And there she goes.

Lena is on the move and with that we enter a new stage of parenthood- two: two and under plus four cats underfoot! It seems there is always someone in the cat dish or about to pull the table cloth (and our supper) off the table. But my, what a precious time! These two sisters are discovering they are playmates and though there are some necessary adjustments happening as we learn to share and play gently it is really sweet.  Lena took four steps last night (much to our great surprise) and Emmie thought it was amazing. Then she told us that she too can walk!  We're deep into art projects, coloring lines and connecting dots, identifying instruments on the radio, cultivating an understanding of the Fruits of the Spirit, memorizing Psalm 23 and learning our catechism, going on dates with either Momma or Papa and waiting for spring. Every day Emmie gets up, looks outside and says "Hmmm- still snow".  She also gets out her bathing suit and asks if we can swim.  In the meantime, February has gone by like it usually does and the days get longer, the birds sing louder and we search for buds and flowers. 

Nine Months

Dearest Lena,

You are nine months old today.  This is a magical time of your life and I want to remember so many things about you.  Wee little lady, you are our precious girl and you and your sister Emmeline bring joy to our days.  You are on the move. Just this past weekend you began to crawl.  You think you're just the smartest thing and found the cat dish right away! You have four teeth and a bit more fuzzy brown hair.  Your eyes are still amazing us with their  beautiful combination of blue, grey, green.  You love to clap and play peek a boo, to rock back and forth in your high chair, to jump in your jumper.  You now usually take one good morning nap and the rest we still have to work on. You love water and have taken to dipping your face in and laughing in glee.  You have discovered that you don't like sharing or waiting. You love to touch buttons, hair, glasses, beards, teeth, socks and shoe laces.  You love to eat and eat everything except for bananas. When someone sings to you, your body relaxes and you calm almost instantly.  You are the most genuine little person I know- when you are happy you are so very happy and when you are sad you are so very sad. There's really no middle ground with you. You despise getting your face wiped and pajamas put on, especially the top button. We've traveled through your first winter sweet baby and though we're still enduring the arctic freeze here I am thinking ahead to spring and to the time when we will have traveled a whole year with your glorious little being. 

My Valentines

 Just a few happy pictures to get us through hibernation. Emmeline and Lena in their winter garb and red dresses, our valentine's table complete with GrandMom's old china (Emmie thought this was the best thing in the world) are a few snapshots of our busy days.

These girls!

I have about a half a moment before one or two of my littles will awaken.  But I wanted to share these sweet faces with you because they are changing every day. Papa comes home from work and says, "well, you grew up since breakfast" and it is true.  When you're in the thick of living life fully sometimes you forget to step back and marvel at the gift of growth in your life and in the lives of your children, to see God at work even in little things like sharing, loving, listening.  These two girls have always loved each other but this week there is the awakening of a new bond. I can't describe it yet, but it has something to do with sharing the same joy of living: they laugh at a funny sound, they play peek-a-boo and wait for the other to respond. They taste a new flavor together and listen to the sound of water. They experience a new song and watch the delight come on the other's face.  We delight in watching them discover God's world together as sisters. Now if I could actually get a good picture of the two of them together that'd be grand. Usually one child is blurry, so I will keep trying. Stay tuned.

Winter afternoons

There is something magical about winter sunlight, isn't there?  In our house it comes to warm up the kitchen right before it is time to think about cooking dinner.  And so we follow around the pools of sunlight like cats and sit and rock watching the birds outside.  It's February friends! That is good news. I may be unusual, but I like this month. There are signs of changing seasons and the sun is warm.  We've had many a tea party in the afternoon sunlight, cooked a feast in Emmeline's kitchen and worked on Lena's crawling techniques upstairs when the sun traveled there.  Warm sun rays, honey candles, and vanilla tea keep us going until green starts to appear.  These girls are busy busy! Emmie has a vocabulary I can't imagine and can "talk the hind leg off a mule". It is delightful and inspiring and confusing.  It is a thrilling season of life- this 2 1/2 year moment.  Suddenly ideas are everything and make believe another land.  There are shadows that look like hot dogs and new arrangements of songs blending our Scripture from the night before with ABCs and Adam and Eve, Richard Scarry and Curious George.  There are tender moments of loving sisterhood and some crazy dance moves too.  Little Lena is anxious to keep up and paddles her way around the floor eyes glued to big sister.  She's learned peek a boo and suddenly everything is a game. Lena watches and listens and moves.  We're onto tooth number four now and so we're living in the land of drool.  Its a crazy delight- these two kiddos are amazing. 

Some long winter days

So, it has been a bit since we've updated here. That is mostly just because we've been dealing with croup, Adam's surgery, recovery,  snow and teething.  But there have been some fun and thankful moments sprinkled in there.  Adam's surgery included the removal of appendix and epiploic appendage.  It was successful and we're thankful to God for His care.  He is installed here on the couch for a while and two littles are trying their hardest to be quiet and gentle.  To cheer us up and keep us sane, Oma came to help and little E was thrilled with the sleepover!  Other than that there have been some snow days and sunglasses in the hopes of summer (hmm- it didn't work) and a third tooth for little Lena.  That is all I have time for at the moment but I wanted to share a few pictures of these girlies who are growing up faster than I can blink an eye.