Favorite Quotes From a Two Year Old!

So Iris survived another year with us! I think she is committed at this point. Last year I gave the very long, cry-inducing story of how she came into our lives. And you can read that here if you like. This year I thought it would be fun to tell you a little bit about her now!

Iris is a very busy, fun-loving, determined little girl. Since the day we got her she has been a screamer! And she still screams... loudly! But she smiles and laughs big, and her voice (when she isn't in high-screech banshee-mode) is soft and cute. And we wouldn't change her for anything. Well that's what all parents say, but what we mean is... we would only change the screaming-tantrum-throwing-looking-right-at-you-when-she-is-doing-the-wrong-thing-to-make-sure-you-are/aren't-watching-tormenting-her-older-sister-because-she-screams-louder-so-sister-will-get-in-trouble-needs-to-do-everything-herself-even-though-she-can-only-do-half-of-the-things-herself-making-a-mess-with-anything-in-front-of-her-putting-rolls-of-TP-in-the-toilet-and-cell-phones-in-the-hamper-spitting-banana-pieces-on-the-couch (or anywhere really) part.

And in real truth, we don't even want that to change that too much because it makes her who she is and we love her! Two is an age of mixed emotions, for her and for her parents. She is learning to talk and making her way in this big world, and the things she learns one day she applies in the next. She feels happy one second and sad the next. And her parents love to see her learn and grow but are sad that she has to leave the "baby" world behind. Because now we begin the "independence" stage, and if that isn't a roller coaster ride, I don't know what is. But since we survived this age with Abby, then we are prepared to do some things the same and other things differently. And so we embark on that ride, one more time!

Here are a few of Iris' favorite things to say:
"MOMMY" (It used to be that she would start out quiet and get louder the longer it took to respond. Now it is always shouted... ALWAYS)

"Mine" (She learned this word in nursery...they all do)

"My do it" (She says this about 50+ times a day)

"No" with her arms folded across her chest (She learned this from Abby)

"I aaahhnt nandy" (Sometimes, and I'm not kidding, she will put her arms down and grab a fist full of her pants and turn from side to side with a big old grin... and say this---so hard to resist)

"Iris keys?" or "Mommy's keys?"

"Quick get Daddy!" (This one is especially cute because she will run really fast while she is saying it over and over again)

"Now" as in "I swing now" or "Daddy eat now" or "I watch now"
Here are a few of her favorite shows:
"Super Why" which she calls "WHY"
"Barney"
"Letter Factory" (And she can tell you the sounds of almost all of her letters)

Here are some of her favorite foods:
Broccoli
Carrots and celery
Steak
Baked Potatoes
**Right...in my dreams"**

Here is the real list of her favorite foods:
Pips (translated=chips)
French Fries
Bacon
Gum (I've never intentionally given this to her)
Nandy (I'm sure you've figured this out)

Here are her favorite toys:
Babies (that would be dolls, of course)
Elmo
Play Kitchen
Mommy's Chapstick
Daddy's Cell Phone
Abby's Lunch Box

Here are her favorite things to do:
Play with Abby
Read with Mommy
Give Hugs and Kisses
Listen to songs with Daddy on His Computer
Sing Songs Randomly Throughout the Day
Playing with Friends
Music Makers

Here are her favorite animals:
Elephant
Doggies
Kitties

Here are her favorite books:
"Big World Book of Animals"
"First Big Animal Book" (Yes they are two different books)
"Big and Small with Elmo"

I think she is a pretty well balanced kid! And she is a whole lot of fun to have around. We can't wait to see what she will do tomorrow!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRIS!!!

Abby and Iris posing with Birthday Cupcakes

Daddy is helping Iris blow out her candles while holding her hair back... good plan!

Definition of Negligent Parent

Negligent Parent (n)
1. Leaving purse within reach of toddler
2. Leaving toddler downstairs alone with only TV as entertainment
3. Watching Dr. Phil while cleaning bedroom--only occasionally listening for downstairs noises
4. Typing on facebook far too long before realizing there is no longer any noise coming from downstairs.
5. Jetting downstairs to see this:

That is one open purse, 11 trident gum wrappers and a face full of lipstick!

When will I learn that Iris is a totally different child than Abby. Abby didn't get into things because she wouldn't let me out of her sight. Iris is WAY too creative when left alone.

It's 45 degrees outside, what shoud I promise to do with Iris?

Tricycling and bubbles of course. I had to get Iris down for a nap and she insisted on blowing "bubbyles". So I promised her I'd take her out to blow bubbles after her nap. It was FREEZING out, but she couldn't be dissuaded. I try and try to imitate how she says bubbles, and I can't. I have a video, but I'm too techno-illiterate to minimize it enough. I'll ask Nate to help me when he gets home. Until then here is a cute picture of Iris on her tricycle.

Hey here is a good picture of the sweater Grandma Adele knitted.

