An Interesting Fact About Our Family

As I sit here at the computer listening to my girls reading stories to each other in the next room, a thought occurs to me: I don't read to my children. It's not that I never read to them, I just do it so rarely. That sort of falls under the daddy category at our house.

He is a much better story-teller. He is so animated when he tells stories. He gets into character. He uses different voices. He exclaims in all the right places to add emphasis and suspense. The girls absolutely love it!

I think they settle for my story reading when daddy is working because a poorly read story is better than none at all. Actually, sometimes they prefer to just read the books themselves.

The thing that's interesting to me about this situation, is that I'm the reader in the family. I have been known to read as many as 4 or 5 books simultaneaously. Kasey hates to read. His attitude is this: If the book is good enough, someone will turn it into a movie. If it's good enough for someone to take the time and money to make the movie, then I'll save myself the time of reading and just watch the movie.

Very different attitudes, to be sure.

I guess that's why it's kind of funny to me that Kasey is the one to read to the girls, not me. Oh well. As long as someone is reading to them, it really shouldn't matter who. Right?

Things to Remember

These are some random things about my girls. I don't have specific stories, but these are things that I don't want to forget.

*Makayla always sings when she goes to the bathroom. Even her preschool teacher has commented on it.

*Ellie responds to anger the same way I do: she clenches her fists & teeth and shakes. Except when she does it, it's really cute.

*Ellie knows 2 colors: pink and purple. Go figure!

*The girls can turn anything into a game. My favorite: the carpet is the ocean, the couch is a boat, and the vacuum is a mean shark coming to get them.

*Ellie says "dirly" instead of "dirty"

*Makayla still can't say yellow, but most days I don't want to correct her because her exaggerated "lellow" just sounds so darn cute!

*Both girls are really opinionated when it comes to their clothes. Already. Aack! They won't wear anything I pick out for them. They want to choose their own clothes each morning.

*We recently bought the movie Shark Tale. When I ask Ellie to say it, she says "Shark Pale."

Lessons on Life & Death

M: Mom, what happened to Nemo's mom?

L: She died. Do you remember?

M: She died?

L: Yes. At the beginning of the movie.

M: Well, how come she did that?

L: Sometimes people die.

M: Well that is super sad!

L: It is super sad. But when people die, they go live with Heavenly Father and Jesus in Heaven, and that's not sad.

M: Oh! I would like to live with Jesus.

L: Okay, but you have to wait for a really long time.

Baby Names

Kasey and I are having a tough time deciding on a name for this baby. I offer new suggestions to him every day, but we can only seem to semi-agree on 1 or 2 names. I know, you are probably thinking, "Isn't 1 or 2 names all you need?"

Well, yes, that is true. But I'm not completely in love with the names that we semi-agree on. Maybe with time, the names will grow on me. But for now, I'm still searching for something else that we might like better.

It was in my baby name search tonight that I found a celebrity baby name list. It proved to be quite an entertaining read for Kasey and me. Check it out here. Among the favorites, as in made us laugh the hardest, are Peaches Honeyblossom and Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily. At least we know that whatever name we pick, there will always be someone whose name is far more unfortunate.

In Search of. . .

some new lotion for my girls. We live in a really dry climate. Lotion is essential, especially in the winter. I've tried a few different kinds that I found at Walmart, but they have either been too greasy or too stinky.

I need some help. What lotions do you use for your kids? Brands? Scents? Where do you buy it?

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

Pregnancy Update

A few people have asked how I'm feeling. So here's a little update. No more morning sickness/nausea. Yay! I'm so glad to be over that. This little girl is going to be a soccer player, I think. She is such an active little kicker. She's already discovered my bladder and is quite fond of kicking it. Not so fun. I, amazingly, am still wearing my regular clothes, but today I had to put a rubber band on the button on my jeans. The waist band is getting just a little snug. It won't be too much longer before people at church actually believe that I'm pregnant. haha

I've started having some contractions (Yikes!) and back pain from carrying her more in my back than out front. Anyone else carried a baby this way? I'm desperate to know how to relieve the pain a little bit. I know it's only going to get worse and, frankly, that scares me a little bit. Oh well. At least I'm on the downward slope now. Only 19 weeks to go. Maybe 18 if my doctor is feeling generous!

Lots and Lots of Pictures

I was going to write a post about how annoyed I am with my 15-year-old car that is giving me grief. But then I remembered that I haven't posted pictures of my girls from their recent photo shoot. And since seeing their lovely faces does more to lift my spirits than complaining about my stupid car ever could, I'll stick with the pictures.