Stinky Pants Are So Funny

Little stinker can have some mighty dirty pants.

And, she is usually very proud of herself.

Mashed Potato Finger Paint

Because we have a bit of a hard week this week, I looked Monday morning straight in the eye, raided my pantry, put down a disposable tablecloth, and let my little girls go to town.

We made mashed potato finger paint/dough.

We used some left over instant mashed potato flakes, water, and koolaid for color and scent.

It created a really fun substance to explore.

When left thicker, it was so fun to put in icing bags and "pipe" out in rows.

Mixing it up was half the fun.

You could sculpt with the thicker stuff, use a paintbrush with the thinner, and, of course, there was plenty of squishing.

Uproarious laughter could be heard throughout my house!

It is good to have a little JOY in your day to soften the hard.

It was a giant mess, but I rolled up the tablecloth and tossed most of it away pretty easily.

It provided us with nearly 60 minutes of creative, sensory play that was well worth the mess to this momma. 

I mean..

Who couldn't use a little mashed potatoes squished between their fingers and toes to brighten their day?

Her First Rainbow and the Treasure at the End

This morning we woke up to the most magnificent double rainbow!  It was like an amazing gift at the beginning of a hard, hard week for us.  I couldn't ignore the JOY at 545 AM this morning from these little girls as they saw a real live rainbow for the first time ever.

What an incredible amazing gift these moments were.  Then, as my dear artist always does, Anna Mei headed to her easel to process the moment.  How I absolutely adore how this baby girl is wired.  She got out her paint sticks, rolled over a fresh canvas, and began to draw.

Suddenly she started writing something at the end of the rainbow all on her own.  She is so interested in writing and words right now that I wasn't surprised letters made their way into her art.

When she had finished, she looked up at me and said, "Mom, you are the treasure at the end of my rainbow."

Blessed this morning, and every single morning of my life by the presence of these babies, but this morning in particular I was reminded of it.  Reminded to give thanks that God has allowed me to stand beside them as their mom when they see their first rainbow.  Reminded of the gift, that truthfully can feel like a burden if I am honest, it is that I get to shape their little hearts for Him.  Reminded that therapy and medical appointments, while sometimes can make me so weary, are a privilege, that because of God's provision, we are able to provide our precious daughters because they are just that..daughters and no longer orphans.  Heading into this hard, hard week doesn't seem so overwhelming on this Monday morning because God allowed me these moments to remind me that He is always there, and that each day is a blessing because my baby girls are in them.

Spelling Out Messages on Her NOVA Chat

This girl has such a mind.  She may not be able to speak verbally, but she has so much going through her head that she would just say if she could physically do it.  I thought this might happen one day as our girl is so bright, and here she is..typing out messages on her nova chat to us. She typed "good job help bite" because she is all about chewing right now! I know that she has been working hard on CVC words at school, and we reinforce that at home, but here is a complete message spelled correctly with many different kinds of words.  She may have picked up the spelling while working on core words or just by selecting them on her NOVA..either way it is AMAZING!

As she gains more and more skills to help get out her words, I am so thrilled to be able to catch a small glimpse of her thinking and heart.  Her first language was sign language, and it was darling the other day to see her signing to herself while she translated those thoughts to her NOVA.  I didn't have my phone to video, but she would sign "dirty hand wash".  Then she would find garden dirt hand wash on her NOVA.  All the while I was beaming.  What a precious treasure our girl is to us!  We are thrilled to see her transferring some of her communication skills to her NOVA as it is much more widely understood.  This girl is so incredible, and we are thrilled to hear each and every thought she is sharing with us!  What a few weeks she has had!

Look Who is Chewing

We have been home with Ellie for about two months now.  During that time, I have been pushing along with her feeding therapy activities.  These are exactly the activities that I did with Jillian for years.  We pulled back on pushing Jilly any further about two years ago because it was just psychologically too much for her.  She was gaining weight, growing, and participating in life eating only pureed soft food so we just took a break.  Well since coming home with Ellie, our Jillian is very very interested in all things Ellie Grace.  Many of the techniques and strategies that are helping Ellie are the very ones that helped our Jilly back then so it makes complete sense, but I never expected this..

