Guess Who Came to Dinner

Last night we had a lovely breakfast for dinner--eggs and biscuits and gravy. I told Aubrey I was going to start making dinner, and she said, "Dinner! Yuck!" Then I told her what we were having and she said, "GRAVY?! I wooooove gravy!" Silly peanut. I was a little concerned, however, with Olivia's new best friend. She joined us for dinner last night and never said a word. She didn't even fold her arms for the prayer (although Olivia did try to make her). She is a pretty girl and always has a smile, but something about her just isn't right. Maybe Olivia enjoys being her friend because she'll do whatever she tells her to do.

Yes, that's right, she is a lifesize barbie. She is taller than peanut (although that isn't hard to do). Olivia got her from a friend in the ward who was going to take her to D.I. anyway but asked us if we wanted her first. Since then, she has joined us for meals, been dressed and undressed and dressed again, been sick and in the hospital, and slept with Olivia last night, which didn't turn out so well. I woke up this morning to a loud thud and Olivia screaming. I went in to see what was wrong, and she tearfully explained that she had fallen off her bed, and on the way down the barbie came down with her and kicked her in the head! Apparently sleepovers with lifesize barbies are not a good idea. But Olivia is a forgiving child. She still helped Barbie brush her teeth this morning. (It was a nice gesture from our friends, but I have to say--she freaks me out just a little bit. Oh well, hopefully the novelty will wear out after a while and she can go where she was intended to go after all ;)

Snow Cave

Olivia absolutely loves to go out and shovel snow with Daddy. She really does it pretty well, too! The other day they decided to pile it on to the side of the driveway in a tall pile so that they could make a snow cave. She is very proud of it!

Oh, Peanut!

So, as I have mentioned to a couple of people, my kids have been a lot nicer lately. Nicer to each other, nicer to me, and hopefully nicer (or at least as nice) to others like playmates, teachers, etc. I'm sure there are a lot of factors at play, for instance, getting older, we've been trying really hard to read scriptures every day again after we lost the habit (ironically) around the holidays, and David and I have been taking a Love and Logic class recently and have been attempting to implement some of what we have learned there. And was there a full moon recently? Anyway, yesterday I jinxed myself . I was getting out of the shower and the girls were playing upstairs. I heard them playing together, without fighting, and thought to myself, "Gee, I guess it is about time for a third kid--this is getting a little too easy!" Ha! Moments later, Olivia ran downstairs to inform me that although she had been watching her sister, somehow Aubrey got into the markers (which are usually kept on a high shelf...hmmmm, who got them down?) and she was coloring herself right now to be a peacock!!! When I discovered the scene all I could do was laugh. There was Aubrey with marker head to toe, and I am so proud to say I actually had the presence of mind to 1. not yell and 2. take pictures! Breakthrough for this mommy, because poor Olivia probably would not have gotten such a calm reaction. Here are the pics of our little "peacock" (if indeed that was what she was doing as explained by Olivia).

Sorry for the diaper pics, folks, but that is what we get around here since the girls change clothes 5-100 times a day from one princess dress or ballerina tutu to another.

Other fun things about "the peanut":

She loves to be called that. We have developed a little game where we call her some other nickname, like "Are you a little...stinker/midget/pocket rocket?" To which she replies, "I not a ____! I just a peanut!"

She loooooves to sing "We are a happy family" and lately has been making up all sorts of "families" out of bath toys, chunks of peanut butter sandwich, stackable ring toys, blocks, etc., and then making those "families" sing the song.

She copies everything her sister does that is naughty.

Lately when she is throwing a fit or misbehaving, we say "Uh-oh! Looks like it's bedroom time!" which is followed by crying time in her room (basically time-out) until she is ready to come out and "be sweet." Now when we say "Uh-oh!" she says "I NOT SWEET!" We know, peanut, we know.

But really, she is sweet a lot of the time and we love her to pieces! Little peanut!

Finally--Fall Family Pics!

Can you tell that I have a renewed desire to blog? I have been wanting to share some of our family pictures from this last fall since, well, this last fall. Here are a few--they are the unedited versions with my cold sores and Aubrey's skinned nose. Thank goodness for photoshop--the one on our wall looks a lot better! And especially thanks to Sam and Sara who so graciously drove up to Rexburg with us to take our pictures at "The Gardens."

A Coupon Story and Other Funnies

For all you couponers, and maybe even you non-couponers, here is a fun little story. (Disclaimer: I get carried away telling my kids' funny moments to other people, so if you already heard this one, disregard--or maybe chuckle again.)

Olivia: (Excitedly) Mom, did I ever tell you how to get a dog for free?!

Mom: No, you didn't. (thinking--it wouldn't matter if you did--I don't want a dog)

Olivia: I saw it on PBS! You just go to this place called PS Angels (?) and tell them you want to take one of their dogs for a walk, and then when you bring it back they say you can keep it. For free! It doesn't cost anything! Nothing! No money, no coupons, no cans of soup, nothing!

Mom: (laughing) That's really free! Cool! (In the past few months we went to a pumpkin walk which asked for canned food donations and to a cupcake shop that ran a promotion where if you brought in a can of food you got a free cupcake--I'm assuming that is why my daughter now thinks soup is a currency.)

Other things that make me laugh:

Girls playing in the bathtub playing "mermaids" and singing "ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah" little mermaid style.

Olivia and Aubrey playing house. Olivia places foam princess chair on top of kitchen chair and lifts Aubrey up into it. I quietly observe from the next room. Olivia wants to "feed her baby." Aubrey (baby) does not want to be fed. She keeps trying to get down. Olivia keeps lifting her back up with increasingly loud and adamant demands that she stay in her chair, baby! Then, in desperation, thinking I am unaware of what is happening she yells to me in the other room, "Mom, will you get me a rope?!"

Olivia performing "Don't Stop Believing" and "Any Way You Want It" with great gusto. (If you haven't seen Glee you probably shouldn't--it is my guilty indulgence and Olivia now looooves the music.)

Aubrey playing with barbies and making them propose marriage, kiss, and go potty (the three most common actions she makes them do--can you tell we have attempted potty-training lately?).
That's all I can think of right now, but they really do crack me up every single day. I have good intentions about posting all their cute funny things each day so I can share and mainly so I can keep track of them, but we all know about good intentions, so...we'll see.