Our girls

We were fortunate enough to have one of Colin's family friends take a few pictures 2 weeks ago.   Aubrey did a spectacular job considering what she had to work with.....a very cloudy and crummy day, nap time for Rowan and my little Lillian who poses for EVERYONE would not pose or smile once despite every bribery technique known.  Little did we know she was feeling crummy and hours later she spiked a 103 temp.  She was sick for 7 days.  It was the start of our 2 week December downfall.  So keep that in mind as you take a gander at my beautiful girls.  This is Rowan at 6 weeks old.

There are so many things I try to repeat in my mind so as not to forget this time around.  I love the way she gets so excited and crosses her eyes and opens them wide just as she is about to eat.  How when she is so excited she forgets to open her mouth all of the way and so she latches on and makes the funniest whistling, gurgling, spitty noise (I laugh every time),  how she clenches her fist when she eats versus Lillian who shrugged her shoulders. I love that when she talks she demands your attention, only talking when you have full eye contact with her.  It always starts with a smile and when she realizes she has your approval and full attention she tries and tries and tries so many new sounds.  I love how when she hears my voice she calms right down.  I love that she needs alone time and time to be independent but with the crowd.  Rowan loves to sleep with her entire face nestled your arm, she constantly needs something on her face just as Lillian did.  She is patient, sweet and gentle.  She is growing so fast and with everyday our love grows.

Lillian continues to be so loving towards her sister.   She continues to make us laugh and smile all day long.  Her favorite games right now are chase (screaming "you can't catch me") and hide and seek.  She loves to play dolls and with Thomas the train.  She recounts her stories in full detail and her sentence structure continues to amaze us.  She is constantly singing,  songs old and new.  She makes her own songs up to common themes like Twinkle Twinkle or she takes songs we all know and love and adds her own melodies.  She cannot wait for nastics na nastics class (gymnastics) (pictures to follow) and she loves to dance.  Our evening pass time is frequently dancing as I can hold Rowan and bounce with her and Lily is happy the  entire time.  Lily keeps saying she is a big girl now.  Reminding me that since she is a big girl she can ride on the water slide (saying it with a tilt of the head, with her eyes looking out to the side with a slight smile), I try to tell her she still needs to be taller but that is not working, hopefully she forgets about it by summer time.  I love that being a big girl really only comes down to riding the water slide (something we have not talked about since maybe July).  She is right though, she is a big girl....she is 100% potty trained both day and night, she dresses herself, puts her shoes on by herself, even zips her pants.  She has so much spunk, so much ferver and so much drive. Colin and I frequently talk about how we can direct it in positive ways versus letting it get the best of us.  When times are tough, like  on a daily basis we have a few stand-offs, Colin and I always joke saying, "well this is what it is like raising a CEO." Truthfully though I don't think it is a joke.  She is a leader, she leads with laughter and smarts.  I am proud she is my big little girl.

This week in the wake of the tragedy I am more thankful thank ever to have my sweet, sweet girls.  To have this time at home with them.  They melt our heart daily.  So I offer a prayer of peace to those families and that community.   May you feel the healing power of God and time and the love of those around you.  May you be able to remember the beauty of your little ones, every little sentence, every little nuance and may you find peace.