McKINLEY:
-Sometimes, McKinley will cover her ears when we are trying to tell her something. We are working on not doing that.
-McKinley was going up a big hill on her bike. Mom was encouraging her & she was doing great, but was obviously slowing down. Mom kept encouraging her, but she said “Mom – my muscles are gone!”
-In the morning, we told McKinley that we were going to go to Jack’s house that night & so for the morning prayer over the food, she prayed that it would be nighttime right now.
-McKinley calls all toast French toast.
-Mom was looking for dad & asked McKinley if she’d seen him. She said “No! Maybe he’s playin’ hide n’ go seek by himself!”
-McKinley got to go on a special date with Grandpa Potts to the Symphonic Choir. He said she did a great job holding still & listening. Afterwards they went for ice cream & McKinley said “Grandpa, I love ice cream too much!” Don’t we all, McKinley. Don’t we all.
-If we tell McKinley not to do something, she often says “but what if I forget?”
-McKinley was playing with a penny. She put it in her mouth & said “Mom – I’m cleaning this”…gulp. She swallowed the penny. We called poison control & everything, but she seems to be doing fine. She did like to tell everyone she met that day, though, that she swallowed a penny.
-When we were up in the mountains, mom took the girls to see the stream. McKinley asked if there were fish. Mom said yes – and you’ll get to go fishing with dad soon! She said “Quiet mom! They’ll hear you!”
-McKinley wrote a sweet note to her friend Lizzy, telling her that she missed her. She put the note in an envelope to mail. Then we decorated the envelope. She wanted to write a word that she knew how to spell on the back. Mom looked & saw that she wrote the word POT on the back of the envelope. Let’s just all hope that it wasn’t sent through the security system on the way to Lizzy.
-Grandma Potts has a toy where it asks you questions & you can record the answers. One question it asks is “What does a daddy say?” McKinley said “Here honey. You can play a game on my phone”
-Mom & Grandma Potts were testing the sprinklers one day. It went through the cycle a couple times – just watering each station for a few minutes. At dinner, we told dad that we were working on the sprinklers. McKinley said “Yeah, dad! They were broken all over! They just kept turning off & on!”
-Grandma is teaching some piano lessons to McKinley. They’ve started with learning the fingers & what number each finger represents. Mom was testing her one day. She shut her eyes & mom said to hold up #5, so she held up her pinkies. Then, mom said #3. Well, let’s just say it was somewhat humorous when McKinley held up both her middle fingers with her eyes shut & said “look Mom! I got it right!”
-McKinley told grandma “Aunt Cindy said that if I don’t brush my teeth I’ll get catigories!”
-McKinley wrote an “I love you mom” note one day that was so sweet. She said “Here mom. Put this in your pocket & take it out when you’re feeling sad. So sweet.
-We were driving somewhere (McKinley has a lot of her deepest thoughts/questions in the car) & she asked “Mom – ya know the gloves that doctors wear? Are they made out of white balloons?” That girl is a thinker, she is.
-Grandma has talked about McKinley singing a song in Sacrament Meeting. McKinley said that would be fun & that before she sang, Grandma should stand up and say “Ladies and Gentlemen! This girl knows how to sing!” McKinley was practicing singing “Whenever I hear…” except she sang loud and clear (and many times) “Whenever I hear the SONG on my face, or look at the blue, blue sky…” J
-Mom & McKinley were playing pretend one day & we were at school & she was the teacher. Mom said she was feeling really tired & McKinley said (in her teacher’s voice) “Well… then you can go to the restroom, because that’s where you rest.”
-McKinley had on one of Grandma’s black dress-up shirts. She came out & said “Look mom! I’m a missionary!”
-Mom & McKinley went on a special date to go see the Murray Park play of “Annie.” They both had a great time. It was a perfect night for a play.
-We know the Holy Ghost is working on McKinley when she says “Mom – I have to tell you something..” it’s usually followed by a confession.
IRELAND:
-Mom caught Ireland playing with crayons & putting them in her mouth. Mom was starting to get after her & Ireland said “Mom – we don’t eat crayons! We eat ice cream!”
