quick learner

presents?  wrapped in paper?  well, there's no mystery here.  rip them open!

and, being brilliant, she honed in on one of her very own gifts.  :)

first in, first out

Last night, my baby didn't get her first tooth, she lost her first tooth!

Where to begin.  Practically Libby's whole mouth has been wiggling for the past couple of weeks, but last night when she mentioned that her teeth were hurting, we could see a notable difference.  I told her I thought she may lose one of them even before the end of the night.  (She has another that's hanging on by a thread.)

We weren't home at the time, but when we got home she set right to work.  Never mind it was already 45 minutes past bedtime.  On a school night.  (i withdraw my nomination for mom of the year, but thank you.)  Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, then after we suggested the oldest trick in the book, twist, twist, twist.  After her first set of twists, Libby very calmly and maturely announced, "it's working."  She handles everything like such a little adult, its very endearing.  :)

Finally, she crawled into our bed and asked me to pull out her tooth.  Eek!  I had previously claimed I would never do it.  I had previously decided it best for her to pull it when she could tell it was good and ready.  But in this moment, it seemed right to help her out.  After all, she's never pulled a tooth before, and I have.  And it was hurting her, and she really really wanted to lose that tooth and tell Mrs. A (kindergarten teacher) all about it.

So I wiggled and twisted and decided it wasn't ready.  I put her to work moving it through the night.  She worked it for another minute and asked again.  I got serious.  "Brian, do you know where the camera is?"

And that would be the last picture of our baby with all her baby teeth.  (why won't it turn?!)  Then, time for some coaching.  Do you really want it out?  yes.  Is it hurting you?  yes.  When it comes out, it will stop hurting, but it might hurt for a moment.  Are you sure you want me to pull it?  yes.  It might bleed, but that's okay.  okay.  A moment later I wiggled and pulled that sucker out.  When Libby felt the tug she asked, "*gasp* is it out?!"  She was soo excited.  And she showed it in the most calm way.  She's a lot like her daddy.  :)

And i managed not to puke.  people, i pulled my daughter's lower central incisor right out of her mouth and there was blood.  but i didn't puke.  praise the Lord.  (how do i get into these situations?  piercing ears and pulling teeth!  eek!)

As she and daddy dealt with.  .. um, the blood.... I sneaked the tooth fairy into her room and placed her sweetly upon Libby's pillow.  When it was time to head to bed and tuck that tooth somewhere safe (Libby did NOT want it falling down into the creek/crack between the bed and the dresser) this is what she saw.

Lila and Libby

Little Lila has a glass jar in her hand and tooth numero uno went right inside for safe keeping.  There would be an exchange made in the night.

we let xander stay up for this big event and he was so very thrilled to be a part of it.  he asked me to pull out his tooth, but i kindly declined.  he wouldn't have been as calm cool and collected as libby was about it.  ;)

phoebe snoozed through the whole affair

here's the beauty just before turning in for the night.  as i left her room it became clear that i wasn't allowed to throw away her tooth as i had intended.  she is incredibly sentimental and cries when i throw away her math homework.  she made it clear she intended for the tooth fairy to save that tooth.  (she knows about the tooth fairy.)

So, Lila didn't throw away the tooth, but she replaced it with a little cash all rolled up to fit into the jar.  Not.easy.to.do.  Still, my babes are worth it.  and we like our new little tradition.  :)

When Libby woke this morning she checked on Lila.  She came to me nearly in tears:  my tooth is gone!  I reassured her that this is common:  a tooth in exchange for something special, like cash.  :)  Libby later told daddy, "Maybe with my $3 I'll buy a new picture frame to put a picture of my family in to take to college."  

*tear*

there are those brand new baby teeth!  first in first out!

Phoebe is ONE! yes, that happened (a while ago)

Happy 14 months, Phoebe!!

Back in October, some of you may remember that one Phoebe (pie) Mirabelle Meade turned the big 0-1.  Here are some pictures of her on and around that fine day.

wait, that's not on her bday.  that's on x's bday party day.  and i haven't posted about that yet.  but blogger takes so long to upload my pics that if they're gonna put this one in, i'm gonna roll with it.  we love you, little husker girl.

this pic has nothing to do with phoebe or her bday.  blogger.  :)  instead, it's xander playing around with his glow sticks (thanks hares!)

