but Leta and Annie like to paint their face and chest with the round balls of blue.  Lately, they get blueberries, go outside to play in the water and then come in for a long bath.  We have such quality time while sisters are at Kindergarten.

 {Leta was being camera shy}

Speaking of Kindergarten, they are having a bike safety rodeo at their school tomorrow morning before school starts.  Lucy and Elsa seemed excited to go because they would have treats amongst other things.  But, we would have to load up 2 bikes that still have training wheels and arrive at school an hour early.  I didn't picture it going well, but I didn't want to crush the girls.  "Lucy and Elsa, what if I take you to get a treat after school instead of going to the bike rodeo?"  Lucy was easy to please and quickly responded yes.  Elsa was quick to bust out her negotiation tactics.  "You'll take us to QT and let us pick out whatever treat we want?!"  It was kind of a question, more of an ultimatum since last time at QT I only let them pick from the budget row.  

Speaking of heat wave, this needs to end.  I'm keeping my thermostat at 82 and I'm still going to be paying out the wazoo for utilities.  

And somehow these 3 boys made it to age 8 and were all baptized last Saturday.  These boys are living proof that angels do exist.