What I love about you...

One morning as I was trying to get the kids ready for school, Hazel had a huge meltdown because she couldn't find the bow she wanted to match her outfit. I was annoyed until I thought, how many more years will she even want to wear bows in her hair!?! She's growing up so fast. They all are! We are in a crazy stage in life, but I know we'll miss it dearly when they're older. So here are a few things I adore about these cute kids right now.

                                           

Lenora is an awesome 2-year-old. She never got the memo about the "terrible twos." She is sweet, loving, kind, and relaxed. On the very rare occasion when she becomes upset, she calms down very quickly. The other morning at breakfast she got a small pancake and said, "What a cutie. It's a baby!" then kissed it softly like she would kiss sleeping baby on the head. 

She loves to do her puzzles. She also still insists that I help her get on and off the potty even though she's tall enough now to do it herself. 

Right now, she's going through a phase where she always wants to sleep on the floor of our room. Even when she falls asleep in her bed she comes down to the "bed" we have made up on the floor in our room. If she was our first, I would have fought it. But now I know just how quickly they grow out of these phases.

Lenora and her friend Tabitha (aka Tabby) from church have the sweetest relationship. She asked her one day, "Tabby, are we best friends?" to which Tabby answer, "Ya, Nora. You my best friend."

Then there's adorable little Eliza. We've loved seeing more and more of her personality breaking through. She's becoming so confident in herself and her own opinions that I just love it. For career day in school she couldn't decide if she wanted to dress as a superhero or a "bug scientist". I think she'll be the worlds most super entomologist ever (or whatever else she decides to be for that matter).

Eliza has also been pioneering her own style. She still LOVES dresses and skirts and rarely wears pants. She insists that her shirts be tucked in so they don't cover up the skirt. She also comes up with fun hairstyles she wants me to do for her. Her favorite is a "super high ponytail."

Earlier this week we ate pulled pork sandwiches for dinner (which are one of Eliza's favorites). As she was eating she asked me in all seriousness why we call them "Cold pork" sandwiches when they aren't even cold! So silly! She also loves to wander around with stuffed animals tucked in her jammies.

Eliza is quite the artist. She loves to draw! Right now, when she draws herself, she always draws her hair with a flip of curl at the end. She draws everyone else's hair straight. I love how she sees herself! She also learned how to draw stars and likes to draw them on anything and everything.

Lenora, Eliza, and Mommy

Hazel is at such a fun age right now! She's still a little girl who wants bows in her hair and who will crawl up on my lap at night to tell me about the book she's writing at school. It's called, "The girl who lost her breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" Yet at the same time she's growing up and forming more and more of her own opinions. She has discovered infinity scarves and other accessories that she's always adding to her outfits. She's also starting to do her own hair for school some days (and it looks nice!)

Hazel adores her sweet puppy Haley. She has done an incredible job being responsible and helping out with Haley. She takes her potty every morning and immediately when we get home without being asked. She plays with her and helps train her. It's no surprise Haley adores Hazel!

Hazel's ASL has really taken off lately too. She's always communicated her thoughts and wants well in ASL, but now she's beginning to use more advanced grammar, classifiers, and so on. Last month Michael took her to a performance by an ASL comedian and she loved every minute of it!

And can I just tell you how proud we are of the polite, kind girl Hazel is becoming? This week her class at school earned a "bring an electronic from home day" as reward for good behavior. Michael has an iPad for work that the kids play games on some Saturday mornings, but otherwise we don't have any handheld electronics that she could take. We explained to her that since the iPad belongs to ISU we couldn't let her take it to school, and she would just have the play on the school iPad (which only has educational apps). Hazel responded with the best attitude and maturity beyond her 7 years. She didn't get upset or pout about it. She didn't complain. She didn't argue that "all the other kids at school...". She didn't try to negotiate or change our minds. She didn't beg for one for Christmas. She simply accepted the situation and made it in to a good one. She decided to bring her own headphones from home to use with the school iPad and came home excited about the spelling game she got to try out. What in incredible and grounded little girl!

Last, but not least, there's adorable little Orson. He is in that wonderful age of excitement about the world. Every new experience just lights up his little face with joy. He loves to learn and soak up new information. Here he pointing at the fire while Michael's showing him the sign.

As Orson grows we continue to see how different boys are from girls. He is such an adventurous little guy! Everyday we pick up Eliza at her school then play on the playground while we wait for Hazel to bus over from her school. Orson has learned to climb up the stairs, crawl over this large bridge, go up a few more stairs, and go down the big slide on his tummy. He's so big!

Of course his adventures sometimes get him in trouble like here where he got his head stuck in the desk! He's also quickly learned how to keep the girls away from him by biting or pulling their hair. We're working on it haha!

Orson is beginning to walk more and more. He's also picking up more and more signs, gestures, and words. He is so aware and opinionated for a boy his age. In fact, people often comment he acts more like's he two than barely one. He's also a great problem solver. The other morning he spotted some pumpkin bars in a bag on the counter, used the step-stool to climb up and get them, then crawled while dragging the bag to the bathroom to find me in hopes I would open them for him. You may have me wrapped around your little finger, but I stood my ground on that one. 

They won't be this little forever. But I know we will continue to find joy in the different stages of their lives as they grow. We are beginning to more fully understand why our only true joy comes from our families.