A little comparison

I came across this little picture of Josie on my sister's fb page. I then just had to go find a picture of Audrey I had taken recently to compare the two. It just so happens that Josie is the same age in this picture as Audrey is right now. Bahhh, they grow up so fast!

They are so different, yet so the same. I can't even imagine how different they'll look in another 16 months.

Tuesday Ramblings

Instead of showering and getting ready this morning, I was removing the doorknob off of the girls' room so that I wouldn't have to destroy the door to get them out. The doorknob we put on that door is cheap and not just in price. It is so incredibly hard to open and it freaks me out to think that one day I won't be able to get it open and the girls will be on the other side, stuck. No thank you! So for now, no doorknob.

Let it be noted that today Josie will get to watch cartoons so mama can shower. It doesn't happen everyday, but sometimes it's just necessary. 

We are sledding tonight with the kiddos and our small group. I'm excited for it! But not so much for being freezing cold. Our lfb isn't coming with (can't be outside right now so it's just not an option) so we'll be one on one going up and down the hill and that will make it a lot easier. Last time we went, we were outnumbered so it was kind of stressful to keep the kids out of the way of the other sledders. They are too young to really understand that concept (you know, of getting out of the way to avoided being pummeled by a fast moving sled full of children) so we were constantly shuffling them over to the side while also trying to pull the sled up without tripping anyone. Needless to say, we only went up and down the hill about five times before we called it quits. So yes, this time will be better.

I've been in another food rut these days. I just can't stay inspired to plan meals out long term. I will do great for a week or two and then fall off the wagon. Life is so much better when I do it! I've said it over and over and yet I still can't seem to remember it when it's time to plan out the next week. I find that I'm drawn towards pasta dishes or casseroles because it's easy but also so messy and full of calories/carbs like no other. I'm just sick of frozen veggies. That's the alternative (in my mind anyways). Also, we've been eating potatoes with every single meal that isn't a casserole. It's a little out of control. What kinds of sides do you usually eat? Meat, potatoes, veggies (frozen steamable packets or salad)... that is the system now and I'm so bored with it.

Will someone come over and wake me up at 6:00 AM from now on? Apparently, getting up in the morning is impossible for me on my own. I'd love to work out and have a little bit of quiet time so if you could just make that happen, that'd be great.

Enough rambling... enjoy your Tuesday!

the Sisters

Where to begin? A relationship between sisters is complicated. With only 16 months between them, the gap of size and maturity is closing and with that comes more laughter but also more tears.

Most of their behavior is totally typical. Audrey wants to do whatever Josie is doing. It isn't undying admiration at this point, but she definitely "gets inspired" by what the big sis is doing. Josie hasn't learned yet that imitation is the highest form of flattery, so she gets rather worked up about it. Especially if it involves cheerios.

An example:
In the morning, I'll get Josie a bowl full of cheerios to keep her calm before I can get myself together enough to get her a real breakfast. If Audrey has been released from her cage let out of her crib, she beelines straight to Josie to eat her cheerios. If I get her a bowl just for her, she inhales it and then goes to Josie for the rest of hers. You haven't seen a real cat fight until you see this! Josie gets distraught and it takes half the morning for her to recover. Audrey smiles with a real "victory!" expression on her face. I'm ready to throw in the towel by the end of it all.

A story for you.

Every once in a while, Josie will be so very sweet to Audrey and will give her a toy without an ulterior motive or say something sweet about how much she loves her. I have to keep my eyes and ears open for it though, because at this point they are not too lovey dovey. Audrey in turn does occasionally offer kisses and hugs to her, but again, I have to be extra watchful if I want to catch those moments. 

Most of the time, they get along great. They tend to coexist without tears about 90% of the time. The older Audrey gets, the more they play closer and closer together. Josie is happy to role play (and of course assign roles to Audrey) all day long and Audrey plays along for a while before moving on to another game or activity.

There isn't a whole lot of jealousy yet. Most of the time, if one kid wants to he held, the other is content to stand close by or play on her own. I can only recall less than a handful of times that Josie asked me to put Audrey down so she could sit with me (and read a story of course). Most of the time, Audrey is happy to get down because she's done with whatever we are doing anyways. Overall, this doesn't create problems, which I'm so thankful for.

They are almost the same clothing size! For a while, Josie was in 2T and Audrey was in 18 months. I foresee many arguments about clothing since they will more than likely be in similar sizes their whole lives. Lord, help us all.

They interact the most at mealtimes. Right now, they sit next to each other with the lfb sitting across from them. Josie is all about messing around at dinner time and Audrey is happy to oblige if she can once she's eaten enough to avoid starvation. Many a meal I am guilty of dragging Audrey's high chair away from the table to try to keep them under some kind of control. Many a meal, I fail. It is entertaining, though, so there's that.



I still think that they look like sisters, but the similarities are not that obvious to me. Hair is different, eyes are different, noses are different. With totally different personalities, they just seem so different.

One of their obvious differences (to hubby and me) is how different their approaches are to new things. Josie will dive in head first with excitement, not thinking through what could happen or if she is even capable of it. Usually, she ends up stumbling or initially failing, causing immediate frustration. We do a lot of coaching around about continuing on even though "it's so hard, mommy!"

Audrey will take her time, watch everyone else, figure out exactly what she should do, and then do it almost perfectly. She takes longer because she does this, but in the end she comes out ahead. She didn't have to fail and then figure it out. She just does it right the first time. This can be dangerous, though, because if we aren't careful she could get the attitude that if she can't do it perfectly the first time, it isn't worth doing. No bueno.

