A fashionable walk

This morning Faith kept running around the house say, "Bee!  Bee!"  

Finally, I understood she was talking about her pull-along-toy, Bee.

And she wanted to take Bee for a "wok" (walk) in my red high heels, of course.

What Faith's saying

Faith is just over 18 months and she has developed quite the repertoire of phrases.  Here are a few of her my favorites.

Dat uz fun-knee.  (That was funny.)  This was the first phrase Faith ever said.  I still remember how she was listening to me and David talk and he said something that made me laugh.  Then Faith fake laughed and then plain as day said, "Dat uz fun-knee," shocking both me and David.

I uv ewe.  (I love you.)  This was the next sentence we heard Faith say.  And she said it to David first.  I'm sure he will treasure that moment always.

Ah!  It stare me!  (Ah!  It scared me!)  I have a feeling that Faith is going to like scary movies.  She loves to pretend to be scared.  

Ow!  It bii me!  (Ow!  It bit me!)  She likes saying that even if nothing was there to bite her.  For example, if Faith stubs her toe on something she automatically says it bit her.  

I wun pay!  (I want to pray.)  This one warms my heart so much.  Anytime Faith has food in front of her, whether it's breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner, she sweetly folds her hands together, presses them to her forehead and says, "I wun pay!" and waits for me, David, or Grace to say a blessing.   I love that at such an early age she knows how important it is to take a moment and thank our good Lord for all the many blessings He gives us.

I wun shews!  (I want shoes!)  This baby definitely has a shoe fetish.  She thinks that everyone should have on a pair of shoes.  She even likes to sleep with hers on.

I wun boot!  (I want a book!)    Faith loves looking at books but she does not like us to actually read them to her.  She just wants us to hold her in our lap and let her look at the book as she flips the pages.  If we actually try to read or turn a page a complete and utter temper tantrum results.

I wun tuh-er!  (I want to color!)  Faith really likes to color now.  She likes to color on paper, on the countertops, the carpet, tiles, bedroom sheets, the walls, her arms, legs, and bellybutton.  Basically, anything she thinks needs a little spicing up.  So I have to be diligent and keep all crayons, markers, pens, and pencils hidden until I can actually watch to see what she wants to color.

Tank ewe Momma!  (Thank you, Momma!)  It doesn't matter if David gives her something or Grace or anyone, Faith usually responds with "Tank ewe, Momma," and a sweet, sweet smile.

Doe pah-ee!  (Go potty!)  This is a phrase she uses constantly when we take Chloe for walks.  She also uses it whenever Grace goes potty or when she wants to sit on the potty.  It does not mean that she will actually go potty.  Rather that she wants to pretend.  And lately she's turned it into the song, "Doe, doe, doe, doe. PAH-EE!"

I boo booed.  (I poo pooed.)  I tee teed.  (I tee teed.)   That alone tells me she could be potty trained.  We're trying but that potty seems to "stare" her.  She sits and sits and then starts to fidget until I take her off.  As soon as her diaper goes on, Faith sighs, smiles, and proudly says, "I boo booed" or "I tee teed" according to whichever bodily function she just performed.

Peas!  (Please!)  This has been a challenge to teach to Faith.  For the last six months or so whenever Faith would ask for something we would tell her to say 'please.'  Her response was to look down and away from us and she absolutely refused to say it.  And nothing we did or said would make her say that one little word.  Then one day I guess she got tired of doing without whatever she wanted (book, bow, pacifier, etc.) and finally said "Peas!" with the sweetest of smiles like it was no big deal.  Now she says it and she rubs her hand over her chest saying it in sign language, too.

Mohr!  (More!)  This is a simple one.  She says it loudly and often.


Mmm-EYE-n!  (MINE!)  Faith usually shouts this one.  And it's usually followed by Grace yelling back, "No!"  Unless I see it with my own eyes, I'm never certain about who had it first.  Typically it's a toy that Grace had and Faith wants to take it away.  Faith is something of a bully to her big sister and until recently Grace always just gave in to Faith.  For a while now, we've been trying to teach Faith that she can't take things from others and we're trying to get Grace to learn to stand up for herself.  She's 4 years old and lets her 18 month old baby sister run all over her...


I wun bow!  (I want a bow.)  She wants a hairbow to keep her bangs out of her eyes but that doesn't mean she'll actually keep it in her hair.  Faith likes to play a little game by pulling it out and then handing it back to me or David while saying, "I wun bow!"  Silly girl.

Oh pri-ee!  (So pretty!)  After we've put Faith's bow back in her hair for the umpteenth time, she runs over to the sofa, climbs up, and then looks in the mirror and says, "Oh pri-ee!"

