Quick 5

We've had a really busy week, but it was busy with a lot of boring, mundane, must-be-done things.  It might make for a boring quick 5.

1.  This week was Vacation Bible School week at our church.  It was held in the evening, and it was for families to attend together.  However, since evening things usually end past the girls' bedtimes, we decided that Joya didn't need to be out late every night.  So Lee took Alaina to VBS while I stayed home with Joya.  That set up was very interesting.  I was so glad to see Daddy and Alaina spending so much time together.  Lee has never been completely in charge of Alaina for that much time before, and I knew this would be a great experience for the both of them.  Joya has been a real pill for the past week (hopefully teething...who knows) so it was good that she stayed home.

2.  We may have had a break-through in the Great Potty-Training Tribulation.  Since last Friday, Alaina has finally been putting #2 in the potty.  But only during the times I make her sit on the potty.  She had one accident, so it tells me that she's not ready to initiate it.  The day that she says she needs to go potty because she has to go #2 will be the day I think I can celebrate her being potty-trained.

3.  As a reward for her latest potty-training accomplishments, we're back to giving treats.  Her favorite?  "Hersey Kisses." 

4.  I have the distinct feeling that Alaina is wiping her nose with Kleenex and then putting them back in the box.  I saw her grab a whole handful the other day to wipe her nose.  I told her she only needed one, and then I didn't think about it anymore.  Yesterday I noticed a wad of Kleenex shoved back in the box.  And no used tissue in the trash can.  Thankfully she doesn't have a cold or anything right now. 

5.  Before Joya was born, I had a great system that involved me going to Wal-Mart only once a month.  I could get everything I needed in that one trip.  For some reason, now I need to go weekly and sometimes more than that.  No sooner do I get home than I realize that I am out of something else that requires a trip within the next couple of days.  I have no idea how this all happened, but I don't like it.  Sometimes I'll go to Target, just because I am sick of going to Wal-Mart.  I cannot for the life of me remember how to get back on the once-a-month plan.  It vexes me.

That's a wrap!  Catch you on the flip side.

She Moves

Not exactly scintillating, but it is great documentation of Joya's latest accomplishments.  Since our baby gates don't fit on our staircases, it's obviously time to get creative.

Quick 5

Is it just me, or has the weather been amazing?  I cannot get over how much I like having the days hover around 80 degrees, with the sent of green, living things wafting in our windows each evening.  I think the weather in heaven will hover around 80 degrees.

1.  Last Friday we participated in the final celebration of Alaina's birthday by using a gift sent by Aunt Mindy...a Sonic gift card.  The weather was beautiful, so it was a perfect day to sit out at the picnic tables.  It was very tricky to try and get Alaina to stay seated for the duration of the meal, but worth every time we had to say, "Sit down and eat!"

Alaina's first corn dog

You don't have to teach a kid how to eat food on a stick.

Thanks Aunt Mindy!

2.  This series of photos is entitled "She's Three, But She Won't Look Directly At the Camera" or "Trying to Herd a Cat."

I just wanted a picture with my daughter!  Was that so wrong?

3.  On Tuesday Lee had to do a little work from home after dinner.  Alaina came up with this idea all on her own:

Dueling Laptops

4.  And just because I can't get enough of this face:

5.  Sunday is our seventh anniversary.  We plan to celebrate with some Chinese food tomorrow, which is amazing since Lee never wants Chinese food.  But he went to this place with some people he works with and thinks I'll like it.  I'm terribly excited.  And I wish I had some pearls of wisdom to impart, now that we're at the seven year mark, but I don't really.  Except maybe stop thinking about yourself so much and choose to be a servant to your spouse, if only for the reason that you once loved them enough to marry them.  Life usually gets better once you stop thinking about yourself.  And if you're feeling the seven year itch, take a shower, put on some lotion and get over it. 

Happy Summer, everyone!

Strike a Pose

Today my dear friend Leah took pictures of my girls.  She has a nice camera, a nice flash, and a nice basement for this kind of thing.  Here are some of the best.

