Bedtime

I know that rest is a gift from God, but truth is, I don't like it. I guess more specifically, I don't like the way Mommy & Daddy have my time of rest set up. I am in a crib (aka "jail"), on an incline (and I'm not so sure I'm keen on heights yet), velcroed down for safety and the worst of it - BY MYSELF! I can't even have an animal friend to keep me company. Not that it would matter anyway because they would just fall down the hill. Yes, they try to give me things that will occupy me until that sandman shows up and sprinkles sleepy dust in my eyes....I have soothing music, a light show, a mobile (that I am dying to put in my mouth!)...ya know, all the standard baby crib stuff. It isn't want I want. I want to be snuggled in with Mommy and Daddy or what would be the most greatest thing would be to sleep with my BFF big Sissy! Mommy says that's not happening for a long time (Sissy already asked that question and was quickly turned down).

When Mommy puts me in bed, I try every trick I know to let her know that I don't like the setup. I tried pulling my blanket up over my head so she'd think I was gonna suffocate - that just makes her wrap me up tighter. "Snug as a bug in a rug" - kind of hard to breathe - let up, woman!

I also used to try just refusing to take my passy. I'd squinch my mouth shut so nothing could get in. But, I can't pass up a challenge and Mommy knows this, so she takes my passy and puts it into my hand. So I attempt to put it into my mouth all by myself. Hey - I'm getting pretty good! It's usually backwards, but its in my mouth. So then Mommy helps me and puts it in the right way. Drats. She fooled me!

I make all kinds of noises (and I know she can hear me cuz she's always telling me to shush). Usually the noises will get her attention and she comes in to put the passy back into my mouth. That's kind of a trap. Once she gets in close, I grab her - whatever I can get a hold of. I'll grab a finger, arm wrist....but what works best is when I get hair! Oh, the other night I got hair with both hands! I had her - she was trapped! I could hear her wincing in pain, so let up a little. Dag nabit! She got away. Unfortunately, she said at that point she didn't care how much noise I made, she wasn't coming back in. Drats. Foiled again!

Well, it's bedtime so I had better think up a new plan of action. Maybe I'll be like a camel and spit at her tonight. I wonder how she'd like that?

Love to all,
E2

What's that?

In my mouth? It feels like crumbs on my gums. I keep licking it with my tongue, but I can't seem to break it loose. Whatever it is has triggered my mouth to start being super, duper wet! I mean, there is so much wet stuff in my mouth that I can't swallow it all (then my tummy'd be full and I'd have no room for breakfast, 2nd breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and bedtime snack - and sometimes a midnight snack if I'm lucky). So, I have to do the alternative....just let it pour out of my mouth, down my chin and catch it with this new neck napkin Mommy puts on me. It really does the trick! The other bad thing about these gum crumbs is that it makes me want to gnaw on anything in sight. Blankets, toys, fingers, passies, toes, shoes, socks, pretty much anything. Now that I think of it, I am pretty sure this is Mommy's fault. She kept looking in there for something and feeling around on my gums. I think she dropped something as she was feeling around. I have been trying to tell her to get it out, but she hasn't gotten the message yet. I grab her by the back of her neck, yell at her face and then gnaw on her chin.....don't you think that's a good a way to get my message across? If someone did that to you, wouldn't you want to check out their mouth for something?

On a positive note, I am enjoying this new food Mommy gives me at lunch. Sometimes it makes my belly hurt (Mommy calls it reflux or heartburn), but it sure tastes good! It does seem to work better now that I actually open my mouth. Before I was trying to suck it off like I drink my bottle. That didn't work out so well....

Love to all,
E2

Isn't it so funny that I have these?

After my bath the other night, I was standing up and Mom was putting lotion all over me (she is obsessed with lotion, especially when it is cold out). She was looking down at my feet and I said, "isn't it funny that I have these? " She said what without even looking. I said "these, what are they called again?" At this point, she looks up and has a funny kind of smile on her face. She even turned a little red. She said, "um, they are your nipples." I burst out into laughter ! What a funny word and what funny little things I have! I noticed that each time I said the word "nipples" Mom had an embarrassed kind of smile on her face. So I said it as many times in a row as I could - and as loud as I could! That really had her embarrassed! She said, it's nothing to be proud of, Daddy has them, too. At this point, Daddy and Evelyn come into the room to find out what is going on. Daddy agreed and said that even Evelyn has them. Wow - everyone has these crazy lil bumps. I asked Mom if she has them and she said yes. I asked if I could see them, and now at the ultimate level of embarrassment, she shouts "no way!" She then tells me that these are private things and that we shouldn't talk about them so much and definitely should not be going around showing them off to people.

