Eat. Sleep. Softball.

 The softball season is starting to wrap up. Elisabeth has her last double header this Saturday and then we're done! April and May are super busy months with all the softball and tball practices and games. It really overwhelms our schedule, but it does kind of fly by.

I will say, though, that getting back our Saturdays back. All of Julia's games have been at 9am and most of Elisabeth's have been double headers on Ft Sam with the first game at 9am. We usually both bring travel mugs of coffee to see us through the morning. One game, one of the kids from Julia's team knocked over Evan's coffee in the dugout while he was at the first base coaching. I think Evan wanted to cry but didn't want to make a scene in front of all the children.

 This crazy kid:

 has her last game on the 31st, so I'll still have to keep the softball bag and 4 chairs we use from games in the trunk of the Flex. Holy cow, my car seems so empty after we clear out all the softball gear.

 Elisabeth's really grown in her softball skills this year, so she's been more enthusiastic about games. Her coaches keep her on 2nd or 3rd base during games and she rarely sits out. I kind of wish the season was longer so she could continue improving. Maybe the next place we move to will have a longer season.

 This is how big of an area we take up when watching games:

 Actually, we usually have even one more chair, but I'm pretty sure I had to drag it all from the car solo while making sure Vivian didn't get run over by a car while pushing her dump truck. We bring a bag of snacks, toys for V, a bag of all the mitts, gloves, and balls, and then a the 4 chairs. Oh, and if you look closely, Vivian had brought BOTH of her dump trucks to that game. It's like a traveling circus.

 I think I might frame this picture for Ebeth:

 Even though they keep her mainly on the bases during games, Elisabeth shows a growing interest in learning to pitch. When the pitching coach warms them all up, Ebeth usually joins them.

 Of course, it's hard to practice pitching your best when your sister is clinging to the fence you're throwing the ball to...

Or when your other sister decides to dig with her dump truck right up against the fence...

An update on the girls.

-Both of my girls are growing. Elisabeth has an unstoppable appetite and has out grown most of her wardrobe. Her feet are now in a child's size 3, which is just 2 sizes away from needing to shop in the women's shoe section. Julia is in a 4T now and they fit her perfectly. I need to make sure the bucket of 5T clothes is ready in the wings for when she sprouts into them. Also, Julia's been asking for naps again, which she rarely does anymore, but usually occurs during a growth time.

-Elisabeth is going to have a ginormous summer vacation this year. School ends on May 27th here but doesn't start until August 22nd in Texas. If we were still living here, she'd start school on August 3rd. That's a good 2.5 weeks of extra vacation. She's very excited, mainly because she knows that means it's extra time she'll get to hop in the car with me and explore San Antonio.
-While Ethan and Owen were visiting us last week, it occurred to me that Ethan will remember Colorado more than Julia will. That made me very sad. She's so little and she'll have barely turned 3 by the time we move to Texas. She won't remember our house or her room or the library we go to weekly or the Y or anything. Thank goodness I take so many pictures so she can at least see the things she loved to see and do and where we lived when she was ages 1-3.
-Let's have an Elisa-update. Currently, Elisabeth's favorite color is orange. She is reading chapter books left and right (so proud!!). We're reading the 3rd Harry Potter together and she loves it! I'm going to go ahead and read the whole series with her and then get her her own addition of the series so she can read them whenever she wants. She is thinking about being a music teacher or an art teacher when she grows up. She's pretty certain she wants to live in Illinois as a grown up (probably in Chicago). She still brainstorms ways to save the planet, still dances like no one's watching, still sleeps with her Doodle Bear every night. She and Evan still have their Star Wars: The Clone Wars dates on Friday nights (complete with popcorn and soda). She's been better about keeping her room clean and has really started to improve her "dealing with Julia" tactics. She is a clothes and shoes fanatic and has developed her own unique, cute style. Elisabeth is growing up and some days that is fabulous and some days I try to rewind it all to see the progression all over again.
-And then there's Julia...Julia's favorite color is pink. She has imaginary friends and is playing more and more out of my sight. Julia likes paint and markers and chalk and feels that any surface is an art outlet (including her face). Julia is funny. She has a natural ability to know what will get a laugh. She's definitely our comedian. Julia likes to read, loves her Pink Baby and considers Roosevelt her bff. Julia is wearing underwear now and is quite proud of herself. Julia is getting better about talking to people the first time she meets them, but we've still got a long way to go. Julia's almost physically outgrown her crib and we're talking about getting her a big girl bed (sob!). Julia's pretty good at riding her tricycle and no longer needs a booster seat at the dinner table. She's like to be a Mommy when she grows up. She asks for Evan as soon as she wakes up and is beyond giddy when he walks in the door.
Well, I guess I'll keep both of them. For a while at least.

Good-bye, feathered friends!

After waiting a few days to see if they came back (which they did not), it was time to tear down our bird nest. Evan was very excited (as pictured below), but I miss seeing their angry little faces stare me down as I walked in and out of my own home. See you next year, our fine feathered friends!




This weekend we (finally) painted Elisabeth's room! She'd picked out a light purple color and was intent on helping us paint. The finished product is awesome! The color looks great with her curtains and furniture. And we were able to put things on the wall!!!


Elisabeth made her bed for the pictures. :)



And she has played in her room every day since we finished. Poor baby, I think she didn't feel like she could play in the room because it was so piled and not finished. :( She's always been proud of having her own room and would show EVERYONE who walked in our door in DeKalb her"big girl" room. I have a feeling that she will be doing the same thing here too. Plus, now that we don't have to keep all of her toys in her room, she's having a much easier time keeping her room clean. (Now, the play area in the loft is completely trashed, but, baby steps)

Next weekend--Julia's room!!!!

