Not so much Mini Me anymore

We used to think Ali looked so much like me (and she really did), but as she gets older she is looking less like me and more like her. Here we both are at three-and-a-half wearing the jammies a friend of mine gave me when I had the chicken pox (which I remember; it was was miserable, but I loved the jammies). The similarities are still there, but it's not like looking at the same kid anymore.

 

Laundry Helper

Doing laundry is much more fun when I have such a cute helper!

Eli has started sticking out his tongue when he's happy; it makes me think of his cousin Liam who does the same thing!

Logan's Lines

I keep my eyes out for toys that aren't getting played with much, and then I put them away somewhere. After a few months, the kids will notice they're gone and ask for them back. And then they're like new toys! It's a great system. Well, this toolbox had been put away for quite awhile, and there was much joy and rejoicing when I brought it back out. The next morning Logan told me, in all seriousness, "Mom, this tool box is so so special!" and has repeated this thought several times since. Love the ham face:)

Logan also loves to tell us all the things he will do when he's a "Big Daddy." Top on the list are mowing the lawn with Daddy's mower, riding the train to work, and Home Teaching.

When he is speaking in past tense he always refers to himself in third person. Whenever he talks about him and his sister he calls them "AliLogan". I love all the things this boy says!

Braids

I have wanted to learn how to french braid hair since I was a teenager. Then when I had my little girl I really wanted to learn to french braid. I knew it would never have worked to try and learn on Ali until recently because she never would have sat still for long enough. But the other day at church I saw my Visiting Teacher's little girl with cute french braids and thought that maybe Ali might be able to be patient enough now. So I asked my VT to show me how the next time she came to visit, which she did (thanks Anne-Marie!). She showed me on her little girl's hair and recommended that I try it wet first since she thought that was easier. So that night I tried. It looked like it was my first attempt, but it was definitely a french braid. So for several nights in a row, I would wet Ali's hair and braid it while she was watching a show. The next morning we'd take out the braids and enjoy the cute 80s kinky hair. But after about five times I looked at her braids and thought, "You know, I'd let her go out in public like this!"

I am ridiculously proud of my new skill. It's really not that big of an accomplishment, I know, and the bottoms still are too loose but I can't help feeling quite pleased when I see those cute braids on that cute girl!

"I have no idea how this got here..."

Warm Winter Days

Yes, I know it is freezing and snowing outside, but I am not too thrilled about that, so I am going to post about the wonderful, unseasonably warm weather we had all through December and up until about a week ago. I can't really explain how happy those sunny 45-50 degree days made me. We enjoyed playing outside every minute we could!

Another bonus of such nice days was that when we went for walks at 5pm, we got to enjoy the beautiful sunsets!

When we went to the park during the summer, Eli still wasn't walking. You could tell he loved finally being able to go where he wanted to go. I was surprised that he was even brave enough to go down the sildes all by himself! (Don't let the face fool you, he loved it!)

Ali thinks climbing up the slides is more fun than sliding down them.

We knew it wouldn't last, and a look outside reminds us that winter is really upon us now, but we loved every moment of it while it lasted!

Meet the Fish

For Christmas Ali and Logan got their first pets: Betta fish. We were just going to get goldfish, but apparently Bettas are the only kind of fish that can live in just a bowl. That's why the goldfish I had in bowls when I was little died so fast. Poor fish. Since we wanted two Bettas we had to get this special bowl with a divider to keep them away from each other...otherwise they'd fight and kill each other. Nice.

Ali and Logan got to pick out their fish (Logan's is the blue and Ali's is the red) and got to pick their names. Logan's is Darth Vader and Ali's is Yoda/Jared. Hers was going to be Jared (and I thought Darth Vader and Jared were a hilarious combination), but at the last minute she changed it to Yoda. Occasionally, though, she will tell me he "turned into" Jared and so he will be Jared for a day before "turning back into" Yoda. They are well named, as Darth Vader is super aggressive. He is not at all interested in the food we give him (we would have fish that are picky eaters), and in fact when we put food in the bowl he instead attacks the wall separating the two spaces, trying to get Yoda. Yoda is pretty relaxed, but when Darth Vader gets really crazy Yoda can put on a pretty good show too. They are fun to watch, pretty to look at, and super low-maintenance which make them the perfect first pets.

Mr. Walking Man

I would definitely say Eli is a walker now. He is pretty steady on his feet and can go as far as he wants to. The only problem is that he still hasn't figured out how to stand himself up, so if he does fall he has to crawl to something to pull himself up on. So he was walking at 14 months, which was what I was hoping for. For a really long time he was so pleased with himself that he was walking and would make a happy, "Ahh Ahhh," sound as he tottered along. And I love that he still walks with his hands up like this, for balance I think. Don't you just love this face?

I've Known Their True Identity All Along...

...but now they have the costumes to prove it: they're SUPER KIDS!

Grandma and Grandpa Quillen got Ali and Logan TONS of fun dress-up clothes for Christmas, but the capes and boots are by far their favorites. We're going to have fun with these dress-ups for years to come.

Gangster Logan showing off his bling:)

Toys or Friends?

It all depends on who you ask.

When Ali looks at these pictures she says, "Look, my friends!"

It's all about perspective

Eli seemed very happy to find someone in the house that was smaller than him!

Never Fear...

...The Eldredge Firemen are here!