Vanilla Wipers

Watching Aidyn spend time with my parents and my grandparents has been a fun part of this vacation. She has gotten some great quality time with them and today was no exception. She really enjoyed helping Great Grammy make a yummy lunchtime dessert of vanilla pudding. At dinner tonight she was telling Mamie and Pappy about the dessert she helped to make and gave the entire recipe: "First I put a vanilla wiper in the bottom of the cup, then I spooned in some pudding in the middle, then I put another vanilla wiper on the top!" Yummy vanilla wipers!! :-)

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

Yesterday we went to Idlewild, an amusement park near my parents' house. One of the coolest parts is Storybook Forest where you take a walking tour through a giant Mother Goose book and into the forest. All of the favorite characters are in there: the Three Bears, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Peter Pumpkin Eater, Little Boy Blue, and many more. It's really cute and she had a lot of fun remembering all of the stories and nursery rhymes. One of them she must not have known, because she definitely couldn't finish the rhyme:

Me: "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?"
Aidyn: (without hesitation) "Water!!"

Wish

Yesterday Aidyn watched me shave my legs. I usually shave during the 10 minutes I'm alone in the shower, but this time it couldn't be avoided and I needed a quick shave. I'm pretty sure she hasn't ever seen me shave before, but she's seen Daddy shave a lot. So there were a lot of questions: "Why do you have to shave? (because I want to wear shorts) Do you shave your face? (nope...only boys) Daddy doesn't shave his legs. (no, just his face) Can I help you shave your legs? (no thanks) Can I shave my legs? (no way) WHEN can I shave my legs? (well, a razor is sharp like a knife, so when you're bigger) Can I shave my face then? (no...you're not a boy) How about I just hold the part that's not sharp for you? (no thanks)"

Fast forward about 6 hours. We were shopping in the mall with my mom and Aidyn saw a wishing fountain. She asked Mamie for a penny and threw it in. She turned to Mamie and said, "Wanna know what I wished for? To shave." I'm pretty sure that wishing fountain is broken because that wish isn't coming true anytime soon!!

You Can Blog That

Aidyn has discovered that we blog her cute little sayings. I'm not sure exactly how she came across this information, but we do talk about it sometimes so I guess she overheard. She obviously doesn't mind because lately she's been saying, "Oh, that was funny what I just said. You can blog that."

Princess

We are visiting my parents in Pennsylvania while Donnie is in Nicaragua and Aidyn has really been missing her Daddy. Last night she cried and cried at bedtime but eventually calmed down enough to say, "But I am a princess. And my prince is in Nicaragua!!"

Baby Names

Although Aidyn is completely convinced that our new baby is a girl, we have narrowed down our boy names to three choices: Lukas, Landon, and Logan. The family is slightly split over the decision, so I decided to let Aidyn choose. On the way home from preschool today I asked her which one she liked best and she said, "Well, Lukas is too big so off check. Ummmm....so I pick Landon." Now just to wait for the big ultrasound!

Sad

Aidyn has been learning how to better express her emotions. She has been a little sad lately because of Kassie leaving, but she is working through it in her own little mind. My two favorites from the past few days:

• "When I get really sad I forget how to kiss."

• "Sometimes when I am sad I go in my room and lay on my bed and just look up at Jesus. And I tell him I am sad. He is in Heaven and His voice is too quiet so I can't hear Him, but He makes me feel better."
  

Do You Have a Pen in There, Too?

Aidyn has been really loving to go shopping with us lately. She is so cute checking the items off the list and she's learning about spelling and reading, too. So, when we went to the grocery store today to pick up some things for Kassie's Forever Family Party, she asked if I could give her the list so she could check things off. I told her that the list was in my head this time. She looked puzzled for a moment and then seriously asked, "Do you have a pen in there, too?"

Off Check

Shopping at Pick 'N Save today:

Me: Ok, let's go over our list. Hamburger?
Aidyn: Check!
Me: Chips?
Aidyn: Check!
Me: Formula?
Aidyn: Check!
Me: Fruit for fruit salad?
Aidyn: Check!
Me: Ten thousand kisses for Aidyn?
Aidyn: OFF check!!!!!