HERE is the birthday girl! in all her glory!

love that attitude.  most of the time.

now this is just so true.  you and xand, well, you have some stuff to work out.

it's your special day, love, and xand and libb love to celebrate you.

you even give yourself a round of applause.

a couple of days later, you're cute scooting around so i took a pic of you.  :)

gma shelley gave you this baby.  you L.O.V.E. babies.  you kiss them, even.

oh, you just wanna bury your face in her.

gma shelley and aunt brett (and everyone) were here for you.  you wanted to soothe benny.

soon it was time for strawberry lemonade cupcakes!  your new favorite!

oh MY!  that's divine!

more.

*muah*

satisfied.  and cute as ever.

we adore you.

here's grammy holding you at the zoo.  i'll have to post more pics from the zoo.  :)

phoebe mirabelle meade, you're so very precious indeed.  we have had more fun with you over the past year. you have such a personality!  ;)  though there were days you screamed at me, in a very loud and harsh tone, because i wasn't feeding you fast enough, you are still incredibly sweet.  you've learned better methods of communication, gesturing and babbling, pointing and even grunting.  but most often, you smile, you giggle, you pant with excitement as you chase libby and xander, or as they come after you.  you adooooore libby, and i delight to see your very special relationship developing even now.  she "gets you" and you know it.  she thinks you so precious, and you love her for it.  you give her your best self, and she loves it.  you're a perfect match.

your relationship with xander is, well, mixed.  he cannot help himself he loves you so much.  remember, it was he who named you, "phoebe pie."  he's got nothing but love.  he truly cannot get enough of you phoebe, even when he has clearly taken too much.  he thinks of you when he first wakes up in the morning, and he seeks you out all the day long.  the two of you will be such good friends as you learn patience, and he improves in gentleness.  :)

you are daddy's girl, miss p.  when he walks through the door you know it, even when you cannot see him, and you greet him with your hearty "DAAAD!"    you scurry over to him and love him to scoop you up.  you quickly learned of the goodness that is in his arms.

and me?  phoebs, i am daily amazed by you.  you are such a smart, fun, cuddly, and so sweet girl.  you pick up on things that amaze me, you learn so quickly, even when i'm not looking.  i love seeing you do the same things your sister and brother did at your age (emptying my tupperware drawer, for example) and then still knowing you as completely different from them (after all, neither of them dared scream at me. :)  i am loving every day i have to spend with you, you have spiced up our family; you have delighted us day in and day out.  and you're just so kissable.  the Lord was exceedingly kind when he entrusted us with you.  we are blessed.

Xander Turns THREE ("free")

It only took a few days... well, close to a week, for Xander to figure it out.  He's three, that part he knew, and he's three every day, that part he knew.  He is no longer two.  He is three.  Someday he will be four and five, and then he can drive.  He is three, every day.  And it's his birthday, every day.  Wait, that part was the part we needed to clear up.  :)  

Xander-Man.  I love you.  You had a fun birthday, you make most anything fun.  You were celebrated by those who love you dearly, and those who met you for the first time in the check-out line at Costco, and the post office, and the table next to us at the restaurant, and beyond.  The world around you heard, "It's my birthday.  I'm three." and they rejoiced with you.  You are a delight.  

On birthday eve, we went out to dinner to celebrate you.

Your shirt says Mr. Silly and you wear it well.

You took this picture of daddy and Phoebe. 

You took this picture of Libby.  Sometimes you put your finger over the flash, but you're getting better.  :)

You took this picture of me. 

We played a matching game while we waited for our food.  You won once, I won a couple of times.  Maybe when you're 30, you'll remember that when your turn comes up, often the first flip should be a card you've never seen before.

You ate mac & cheese, it's one of the few meals you will eat without much prodding.  And you got a tasty treat - ice cream with a cherry on top.  It's one of your favorites, particularly the cherry on top.  A few days after your birthday, you had immunizations and when I offered you a treat of your choice to commend your bravery, you requested ice cream with a cherry on top.  You share my love for cherries.

