Dishpan Hands

K is at an age where she’s really interested in mimicking Mom and Dad (for better or for worse) and she really wants to be helpful.  While she can’t do everything an adult could do (or even a three-year-old), she can help out with some tasks.  And I am, of course, very interested in nurturing this side of her so it becomes a habit…before she loses interest entirely.She was interested in my loading of the dishwasher.  Sharp knives stand in the way of her opportunity to help, but I let her hand wash our trivets.  She likes to play in the water any way, so this was especially fun for her.  Wait until she sees the pot with the baked-on rice she gets to tackle tomorrow.  She’s wearing her new tool belt. She often asks for a belt, and I realized she wanted one to hold her tools.  I looked for a suitable child tool belt but did not find one; a trip to the hardware store yielded an apron with pockets and loops.  I attached a wide strap and Velcro rather than having it require tying, and she’s good to go. I love my kitchen helper!

Sister Love

The girls were hanging out a bit this morning—I had set N. down in the recliner while I put some dishes away, and K. was talking to her.  K. started spinning the recliner (slowly), and N. really had fun!  I’m not sure if it was the thrill of the chair or just that attention was being paid to her (I think I have two girls who love an audience, and I’m just a teensy bit worried).  Oh, but they are so sweet!

Here is K. spinning N. in the chair.  Note the smile!  I know it’s early for the girls to play together, but I’m starting to see glimmers of what the future holds.  I think they’ll really enjoy each other.And N. sure had a good time:After the chair ride, K. sat up in the chair with N.  We tried to get N. to smile again, so here K. is tickling N.  Which doesn’t really work. K’s getting more interested in her sister.  Note the gummy vitamin in her hand.  I guess I’ve bribed her often (with her daily vitamin—does that make me a bad mom?), so the moment she was sitting in the chair and noticed the camera, she asked for her vitamin.  Mmmm, so sweet! And I cannot believe how beautiful K. is getting!  I was looking at some of her pictures from just a few months ago, and she really has grown up a lot.  I knew she seemed bigger to me once the littlest one arrived, but she actually looks older, too. A smile and a laugh.  There are toes being tickled, and a song sung.  Fortunately for you, gentle reader, there is no video of my singing, but here are the lyrics: “Kate…and Natalie…Kate-Kate and Natalie…Kate..and Natalie…Kate-Kate and Natalie”

Behind Blue Eyes

Because most of my pictures involve use of the camera flash, and because N’s eyes are a somewhat dark blue at the moment, it’s hard to see what they really look like while looking at a photo.  Here you can see more of what they look like in person.  (And the shirt she got for Christmas from her Aunt J is a great color combination for her).    

On a Cloud

“There is a castle on a cloud,
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in my castle on a cloud.”

     

Poor K, working so hard.  Actually, she begged to help with the cleaning (“Wipe?  Wipe please.”) so I hooked her up with a Swiffer wet to combat the doggy paw prints on my kitchen floor.  I was able to shorten the handle and she did great!  Sure, she’s not as thorough as me, but any swiffering is better than no swiffering at all.

It worried her sister, though:

“You’re not going to make me clean too, are you?”

Sunday Smiles

I dare you to look at these pictures and not smile! It is such a joy to see N’s smiles!

Sunday Sisters

The girls wore their matching owl dresses this morning.  It’s so cool to me that N. is finally here and able to wear her dress—when I made it, she was just a little peanut in my womb.  I also can’t believe how much taller K. has gotten since then—it was mid-August, and the dress was much too long on her.  Now, it hits her just right (glad I didn’t shorten it like I thought about doing).

Why are my girls so serious so much of the time?

Like Mother, Like Daughter Perhaps?

I think I finally figured out who N. takes after.  Which is only fair, of course, since K. is a virtual mini-me of her father.

    

 

Second Christmas

Since N. is so young, it didn’t seem like a good idea to travel all the way to my parents’ house for Christmas, so Grandma and Grandpa were kind enough to come here for a day of celebration.  After opening presents and eating a fancy lunch (cough—sandwiches—cough), we sat down for photos.  On a quest to get any decent photos of K. with her loved ones, here are the latest attempts:

The best of the bunch: And this one is an outtake, but I love how happy everyone is and how much they’re interacting.  It’s actually one of my favorite pictures. N. hanging out with Grandma, whom she smiled at several times during the visit!  Now if we could only get Grandma to smile…(I love you, Mom!)

Friends of the N.

We had some good friends over today, and I was able to add to my collection of “pictures of people holding baby N.”  K. was upstairs ignoring us (and playing with her friend) while we were cooing over the baby.  After the photos, though, K. got to spend some time playing with her girlfriends, too.  Looking at last year, I think it’s a Christmas break tradition to all hang out, and a fun one at that.

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One of the many games the girls played was dress up (though more of K’s friends dressing her up).  They put her in a fancy dress and had her walk out with their little brother, saying that they were going to prom.  Too cute!  I wish I had gotten the picture snapped while they were still holding hands, but this will have to do.

Doctor, Doctor

One of K’s current obsessions is of playing doctor.  I don’t know if she just likes the pink case that her medical equipment is in, or likes the game, but she cannot get enough.  Tired of being the perpetual patient, I passed the duties onto the littlest one.  N. was in a good mood and very cooperative—and she even smiled at one point (which is still a rarity around here)!

Dr. K., listening to N’s heart:“You’re going to put the thermometer where?!” “Oh, my armpit.  Okay.” Check out N’s grin in this one! The patient patient.

Purple Velvet

After church, I took some pictures of N. in her new dress, which was a gift from her first cousin twice removed (N’s grandpa’s first cousin) who has excellent taste! You might remember the cute outfit K. was wearing in her “hop hop hop” video a few posts ago? That was a gift from the same cousin.

Oh, how much fun it is to dress a sweet baby girl!

And here N. is pictured with the edge of a blanket that was a gift (handmade!) from her Auntie D. (N’s great aunt). I’ll get a better picture of it at some point so you can fully appreciate it.

We’re so lucky/blessed to have such great family in our lives!