She'll Always Be in Our Hearts

Kassie is officially with her Forever Family and we are so excited for her. Although we will miss her, she will do well living with her family. Probably no one will miss her more than Aidyn. They have become wonderful little friends and sisters so I was afraid what kind of loss Aidyn might feel. We have been talking about this day from the moment Kassie came to live with us, but I just wasn't sure if I had prepared her well enough. I gave Aidyn the news about Kassie's leaving on Thursday and here's how it went:

Me: "Aidyn, I just wanted to tell you that it's almost time for Kassie to go live with her Forever Family. She is going to move on Saturday. Isn't that great news?"
Aidyn: [puts her head down sadly] "I will really miss her though." [thinks a moment and then looks up brightly] "BUT, she will always be in our hearts!"

I guess all of the preparing did sink in at least some. Now we'll have to see how the next few weeks go without her playmate. I already read her six books at bedtime tonight, so I'm enjoying the extra snuggle time with my big girl!!

That Jesus Song

On the way home from church tonight we were listening to K-LOVE on the radio and Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) by Chris Rice came on. Aidyn was sad because we had to leave Daddy at church to finish up a few things and she had been crying but stopped when the song came to, "Cry to Jesus." We got home a few minutes later and I noticed she was still looking pretty sad. I asked her if she was still missing Daddy and she nodded, then asked, "Why does that song tell us to cry for Jesus?" I explained that it said cry to Jesus, which I think means that when you're sad you can tell Him everything and He will listen. Then she put her little lower lip out and said, "I think I might cry again." I assured her that it is always okay to cry and knelt down to hug her and she just sobbed, "That Jesus song made me tear up!."

Baby's Food

Warning: This might be a little graphic. I debated whether or not to post it, but I decided that it was too funny to keep to myself.

Aidyn has been very interested in the pictures of babies breastfeeding in her book about babies. She has been asking a lot of questions about how our baby will eat and whether it will breastfeed or have a bottle like AJ. I told her that I will probably breastfeed our new baby and ever since she has referred to my breasts as "the baby's food." As in:

[giving me a hug with her head on my chest] "Oh, Mommy, I'm sorry I squished the baby's food."
or
[seeing me putting on a bra] "Does that protect the baby's food?"

Remembering

We have been doing a lot of talking about the baby in Mommy's belly the past several weeks and Aidyn has asked some very good questions, including whether the foster care case worker would come to see the new baby too. Recently she was asking what it looks like inside my tummy and I showed her a picture of the ultrasound and one in her book about babies. She studied both pictures carefully and then said, "I forget what it looks like in your tummy. But, it would be really cool if I could remember!!"

High Style Shoes

Aidyn decided last night that her favorite kind of shoes are "high-style shoes." I had no idea, but her Daddy (who was painting her nails at the time) knew immediately what she meant and translated for me: high-heeled shoes!

Out of the Mouth of Moms

My side of the conversations with Aidyn this morning:

"No, please, this is my breakfast. You already ate your breakfast. Because this is my oatmeal. Ok, fine, here is the rest of the bowl."

"Please quit screaming, your baby brother is sleeping. Yes, I know you are just pretending to be scared. Ok, well then you can just scream quietly."

"No we can not jump over the back of the couch. Because it isn't safe. Yes, I know I don't let you have any fun. I'm sorry, honey, the answer is still no."

"No, the fixer man cannot live here. Because he has a house somewhere else. But then where would you sleep? No, I don't think that would work. No, you may not go in the kitchen and ask him if he would like to move in."

"Why didn't you finish this oatmeal? I knew you weren't hungry. Because you already ate before I did. Can I finish my own oatmeal now that it is cold? Ok, thanks."

"STOP JUMPING OVER THE BACK OF THE COUCH!"

"That is not true. No it isn't, I let you have fun all the time. I just would rather not watch you break your neck today. No, not tomorrow either."

"No, thank you. Because this is my lunch and you already ate yours. Well, you still have noodles of your own if you are still hungry. No, your noodles are not more yuckier than mine. Remember the oatmeal from this morning? I am going to eat my own lunch now please."

"Time for a nap!!!"