Let's Talk Some Ebeth...

This young lady has not gotten enough time on this blog, so I shall fill you all in on her ups and downs in Colorado using bullet points. I am so fun.

-Elisabeth has made friends in our neighborhood, which has totally worked out well for me, since she is outside ALL THE TIME. She scooters down the sidewalk to knock on her friends' doors and they all run around until meal times. It's a little 1950s and I love it! Although, I've been bugging Evan to get me a giant bell to ring when it's time to eat so I don't have to lug Julia down the block to try and find my kid. (Oh, and don't worry, I suck at remembering that we are thousands of miles closer to the sun and that if I don't apply sunblock on my child she will fry like a lobster. Yeah...we both are working on reminding each other to apply it before she leaves for the day.)

-Elisabeth has (finally) learned to ride her two wheeler!!!!!!! Yesterday she calls me outside to show me how she can do it!! I am so proud of her, especially because the kid has no balance whatsoever and has really struggled learning how. I totally credit the scooter Pepaw bought her for helping her learn balance and therefore giving her balance to ride her bike. I will take pictures ASAP.

-Dear lord, the child is so sassy. I definitely blame Hannah Montana and those other Disney shows. Oh, and I guess her age (which is almost 7). We're relearning our manners (like saying "Please" and "Thank you" and not assuming mommy is her servant). Also, we're learning the consequences of fibbing...which aren't great. Like not getting to go back outside with friends or losing TV time. It's hard being a grade schooler, you know.

-She is SUCH a good sister. It's so funny to hear her lecture Julia in the car about not whining because she's not getting food or because the car's stopped. She shares her toys with her, and sometimes will even get to Julia before I do to tend to her. Recently when I was sick out of my mind with kidney stones (2 weeks ago...ungodly pain, vomiting, crying...it was bad), I could not function at all. I was trying to lay down in my room, but it hurt too bad, so I'd try sitting (no go with that either). I was calling Evan and begging him to come home and take me to the emergency room, and was just sobbing. I honestly had no idea what the girls were doing because I was pretty incoherent. Evan told me later that Elisabeth had played with Julia, picked her up and buckled her into her highchair, fed her lunch (cheese, yogurt, crackers), cleaned her up, got her down, and then played with her more until Evan showed up. When we finally got to the hospital, she told Evan that she'd forgotten to feed herself. It just gives me goosebumps thinking about how responsible and sweet that was. Could I ask for a better older sister for Julia? I don't think so.

-Elisabeth's current favorites include: the Disney channel, Star Wars (still), riding her bike and scooter, begging to go swimming, playing with her friends, Captain Crunch cereal, begging for diet sodas, our cats, keeping the hallway light on at night until midnight so she feels safe, learning to play the piano on a tiny keyboard she got for Christmas last year, Junie B. Jones books, going to the library, and shopping for clothes.
Best 6.5 year old I know.

How we have fun on cold days in March

Ahh...spring. Since March did provide a few spring-ish days, Elisabeth was able to enjoy her new gift from Pepaw...a scooter! And being the good Pepaw that he is, he even remembered how insanely safe Evan and I are and provided Ebeth with a new set of knee and elbow pads and a new helmet (since hers are in storage in Colorado). Don't worry, Ebeth's head is so big, that helmet is for ages 8+ and fit my own head just fine. (I'd make fun of her more, but she totally gets that from the Macfarlane side...sigh) Elisabeth was very excited and about her new set of wheels and, since it was kind of warm out, was able to practice.

Proud scooter owner.

She is so mine...look how lopsided she is. No balance whatever.

I love how she looks so sk8ter-y!


While Ebeth was practicing her mad scootering skills, Julala was inside helping Memaw with her Avon phone calls.
"What is this tail on your phone? It's so 'antique-y'. No one else I know still has a wall phone like this. It tastes divine!"
"Um, Memaw, you have about 5 seconds to get off that phone and get me some real food."



Last week, Julia and I decided to visit Ethan at the arena while he played with other children in the tot area. For one dollar, your child is able to roam the rainbow padded room and play with all the equipment. Now, while my child is completely immobile, Ethan had tons of fun. He even paused long enough to share a snack with Julia.
Julia was receiving her own snack, but decided she liked the looks of Ethan's more.
Look at him look at me for help. So cute. Too bad I was taking pictures and wasn't able to save him. (Just kidding, I continued to feed my fat, fat baby her own snack)
"Here, Ethan, let me help you take off your socks. You don't need them on."
"Thanks, Juju. Now I'll take yours off."
"Wow. We both have enormous feet for our ages."
Julia flapping her sock in the air like a pompom.
Eating Ethan's diaper that was being used to clean his nose. I did not get that information until after I let her suck on it. Thanks, Memaw.
Ethan trampolining.
Seriously, look how big his feet are!
Debbie helping Ethan on the balance beam. Isn't he so cute? I love that red-headed boy!!!

In other news, Evan has safely arrived in Washington DC where he will be hanging out until Saturday with his Air Force Jag schoolmates. (It's like a field trip paid for by taxpayers instead of fundraisers!!!)

Elisa-hair

Recently, Elisabeth had her hair cut and donated the pony tail to Locks of Love.







After she'd heard my sister talking about it over a year ago, Elisabeth was intrigued by the idea that her hair could be put into a wig for a child who didn't have any hair. She had to wait for it to be 10 inches long and then we could donate it.


At the beginning of the month, we straightened it out and it was 11 1/2 inches!!! She was so excited. We're super proud of her. After she cut it, she told the hair dresser that she was going to grow it out and cut it again in 2 years. :) (Oh, and having her hair short is MUCH easier to deal with in the morning. All is well.)