-We put Ireland to bed one night & she came out after about 20 minutes & said “Good Morning!”
-When we tell her something lately, Ireland has been saying “Ok, OK, OK, OK…”
-Ireland has taken on the role of police of closing your eyes during the prayer. We still haven’t convinced her that if she can see other people & tell them to close their eyes then she must have her eyes open, too.
-Grandpa & Dad were watching basketball one night when it was time to go to sleep. Mom was trying to get Ireland to get her PJs on, but she said “No mom! I wanna watch basketball!”
-Ireland was pretending to eat Kezia one day & she said “Kezia tastes like brownies!”
-Ireland’s nursery teacher always praises her & tells us how good and obedient she is.
-When she’s mad, Ireland will say in her angry voice “You have a choice!”
-Both McKinley & Ireland love, love, love to water grandma’s plants. They may or may not be getting overwatered some days ;)
-Mom caught Ireland under the dinner table with the sugar dispenser. She was having a “sweet” time down there.
-Ireland was also licking peanut butter off her plate one day. She loves that stuff.
-Lately we’ve been having fun saying “Ireland Anita… HUG!” or “Ireland Anita… KISS!” Most times she is happy to comply (although, I don’t think she’s caught on to the play on words)
-Whenever we get ready to go someplace, for some reason Ireland will say “Are we goin’ to the doctor’s house?”
-Ireland loves to get Kezia’s headbands & put them on her head – many times multiple headbands are the thing.
-Another thing Ireland has been doing is reiterating herself: “Mom, when a baby cries, then a baby cries!” “When I want to go.. then I want to go!”
-Mom & dad were cuddling in bed with Ireland one day. We were asking her what she wanted for her upcoming birthday. She said “Chocolate!” We said “Okay, well what about toys?” She said “Yeah, toys… and chocolate.” We said “Well, what about balloons?” She said “Yeah balloons! And Chocolate!” Hmmm – that girl definitely inherited the “chocolate gene”!
-Ireland is lately infatuated with her penguin PJs. They’re kind of hot for the summertime, but if she had it her way, she’d never take them off! She likes to waddle like a penguin when she has them on.
-We were riding bikes outside in the front yard one day. Ireland liked to sit on the baby walker/scooter, but she kept dragging her toes. After a half hour, she had 2 bloody big toes that required band-aids. Silly girl!
KEZIA:
-Kezia is already 8 months & as cute as can be!! She has really mastered the crawling thing this month & has gotten very mobile. We’re really needing to watch her closer to make sure she doesn’t go near the stairs or crawl over to something small & put it in her mouth. She’s also pulling up on anything & everything! She’s standing in her portable crib now when she’s done with her naps. What a big girl!
-Kezia is also mastering the ability to pull off cute headbands & bibs L
-One day Kezia was on the changing table & mom went over to grab a diaper quick & she fell off L It was so, so sad because she fell right on the slate & she ended up getting a little black eye L
-Kezia has started to give up the mellow cries & go straight to screaming.
-She sleeps OK – usually straight through the night 2 or 3 nights a week.
-Kezia has a little mirror she plays with and when the light is on, it puts a dot of light on the ceiling. Ireland gets SO excited when she sees the dot. Kezia is just playing with the mirror, but Ireland is watching it move across the ceiling & screaming “dop! Dop!”
-Kezia can clap hands & wave now! It’s sooooo adorable!!
-Another sweet thing is that Ireland will put her head on your shoulder when she’s tired. She likes to have her neck and face rubbed gently. She will also wrap her arms around you in a little hug. It’s so, so cute & sweet.
-We were in church and the closing song had started & people were singing. All the sudden, Kezia starts “singing” and stops when the chorister sat down. It was so cute.
-Kezia does still say “Mama” and “la-la-la”
-Kezia also likes to squeeze mama’s arm when she wakes up.
-Kezia continues to capture people’s attention with how adorable she is – those bright blue eyes, that amazing smile, her laughs & giggles are just SO CUTE!
-Still waiting for that first tooth!