On October 10, 2010 you woke me up at 0:dark30.  On October 10, 2007 I also woke up at 0:dark30.  However, this year I got to cuddle with you, which made the wake up enjoyable.  Three years ago, my back hurt and I had to go potty.  

Libby woke soon after, and the three of us headed out for a birthday morning treat.

you are excited, and sleepy.  and it's dark out.  you know i love you because i don't do mornings well, and i really don't do dark mornings well.

oops, there was a pic of krispy kreme here... thats where we went.  we saw the sunrise and we each commented on it's beauty.  you and your sister both recognize the sunrise as a beautiful display of the Lord's, and it's a delight to hear you say so.  In Krispy Kreme, you brought a smile to a teenage boy's face, when he boxed up our donuts and you giggled, and danced around and exclaimed, "This is going to be the best birthday EVER!"  Being your third, I hope it really was.  :)

Daddy spent a long time.  A long time.  Assembling this pirate ship for you, but he had a lot of fun.  A lot of fun. doing so.  He chose your birthday gifts this year, and he chose well.  Your pirate ship and your safari set are as fun for him as they are for you.

I spent a long time.  A long time.  assembling your safari set.  But I had fun doing so.  (not as much fun as daddy did with the pirate ship, just to be clear.)  I particularly like the elephant, whose many joints move, including his ears.  You particularly like the lions because you're greatly enjoying "The Lion King" lately.  You refer to the lions as Mufasa and Simba, and you and Libby giggle ad infinitum as you mutter "Mufasa" and shudder with fear.  You two are cute.  Oh, and yes, you got to sit in the MY SPECIAL DAY chair.  You've anticipated the moment for months.  

Back at home after picking up our Krispies, it was presents and playtime.  Soon after, it was face washing time.  

and no, Libby wasn't unhappy.  I caught her at a weird time. 

and yes, that cannon really shoots.  it seems the giraffe has fallen victim to some pirates.  who knows what Simba will do to defend his kingdom.

After church, we spent hours at Vala's Pumpkin Patch.  Our dear friends the J's came to celebrate you with us. When we parked, the people getting out of the car next to us were not the J's but they were carrying presents.  You were sooo excited, "they have birthday presents, mom!!!!!"  I was actually sad they didn't bring presents for you.  ha.  :)  

At Valas, we did some playing around, then headed to a campsite for hot dogs and other tasties.  Phoebe tried to feed me some bread, but this photo is posted to give us selective memories.  How it really went down, was that she did less offering and more taking.  Phoebe ate like crazy that day, and much of what she ate was intended for Ruby.  Don't let her generosity fool you.  Instead, be convinced by her cheeks. 

here are the little starving babies I speak of.

there was much excitement at the lunch table, largely because of the rare treat:  soda.  you even gave a thumbs up, probably regarding doritos.  :)

neither you nor maren could be compelled to look at me.  whatev.

i particularly like the fingerlike beard that grows from your chin.

and yes, space girls need sunglasses.  just think how close to the sun you are when you're in outer space, on a pumpkin mission.  

you plucked a pumpkin from the vine.  

you rode the hayrack out and back.

and it was a hot day.  i don't want to say it was 90, was it?  it certainly felt like it.  it was in the 80s and we were warm.  some were even sweaty.

the day was truly exhausting.  fun typically is.  libby fell asleep trying to suck sugar from a pixie stick, thankfully, that doesn't work.  

and you fell asleep having spilled water on your shirt.  it probably felt refreshing.  or not.  but you were just that tired.

ope!  but look who didn't fall asleep on the way home!  phoebe pie meade.

back at home we've bathed and you've put on some jammies and you sat in the special day chair for dinner.

and the celebrating was really just getting started!  after dinner you changed again (let's be clear, this was same day, just a different jammy shirt, can't imagine why) and we spent the evening at the holloways' for care group.  after bible study we ate red velvet cupcakes to celebrate you.  I asked you what kind of cake you'd like for your birthday... you weren't sure....I suggested white?  chocolate?  strawberry?  lemon?  carrot?  yellow?..... your response, "red.  i just want red cake, mom."  okay, xander.  red cake it is.

happy birthday to my best boy.  you make my heart smile.