kid updates

Bedtime stories.  They really like this book - Peek-a-Who.

Every time she puts these on her mouth opens like that! She's going to be a star.

Hayden keeps ending up in our bed.  We never notice him getting in, but when we wake up in the morning he's there.  Sometimes we notice him in the middle of the night because of this:

That is a king size bed, and he's taking up the whole thing!  If Derrick and I were there we would be  squished to the sides.  I did find him like this once, with his legs up on Derrick's back.

Sunday afternoon naps.  We are always driving home right at nap time, so it's impossible to get Halle back to sleep unless I lay down with her.  Can't say I mind it so much. :) Hayden decided to join us this day.

I LOVE her 'funny faces!'  She does this just to make us laugh, and it always works.

She is growing up so fast!  I say to Derrick about a million times a day, "Look how cute she is!  She is just such a pretty little girl!"  I finally took down the baby gate at the top of the stairs and she can go up and down herself.  I still have a heart attack whenever I hear something falling down the stairs, but it's always a toy they have thrown down.  We are thinking she will need to get into a bigger bed soon, so we are keeping our eyes open for a good deal on a twin bed.  Right now she is the queen of throwing tantrums.  She has spent quite a bit of time in her room lately.  18 months is just such a funny age.  Her personality is just coming alive and she's more predictable to me.  Luckily, she's still sleeping awesome at night and taking a good nap during the day. She loves her baby, gets excited to see Hayden in the mornings, her favorite food is pancakes (she ate 5 tonight), dances when she gets excited, and she loves to play with cars.  She thinks she's jumping when she takes a big step while putting her arms up.  She is also speaking in sentences, which has been so weird for us. Hayden wasn't really even talking well until he was 2, so it's funny to see a baby this small expressing herself.  And her words are really easy to understand.  She reminds me of Claire D., for those who know her.  She sometimes says the prayer at dinner, and her favorite is the Amen.  At church a few weeks ago the lady in front of us was cracking up because of how loud she yelled AMEN whenever the prayer was over.  She also loves to sing the hymns and lead the music while she's at it. Her favorite song is popcorn popping, and she asks for it every bedtime.  She's still a mama's girl, and will get really clingy around other people.  I have a lot fewer pictures of her right now because she's at that hard to take pictures of age.  She's always running around or getting into something.

Hayden was really excited to show me what he did with his cars and told me to take a picture, which he gladly posed for. These cars are his favorite. He's always carrying them all around and lining them up. 

He's growing so fast too, and he tells me all the time, "I'm so bigger now!"  I have recently noticed he has a better understanding of language and has found many ways to express the same thought.  Sometimes his thoughts come faster than he can form words for them so we end up with a lot of us waiting and waiting and waiting while he says, "I want...I I I I  I want.. Um, Daddy, I want... I I I Want.." until he can finally tell us what he wants.  He's started writing letters a lot.  He writes H, L, E, F, W, O, N, I, and Y.  He can recognize most others.  I was really excited last week because he brought me papers with a bunch of letters written, and he had started in the top left and worked his way left to right, up to down, the way you are supposed to learn to read and write.  I thought it was a pretty exciting milestone!  The great part is that he learned these letters on his own, so when I really start working on it with him he will do great.  I've been stressed about the preschool decision.  I am not quite sure what I will do with him because none of the options are really feeling good to me.  We can't afford an expensive preschool, and I'm not sure I want him to be away from me anyway.  This is the last year I can have him to myself since I do plan on sending him next year.  There is an option for a co-op preschool where the moms would take turns teaching, but stay the whole time. I was hoping for something a little more like a preschool, and a little less like playgroup since I want him to get used the idea gradually of me not being there, and seeing what a preschool setting is like, but in a more comfortable place.  So, I'm just not sure what I will do yet.

Crazy hair!

He loves to be a little parent figure for  Halle.  Derrick and I read the book Love and Logic Magic (which we love and would recommend!) and we've been using some ideas from it.  The main one is about giving choices, and also we try to offer empathy when we discipline, so we say things like uh-oh and I'm sorry instead of getting upset.  So today Halle was throwing a tantrum and hit Derrick.  Hayden ran over to her and said, "Uh-oh Halle!  That's not nice. You want me give you choices? Ok, you can go your room, or you can give Daddy a hug and say you're sorry, or you can be nice.  Ok Halle?"  Derrick and I were just stifling our laughter, and I had to turn around so Hayden wouldn't see.  I guess it's working?  Halle actually said, "Give Daddy hug." and she went to him and said she was sorry.  What a funny moment to remember!

Handsome hair. I love that smile!

Hayden put all his friends facing each other like this and told me they were talking!  I love the things he comes up with.

This was an FHE on putting on the armor of God.