I just thought I would offer her a rice husk a few days ago, and she bit!  Not only did she bite it, but she kept the pieces in there and tried her darnedest to chew it!  I have added a few more things like these puffs, and she keeps eating them.  Miracles never cease!  

Playing at Great Grandma's

Recently, we went to visit my Grandma..the little girl's great grandma..to introduce her to our Ellie Grace.

It is always precious to be with my babies at my Grandma's.  Both of my grandmas are still living and it is such a gift.

My babies are loved and cherished by our family, and it always warms my heart.

Ellie Grace was a fan of Grandma's mardi gras beads,

and Grandma was a fan of our Miss Ellie Grace.
What a blessing these babes are to all of us!

The Beach

I couldn't be more thrilled for the hot temperatures these last few weeks as it was perfect beach weather and we LOVE the beach around here.

We got two trips in last week and it was glorious to be there!  All of the girls love being in the water.

Ellie loved the beach too which is a good thing because we spend a lot of time here.

It is so fun experiencing so many firsts with her.

She soaks up the sun like our Jillian and just runs her hand through the sand.

It is going to be a fabulous summer!

It always goes too fast, but we have many beach days planned!

By the end of the summer these three may turn into fish if they have their way!  Oh that summer could last forever!

Streamer Play

My girl LOVES to pull at strings, chains, or any dangling anything.

So, this streamer sensory play was a no brainer for me.

I always have streamers in the craft room so one morning I simply hung streamers down the side of the kitchen table with painters tape.

For twenty minutes my girl was BUSY!

She was so engaged by these streamers, and even mouthed them which caused the dye to bleed.  Beware of bleeding dye if you do this activity, and be ready for one happy baby girl if your sweet punkin is like mine.

The End of Preschool

This little lady has grown so much this year.  We are so grateful for her incredible teacher, and all she has learned at school as a three year old.  She is writing her name, knows all of her uppercase letters, most of her lowercase letters, some sounds, and about thirty sightwords.  She is doing great, and her teachers were amazing!  They put together a little program to celebrate the end of the school year, and our Molly performed for everyone.

Two Years Home

We brought home a new baby, had this girl's end of the year preschool program, hosted a party for 300 for my oldest's graduation, and then collapsed into a heap of exhaustion.  Needless to say, I am just catching up with life.

At the end of May, we celebrated two years with our spunky Miss Molly.

My has she grown in the last two years.

She is still tiny for her age, but she is mighty.

She is the most determined, and independent little one I have ever had.

We certainly love this crazy, silly little peanut.  Happy two years home my amazing girl!

Raspberries

She just learned how to make raspberries with her tongue.  She thinks it is especially funny to make them when she has food in her mouth.  

Graduation

I am sure every single mother says this, but my word I can't believe this girl of mine is grown up.

We enjoyed the weekend of her graduation so much as several friends and family traveled to visit.  It was definitely a time for me to reflect on this mothering journey.  I have been thinking about what has had the most impact on my girl, and what are some things I could do better as I raise the littles.  God is abundantly good to give me a do over as I love being a momma so much.  I can't imagine being done with this season of life, but that is exactly where I would be had I not added my beautiful babes.

Our girl was the valedictorian.  She delivered a short, God honoring speech that made this momma proud.

Precious Babies.

One big girl whom I never dreamed would be surrounded by Chinese cuteness on this day, but here she is and I am grateful to God for the gift of my girls.

Just like that, we are done.  Looking forward to the fall, and all that this big girl will accomplish as the Lord allows her to grow.

Prom

Just a few weeks ago, we closed a chapter in my oldest life.

I brought home a new baby, had a senior prom, and graduation all within three weeks.

May was a crazy month.

This beautiful young woman didn't seem too frazzled though.

She took it all in stride.

I am still catching up though.

Thankful for this gift of my big girl and all that she adds to our life.