Corinne is 18 months!

Okay, so I'm a little behind with the post. I have all kinds of posts in my head, just no time to put fingers to keyboard. To photo on the right is a picture of Rin on her 18-month birthday. She is a feisty little bundle of sweetness. She gives big hugs and has a ridiculously infectious giggle. She is adored. She amazes me with her speech. She even calmed my fear that she wouldn't be able to pronounce her own name. She pointed to her picture and said "Corinne." The other day we were in the car and she said "Corinne. . . pie." It was my smile for the day, because I always call her that. In all of the chaos, at least there's still one person in this house that listens to me.

The photo on the left is a typical picture of Corinne in the morning. She goes around collecting the pjs Landry and Nolan shed. She then puts them on herself, making sure that at least one of the articles of clothing doubles as a hat. Then, of course, she has to put on Brian's shoes, trying over and over again to walk in them. So far, she' been unsuccessful. I guess size 5T feet just don't fit very well in size 13 shoes. Her determination is quite admirable, though.

Thank you, God, for this sweet little girl. Her sweet chubby cheeks, scrinched-nose grin, and warm cozy cuddles make me one happy mom.

Landry is 6!!!

Middle picture: last day as a five-year-old. Right picture: Holding her favorite gift - mascara. :)

I just can't believe I have a six-year-old! Things have really changed this past year. I have been a little shocked about the transition from being five to being six. I think a lot of it may have to do with starting "big school". Landry is much more likely to dress -up in a real dress than she is a costume. She's a little tired of the Disney princesses, and she has started to really enjoy TV. Her sole focus right now is on losing her first tooth. Six days ago, she finally convinced me to try to wiggle it and. . . it was LOOSE! It totally took me by surprise. She's been saying she has a loose tooth for about 6 months. Of course, she'll be wiggling a molar or an eye-tooth, so I pretty much figured that she was imagining things. But, when she started wiggling the two bottom teeth, her eyes got HUGE! She turned around from the mirror and said "It really moved!" I started to think she might actually have a winner this time. So, needless to say, I wake-up to the same question every morning - "How long will it be until my tooth falls out?"

In the way of birthday gifts, Landry received something I have found quite addictive. I don't know why I never played with these when I was younger. What could it be? Are you curious? Is it something really complicated and expensive? NO! It's Shrinky Dinks! I just can't get enough of those things going from a big, dull, thin piece of plastic, to a small, bright, shiny, thick piece of "glass". I've enjoyed my oven more for making Shrinky Dinks than I have for making casseroles. Hmmmm. . . if only they were edible.

She also got a globe. It kind of shocked me when she opened it and said "Oh, yes! I'm going to find the boot, Italy!" She hasn't said one word about Italy until that moment. I was quite relieved that her first desire wasn't to find China. She told me last month that she wants to move there when she's an adult. She said she wants to have different people and a different government. I really don't know where she gets all of these thoughts. I spent a lot of time telling her that we already live in the best country on earth. I can't tell her a lot of the reasons why, because I want her to maintain the innocence of a child for as long as possible. But, I also want to make sure that she is constantly aware of the blessing of living in America.

Her big gift from us was a birthday party. She had it at a kids hair salon. It was way too small of a room, but she had a great time. And, Corinne got her first haircut! (That's the next post to come.)

So, another year has passed. Another year of parenting experience under my belt. Another year of on-the-job training coming my way. Thank you, God, for my first-born.

A Word About my Background. . .

If it looks like spring threw-up on my blog, that's because I'm dreaming of warmer temps, flowers, warmer temps, leaves on the trees, warmer temps. . .