Last week, I took Emma to Wal-Mart so we could pick up her new glasses. Wal-Mart is located in the parking lot close to Emma's favorite restaurant, i-Hop. So, I turn into the Wal-Mart parking lot and Emma says, "Are we close i-Hop? Because I feel like we're close to i-Hop." It was hilarious.

"Listen to my words" is a big phrase at Cincinnati Country Day Early Childhood House. The teachers say it to the kids; the kids say it to each other. The other day at breakfast, Luke told Casey that he wanted some cheerios. When Casey brought the bowl over to him, Luke yells, "Yeay! You listened to my words!"

Luke has officially entered the 'Terrible 3's." He has been fussing and whining about everything lately. We've been trying to explain to him that we can't understand him when he does that and encouraging him to "use your words." Here's an email from Karla last week:

"I'm fixing dinner: bbq'd chicken on the grill, sweet potatoes, and peas, along with ice cream and a brownie on the side. Em and Luke are playing in the basement. I hollered down, "Are you guys alright?" Em says, "yes." Luke immediately responds and says, "and I'm not crying!" I had to laugh."

Last night, Emma and I were in bed cuddling with Mia. I told Emma that I was so happy that I had two little girls and a boy and that was always what I had hoped for. She looks over at me and says, "I think I'll have two kids. Three seems like a lot of work." Wise beyond her years!

Welcome Mia Marie!

Welcome to the world, little Mia Marie!



Mia Marie was born on Thursday, September 1st at 3:30 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs., 4 oz., and was 21 inches (exactly the same as big sister, Emma!).

Here are a few stories over the past few weeks:

Mia was in her bassinet in the living room when Emma and Luke came home from Grandma Karla's house. Luke runs over to her and immediately says (in a high falsetto voice), "Awww, she so cute!" When Emma comes walking over to see Mia, Luke looks at her and says, "This Mia, Emma. You pet her?"

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Lukey to Mommy: "How you feed your baby?"

Me: She drinks milk from my breasts."

Lukey: "Your brweafts? That strange."

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Mamaw to Lukey: "Do you like your little sister, Luke?"

Lukey: "Oh yes, she very nice!"

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The other morning, I was feeding Mia in her room and overheard Luke and Emma chatting in the bathroom. Luke had woken up on the wrong side of the bed and was in a bad mood. Emma was happily chatting away while she was brushing her hair. I'm not sure what commented prompted the following exchange but it was hilarious!

Emma: "Get out of town, Luke!"

Luke (all angry): "I not IN town, Eh-mah."

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The other night while I was feeding Mia (notice a trend here? It seems like that's all I do these days...) and heard Luke wonder into the hallway wimpering. The door was shut so I couldn't attempt to wake Casey up and just hoped that Luke would eventually go back to his room. I could tell he was getting upset though. Suddenly, I heard another voice in the hallway and then Luke was quiet. I knew there was no way that Casey could have woken up so I asked Emma the next morning if he took Luke back to bed! She said that she found him in the hallway crying so she took him back to bed and tucked him in. I thanked her for being such a good big sister and her response was, "That's okay. He was annoying me with his crying."

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Four out of the five members of this family were wide awake at 5:15 on Thursday morning. I was (of course) feeding Mia when I heard Luke in the hallway. He must have gone to my room to find me and when I wasn't there, he came into Mia's room. He opened the door and announces "I not tired anymore, Momma." I tried to tell him repeatedly that it was the middle of the night and asked him several times to go back to bed. Of course, that prompted the fussing because he "wasn't tired." I finally get up and ask Casey to put Luke back to bed. Once he was successfully tucked back in, Emma's door opens and she comes strolling into Mia's room and says, "Mommy, can you start working on my birthday cupcakes for school tomorrow?" I'm a little confused (for many reasons) and I tell her that its not her birthday tomorrow, after which I quickly realize that she was correct and her birthday was on Friday. I asked if there was any possible was that we could discuss this at another time since it was the middle of the night. "Sure," she replied and went back to her room.

Megan, Anna & Will were coming into town last weekend and Emma was extremely concerned about getting them presents. She had already bought the girls two stuffed animals but hadn't had a chance to get anything for Will. So, she comes to me on Saturday afternoon, a few hours before the kids were scheduled to arrive and asks what she should get Will. I told her that I wasn't really sure. She then looks at me, with her hand tapping her lip in thought, and says, "does he like beer?' It was hilarious!!

Funny Lukey

Karla emailed this story over yesterday...

On the ride to McDonalds yesterday, Luke said he wanted a watch. Emma was wearing the one he got from McDonalds in his fun meal. Emma figured that he wouldn't be interested in it and she was. Emma and I chimed and said, "Luke, you don't know how tell time." He said, "Uh-huh! Two minutes!"

Emma Stories

We have been working with Emma on chores around the house and have just started a weekly allowance of 50 cents. Her chores include putting away her folding clothes and returning the basket to the laundry room, taking out any recycling on the counter and clearing her plate after her meals. She is very excited about her new responsibilities around the house but can never seem to remember the exact amount of her allowance. The other day, she looks over at me and says "Mom, I can't remember how much I get for my chores. Is it $30?" Not quite, Emma.

The kids spent the night at Karla & Roger's on Saturday night. I took the opportunity to do some school work and even had a chance to cut some fresh flowers for the kitchen table and hang three little flower vases in the kitchen window. Other than that, the house was the exact same as she left it on Saturday morning. On Sunday during lunch, Emma says, "Mom, I barely recognize this house. Its changed so much since we left!"