19 months

Well, another month has gone by. It seems like Lindsay was just this age! The other night I was putting PJ's on Leslie that I had just cleared out of Lindsay's drawer. Lindsay had worn them well past fitting but they fit Leslie perfectly right now. Leslie is already wearing 24month clothes.
This age is so much fun! Leslie is a little copycat. She will mimic nearly anything that you say or do. It is really funny when she gets to jabbering and her little head shakes. It's hard to explain through typing but she acts like she is having a completely understandable conversation with you. The other night she was particularly stern about something and kept going around to the three of us and talking with her head shaking and her finger pointing. What are we going to do when she starts really talking to us that way? I guess she is going to be a director. Watch out if you do something different than what she wants you to do, she will let you know by throwing herself back and throwing a perfect fit.
Another taste of her personality comes every time I put her in the van. If I don't strap her in right away, she will find her way up to the driver's seat and pretend like she is driving. When I move her to the appropriate seat, she won't have it. She is rarely satisfied with the car seat.
Leslie's vocabulary is growing daily. Mostly she will mimic sounds, but her favorite phrase is aw man! She finally says "peas" instead of just frantically signing for please. Mostly she uses a lot of pointing and nodding and other non-verbal communication.
This child never stops moving. As long as she is awake, she is in constant movement. It is a rare moment if I can get her to sit on my lap for some cuddle time, but when I do, it is a very cherished moment.
Lindsay, who is nearly 3 years, 7 months old is really our little girl now. She is very independent and I realized recently that I am able to rely on her a lot more for helping me with Leslie or taking care of things herself. She is quite the dramatic one though. She loves to put o shows. The other night, while Lance was watching them in the playroom she nearly sang the entire song "Part of Your World" from Little Mermaid while dancing on the stage. Currently, her favorite cartoon is Charlie and Lola (I have to admit, I love that one too). She loves it because the little girl Lola is just like her (so she says). I will catch her pretending she is Lola all the time. Which is a good thing because Lola is a good girl with a great imagination (OK I guess she is a lot like Lola).

The weather here is getting nice. If it was always like this, I guess everyone would want to live here. It is really quite perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. We get to go to the park a couple of times a week and even play in our yard. It is really nice to get out of the house. We have been busy with Bible Studies, small group, playgroup, me tutoring, Lance refereeing Upward Basketball. Too busy, sometimes, but life is good!

A visit from Grandparents.

Grandpa giving the girls a swing.




OK, so I know that it has been a really long time since our last post. But we have been busy! For the last 10 days, we have had guests in our home. Grammie and Papa Jim came to visit! It was lots of fun! Unfortunately, the weather was frigid the whole time they were here. And of course, today it hit 70.
So since the weather was not cooperating we tried to find some indoor activities. We visited the local malls and played in their play areas. We also went to an indoor play area one afternoon where Lindsay and Leslie had the entire place to themselves!! Much to their joy and a picture-taking Grammie's. We did get a chance to go to the park in our neighborhood two times while Grammie and Papa were here, but we were pretty bundled.
One of the highlights for the girls was a valentines present from Papa and Grammie in the form of a play kitchen. They are in heaven with that thing. Both girls love to make various concoctions. I can't tell you what they are because often Lindsay will use made up words to describe what she has made. Leslie will just pass out plates and say dee-doo (thankyou) as she hands them to you. Lelsie loves to serve water that she gets from the kitchen's sink. Lindsay discovered that she can combine her new kitchen with her stage and become Rachel Ray. She spent an evening while Lance and I went on a date (what's a date??) playing Rachel Ray while Papa Jim played cameraman. We will try to post some of the video, but Lance is going to have to do that because I don't know how.
Leslie also learned some new words while Grammie and Papa Jim were here. She learned how to say Pampa and she says Grammie but it sounds a little more like Bobby. The best thing though is that she loves to say "oh man!" The girls have been a bit spoiled with all of the personal attention this week. I am going to miss having someone there to watch the girls and play with them all the time. (Don't get me wrong, I love to do that too, but then my house would never be clean if I did that all the time!)
This weekend when the weather got a little better we went to Dallas to see Dealey plaza and then we did some shopping at Southlake (a fun little place you will have see if you visit us), we ended the day with a dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse (Mmmmm).
Anyway, we had a great visit and wished that we could get on the plane with them when they left. We miss them already! They left with a picture that Lindsay made them. It was Grammie and Papa walking on the plane. It was a very good picture and I know that Grammie and Papa will put it in a special place at home.

As a side note- we heard that our friend Rich Durost was going to be landing in Dallas today (on his way to Kuwait, then Iraq) too and then we found out that his plane was the plane that my parents were leaving on so we got passes to go to the gate and got to see Rich for a little bit of time. It was short but sweet.

Would you say that is pure joy on her face??












Lindsay on a calf at Southlake.












Leslie getting a ride at the playhouse.












Lindsay and Leslie finding other things to do with their bowls.