patience

Enjoying a moment in the hammock with my big girl. If I could feel her mood swings coming like I can feel the swinging of the hammock life would be much easier. I am thankful that many wise mama's have traveled and survived this road before me.

Today has been one of those days when I need Ivy's memory verse more than she does.

"Love is patient, Love is kind."
"Love is patient, Love is kind."

"Love is patient, Love is kind."

In parenting I need these simple words like I need air.
Someday are better than others.... I am hoping tomorrow will be better.

18 months....and 10 days

Tula Belle @ 18 months
Height: 29 inches (4%)
Weight: 20lbs (3%)

It is hard to believe my "little" baby is already 18 months, 1 and a half, and half way to 3 (which is SO big)! It is amazing how fast they grow but this time I am hanging onto Tula being a baby and taking one day at a time. I am not in a hurry for the days or time to pass because I know I will blink my eyes and she will be going to kindergarten!

Tula is independent. She wants to freedom to do what Ivy does and she doesn't like my help. She tries to get dressed, gets her own shoes out of the basket, picks out her sippy cup, chooses the paci she wants to have, and likes to eat by herself. While in some ways she tries to be so big she also loves being the baby.... and when you ask her name she responds with a huge grin, "Baby!"

The baby Tula loves a few things.... her paci and blankie are definitely at the top of the list. She also loves a tiny baby doll that is easy for her to tote around feed, rock, and sing to. And while on the topic of singing, my baby girl loves music. She mimics songs and actually uses a singing voice. She busts out into a "La, la, la, laaaaaa" from time to time and always loves dancing to music.

Tula has no fear. She loves to climb, run, and be pushed on a tricycle. She has one speed- fast! She has had more bumps and bruises than Ivy has had in all 4 years. You can't turn your back or she will have climbed in the pantry (can you spot the little climber below?), climbed onto a big bed, or be standing on top of some toys that she has strategically placed into a stack! We pray we can protect her for a just a little bit longer because our girl is wild!

Tula is her own little person. She is full of smiles, giggles, and songs! She is a free spirit and being outside calms her down from any grouchy mood she is ever in. She loves to swing, slide, and roam.... however relaxing in a stroller is not really her thing. Every day that she grows I hang on to the little baby in her, but I also enjoy all the little facets of her personality that begin to shine!

Happy half birthday to our little wild mama!

Learning to Read....Melting my Heart

I love books.
Ivy loves books.
Tula loves books.
Daddy loves.... to be outside!
So I guess even though they get their looks from Daddy, they hopefully will get their reading genes from me!

Over the last few months Ivy has really expressed interest in reading books. She has been memorizing little books for a while now and wanting to "read" baby books to Tula daily, but this new push has been to read... like "read all of the little words"! So the fun begins!

I ordered these little beginning readers gently used and we are taking off! It has been so fun to blend my heart for teaching with my mommy heart. Ivy is excited and I am passionate about teaching specifically reading so the mix has been a perfect recipe to get started.

Ivy wanted a word wall and a pointer for Valentine's day (with the 4 words she could read!!) but we are quickly adding to those. We make word families with the vowel sound that go along with each new book. And then comes the picture walk to preview the story.... and WOW!

Ivy can't do a picture walk while looking at the book like normal but instead she plays "teacher" and shows me the pictures. She is animated and talks in a hilarious "teacher" voice. It makes me laugh!

Then she sprinkles some "magic reading dust" on her pointer finger and the fun begins!

Watch it here.... Ivy reading her very first book!

talking tula

i would not go so far as to say we have a "talking tula" but we have definitely had our first language explosion this month and i love it! she has started wanting to repeat everything that we say and is trying to communicate more than ever. i captured some pictures to show her favorite words.... because let's face it, when talking about babies, pictures make everything better!

"Mommy"
this is tula's clearest word and she says it all day long.... it melts my heart... every time! she also says "Daddy" and "Iby" but of course hearing "Mommy" is my absolute favorite. we are enjoying a snuggle this past weekend and had to capture her being so calm. those calm, still moments are few and far between.

"Bite"
tula loves food and wants to eat fast- just like everything she does! she will say "bite" over and over while rubbing her chest to sign "please" throughout a meal time. she has started saying "peeze" also but it is more time efficient for her to communicate both words at the same time!

"Cack" & "Eye"
don't you love my neighbor's yard art? tula sure does! this caught two words in one. tula loves to read animal books and point to the animals and say their sounds- explaining why duck would clearly be called a "cack." her favorite animals are- ducks (cack), chickens (bock), cows (moo), and doggies (clear as day)!
she also loves to say body parts but watch out or she will violently poke your eye out, pick your nose, or grab your mouth looking for your teeth and tongue. her favorite of all- belly buttons!

"Jump"
as i have said before tula is WILD! she loves to jump and run. she jumps in her bed and is quick to give this plastic doll bed a jump any time she gets the chance.

"Wowm"
playing outside after a good rain leads to lots of fun for tula and ivy nearly puking! tula is already pestering her girly big sister by picking up bugs and taking them to her. tula cackles when ivy screams and this just motivates her to keep on doing it! i love the way she said worm without the "r" sound and she calls anything long and brown a "wowm."

"Up, peeze!"
tula will adamantly yell, "up, peeze" about many things! she wants up in the high chair, up on the couch, up on the bed, up on the sink, up in the swing, up on the bike, and up in our arms. our girl likes to be exploring and be right with us so usually that requires being "up!"

i love hearing tula's little voice forming. that is one of the things i always day-dreamt about as i held sweet little newborn tula in my arms... what would she sound like? i am getting to hear the unique qualities that make tula's voice uniquely hers!

mornings

Tula sharing my coffee one dip at a time!