Alaina: 3 years

And the framer:

Joya: 8 months

And the framer:

Cute girls, if I do say so myself. 

Quick 5

I usually write the quick 5 on Thursday, just to have it ready to go.  However, I woke up this morning and found it was Friday somehow.  If it weren't for Becky, I may have forgotten entirely.

1.  We had a completely successful full week of Alaina and Joya sharing a room.  Any minor problems that we did have came from Alaina, not Joya, and that's a good thing.  I was afraid that Joya might not be able to adjust and spend a lot of time crying when everyone should be sleeping.  Not so.  She cried that first day, and hasn't had a problem since.  Alaina, on the other hand, has not been so easy.  I've been keeping her up an hour later, hoping that she gets all her playing done before she goes to bed.  For the most part she does, but on Monday I put her to bed as usual.  Joya was peacefully sleeping.  About 15 minutes later, I heard Joya laughing hysterically over the monitor.  Sure enough, Alaina was standing at the crib, entertaining her.  Alaina got in big trouble.  About 30 minutes later, I hear Alaina singing in a normal voice.  Again, big trouble.  Then last night, at 9:10, a full hour after I put Alaina to bed, I heard Joya's singing seahorse faintly playing.  The only way for that to go off is for someone to squeeze its belly.  And Joya hasn't mastered that skill.  So I go in the room, only to see Alaina leap back into bed.  Joya was sacked out, but her seahorse was on.  I don't know how long Alaina had been getting up to turn it on.  Again, trouble.  But Joya has been a trooper.

2.  Lee took Alaina to Cold Stone last night for their birthday ice cream.  On a sad note, Cold Stone no longer offers just a free ice cream.  It's now a buy one, get one free.  That's sad to us.  Anyway, we had already been talking to Alaina about it, so we followed through.  I stayed home with Joya so she could get her pre-bedtime nap in, and so Daddy and Alaina could have a little date.  Lee told me that Alaina yelled "Surprise!" and "Happy Birthday!" to everyone who came in the door. 

3.  Lee's birthday is tomorrow!  Anyone who knows Lee knows how hard it is to celebrate his birthday.  He never asks for anything, and doesn't seem to care either way.  But, in the words of Kitty from the That 70's Show, "Sometimes your birthday is not about you...it's about the people who want you to have a nice birthday!"  So the girls and I bought some presents, and I'm going to make some cookies that he thinks he'll like.  And we're going to Noodles and Company tomorrow for his free bowl of noodles. 

4.  A lot of the conversations around how house involve the topic of why Joya uses some things and Alaina doesn't.  They are all baby things that Alaina used to use, but doesn't use anymore.  But she has a funny way of putting it.  She usually says, "I can use that when I'm a little baby!"  I just agree with her, and I'm waiting for her to ask when she'll get to be a little baby.

5.  Now that school is out for the summer, I have been amazed to see that our townhouse neighborhood is teeming with kids.  I had no idea there were so many.  And they spend so much time outside.  Especially in the evening.  They spend hours playing and shouting in the greenbelt behind our house.  I find it encouraging to watch so many kids playing outside so often.  So I've been trying to take the girls outside more often, especially in the afternoon.  We've blown bubbles and drawn with chalk.  And Alaina calls "Hi kid!" to every kid who passes by our yard.  It's been fun.

That's it!  See you next week!

Daddy Makes Life Fun

Yesterday the girls and I went to Target for our daily errand.  As I was perusing some toddler-sized shorts, and lovely couple who must be grandparents themselves stopped to chat with Alaina and admire Joya.

"Oh how sweet!" the lady said about Joya.  "What is your sister's name?"
"Joya Kimble!" Alaina replied.
"And what is your name?" the lady asked.
"Alaina Kimble!  And this is Mommy!" Alaina said.
"Are you having fun today?" the lady asked.
"No.  Daddy had to work," Alaina replied.

I thought it was so precious that Alaina recognized the sadness that Daddy couldn't be with us.  She really was having fun, but only would have labeled it as fun if Daddy had been there too.

