VIDEOS, PICTURES, & STORIES -OH MY!

oh my goodness! where does my time go?!

Life is so busy with 3 little ones, trying to run a household, trying to "do school" with them, etc etc. And with the holidays upon us, I find myself even busier.

Part of our "busyness" is playing outside alot right now. It is still in the 80's here. ugh. I can't remember it ever being consistently this warm this late in the year. We are supposed to get down to "normal" temps (60's) on Thanksgiving though...hopefully it will stay there!

Because it's so beautiful outside right now, the kids are asking to play alot. I let them play out back alone all the time....but they like to ride their bikes out front...and for that, I insist on being out there with them-and therefore my time to get stuff done is much less than before. :)

We are SO blessed -we live on a cul-de-sac now...our house is on the corner, next to us are a retired couple that only live there November thru March, and then next door to them is a young widow with 5 kids...that is IT for our street...across from all of us is a wall....SO....our little cul-de-sac is NEVER busy and is THE PERFECT place for the kids to ride their bikes.

the videos are only 20 seconds each. :)

**Becca's bike is a bit too big for her, but it was $5 at a garage sale and it's a Ba*rbie bike-pink and purple with those tassle thingies...we couldn't pass it up!...we'll keep looking for one that fits her better for now though :)***

Elizabeth's speech is really taking off. She has understood English for a very long time, but speaking it has come slowly. Her sentences are getting longer and longer -yay! they are often choppy, but she's getting her point across and that is making life easier for all of us.

99% of the time, she understands what we're saying and can respond appropriately -it's that 1% that she doesn't, that makes life so fun with her. :)

case in point

The other day, after church, John ran into a store to get a Slur*pee and the kids and I waited in the van. We were talking about how daddy loves Slur*pees, mommy loves Chai Tea Lattes :) and then we got to talking about what they like. I then asked them their favorite foods.

mommy: Ok-what is YOUR favorite food Andrew?

Andrew: I like carrots the best (and he really does).

mommy: Becca, what is YOUR favorite food?

Becca: I like lemons (she will suck on the ones from our water at restaurants!).

mommy: Elizabeth, what is YOUR favorite food?

Elizabeth with a huge smile on her face and eyes as wide as saucers cuz she's so proud to be answering a question!: I like puppies!

there was a lot of giggling in the car.... :)



just last night, on our way to a park to play, she said her longest sentence yet: "Daddy drive, mommy sit right here. "Yay Ellie!!!! She is STILL very much into labeling things...ie: mommy seat, daddy seat, my seat, etc. when we get in the car....or if she's helping me sort laundry she will name off every piece of clothing and who it belongs to. It's a bit annoying at times if I'm to be totally honest here, but I've come to realize she enjoys doing it because it brings order to her little world AND because she's practicing words and knowledge she knows. So I'm trying to be really patient with it. :)

We are also po*tty training her. Have been for weeks now with really no luck. But.....yesterday she only had 2 little accidents in her diaper, and there really was hardly anything in them. She pretty much went the whole day with a dry diaper and going peeps on the po*tty all day. I'm hoping for 2 days in a row. :)

That's all I have for now. We made a big purchase this weekend....so hopefully I'll have a few pics to share with you soon...it's getting delivered on Wednesday. :)