I love mornings. Not all mornings. I just love chill out mornings that drag on for as long as I please. Right now I can't wait for my relaxing Saturday morning...... in about 14 hours it will be here. I seriously start dreaming of a lazy weekend morning by Thursday.

I love being in my pajamas until way too late.
I love eating my breakfast SLOWLY.... at a kitchen table or snuggled on the couch.
I love watching little girls play in footed pajamas that are sometimes layered with dress up clothes.
I love getting to catch up with my husband over too many cups of coffee.
And last, I love sharing little "bips" of coffee with my sweet girl.

Yep, Tula loves to dip her paci in my coffee and begs for a "bip" over and over.
And of course, I oblige.

My Valentine's

These are my little Valentines hugging my big Valentine.
This is how my girls greet their daddy every evening when he comes home from work. And I stare from across the room and think about how lucky we are to have such a good man to call Daddy and Husband. And I think about how special he must feel to hear people cheer his name and then be tackled with hugs EVERY day when he walks in the door.
<3 Love It! <3

Ivy and I had so much fun decorating Valentine's Cards. She choose "Hello Kitty" store bought ones for all of her friends at school and then we perfectly placed some m&m's to each one. But then we used glitter, glue, and construction paper to hand make each one for her teachers and she even made one for Kristy from Tula! She loved all the glitter :)

One of my many pinteresty friends told me about these PERFECT smores Valentines from Mrs. Smorstad. So we put graham crackers, a jumbo marshmallow, and Hershey kisses into little heart bags for all my students and attached a little card that said "Everyday I love you smore!" They were a huge hit!

Ivy was so proud of herself for helping on the assembly line! Then she decided she wanted to make these Valentines for her teachers :) So we did!

One of the best parts about Valentine's Day was a special weekend away that I had with this man! We had a great overnight date in Louisville last weekend. We went shopping, saw a movie, got dressed up for a nice dinner, stayed at the Galt House, and got to relax on Sunday morning! It was the perfect little get away and time to reconnect :) The little ones were perfectly taken care of at Nana and Pops' house but this was Ivy's comment about our mini vacation:

"Well, Nana. I guess Mommy and Daddy love each other more than they love their very own daughters!"
Geez Louise, what are we going to do with that little stinker!

Hope you all had a special day with your own Valentines.... little and big!

The Ivy Times

So, what is going on with my big girl? I present to you...
The Ivy Times

Ivy is doing great! To be honest, we have had a stretch of some awesome days at home. My girl has been pleasant, helpful, and sweet. Now does she bother her sister from time to time, most definitely! Does she still make quick witted comments that make me think she is 12- for sure! But overall, we are soaking in these sweet memories with our big 4 year old!

Ivy expressed interest in gymnastics over the summer. We took a break from activity this fall with the switch to 5 day a week preschool but in January we started a gymnastics class through the Y. I have been impressed at what you get for the price- it is eight 30 minute classes with 5 kids and 3 teachers. The have a little beam, little bars, and a little wedge mat for these little ladies to flip around on. Then they have a big blue mat for series of forward rolls and lines of "cart wheels." Lots of one on one time is given.... but the verdict! Ivy doesn't love it!

She is very kind to her teachers and she will try something the first time and then the request to try it again usually results in shaking her head "no" while giving them a "Sorry! No thanks!" smile :) They can usually coax her to try again, but overall she can probably walk away from gymnastics for now and not think much about it. She has asked a lot about why they aren't doing the ballet moves she learned at dance and why she can't wear her ballet shoes- and finally, she understands it isn't dance class! So last night, she asked about when she can go back to Miss Mindy's for dance :) So that is probably the plan for this fall!

At this age, my goal is to expose her to some different activities in the hopes that she will find something she really enjoys! We have pushed for soccer several times (for Daddy's heart) but Ivy continues to favor the girly sports- are you surprised? So for now, it looks like we may have a ballerina in the making!

Other snapshots of my sweet Ivy Girl!

"Are big lips fancy?"
"I don't know, Ivy. I guess so....."
(Not really paying attention to the conversation- obviously.)
"I think these look pretty with my dress. Do you?"
Wow! I caught a glimpse and lost it! So now, the potato head lips are a dress up accessory! Hopefully that doesn't mean lip injections are in Ivy's future :) I will have to convince her that natural is better!

Right now, Ivy aspires to be a hair dresser when she grows up!
And you know, Mommy is the best to practice on :) Even if I do only have 2 inches of hair!
Thankful that Ivy's new fear of lice (Thanks to Mama and Nana) and bribery to play with my hair at home has kept Ivy's little fingers out of the hair of her playmates at school- yes, we had an issue with this a couple of weeks ago!

The new 4 year old way of playing in her kitchen seems to play "restaurant"-
She takes orders and writes them down on a chalk board (Mommy spelling EVERY word) she doesn't go for "sound it out!" (I apologize to her future teachers!)
Then she makes everything and sets it out, always including a birthday cake and song for a special birthday girl :)

And that is all for
The Ivy Times!

****By the way****
I am convinced that Ivy has a "time of the month." I am really curious to if these hormonal changes start so young.... we usually have 3 wonderful weeks followed by a week from you know where! I can totally relate to this but geez, I didn't expect it from my 4 year old!

Any other Mama's of little ladies feel like they experience this same thing or am I crazy???