Aye!  (Hey!)  Eh-woah!  (Hello!)   Bye-bye!  Faith could be talking to a complete stranger, one of us, on the phone, or even to a bird out the window but whenever she says, "Aye," "Eh-woah!" or "Bye-bye!" she grins as big as she possibly can and enthusiastically flaps her entire arm up and down like a wet spaghetti noodle.  It's the cutest thing ever.

Bee bee!  (Baby!)  Faith is currently fascinated by babies both dolls and real babies.  And it's a good thing, too, since we'll have another one in the house in just a couple of months.

Hole me!  (Hold me.)  Faith does like to be held.  And she likes to cuddle.  I wonder how she's going to take to having a little one at home that needs to be held, too.  I think Faith may has some adjusting to do.

Foan!  (Phone!) Faith loves to hold and talk into a phone.  And it doesn't matter if it's her plastic toy phone, our house phone, or her Daddy's smartphone.  She tries to prop it on her shoulder and then she just jabbers away.  Sometimes I can understand what she's saying but most of the time I can't.

Off!  This can be in regards to turning the lights off or in taking her clothes off.  Just like her big sister, Faith likes to be naked.

Moan!  (C'mon!)  Doe wok!  (Go walk!)  Faith adores being outside and loves to take Chloe for a walk.  Lately she's been wanting to take Puppy Friend with us, too.  Which is fine as long as Grace is in school...

Eye, tew, fee!  (One, two, three!)  We count to three every time we let her jump from the sofa or table or countertop and we catch her.  It didn't take her long to learn 1, 2, 3, but I worry that she'll start counting and I won't be there to catch her because that little girl is fearless.

Uh burd! (A bird!)  Teet teet!  (Tweet tweet!)  Faith loves birds.  And she often yells "Burd!" at them scaring them away and then she calls out "Teet teet!"  trying to convince them to come back.

Waird it doe?  (Where did it go?)  Faith almost always can be heard asking this after she's scared the birds away failed to convince them to fly back.

I know there are a lot more things that Faith says but for now this is all that comes to my mind. 

Waiting for the birdies

My girls have been waiting patiently to catch a bird eating from our homemade feeders.

Grace, especially sits quietly at the window almost every morning before school.

Just hoping some bird will come and eat.

Even Chloe likes to keep watch.  Actually, she climbs into our lemon tree pot and tries to sneak a lick of peanut butter off our feeder.  Grace does not tolerate that at all.  If she sees Chloe out there, Grace yells, "NOOOO!" as she chases Chloe back inside.  Poor Chloe.  All she wants is a treat.

And then there's Faith.  She loves to see the birds on the porch, but quite often scares them away by dashing to the window while yelling, "Burd!  Burd!"  (bird! bird!).

Then she just turns and looks at me and asks, "Wared it doe?"  (Where did it go?)  Eventually those birds will realize that she is on the other side of the glass window or perhaps Faith will learn to be a bit stealthier and quieter.  It will be interesting to see which it will be.

Caught with my pants down.

I was in the our bathroom today when the phone rang.  Before I could get to it I hear Grace say, "Hello!"  So I hurry to wash my hands hoping that Grace hasn't actually answered the phone.  (I've been waiting for an Elder from our church to call and let me know when we're having dinner together.)  But Grace has answered the phone and as she sees me coming for her, she takes off running down the hallway all the while continuing her conversation by saying, "Well.  My mom.  She's going potty.  You there?  Yeah!  My mom's going potty right now.  She's potty trained!"  All I could do was hope that it was someone I knew and not the Elder from the church... 

Fortunately, it was just my mom.

Faith is becoming a shutterbug!

Apparently, Faith is going to follow in my shoes just like her big sister Grace.

 Today she surprised us all by picking up a camera.

 And saying, "Eeeeeee!"  That's Faith's version of "cheese!"

 She's barely 1 and already she's learning one of my favorite mantras.

Live, laugh, and photograph!

That sun is peeking at me!

Grace has an interesting way of bringing my attention to something.  She holds her hand close to her body and points in the general direction of something with her pointer finger.  The she tilts her head back to better direct me more specifically with her eyes.  It's quite comical actually and utterly unique to Grace. 

 "Look, Momma!  That sun is peeking at me!"

 Why yes, it certainly is.

It was peeking at us from behind those clouds.  And it was so kind of Grace to point that out to me.

Poor spiders. Perspire.

Momma, I poor spy-ers.

You pour spiders?

No!  I poor spy-ders!

What about spiders?

No, Momma!  I'm hot in sweh-dee!  I POOR-SPY-DURS! 