Fast forward. We are on our way to Iowa in the truck and Mom is making Evelyn's bottle. She calls the bottle top a nipple. Can you even believe it? She said the PRIVATE word!!! I quickly corrected her and now I am feeling a little embarrassed. It seems I'm pretty good at catching Mom at breaking her own rules.

So, in case you haven't found your "bumps", you might check. I bet you have them, too.

Love to all,
E1

Iowa

It turns out, I love Iowa! I didn't realize that all my Siefker cousins would be there. Plus Grama and Grampa Siefker - and even Corby! Can you even believe it? It took a while to get there (ok, a long while), but it was worth it! I didn't even mind the car trip that much; I got to watch a movie, play with Daddy's iPod, draw pretend roller coasters in the frost on the windows, sing songs...and then sleep. That really makes the time zoom by!

Here are my favorite things about Iowa:

My cousins all in the same place at the same time. It sure was fun to play with all of them! One loved to tickle me, another loved to play hide & go seek (except sometimes I think he forgot to come find me), another one let me play the video games with him. Each time I went from room to room, there was always someone to talk to or play with. It was so much fun!

There was snow everywhere! I loved that part! Although it was so cold that I could hardly even breathe. But the moon was rising (they said it was a blue moon, but it looked yellowish white to me) and it made the snow and ice sparkle, especially on the rivers. Very pretty!

They had a wonderful breakfast that included not only my everyday breakfast foods (oatmeal with granola on top and a bagel), but they had grapes and bacon!! Two of my favorite foods! It was wonderful!

I think my favoritest thing of all was when we went to bed at night. Dad, Mom, E2 and me all slept in the same bed. It was heaven! I felt so safe and cozy. I drifted off to sleep holding E2's hand and Daddy right beside me. I wish Mommy & Daddy would let me sleep with them EVERY night. Well, maybe not. Daddy makes some funny noises when he sleeps and that lil baby sister of mine wakes up awfully early. I think I'll stick to my own bed at home, but it sure was a great part of our trip to Iowa.

The best part of all is that God was with us in Iowa, too. You know how I know that? Because he's omnipresent - which means he is all places all the time. I learned that in my Wednesday Warrior class. I'm getting so smart. But not THAT smart. God is always smarter. He knows everything (that's called omniscient in case you didn't know). He's omnipotent too, which means he is the most powerful thing in the whole entire world - even the whole Earth! And since he is always with me, I can always be brave. It is sometimes hard to remember that, especially when I'm watching Snow White or the 3rd Ice Age movie. That witch and those dinosaurs (especially that Spinosaurus at the end) scare me. Mommy taught me a great trick, though. You can hide behind a pillow during the scary parts. She said she did that a LOT when she was a little girl like me.

I hope everyone has a wonderful new year. It is 2010 now, ya know! I had to change it on my calendar (which I got for Christmas and I LOVE to change everyday - thanks Grama Pollard!!).

Love to all,
E1

Jumping

You know what I learned how to do? Jump. It is sooooo much fun!! Mommy says it is good for my body too and will help me learn how to crawl and walk. You know what that means? I jump any chance I can get! I can't wait to be able to crawl and walk (run) and chase my big Sissy around. So I jump in my exersaucer. I jump when Mommy has me in the carrier. I jump if someone is holding me....any chance I get! It turns out I'm not alone. Lots of the short people like to jump. We went to a place yesterday that had these huge, colorful things that all the short people would get in and jump, jump, jump!! I really wanted to get in one, but I haven't figured out how to drag Mommy around when she has me in the carrier yet. I pretty much have to go where she goes. Which leads me to my next story....

While we were at this jump place, Sissy came running and said she had to go potty. Not sure why she just doesn't go in her diaper like me and why Mommy and I had to take part in her potty process, but it turns out, we were REALY involved in the process. We go in the girls room (cool that there was a room just for girls) and Sissy goes on this short lil potty just for short people (ahhh, how cute!). Next thing you know, I'm staring down the back of Sissy INTO that short lil potty. Man, it was stinky and I was headed for it - face first!!! I thought for sure I was a goner. Sissy even cried out telling Mommy to not drop me in the toilet. I started kicking and swinging my arms like a crazy baby! Sissy (who Mommy was cleaning up after she made a mess in that cute lil potty) was yelling that I was kicking her in the head, but man, I had to make sure Mommy didn't accidentally flush me down that thing! I pulled hair, shirts, straps, anything I could get a hold of.... Thank the good Lord above, I made it out. Whew, that was close!

