my snow angles

the last warm day

it's winter time around here

there is a carpet of white snow covering the prairie

and ice coating the trees

but days before winter set in

it was warm & beautiful

we brought our blanket

and games outside

the kittens quickly join us

there was lots of giggling

and kitten loving

purring & playing

our toes felt the warm sunshine

and we soaked up the peaceful beauty around us

the boys were in the field working

while the girls and kittens played

there were books, puzzles & games

smiles, love and joy

on our last warm day

cookie monster & the trash fairies

taking out the trash

can be

lots of fun

when you bring along

cookie monster & the trash fairies

big brothers

...are for hugging

...and tickling

...and being tickled

...and giggling with

big brothers are awesome

4 year old Eliza & Nolia

you can both pump on the swings

and can spend hours swinging

...you like to say "fly high high in the sky like a birdie"

you very rarely go anywhere without each other

you hold hands and give each other hugs and kiss

very regularly

Nolia loves any tomato in anything

Eliza only likes orange tomatoes or cooked in food

you both wish your hair was longer

and sometimes straight

you love reading bible stories in the morning

you still sleep in the same bed at opposite ends

and you play footsie at bedtime

Eliza calls lasagna, basagna, and doesn't like it

Nolia loves lasagna-basagna

you want to be mamas when you grow up

and have 10 kids each

you share and play very well together

fights are infrequent and usually short

Eliza loves all things pink-purple

Nolia loves all things purple-pink

you really enjoy counting right now

especially our family

and think it's funny we will soon be 9 and not 8

you love skirts and dresses and tutus

and wear a size 4-5T

and size 10 shoes

Eliza is a bit pickier than Nolia with food

but you both eat a good variety of foods

you pick flowers all the time

and bring them to mama

and I love them, even if they are weeds

your favorite songs are ::

rock my soul, Jesus loves me, twinkle twinkle, panda bear, home, my sunshine

...and many many others

we sing together everynight before bed

and you both sing almost all day

you say funny little phrases like ::

okey-dokey artichokie

awesome opossum

alrighty then

you're both learning to whistle

...Nolia is more interested

you love to color and draw

and are starting to write lots of letters

when you play house you use made up names like ::

casey, katie, brilyn, ava, kayla

you love animals

and have quite a collection of stuffed animals.

the hug, kiss, have babies, nurse babies, lick

most of them have names like...

ella :: the elephant

chompy-stomp :: Ella the elephants mama

koalie :: the koala

Li-li :: the lion

puffet :: the puppy

husk-husk :: the huskey

foxy :: the fox

lambie :: the lamb

peep-peep :: the robin

lick-a-lot :: the black kitten

kiss-a-lot :: the other black kitten

kit-kit :: the baby kitten

share-a-lot :: the pink bunny

not-share-a-lot :: the other pink bunny

you talk about being twins

and how you girls weren't lonely in my belly

you pretend to be help fairies

and run around helping the rest of us

...and your animals & dolls

you both have a very vivid imagination

and spend hours every day playing made up games

you've recently started a "don't want to sit by a boy" phase

and now Ozzie is in the "don't want to sit by a girl" phase

...but you play with Ozzie a lot

you are both still very shy

even with people you see often

...sometimes you'll say "I'm just being shy"

you aren't very interested in movies

but on occasion you will sit and watch

backyardigans, curious george or dora

you know all the colors

sing the alphabet

and can count into the middle 20's

we are learning letter sounds

and you can identify 10-12 letters and their sounds

if you have the choice you will both come with mom

anywhere, anytime

you love Ariel the mermaid

and sometimes call her Orial

...we've only read the books

and what started your love for ariel was a pair of underwear with her picture

you build legos with the boys

and have become quite good at building cars, trucks & houses

you like your door open just a crack at night

and sleep with a pink-purple lava light

you beg your brothers for piggie back rides

and they happily oblige

you love picking basil, greens, peppers and cherry tomatoes

in fact you love it so much....

between you girls and Ozzie I hardly need to pick those

you have a fort in the woods with Ozzie

and will sometimes disappear into the trees

but I can always hear your giggles

you still giggle a lot

about everything and sometimes nothing

you love to help me cook

and can read the measuring cups

and measure ingredients for me

you like to bring things along with us almost everywhere we go

...animals, dolls, books, paper and crayons

you almost always go to the bathroom at the same time

which can be so difficult with only one bathroom

you like to dress alike, but not always.

You both usually talk about it and decide if you want to match

you play outside in the grass, dirt, mud & gravel

usually without shoes

Nolia loves kombucha

Eliza does not

you wear your hair in braids a lot

and do not like to have your hair brushed

...although you're getting better

if one of you gets hurt and cries

the other one usually cries too

you sometimes get yourselves confused when looking at pictures

we think you might be mirror image twins

you are pretty good about picking up your toys

...much better than your big brother Ozzie

your favorite non-imagination games are

uno, fill-er-up, zingo, legos, bingo, pattern blocks, puzzles

...i'm sure there are more, you enjoy games

your kitchen job is to clear the table

and help Vance wash the table

you like to help me fold clothes

and can fold your shirts very well

you talk about seeing the kittens we've lost in heaven

and how they are sleeping in the ground right now

and won't be sick or hurt in heaven

you baby the kittens...

singing them songs and giving them hugs and kisses

you can identify lots of different vehicles

ford, chevy or chevrolet, dodge, honda, gmc

and regularly call them out as we are driving

you give awesome hugs

and always make sure to give all of your brothers hugs before bed

you love life

love your family

love being girly

and love being you

you are amaze me everyday

perfect in every way

knit together in my womb

perfectly made by God

a blessing to our lives

Happy Birthday Girlies

the girlies day

our little girls turned FOUR

holy moly our girls are 4

they requested banana pancakes for breakfast

complete with homemade strawberry honey syrup & berry smoothies

they both woke up with smiles

...until Eliza realized that she was not any bigger.

"I'm not four, look at me, I'm still three!"

We all had to convince here that she was indeed four

and it was just an age, not a size.

we sang happy birthday 4 times

and practiced blowing out candles.

we spent the day playing

...swinging, singing, dancing, twirling, 

kitten loving, bike riding, book reading

and talking about being a little bit closer to being a mama

they requested pasta salad for lunch

with oil, vinegar, cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper, hemp seeds & feta

I was happy to oblige.

It took me a little while to create a recipe for their requested strawberry cupcakes.

I was determined to make it sugar free and with real strawberries.

Happy to say I accomplished it and the crowd raved.

after girlie requested quinoa veggie cakes for dinner

we were ready for cupcakes

we sang happy birthday FOUR more times

and they giggled and smiled the whole time

their brothers showered them with attention most of the day

and the girls completely ate it up

Nolia was quite the candle blower

...Eliza had a little trouble

Eliza tried and tried

but just couldn't blow the candle out

she finally asked sister

who tried but stopped and said

"you can do it sister, try again"

and she did

and finally blew her birthday candle out

and that was the girlies day

happy birthday my little girlie loves