Easter Eggs

I don't know about you, but I was way more fun as a kid. I LOVED decorating Easter Eggs. We really got into. I didn't care if it stained the table, my hands, my clothes. I just wanted to get in there and decorate. I don't know how many dozens of eggs we went through, but that didn't matter because we were having fun. Now, I'm kind of lame. I like giving the girls the option to decorate Easter eggs, but my practical side comes out. There really is no need to boil 3 dozen eggs for two children, especially if 1 in 4 of our family will eat hard boiled eggs. And if you are only decorating 9 eggs or so, then you don't need 15 colors. And you have to put a table cloth down, clothed the girls in over-sized t-shirts and FORBID them from touching the dye-colored water. Yep, I'll admit it... anal! But since the girls know no difference, they will grow up thinking everyone's family treats Easter egg coloring like the CDC treats the plague (nice hyperbole, isn't it?!?)!! But they had fun despite my OCD and I even bought a glittery decorating kit! Here's to one more year closer to not having to do this ever again!

Iris in all her decorating glory! (Yes that is a Christmas tablecloth... what's it to you?)

Here is Abby making some pretty eggs. She insisted on wearing this ridiculous apron OVER her over-sized shirt. I think she wore it to paint when she was 3.

Abby posing in her egg decorating outfit (sans the ridiculous apron).

I tried to get a good picture of Iris' shirt. Nate ended up taking it while I coaxed her... I probably bribed her with "nandy"!

A fun Saturday activity.

Well it was coming up on a weekend and Nate was going to be gone all day, and the weather said rain (big surprise there). So I decided that a Saturday at home with too much TV watching was not going to cut it. I planned an adventure for me and the girls. We headed to Raleigh to spend the morning at TK's Jungle. This place is great. It is a large indoor play land with a bunch of inflatables. Abby was in heaven. Iris took a good hour to get the nerve to play on them alone. Lucky me, I could play on it with them. What a workout! For the first hour I lugged 26 pounds of toddler up steep, inflatable steps to be rewarded with a fun slide down. There was one inflatable that Iris liked because it had a car. She probably sat on that car for 30minutes out of the two hours we were there.

Unfortunately, on Saturdays they only let you play from 10am-12noon. I had packed a lunch for us, so the girls and I had a picnic in the back of the van. It was a great day and I loved spending that time with the girls.

This is the top of an inflatable.

Abby was such a big help and really tried to play with her sister!

Big, soft things to climb on... without shoes...Abby is in her element!

I think the girls really liked their impromptu picnic! A few days later I set Iris in the back of the van while I loaded up groceries. She grabbed for the blanket and said, "Snack?"

In-Laws visit

Okay so this happened a month ago, but I still want to blog about it. Homer and Adele (yes, Nate's dad's name is Homer, and yes it is the father-figure's name on his beloved Simpsons) drove from Casper, WY to visit us here in NC. Actually they drove from WY to visit a lot of people. First they stopped in TX and then in FL and brought fresh squeezed OJ up here for us. On their way back they stopped in ND. It is okay because Homer likes to chase trains and Adele knits. The trip was long enough to knit both girls sweaters! LOL

We enjoyed their visit. They got here on a Wednesday and left the next Monday. We went shopping, park visiting, train watching, BBQ eating, and friend visiting. All in all it was a great visit. We even took in a Duke Women's LaCrosse game. Iris was immediately reacquainted with her grandparents. To this day she always mentions grandpa's name when she drinks her OJ and grandma's name when she wears her sweater. Abby loved having them here too and enjoyed reading to Grandma. Grandma got to see first hand the early endoctrination of Global Warming in the book Abby brought home from school to read. LOL

So here are a few pictures of our time with them.

Iris and Grandpa swinging at the park!

Iris and Abby at a car ride. We found a fun little park in Burlington with rides!

Here is the Carousel at Burlington Amusement Park.

Here is the final picture on their last day here!

Thanks for visiting! Y'all come back now y'hear!

***As an aside, apparently the sweater pictures are on Nate's computer. I'll try and get them on here soon.***

Should be blogging...

Well it has been awhile since my reflection moment. I have pictures to upload and things to talk about. But the camera is down stairs and I'm tired! So I'll just give you a few insights:

1. Teaching a picky toddler to eat is a pain in the butt!
2. Getting a six year old out of bed and dressed in the morning is a pain in the butt!
3. House cleaning is a pain in the butt!
4. Waking up 30 minutes before your alarm goes off (whether set at 7:12am or 6:30am) is a pain in the butt!
5. Waking up early to run is a pain in the butt!
6. Having my period 17 days after starting my last period is a pain EVERYWHERE!!! (I could apologize to my male readers for bring up menstruation, but I'm not in the mood)
7. Chocolate ROCKS!!!

Hopefully that will hold y'all (that's right, I typed y'all-- got a problem with it? Read the above and I DARE you to have a problem with it)!