(No, Momma! I'm hot and sweaty! I PERSPIRE!)

It's hot in my how-suh!  Tan I take my sweh-er off? 

(It's hot in my house!  Can I take my sweater off?)

Oh.  I got it.  You're hot and you're perspiring. 

Yes!  I POOR-SPY-RING!  (Yes!  I'm perspiring!) 

And so we both collapsed in giggles...

Grace's secret picnic

Chalkboard art

I went to Grace's room to check on her and when she saw me, she asked, "Are you mad?" 

I replied with, "Why would I be mad?" 

She simply pointed at the wall and said, "Yook!" (Look!)

I looked at the wall and then back at Grace and said, "Honey, we're not supposed to color on the walls." 

Grace looked at the wall and then back at me and asked, "Why not?  It's a bewful pixur."  (Why not?  It's a beautiful picture.) 

What could I possibly say to that?

Wild apple

The girls and I were taking a walk to the pier.  Grace spotted this and said, "Yook, Momma!  Dare's uh app-ull!  I need tuh pit dat app-ull and ee it!"  (Look, Momma!  There's an apple!   I need to pick that aple and eat it!)

You know, it kinda does look like an apple...  So we went inside after our walk and snacked on an apple...

Grace says the funniest things

Grace passed a little gas this morning and out of habit I asked, "Did your hiney just say hello?"

Grace simply looked  at me and replied matter-of-factly, "No, Momma.  My hiney dust burft."  (No, Momma.  My hiney just burped.)

Go Tigers!...And horseys!

It's football season and David and I are both Auburn alumni.

 So, of course, Grace cheers for the Auburn tigers, too.

 We've taught Grace to say, "Woar ee-dull!" (War Eagle!)

 "Doe! Kie-gurrs!" (Go Tigers!) and the like.

 After cheering for Auburn for a while, Grace asked, "Tan we teer for duh horseys now?" 

(Can we cheer for the horseys now?)

 And why not?  To Grace horses are just more animals like the tigers.

Auburn did win this week.  We beat Clemson 27-24 in overtime.  It was a great game.  Go tigers! 
And horses, too, I suppose.

Oh, possum!

David was going out the front door to take Chloe for a walk when he jumped back inside and slammed the door shut.  He turned to me with an incredulous look on his face and said there's a possum on our doorstep.  I didn't believe him.  Until I opened up the door and and what I we see?

 A possum!  We couldn't figure out how in the world he managed to climb to the third story of our building and find our front door.  Or why our stairs.  So of course I ran and woke Grace up and grabbed her and the camera to get a closer look.

 The flash from the camera spooked him a bit so he ran through the railing to our neighbor's patio. 

When Grace saw it she said, "Yook, Momma!  It's a tang-a-WOO!"  (Look, Momma!  It's a kangaroo!)  When I told her it wasn't a kangaroo, it was a possum; she sat there quietly for a minute and then said, "Maybe duh tang-a-WOO needs a snack.  Wood dat be a date eye-dee-uh?"  (Maybe the kangaroo needs a snack.  Would that be a great idea?)  Apparently she didn't believe it wasn't a kangaroo.  And she wanted to feed it.  We didn't though.  We just kept watching the opossum play "possum."

Then Grace decided that "Dat tang-a-woo is dur-ee.  Maybe he need uh baff."  (That kangaroo is dirty.  Maybe he needs a bath.)  I asked her if she wanted him to take a bath in her bathtub and she got really excited and said, "Yeah!  Ets give him a baff in my baff tub!  Uh bubb-lee baff in my baff tub!"  (Yeah!  Let's give him a bath in my bathtub!  A bubbly bath in my bathtub!)  Hmmm.  That wasn't the reaction I was expecting. 

So I told her she could go pick him up and take him to her bathroom and we'd give him a bath.  Grace paused for a moment and then looked at me and said, "Maybe I hold duh fash-lite."  (Maybe I'll hold the flashlight.)

Grace and I stayed outside and watched that possum for the longest time.  And we talked and talked about her "tang-uh-WOO" (kangaroo).   Much to my surprise, that poor possum finally yawned at us and then curled up and went to sleep.  Unbelievable!

Mermaid Barbie to the rescue

Ever since Faith was born, Grace has refused to use the potty. When I ask her if she needs to tee-tee in the potty I get a resounding, "No!" I've tried asking her if she's a big girl ("Yes!") and then explaining to her that big girls tee-tee in the potty. Her response? "I pah-ee in my die-per. Like Bait!" (I potty in my diaper. Like Faith.) Hmmm. Back to bribery I suppose. Only this time Hersey kisses aren't working. Neither are lollipops or any other type of candy or ice cream or edible goodies.

