The Suits Sisters

(Clipping finger nails after a bath)  Mommy: Don’t you   just  love being a kid? Liza: Well, no Mommy: What?! What do you want to be? Liza: A mermaid! Mommy:  Well YEAH Liza: When I grow up I want to be a mermaid Mommy: That’d be fun. I’d come visit you Liza: Well YEAH , you would go to the beach at some point  (Girls in playroom, Mom in kitchen)  Liza: Audrey, I'm so curious about this but did you know that Jesus died on the cross for our sins? Audrey: Yah Liza: Oh! So you already knew that  caught a fly found a home for it

To my sweet Li on her fourth birthday, LIZA!! Happy birthday to my middle little baby girl. At four years old you love your Daddy (big time), princesses, pink and purple, your blankie and lovey and playing games. You're quick to help your sisters or mom and dad when we are looking for something or if Audrey drops something, for example. You don't love getting your picture taken (see above), getting your hair washed, being called "cute" (but "pretty" is okay) or cleaning up toys at the end of the day. Recently I can see (hear, really) your dramatic side coming to life (When talking to sister, " If you do dat again I'm never gonna play with you ever again IN LIFE ") Your love language is physical touch- you love to wrestle with daddy and often walk by him and throw a (hard) love punch at him. When we squeeze you in a tight hug or even pretend to sit on you, we get a lot of laughs out of you. Lie-zee, you make us LAUGH and bring so much ...

{A sister's bedtime prayer when it's not her night to stay up late with mom and dad} Dear Jesus,  Please help me to not fall asleep. Please help me to stay awake  and please help me to listen to Caris, Daddy and Mommy. AAAmen

{Slowing down to see on this Sunday morning} A three and a half year old wearing a 24 month hand-me-down smocked clemson dress  with squeaky clean hair picking out the perfect nail polish colors on an unmade bed  A five and a half year old wearing a 4T hand me down smocked clemson dress making a sticky note book for her Gigi with spelling help from mom resting one foot on top of the other  

We've been hit! (Battleship, anyone?) We're knee deep in thermometers, fevers, tears, piles of tissues that hardly get used the first time and a bored older sibling. I don't want to brag, but I kind of excel at parenting during this kind of sickness. Jammies, Ginger-ale and TV for everybody! ...Until day 4 when I'm suddenly like, Holy Smokies, make it end.

Sweet Li, The big three! It's hard to believe that it's been three years since my dream delivery (You're my favorite birth story to date. Don't tell your sisters) and you joined our family. We have had the pleasure and joy of watching you grow into a fun little girl. I find myself whispering to your dad SHE IS SO ADORABLE multiple times a day. You are very active and physical. You love to wrestle with your daddy and you love to tackle him. You're a daddy's girl and get giddy when you see that he's home from work. You will be a willing participant in Caris' scripted play-time for hours and hours and then when you don't want to play her way, you make it known. Yikes. Recently we've been talking about self control and learning to tell us how you feel and what you want. You have a tender heart and discipline & correction has been fairly easy with you. You're picky about how your clothes fit and what types of clothing you want to wear. S...

Happy THIRD birthday (2 days late because of internet probs)  to our active, silly and sweet Liza!

-Talks about the number one hundred and thinks that it is A LOT. "I have 100 kids! " "In the summer you'll have to give me 100 cups of water!" - Loves soccer practice but not soccer games -Thinks a boy on her team is really funny and giggles at him -Is beginning to draw  detailed things like hearts, pigs, elephants (Inspired by Piggie and Gerald ) and mice (Inspired by Cinderella)  -When her sister is upset, she will sometimes say, "Liza. Liza. Can we talk about this?" -Most mornings will only let Kent get her out of the crib "Need daddy" - Likes to throw things, climb and tumble. She'll jump to you even when you're not ready -Is good at cleaning up toys -Wants to complete tasks by herself. "I do it, I do it. I.DO.IT!" -Has dropped from a two hour nap to a one hour nap

Donuts Naps Pizza Presents  Cake 

Big -Knows her correct birthday but likes to pretend it's on the 4th of July instead -Loves to have tasks/missions/adventures -Recently discovered the joy of crossing things off of a to-do list -Her age changes hourly. "I'm 7! I'm 10! I'm 4!"  -Is awake at 6:30 or before thanks to the time change Little -Doesn't like getting her picture taken and won't look at the camera -Loves to look at books, be outside and often requests "show! show!" while holding the tv remote -Likes to count. "Fooooorrr, niiineee, SIX!!" -Has added the "s" sound to her words and I die every time. Like, "Ill- S a" -Recently discovered the joy of the moon thanks to the time change

