Classic Molly

I had Molly's pictures taken for her second birthday and they turned out so good! I was a little worried that they wouldn't because Molly got really shy when we first got there. She wouldn't stand or sit by herself and I thought for sure we would have to go back another time to get the pictures. But, thankfully, I started playing peek-a-boo with her and that did the trick! She quickly lost her shyness and we got some great pictures! This picture here is my absolute favorite! It is just a classic pose of Molly - standing with her thumb in her mouth! I love her so and even though it might be a hard habit to break, I love that she sucks her thumb!

Molly's Bedtime Prayers

We always say a prayer at dinnertime, whether it be my family's prayer of "Come Lord Jesus, be our guest. Let these gifts to us be blessed," or the prayer Lucy has learned at preschool, "God is great. God is good. Let us thank him for our food." Lucy knows both prayers very well and Molly is getting good at saying both of them.

When I put Molly to bed each night I'll try to say bedtime prayers with her. One night when I said told her it was time to say prayers and asked her what she wanted to pray for, she folded her hands, looked up at me and said, "Come Lord Jesus. Amen."

Oh this was the sweetest thing ever! She was so proud of herself for saying this prayer and I decided Jesus knew Molly's heart and that we didn't need to pray anymore that night. :)

Happy Birthday To Molly!

Today is Molly's second birthday! We've had a fun weekend and day celebrating with family and friends. Ross took today off to celebrate with us all day, so that makes it even more fun! I love Molly so much. She is such a little stinker, but such a fun little thing! She is the perfect mix of happy and calm and loves to cuddle!

Too Tired

Lucy's preschool uses green, yellow, and red dots to mark behavior for the day. Up until January 11, Lucy had received all green dots for her behavior, but January 11 was just not a good day for her and she came home with a yellow dot. Truth be told, I had been dreading a yellow day for a long time! I just always want Lucy to be good and never get in trouble and was afraid I'd be beside myself if she got a yellow dot.

I totally surprised myself, though, when I laughed and laughed and laughed after seeing her yellow dot that day and reading the note that came with it. The note said, "She said she was too tired to clean up all day." Oh this just made me laugh! Mainly because at the time Lucy had been telling us that at home when we asked her to clean up her toys or do something she didn't want to do. She'd be playing along just fine and then we'd ask her to clean up and she'd go run over to the couch, lay down, and say she was too tired. I laughed imagining the drama that Lucy's teachers got to witness when she said told them she was too tired. :) :) :)

I talked to a friend of mine whose daughter is also in Lucy's class and she said Rowan also received a yellow dot that day, with the same exact note next to it! This made me laugh even more! We joked together that our daughters were bringing each other down, etc.

I'm happy to report that Thursday was a green day, although it was almost a yellow day, too. The note next to her green dot for the day said, "She almost went home on yellow. Same, too tired, but she improved throughout the day to get green." And again, Rowan had the same exact note! Oh how I wish I could be a fly on the wall in that preschool room!

My New To Me Rice Krispy Treat Pan

I have a new favorite pan! It's the pan my Mom always used to make rice krispy treats in and I love it so much. It's just a basic, metal, 9x13 pan but the best thing about it is that it has a lid that slides on and off. I love it! My Mom probably used it to make other things in, but I mainly remember rice krispy treats being in this pan. I always loved my Mom's rice krispy treats. They were always so much better than anyone else's I had.

I asked my Mom if she still had this pan and if I could have it if she didn't use it anymore. She was happy to pass it on and I was more than happy to take it from her!

Ice Skating And Laughter

Ross likes to go "ice skating" in our dining room. He will start running from the living room and then slide on the hardwood floor in the dining room. Both girls think this is pretty funny, but Molly thinks it is just hilarious! It is so funny to watch Molly watch him and listen to her laugh. :)

Eating My Words

I've probably written about this before, but since having kids I wish I had a penny for every "I'll never do ____  when I have kids" statement I made before having kids! I would be a rich woman by now, I'm sure. And I'm sure pre-kid-Libby was soooo judgmental of parents and how they disciplined or interacted with their kids, or of the things they let their kids do. Although sometimes things do look different from the outside looking in, it is impossible to completely relate to something (raising kids) without having experienced it firsthand. It's so easy to judge from the outside.

I thought of this the other day when I was in the middle of making dinner for a friend and realized I didn't have one of the ingredients I needed to make the dinner. We had been home from the gym for about 30 minutes and Lucy had already made herself comfortable by putting on her jammies and I knew it would be a major task to get her to put her clothes back on. Molly wouldn't be a problem, but Lucy.......

I decided to take the easy road, eat my words of  "I will never take my child to the store in pajamas" and loaded them up in the car and headed to the store. We were in and out in record time and both girls were a piece of cake to manage. And really, who can tell she has on jammies anyway?

Merry Christmas Glasses!

I got a special, surprise Christmas present this year from Ross' Mom, Wanda. She gave me her set of Merry Christmas glasses! I was so surprised and so very thrilled to receive them! My parents had a set of these exact Merry Christmas glasses when we were growing up and I absolutely loved them. My parents had four glasses that said Merry Christmas and four that said Seasons Greetings. My sister and I both loved them and we would often argue about who would get them someday. Last Christmas my Mom decided to give them to my sister and me. You can read more about that  here.

During the first Christmas Ross and I were together celebrating Christmas at his parent's house, I realized that Wanda had a set of these same Merry Christmas glasses. I told her how we had these glasses growing up and my sister and I both wanted them someday. When talking to Wanda about the glasses I was thinking to myself that maybe someday down the road I'd ask her if I could have her set to go along with whatever I got from my Mom and have a very nice set for myself. But I wasn't going to say anything about that at all.

Well, to my surprise, my thoughts came true and Wanda gave me her Merry Christmas glasses this past Christmas. I hadn't ever asked her for them and had even forgotten that she had a set, so was just so surprised and excited to receive them! And thinking about it now, I don't know why I love them so much. All of the glasses are in good condition for being 40 years old, but they are starting to show their wear. Maybe it's just the childhood memories they bring back, getting them out Christmas after Christmas and enjoying drinking from them. Whatever it is, I'm thrilled and so thankful to have all of these glasses and will treasure them each year. I hope they will last another 40 years and my girls will argue over who gets them someday, too!

The Dentist

I took both girls to the dentist this week for the very first time and both visits couldn't have gone better! I took Molly alone on Thursday while Lucy was at preschool. I didn't know how the visit would go over, so thought it would be best to take them separately. Molly did so well! She sat up on the table and let the tech brush her teeth with no complaining at all. I was so proud of her because teeth brushing at home definitely does not go that easy! The dentist came in to look over her teeth and she easily opened her mouth to let him look. I did notice it seemed like he had to keep her mouth pried open a few times, but overall, Molly did a great job. I imagine it probably helped that she got to watch TV during the whole process and I told her we could get a donuts after her visit.  :)

Lucy's appointment was this morning and I'd asked my Mom to come watch Molly during that time, but after Molly's appointment I realized that it would be just fine to take both girls. Molly was so good to sit and watch Lucy during her appointment and Lucy was the best little girl ever! She let the tech brush her teeth with the electric toothbrush and even seemed to enjoy it, too! She really liked the suction tube and spray water (which was called Mr. Thirsty)! Lucy did exactly as the dentist asked when he checked her teeth and just did a great job overall.

I'm so proud of both girls and happy to report that their teeth look good and no problems were discovered. Our next checkup is in August, let's hope for the same results then!