So I broke out the big guns. A mermaid! Grace adores mermaids. After watching Disney's Little Mermaid Grace has decided that she is a mermaid. And I just happened to have a Barbie mermaid doll in our attic that Aunt Hope bought for Grace's birthday.  So today I pulled it out of the attic and showed it to Grace.  It was love at first sight.  She said, "Oh, Momma.  Uh mer-maid!  She's bew-ful!  Tan I haff her?"  (Oh, Momma.  A mermaid!  She's beautiful!  Can I have her?)  So I told her that mermaids like to help little girls tee-tee in the potty.  And that if Grace tee-teed in the potty Grace could have her.  Grace's response?  "I need to go tee-tee, Momma!"  And she did. 

As soon as she finished she asked, "Tan I haff my mermaid now?"  (Can I have my mermaid now?)  And I said no.  She had to tee-tee in the potty all day and then when Daddy came home she could have her mermaid.  Much to my surprise she was okay with that.  Grace continued to inspect her reward.  "Yook Momma.  Dare's sun-dasses!  And shoes!  Ware's her utter shoe?"  (Look, Momma.  There's sunglasses!  And shoes!  Where's her other shoe?)  And so on.  Grace inspected every tiny detail of her mermaid and accessories but never tried to open her or threw any type of temper tantrum.  She was content to look her over and talk about her.  We sat her on the kitchen countertop while Grace ate her snack and Grace told me all the fun things she and her mermaid were going to do together.  "I brush her pri-ee hair.  And put on mermaid shoes on her feet.  And we pay pay pay!"  (I'm going to brush her pretty hair.  And put mermaid's shoes on her feet.  And we are going to play, play, play!)

And when she felt the urge to tee-tee, Grace let me know and we took off to the potty.  She didn't tee-tee once in her diaper.  I was amazed.  And when her Daddy got home from work, she ran up to him and showed him her mermaid and then immediately looked at me and asked, "Tan I haff my mermaid now?"  (Can I have my mermaid now?)  And so we opened her surprise and Grace played with her for the rest of the evening.  She even slept in the bed with her. 

I'm hoping Mermaid (that's what Grace named her new toy.  How original.) will continue to help Grace go tee-tee in the potty.  And we've told Grace that if she tee-tees in her diaper we have to take mermaid away.  I hoping this works.  As for pooping in the potty, I'm afraid Mermaid isn't going to be enough to make Grace do that in the potty.  But that's okay.  I have a plan for that, too...

Oh, bar-nick-alls! (Oh, barnacles!)

Grace wanted to color today and all I could find was a pencil.  So I gave it to her along with a piece of printer paper and let her draw to her hearts content. 

She sat on our bed happy as a bumblebee in a flower garden just drawing away.

Then Grace said, "Oh bar-nick-alls!" (Oh, barnacles!) while looking at her pencil.

And she held her pencil in her left hand while rotating her right hand in small circles next to the pencil.

After several revolutions, she held the pencil up to her mouth and blew.

And then she calmly went back to drawing on her paper.  It took me a minute to realize that she was pretending her pencil lead broke and she needed to resharpen it.  She even blew off the imaginary shavings!  Every day she does something to amaze me...

Little Picasso

Grace colored some pretty pictures today.   I asked her what she drew.

"Dis is Bait, Momma!  See?  It's bewful!"  (This is Faith, Momma!  See?  It's beautiful!)

"An dis is a woe-bot!"  (And this is a robot!) 

I never would have figured them out alone...

Beautiful Grace

Grace, what are you doing?

Yook, Momma!  It's yip-sticks!  (Look, Momma!  It's lipsticks!)

I won tuh yook pree-yee yike yew!  (I want to look pretty like you!)

Baby, you will always look beautiful to me.

With or without lipstick.

Good morning darlings

The very first thing Grace asks me in the mornings now is, "Ware's Bait?"  (Where's Faith?)

And then Grace gives her baby sister a kiss and says, "Dud more-ing door-ing!"  (Good morning darling!)

After that she just wants to play, play, play with her little sister.

And anytime we give Faith a bottle, Grace wants to help.  Grace is an amazing big sister to Faith.

A conversation about my breastpump

Momma, I need dat.  (Momma, I need that.)

You need what, sweetie?

Dat air!  I need dat air!  (That air!  I need that air!)

Whatever for, sweetie?

I need tuh pump up my boo-bees!  Yike you! (I need to pump up my boobies!  Like you!)

Baby, you can't pump up your boobies with that. 

Oh-tay.  (Okay.)  And then she sticks the tubes up her nose...