Normal life again

I realized the other day that it's been much too long since I have posted any new pictures of the kids. So, here they are sharing a chair while Elizabeth plays a Curious George computer game. She finally figured out the mouse and this was the first game she was able to play all by herself.

I was just grateful not to be sitting on the chair with them both on one knee, trying to click for Elizabeth while keeping Natalie from wreaking havoc on the computer. Seriously though, I have been noticing lately how much better they have been playing together and it's so fun for me to watch. Plus it means I have more free time on my hands which I hope to not waste entirely on the computer and reading. It's hard being in a new place and not really in much of a routine yet. It makes me unmotivated and lazy. I hope to soon start jogging regularly and venturing out of the house more. Wish me luck.

Now for some updates on the girls:

Elizabeth is doing well. She is finally starting to say prayers all by herself and they are so sweet. She of course says thank you for the things she can see in her room but then also adds some amazing statements, too, like "thank you for the love in my heart." Natalie started attending the nursery at church a few weeks ago and since Elizabeth is still in there they have been together. The teachers in there always tell us what a great job she does taking care of her sister (she might be a little extreme about it since in her own words she told me: "When someone takes a toy from Natalie, I take it and give it back"). She has of course still been cracking us up with the funny things she says. One of her new favorite phrases is "getting into mischief" and she likes to both say this about herself and accuse Natalie of it. One day I was in another room and I asked her what she and Natalie were doing and she said "Just dinkin' around" (a Joe-ism). She is so much fun to have around.

Natalie is fighting hard not to be my little baby although I still think of her that way. She must be able to do everything that Elizabeth does and all by herself or there will be consequences to the eardrums of anyone within a 5 block radius. She will use the sweetest little voice one minute and the shrillest scream the next. Still, she is so sweet and it's hard not to want to squish her face most of the time. She enjoys playing the "Which hand is it in?" game with nothing in her hands. She holds out her fists and we pick a hand and then she opens them both and laughs. She loves bananas and, like her cousin TJ before her, eats them like a vacuum, sometimes until she gags. She is putting together two word statements all the time and even beyond. The other day we were watching "It's a Big, Big World" and those monkeys came on and she said "Two monkeys!" I still don't know if that was a fluke or not. She is such a sweetheart.