It's so fun to watch how different they are. They are both smart. They are both loving. They are both sweet and compassionate to others. They are both dramatic. They are both hilarious. Yet they go about all of these character traits differently. Always keeping us on our toes, these two!

I pray that they can be best friends. I pray that even though it's inevitable that there will be arguing, that they will learn to put each other ahead of friends that will come and go. I pray that they can be sisters in Christ as well as sisters in our little family.

Aren't these little princesses sweet?

And occasionally, they match. Not too often, because come on. But occasionally, it's sweet.

Because it's been forever (2 of 2)

Picking up where I left off here, now it's time for some Audrey talk.

Where to start? Better question: Where'd my baby go? She's a "big kid" now, as I do believe she thinks of herself. She follows closely behind the bigger two and can almost keep up. Emphasis on almost because we all know those little legs can't quite move fast enough to really keep up. She has spirit though, and isn't afraid to throw down if they are purposefully discluding her. It's entertaining, but also ear piercing.

I know it's blurry, but look at the bearded grin!

She is wearing size 12-18 month clothes and a size 3 shoe. Her blue eyes are just beautiful - lighter than most people's. She gets more comments on her eyes than anything else. Her hair is kind of a mess right now though. It's slowly ever so slowly starting to get some length but it's not even close to long enough for any sort of style. The long hair in the front (affectionately called her Emo hair) helps keep the obvious "I'm a girl" status but other than that, I don't do much else with it. She is too quick for me and rips out any clip or ponytail I put in, so these days it's down and in her eyes most of the time. 

This is how she feels about hair clips.

She's a good eater. If she's hungry, she has no preference. If she's starting to get full, she can be the pickiest little girl, but I can't blame her for that. I've learned to never assume that she will like or dislike something because it completely depends on her mood and hunger level. I have stopped cutting everything up into tiny pieces and thankfully she is rocking the idea of taking bites instead of just stuffing it all in. She drinks milk out of her sippy cups and straw cups and basically acts like the big kids with all things food or drink related. I love it, since it makes life much easier for me.

I offer a fork, but she prefers hand.

She's become quite the daddy's girl, but this mama doesn't mind. I get all of her "ups!" all day long so daddy coming home means a little bit of relief from it. If you missed that, her favorite word right now is "up!!!" and she is oh so insistent when she wants to be picked up. I won't say that it is all the time, because she can be very content playing or meandering around the house. There are days, though, where all she wants is to be on higher ground, mainly being carried around by the tallest person. If I were to sit down while holding her, she'd want down to go to the closest person standing up. Better view I guess.

While it can be exhausting to have a screaming one year old at my feet while I make dinner, deal with a tantrum from the one of the older kids, or clean up a huge mess, I don't mind her love of being held. I know she'll outgrow it and I really do love the physical closeness with her that I never seem to get with the older two.

King Audrey, as royal as it gets in the Deyle house

She's figured out how to give kisses, and give them she does. Almost any time she's picked up or even if you just catch her eye from across the room, she's happy to give kisses (air kisses included). She has the most affectionate laugh and is either screaming mad or smiling. There is hardly any in between. She's ticklish and loves being chased. She puts on the charm by turning her head to one side and thinks it's hilarious to shake her head vigorously to any question.

We had a little scare when we noticed a black dot on her front tooth. I convinced myself that it would have to be pulled because it was dead but thankfully the dentist said that at this time, that isn't necessary. The black spot may get bigger and will probably always be there (until it falls out of course when she's older) but unless the gums are showing certain signs we don't need to worry about it. I was happy to hear that! (If that is what is wrong with it, it would have probably happened when she fell and hit her chin on our hearth a couple of months ago. She bit through her tongue with both of her front teeth and could have possibly killed her tooth nerve but it could take at least this long to show signs of that. And that, my friends, is my uneducated explanation.)



Her talking is happening more and more. Words she says now: Mama, Daddy, baby, Audrey, Jo Jo, UP!, HIII!, bubye, more, moo (the only animal sound at this time - oops need to work on that!), eat, no, yeah, and water. Each day there is a little more expression when she "talks" to us and slowly new words are emerging. I wouldn't be surprised if she has a huge burst with new words any day now. Her comprehension of language and speech has quadrupled in the last month or so and she is just communicating with us more and more. Of course, with that comes some sight of her little personality that we are still getting to know.

She is so happy. When we are out in public, she will make eyes with anyone, smiling, waving, saying Hi hi hi hi hi!! She isn't exactly shy but does like to be near mom or dad for the most part. Of course, we can be substituted by aunties and grandparents at any time. The "hi hi hi hi hi!" greeting is almost my favorite thing she says or does right now. When someone she recognizes walks in the door, she gets so excited that she runs at them with the biggest smile on her face, screaming "hi!!" over and over and over. Whoever it's aimed at is always surprised but who doesn't love a greeting like that? Answer: nobody, because everybody loves it.

If she puts a hat on, it stays on. If you put glasses on, they stay on. Headbands? Unlikely (although in the picture below, I lucked out). Socks come off and go into her mouth (gross, I know). She is often seen walking around the house with our Roku remote since it is the smallest of our three remotes and just her size.

She loves to dance! If there is even a second of music coming from anywhere near her, she's be-bopping along to it. She is the kid that lasts the longest when we have dance parties (although, to be fair, she also takes the most breaks). She isn't about reading books yet, but I have a feeling she'll get there. She seems to like the idea of it but just wants to flip the pages faster and faster and really she doesn't have time for a story. That's not what books are for, right?

Seriously. She's just fun. I have kissed her and squeezed her so many times and I still don't feel like I can get enough. How did we do life without her? I have no idea. 

Next up: A Sisters post. Keep your eyes open for it!