I heard Mommy say we were going to another jumping place again today! Maybe this time I can convince Mommy to let ME jump too!

Love to all,

E2

What's going on?

Ok, I am used to my regular routine. I wake up at 6am, have a little something to drink, go back to bed. Then I sleep, eat and play off and on the rest of the day. Sometimes, Mommy will take me and big Sissy out for an errand but we are usually back by the time I need to eat again. Pretty regular, pretty routine. Quiet. I like it quiet.

I don't know what happened but now there are flashing lights here, loud sounds there, people in my face all the time pinching my cheeks and telling me I'm so cute (I'm starting to think I really am a cute baby). I think Mommy fell off her rocker too because she brought, not a flower, not a stick, not even a small shrub, but a TREE into the house. Can you even believe it? A tree. And she put all sorts of shiny, sparkly, lighty kind of things on it (but she won't let me touch or lick any of it - ugh!). But one super fantastic thing she does let me do is play with this beautiful paper! Wonderful blues, greens, reds - they look so yummy that I just have to have a taste. So, when she's not looking, I quickly shove some into my mouth. Then it's all over. The crinkly noise is gone. The paper gets ooey - gooey. Mommy turns around and yanks it away and says this strange word to me. No. What's that supposed to mean?!? No. Hmmmmm....I need to think about this for a while. I hear her say it more and more. I don't think Sissy knows what it means either because Mommy has to say it to her over and over.

Something wonderful has happened. I have been seeing more and more people and I just love them! I love to watch their beautiful faces and see how they move their faces all around. I love to hear the noises come out of their mouths (and then sometimes I try to make the same noise back at them - my favorite so far is a raspberry). :)

Mommy and Daddy must be so happy that I am 6 months now. They even put some statues in the yard to tell everyone who goes by that I am 6 months. It is a statue of Daddy, Mommy and me in a lil bassinet.

Love to all,
E2

Santa

Ok, Mom and Dad have told me that this guy in a red suit with a white beard, who seems to be everywhere, is not real. It is something that people have made up as a distraction to the real meaning of Christmas (which is Jesus' birthday). I really do understand that. I know that the most important thing about everything is God, and especially His Son's birthday! I'd never forget that.

But.....back on this guy in a red suit. I watched a movie called the Polar Express and it turns out that he not only has reindeer and elves...but a HUGE bag of presents. AND, you have to believe in order to get a present. So....I think I'll just believe in him for a little bit to see if he brings me a present. Hey, ya get what you believe, right? It's worth a shot to get another gift. :) I'm going to try to sneak a visit with him to make sure he knows what I want. I'd hate for someone to get me a gift and not know what I really want. I might end up with something I already have... Maybe I could just write him a letter and let him know that Mommy has a wish list at amazon.com that has some good ideas. I wonder if he has an internet connection at the north pole?

Love, hugs and a Merry Christmas to all,
E1

Reconsidering

I was thinking again last night about how I want to get married and wear a beautiful wedding gown that flows and shimmers in the light - I just know it would be fantastic and breath-taking! I can't wait. So, when Mommy came in to my thotful spot (aka the bathroom), I told her I just can't wait to be married. She said did I know what happens after the beautiful wedding? Um, no. Then she asked if I thought I'd still live with Mommy and Daddy? I thought I would. She then pointed out that she doesn't live with her Mom & Dad now that she is married. Hmmmm that brings up a very good point. Sorry Benji, this is something I hadn't thought of before.....there's a new candidate in town and he wins hands down......


ready for it????


GRAMPA POLLARD!

I saw that they had an extra bedroom with a little bed just my size and everything! He's all grown up already and best of all, I'd live next door to my favoritest person in the whole world - Cole!! Perfect choice! Mom said I can't marry anyone I'm related to. I told her I knew that and that is one reason I didn't pick Grampa Siefker.

Vacation Pictures

What was that?

After I had my regular morning bottle, Mom did something she has never done before. She sat me down in my bouncy chair, put some pink thing on my neck and then set up the video camera. I didn't know WHAT to expect! Turns out, she was trying to put some pastey-stinky stuff in my mouth and you know what she wanted me to do - swallow it!!?? Is she crazy? That smelled like something a Mama bird would give her young....icky sticky! I used my best tongue skills to shove that out as fast as she could keep shoving it in. I think she got the hint when I tried to blow bubbles with it. :)