Birthday Extravaganza

We had a jolly good time celebrating Alaina's birthday on Saturday.  I love summer birthdays and celebrating outside.  Lee manned the grill while Alaina was able to run around with her dearest friends.  She ended up with cake on her face and dirt in her hair, so you know it was a successful party.

Here are few highlights:

My first attempt at something other than cupcakes.  I hope it gives hope to all you remedial cake-decorators out there.

The griller.

The party animals.

More party animals.

The birthday dinner.

The birthday girl.

Blowing out the candles.

Unbridled joy.

Jamie and the babies.

Good friends.

More good friends.

And they ate cake.

Grandad knows how to party.

Quick 5

Finally, some warm weather!  You know what warm weather means...chubby baby legs in shorts!  (Joya's, not mine.)

1.  Well, I did what I said I would do.  On the night of June 1st, I put Joya to sleep in the crib in Alaina's room.  And she hated it.  She screamed for a good 50 minutes before giving in and falling asleep.  She then woke up once at 11:30 and once at 3:00.  At the 3:00 wake up time, I went in to find her completely tangled and covered up, head to toe, in a blanket that I had draped over the end of the crib.  Both times, though, she simply accepted the pacifier and went back to sleep.  And Alaina slept through both bouts of tears. 

2.  Along with moving Joya into her new room, I implemented a new bedtime for Alaina.  My theory is that I'll put Joya to bed first, let her fall asleep and be asleep for about 20 minutes before going in there to put Alaina to bed.  This means Alaina will now be going to bed somewhere between 7:45 and 8:15.  For the last couple of months, she would go to bed at about 7:15, only to play and sing and talk until 8:30 or sometimes 9:00.  Since she can't make that kind of noise while Joya is falling asleep, then it makes the most sense for her just to stay up with us.  She's getting so good about playing by herself, that I think this is going to work just fine. 

3.  Yesterday was Alaina's birthday, and it was a fun day.  We went to Toys R Us armed with some birthday money and I let Alaina pick out a toy.  That was kind of fun, except I did not successfully teach Alaina the concept of a budget.  She of course loved most things that were out of our price range.  I finally picked two of the toys myself and let her choose between the two.  Then we got Chick-fil-a for lunch, and I made a very special mac and cheese dinner at her request.  We'll have a more formal party for her tomorrow, which will involve burgers, grandparents, friends, cake and Apple Ben.

4.  The morning of Alaina's birthday, I sang her "Happy Birthday" several times.  Then, as we were in the car, I heard her sing:

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Me
Happy Birthday to you

Then she said, "Aw man!  I've got Happy Birthday stuck in my head!"

5.  Tonight will be a fun night.  We are happy members of the Red Robin Birthday Club, and since they've changed a few things we actually have an overlap of Lee's and Alaina's birthday burgers.  Red Robin is always delicious, but it will be more delicious that we can go and everyone can eat, but we'll only have to pay for one burger.  :)

Enjoy the weekend!  Hope it's filled with nice weather, watermelon and grilled food.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Alaina!

You are three years old today!  I can't really remember a time when we didn't have you in our home.  You always amaze me with the things you know and remember.  One of the best things that happened this year was when they moved you from the toddler nursery to the three-year-old Sunday school class.  You soak up those Bible lessons and talk about them all the time.  You've even learned your first memory verse!  "I PRAAAAAISE You!  Because You made...me...wonderful!"  You are a good big sister and know how to make Joya laugh.  I love that you love to sing and even that you love the Wiggles so much. 

We pray that you will turn to God for salvation, and that you will see God as your strength and song.  We pray that God guides you in the path of righteousness, so that God's name will be honored.  We pray that you will call on God for every need, and that you will trust God and not be afraid. 

We love you so much, Alaina.  You are so fun and funny and friendly, and God did make you wonderful!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Dancing Queen

What you are about to see is the tail end of something Alaina did for the entire duration of the song Lee was playing with.  You'll notice she's only about six inches from the door.  She stayed that way the whole time.