The Little One -Loves her "Lovey" and "Pa-peesh" (paci) -Copies everything Big Sis does -Enjoys putting on everyone's shoes -Is stringing words together like "HOT!DON'T TOUCH!" and "My Daddy"  -Will play with mega blocks for a long time if there are no distractions in the living room The Big One  -Requests a band aid for any scratch or mark -Enjoys sunday school and Wednesday night church activities  -Loves to explore in the backyard while wearing her rain boots -Asks her dad, "Do you want me to grow up?!" almost every day -Wants to play "tag you're it" and color pictures with anyone who is willing

It's not like I haven't had the toothbrush bought and stashed in the bathroom for months It's not like she hasn't been sneaking away to suck on her sister's toothbrush  It's not like she doesn't stand in the bathroom doing an  adorable combination of "teef" and "pweease"  It's not like she doesn't have any teeth- suddenly she has five We finally had the perfect dork-Mom storm: a clean kid, a camera and a dad home at bedtime. Welcome to the club, baby Liza! 

Likes... Coloring! She will color for the longest time (we're almost positive that she's left handed), eating, dancing, listening to music- she bobs her head anytime she hears it, being in the pool,  jumping on our bed, climbing, copying big sister, playing pretend- drinking and eating from the play kitchen or holding a baby doll. Dislikes... walking, getting yelled at (by big sister) or any kind of harsh tone, she'll cry. She has started to cry again when getting dropped off at the nursery or Y if I drop her off (She's fine if Kent does it), diaper changes  are sometimes traumatic. Is good at... Being adorable,   throwing a ball,   She can hold her own during a screaming match with Caris, climbing- onto chairs and tables (cue my daily heart attack), getting into things- lipstick smeared on our bathroom floor today, "cra-lking"- her crawl/walk hybrid, driving the play car around the house, scaring bugs and lizards- she crawls over, throws her hands up an...

Liza told us she brought lemonade to the picnic, but we're not convinced

Little Miss, at  One Year... -You wear size 3 diaper -You weigh 18  pounds 12 ounces  -You are 29 inches long -You wear 12 month clothes -You sleep for 12 hours/night -You have 2 teeth  You like to eat almost everything! You especially love fruit and of course desserts.  You love  pointing and making noises at birds and squirrels outside, climbing onto the fireplace hearth, taking toys out of something and putting them back in, chasing your sister around the house while Mommy holds you and runs, kissing people and stuffed animals, sliding at the park, crawling to the door when Daddy comes home  You don't  (always)  love  not being held/getting put on the floor, having to leave your Lovey in the crib, getting dropped off at the church nursery, when your sister makes a repeated loud noise, when your sister sits on Mommy's lap (instead of you), having to wait for a meal.  You're able to wave hi/bye, give ...

1. On a chilly Wednesday morning, January 28th, we had a spontaneous family dance party and then I exclaimed "LET'S WALK THIS BABY OUT!" before my 11 AM doctor's appointment.  2. My doctor told me that I was in active labor and I should head to the hospital around 2PM, if things stayed the same and I replied " Today ?" with wide eyes. Although my water broke when I got home, I sent Kent to a lunch appointment and told him to keep his phone nearby. Rookie mistake. I called him  45 minutes later to come home. He answered his phone as if he was part of a SWAT team "It's time??" and I said, "I mean, that's a little dramatic, but yeah, I think you should come home." 3. Caris had like, 2 glorious, uninteruppted hours with the iPad while I finished packing, cleaned and labored. Kent scrambled to find an available babysitter since it was Wednesday afternoon and all of our emergency people were youth group volunteers. Rookie Mista...

There are 3 differences, from baby #1 to baby #2, that stand out to me when I look back at my upcoming delivery with Liza. 1. Aside from a 20-week hematoma hiccup, I had a healthy pregnancy and had an end goal of not having another c-section. February 7th loomed over my head as my cut off date. Literally. TMI? When I expressed my fears, my precious older male doctor from Puerto Rico, smiled with a twinkle in his eye and said with his accent , "This time will be different"  2. Instead of teaching and then bed rest, I was trying to keep up with a 22 month old. There was a lot of "Must.keep.going.Can't.actually.keep.going" dialogue going on in my head. 3. MY PARENTS WERE IN THE SAME COUNTRY. We were really pumped that they were coming to visit and help . My biggest fear was that they'd come too early and everyone would sit and stare at me for days. The text exchange below was from Tuesday night, I think, and even though I told them not to come, the...