I love them!

Hazel: 

After I asked her if a specific shirt still looked okay with my growing belly
"It doesn't matter what your shirt looks like, you're beautiful no matter what."

While I was brushing her hair one morning
"I know you try and be gentle but really you pull and hurt me even though you're trying."


Eliza: 

About 20 times a day
"Can I have a treat? Say 'Sure!'" or "I want to read 2 more books. Mom, say 'I guess so'"

Nap time the other day

Primary Program

November 10th was our ward's Primary program (where the kids from 4 to 11 present a program of short parts and songs for the entire congregation in place of having speakers for that Sunday). This was Hazel's first year and she was SO excited!

Our ward did something I have never seen done, but I loved it so much. They sent each child home with a prompt and had them discuss it with their parents then write their own speaking part. Hazel's prompt was "My Heavenly Father loves me because______." For family home evening one night we had a lesson about all the ways we know Heavenly Father loves us then let Hazel write her part. Here's what she came up with:

"My Heavenly Father loves me because He made flowers for me."

It was so sweet and so perfect for her. Then she practiced and practiced. The day of the program she was able to stand up and both sign her part in ASL and speak it as well. She also signed and sang along for all the songs (we go to a Deaf ward so the program is in ASL.) We were so proud of our little Sunbeam for doing a great job on her first program!

This picture isn't from the Sunday of the program, but it is adorable.

One other side note... Hazel's favorite song that they sang for the program was "Called to Serve." She memorized both verses and she and Eliza sing it all the time. Every night at bed they want me to sing "Called to Serve" while I tickle their backs and tuck them in for bed. It's so cute how much they love that song!

Rafi is Home!

I posted a while ago about how Hazel lost Rafi and was devastated. It broke my heart to see her missing her "best friend" so much, and after about a month and a half I knew we weren't going to find Rafi. So I gathered up all my super mommy powers to make it better.

First I got online and found an identical "Rafi" on Ebay. I was pleasantly surprised when the seller accepted my offer of $15 so I didn't have to pay the full $25 he was asking for it (though I totally would have had he rejected the offer.)

Then, I got the new "Rafi" in the mail and boy was I shocked. The description said it was used, but when I opened that package I honestly couldn't remember Hazel lovey EVER looking that nice! Haha, guess that's what happens when you get used to the old, well loved, grey Rafi instead of the nice, soft, pink one. So now I had a problem. How would I get her to believe this was really Rafi? Thanks to a stroke of mommy genius, I came up with a plan.

I wrote up a quick letter and left it on the table with Rafi for Hazel to find the next morning...

What made it even more perfect was that morning we woke up to a dusting of snow for the first time this season. Hazel knew this was the real Rafi and the elves really had cleaned her up and sent her home!!!!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited she was! She carried Rafi around all morning and talked to her, catching her up on everything she had missed while she was gone. She excitedly showed Rafi her new bunk bed and cuddled her. She even told Eliza she should send her lovey Ellie to the elves so they could clean Ellie up too with their magic soap!

It truly was one of those moments that was priceless. I'm so, so, so glad it worked! Of course some day she will find out that this Rafi is a replacement, but I don't think she'll be mad. Plus, in her heart, this is the same Rafi and that's all that matters. That night in her prayer she even expressed how thankful she was that Rafi is home. While I know it won't last, I love that for now I can take away her little problems and make everything right in her world again!

Halloween

This year Hazel decided she wanted to be Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Then Eliza decided she wanted to be Ariel too:) I love how much they want to do the same things right now because I remember doing that with Gabby when we were little.

So the girls picked out the fabric they liked and I made them little mermaid fins. I think they turned out so cute!

I didn't want to pass  up the chance to have a fun pregnant Halloween costume so I made one for baby girl as well! I got so many compliments on her.

My three favorite mermaids!

The girls were SO excited for Halloween because it meant they were allowed to dress up ALL DAY LONG. (We've gotten to the point where they're only allowed to play with their dress up clothes before getting dressed for the day and after dinner. Otherwise they never want to wear clothes and make such a mess switching outfits 100 times a day). So a full day of dress up was heaven for them. They enjoyed that more than the candy!

For pumpkins we were able to grow 10 awesome pumpkins in our backyard this year! The girls picked out their favorites then had fun giving the rest away to friends/family. Sadly we got busy and only got one carved. Any guesses? Yes, it was Ariel:)

Tuesday night we went to the Halloween party in our "hearing" ward then Thursday we enjoyed Trick-or-Treating with friends from our ward. Poor Eliza tripped on her mermaid fin and hurt her hands a bit when trick-or-treating then wanted me to carry her a lot after that. The baby was sitting really low that day and walking was already uncomfortable so it ended up being a long night for me, but the girls loved it.  It was a very successful (if exhausting) day! 

Bunkbeds

The girls have their bunkbeds and you can see how much they LOVE them!

Hazel sleeps on top and is very careful climbing up and down. Eliza on the other hand is such a monkey and makes me nervous sometimes. I hope we don't end up with a broken arm in our future...

I just need to get Hazel's name moved over next to Eliza's now and we'll be one step closer to being ready for the baby to arrive!