Elle was so cute about Mother's Day this year. I guess she really understood because of a project they did at school, so all week, she was planning what toy she would give me on Mother's Day. Then yesterday, she painted me a special picture, and all day to today, she was telling me "Happy Mother's Day!" She also said, "Mommy, it's your special day today, so you get to decide what we do all day...do you want to go to the park?!?" So funny!
Earlier in the week, when both Lauren and Ava were napping and I was on the phone, Elle told me I had to stay in the other room because she was getting a surprise ready. When she finally brought me in the playroom, she had gotten her princess table and chairs out of the closet, set them up, put a blanket over the table for the tablecloth, and set the table with pretend food, tea cups, etc. I told her that she had done such a lovely job and I loved it. Elle's reply was, "You know why I did it, Mommy? Because I wanted to do something special just for you because I love you!" How sweet is that?!?! It's moments like those that let me know every effort I put into doing special, little things for my girls is more than worth it. I hope Elle will always want to do special things for other just because she loves them! Elle joined me for a pedicure this afternoon and we stopped in Old Navy afterwards, and my sweet girl insisted on coloring this whole picture before we left:
And here's Lauren doing what she does best! Yesterday evening, we went outside to ride bikes, and Lauren tried to come out with no shoes on, so I told her she had to go back inside and couldn't come play until she had shoes. This is what she came out with (she was pretty proud of herself! And she ran up and down the driveway like those were her shoes!):
We have had a lot of rain this past month, so much so, that many areas of the city are flooded. Last week, I hosted a going-away party for a friend who is moving to Nashville, and it of course, started raining during the party. But as it ended and everyone started to leave, there was the most beautiful double rainbow across the sky. It was still raining though, so by the time I got my phone out to take a picture it had faded, but the girls were really excited, running up and down the sidewalk, asking if we could go find the treasure at the end!
Elle has insisted on picking out her own clothes lately, and some days, it's not a fight I'm willing to have, so I let her wear what she wants. I had to snap a picture this day because the pink and white striped shorts with the red, too-short leggings underneath were just too much!
And here's my baby girl taking her first ride on my back...she loved it!
A few more recent conversations/happenings:
--A conversation with Elle the other day, after a play-date with her friend, Kyle, "Kyle and I are going to get married because we love each other!" (This was on the way to dinner and her daddy was about to have a heart attack...the teenage years are going to be fun around our house!!).
--The next morning in the car again, Elle said, "Mommy, I'm going to laugh when daddy walks me down the aisle at my wedding. Are you going to be there too, Mommy? Because I'm going to be really sad because I'm going to miss you when I get married. And will you bring Gracie and Ava to my wedding because I think they might be a little nervous about me getting married." She is the sweetest! And when did she get old enough to know about getting married and weddings?!?
--A bird made a nest on our front porch and after one of the bad storms, the nest fell to the ground and eggs smashed on the porch. Elle said, "Mommy, did the baby birds die?" And after I explained that they did, she said, "Well, I got an idea...you can go to the store and get some new eggs to put in the nest!"
--During breakfast last week, Lauren said, "Mmmm Mommy, this is soo yummy! Thanks for making it for me!" And now she tells me that at most every meal...love that kid!
So here's my first baby (when did she get so big?!?!):
We had an Easter egg hunt with our playgroup today, and we are looking forward to a weekend filled with family time, jellybean trails, dyeing eggs, more Easter egg hunts, and of course, celebrating the real reason for the this season and thanking Jesus for making the ultimate sacrifice for us! And a certain four-year-old may or may not have started role-playing the Easter story....multiple times this week, I've been called to come in the playroom quickly because somebody "died on the cross." Not sure Elle really understands yet, but at least she's getting some of the story! I'm sure I'll be adding some pictures of our Easter celebrations this weekend or next week. And, if you want to see some more pictures from our playgroup today, here's a link to the facebook album:
And after we left the dentist, Lauren quickly discovered the floss:
And Elle has suddenly gotten brave on me...she used to be my very timid child and she wouldn't attempt to climb anything or do anything at the park that looked at all scary, but now, she likes to climb everything and she goes on this scary slide at one of the parks (it has no sides!) all by herself; I can't believe how much she's grown up these past few months! We started a reward jar a little while back, and these past few weeks, she has started making her bed every morning, usually without me even telling her, getting dressed in the morning and at night all on her own (although I'm not always a fan of her clothing selections!), brushing her teeth all by herself (and the dentist gave her a timer and told her to brush for the entire time the timer was going and my rule-following first-born brushes every second until the timer runs out!), and really being obedient on the first time I tell her something, at least most of the time!
