Toddler Fun

Well we are counting down pretty quickly now...only 7 weeks to go until we are a family of 5 :)  I have purchased a few little newborn items and a couple warm 0-3 month items since most of our tiny baby clothes from Kaleb are summer clothes, and can I just say that looking at those little clothes and thinking of what I have for this baby (and the great deals I've found!) makes me smile.  I love baby stuff and I love looking forward to meeting our little Isaiah man.  I'm so excited for Kaleb and so nervous for Aliyah.  I think Kaleb is going to do great with the new addition.  He loves talking about all the things he is going to teach his little brother and he gets just as excited about the baby clothes as I do (ok, maybe not quite as much).  Aliyah on the other hand just wants the clothes to be for her, and she is still coming to me very frequently throughout the day saying, "I need you," wanting me to hold her.  I love this, most of the time, but I am worried about how she will feel about sharing me in a couple of months.  Since I know life will suddenly get really, super crazy I just have to jot down a few things about Kaleb and Aliyah and the stage they are in now.

Aliyah:

• Still looks up to Kaleb and wants to be just like him in every way possible.  Sometimes the only way to get her to wear a shirt is to beg Kaleb to put one on.  (Both kids love to run around with shorts and no shirt, and they call it being a wild animal)
• Calls Kaleb Beeboo.  It started out as Beebo, but has changed to Beeboo and I think it began with her attempt to say brother.  Kaleb usually doesn't mind the nickname and Jonny and I think it is really sweet, especially when she is concerned about him.  She will get really close to him and in a worried voice she'll say, "Ok Beeboo?"  
• Just after Thanksgiving Aliyah decided to start talking like crazy.  She is communicating so well, and it is fun to have her more involved in conversation.  For a while her favorite thing to say was "but....no" but she doesn't say that too often anymore.  Now her favorite answer to any question is "legahlegah" which we haven't figured out the meaning of yet.  I think she just likes that it sounds silly :)  She often sings that word over and over with a lot of feeling.
• Aliyah got 2 baby dolls for Christmas and she loves playing with them.  She has a nurturing side that comes out when she is holding a baby doll or stuffed animal, and I am glad to see it because when she plays cars and dinosaurs and action figures she can get really rough!
• She has started to talk a lot about bad guys, and seems a little bit scared of them.  She generally refers to the bad guy as either being a dragon or Tai Lung from Kung Fu Panda, and she often wants to be reassured that we would never let the bad guy get her.  Whenever she brings this up, Kaleb is quick to remind her that he is her prince and he looks for a weapon to go destroy the villain.  His latest weapon of choice is an empty milk or water jug.  A lot of the time Aliyah will go with him to fight the bad guys, which Kaleb loves except for the fact that she often says the bad guy is cute.  That drives Kaleb crazy :) 
• In addition to bad guys, Aliyah thinks many things are so cute.  The grocery store, bubbles, babies and stuffed animals of course, Grammy and Nonna, Daddy, green grass, and her shoes...the list could be updated each day with more "cuteness."  
• Aliyah loves the Batman theme song and sings it over and over, especially in sacrament meeting. 
• We've been working on ABC's and colors and Aliyah is picking it up so well.  I love it when she gets the colors right or randomly points out different letters she sees :)  I kind of feel like I've dropped the ball in teaching her these things before now, so I'm glad she's catching on so quickly! 

Kaleb:

• Kaleb is a very kind and loving older brother...most of the time.  He definitely likes to tease and he has become pretty bossy with Aliyah but he is much more caring toward her than she is to him.  He hasn't really ever been rough with other kids, which I've been grateful for.  Now if we can just convince Aliyah that it isn't ok to hit!  
• Kaleb absolutely loves dinosaurs, dragons, sharks, action figures (guys), cars, and building things (Legos, K'NEX, etc).  He is really pretty easy to keep happy as long as he has his toys and if he has enough rest and food in his body.
• He loves it when we plan activities for the time during Aliyah's nap.  We play Candy Land, or build with K'NEX, or do his sticker book, or read, or make a treat.  Pretty much anything that involves my one on one attention without Aliyah around to mess things up or knock things over makes him so happy.  
• Kaleb is learning the Articles of Faith and he is doing so great!  He loves it, which really helps.  He has the first 4 memorized perfectly and we're going to start working on the 5th.  I love the way he pronounces some of the words with his little 3-year-old voice.  Words like transgression and ordinances sound so cute coming from him :)
• About a week ago we started having Kaleb wear underwear to bed.  He has only woken up with a wet pull-up 5 or 6 times since we started potty training him in October, so we were pretty sure he would do great in underwear.  So far, no accidents!  Just in case, we bought a waterproof mattress cover, but he really seems to take pride in not having any accidents...day or night.  He has done so well with being potty trained.  I just hope Aliyah will be as easy. 
• Kaleb has an amazing imagination.  Honestly, in some ways I am jealous because I feel like I have no imagination at all.  I am so grateful whenever I notice him being really creative with his toys or really just any household item, because I think it is so valuable for kids to play like that.
• This is kind of a random, small thing but it makes me happy so here it is: Kaleb loves veggies!  His current favorite is bell peppers.  He really loves red, yellow, and orange peppers and would probably like green as well.  We just haven't bought a green one to try it out yet.  He also loves celery, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers and corn.  He requests them for snacks and I am just really glad because it makes it easier to get healthy food in his little body :) 

The semester is going really well for us so far. There have been some ups and downs, but we feel really blessed to be where we are right now.  Jonny has applied to a lot (I think 17) different law firms or companies for internship opportunities this summer and we are beginning to hear back from them now.  So far we know he missed the deadline on one, another canceled their intern program, one law firm selected another applicant, and he has interviews with 4 of the law firms this week.  It will be so nice to have a plan for this summer and be able to move forward on taking care of the different details.  Jonny is still loving law school which makes me feel very grateful.  He is so happy and excited for the future.  I'm so glad he found something he really loves to do.

I have just been enjoying my time at home with the kids.  It is cold and the weather is pretty nasty most days so we don't get out much, but we have a lot of fun at home together.  On nicer days we venture out and go on walks around the pond, usually to the mailboxes and then back home.  The kids are in heaven when we are outside, even if it is freezing cold.  I love to witness their joy that comes from such simple things.  Life really is so simple and wonderful right now.  I love our laid back days where we just play and cuddle and laugh a lot and enjoy one another.  Being a mom is really hard at times, but overall it is so much fun!  I love that I always have my little friends with me :) I am really grateful for how great I feel for being 33 weeks along, and I just keep waiting for the extreme discomfort to set in.  I have been experiencing nesting like crazy, which I have to say I really enjoy.  I get in these cleaning moods and I get so much done! Then, after a couple of hours, my body reminds me of its current condition and I have to rest for a bit but I love having really productive days.
 

Well that is just a little bit about each of us and our day-to-day lives.  Since I don't post very often, the next time I do will probably be all about our newborn!  Yay!