Lyra is 1 1/2! And Rowan is almost 3 1/2!
It's been soo long since I wrote a blog and I've been missing it. I love looking back at old posts and remembering cute things they've done that I would have forgotten without this reminder.
Lyra at 18 months is an animal. We say it a lot and it's completely accurate. Here are some fun facts about this toddler-wolverine of ours.
1. She ONLY wears boots. We have a cute little bench in our house where the kids sit to get socks and shoes on. Lately, when I try to put on her sparkle shoes or any of her many other pairs, she'll grab her foot from my hand and scream "No! BOOTS!"
2. When she sees me grab a diaper from the drawer or the wipes, she books it as fast as she can to hide in a small crevice.
3. Lyra is a master at finding things to hide in. She LOVES hiding and will try and crawl in the smallest places possible.
4. She has so many words! She can probably repeat 60-70% of the words we prompt her to. Even if she couldn't talk so well, she has a way of letting you know how she feels/what she wants.
5. She still face rakes us all the time and pinches Rowan way too often. It makes me furious because Rowan has super sensitive skin and will cry pretty hard when she does it. He almost never is doing something mean to her when she does it. Lyra just feels angry and takes it out on his back, face or arms. The other day we told her she couldn't pinch and she started angrily pinching her own face and chest.
6. She's so cute when she tries to hide with Rowan. They really like hiding behind the curtains or under a blanket. I'll see almost all of her and she'll hold up a finger to her mouth and shush Row.
7. She loves when Sel comes home. A welcome like the one they both give him is enough make the day feel like the best one we've ever had
8. She's still nursing and demands "milky" anytime I'm sitting down by her. I've thought about weaning, but I don't think we are quite ready yet.
9. She goes through bouts of happily sleeping through the night, but not presently. She's had a cold since Thanksgiving and she'll get really stuffed up and thirsty at night.
10. She's adorable and so sweet when it's time to say prayers. Lyra will often remind me halfway though lunch or breakfast if we've forgotten it. She'll fold her arms and bend her head down while still trying to look up. She's started to say "mumble Father mumble mumble thank you men!"
11. Lyra adores broccoli. She'll even eat it raw (my least favorite way to eat it) and cry if she sees me cooking it and not giving it to her. I'm hoping that sticks around.
12. Lyra loves babies and stuffed animals. Rowan was always okay with them, but she adores them. She almost always tries to carry more then one. It's hilarious. If there ever was a baby momma ready to have multiples, she'd be it. If she drops one, she can't leave them behind. She'll make every effort she can with miniature t-rex arms to rescue the fallen.
13. Guurrl is tough. She'll get banged up badly and cry for a few seconds max.
14. Row is tends to be more tender-hearted and she is a different brand of sweet. She is particularly more prone to hugging, kissing and snuggling than he's ever been.
15. She loves Moana and Baby Signing Time. She'll swing her arms and sing the signing time song a lot. She has a Moana shirt from my mom and whenever she wears it, will get so adorably excited to point her out on her chest.
16. Lyra loves checking that Rowan is seeing what she's seeing. She'll look out the window and see something and go "Row-Row! Sun Row-Row?" Or if I ask them what they want to watch in the car Lyra will say "Moana Row-row?" and every time he says he wants to watch something else, she ends up being okay with it as long as it addresses her questioning.
17. She likes going down our little mini slide backwards, face forward, or in any other number of very painful looking ways. She laughs about it for the most part
18. Her dancing moves are too cute. I can hardly handle that little baby bum drop and shuffle.
19. Both the kids love a place called Pizza Ranch because it has games (Her favorite is skee ball and Row's is Terminator). 60% of the times we get in the car, Lyra believes it is to go to Pizza Ranch and will excitedly say "Row-Row! RAAANNCH! Ranch Row-Row?!" It's a sad thing to crush her spirit. The irony is how little they both tend to eat at America's Least Healthy Restaurant. Lyra tends to only eat mashed potatoes and Rowan will at least eat some bell peppers and a slice of pizza, but that's it.
20. Her hair is probably never coming. I've been putting it in ponytails or pigtails, but she rips it out after one minute. She ends up with a mohawk most days which seems to be her spirit hair animal. She just strikes me as a girl who'd dye her hair neon pink, hop on a Harley, and ride around town with her army of stuffed animals strapped to the back. She will NEVER be allowed to do those things...maybe we'll settle on neon hair streaks..but my children are forbidden from riding donor cycles forever
21. Her lack of hair is made-up for by still having such beautiful eyes. People we look at her and smile, but then they look a little closer and will remark on her eyeballs. They look like they'll stay this pretty hazel color for now with her one being darker than the other.
22. Lyra LOVES candy. Rowan is still a chocolate man and while they both happily cross to the other side, they tend to root more for their favorite whichever it is.
ROWAN
1. Man this kid is a heart-melter. He's just SO tender and I love him more and more everyday because of it.
2. He is getting crazy smart. I worry I'm not giving him enough to truly reach his full potential because I can see it RIGHT there. He has full letter recognition which felt like he might have been behind in before. He'll notice letters in words on signs and "spell" them out. He'll say "D-O-L-L-A-R that spells store mom!" Not quite.
3. For the toddler who never let us read him books, he loves them now. He'll read stories out loud to himself at night while I put Lyra to bed and loves checking them out from the library. He has a great memory and can get really close to retelling stories word-for-word.
4. I'm so unbiased in thinking he's crazy handsome. He has super thick, wavy hair to die for. He recently got his first big boy haircut and did a great job. He looks so sharp and grown-up. I miss his longer waves, but it was time someone corrected my terrible chopping job.
5. Rowan loves the color green. It became an obsession over night for him. He asks for everything to be green and sadly lamented the other day "I wish I had green eyes like you. I don't want blue eyes". Oh my broken mom-heart. I assured him his blue eyes were the most beautiful, perfect eyes a 3-year-old could have.
6. When he turns 4, he is going to be able to do some crazy things. He prayed that my nephew (who is almost 6-months-old) would kill all the bad guys in the whole world when he turns 4". Rowan's also said he can't wait to fly when he turns 4. He's going to be way let down come July.
7. He still struggles a little meeting new people or going places with big crowds. It's very hard in the moment, but he usually gets over it.
8. He loves board games and card games and video games and all the games in the whole world. It's fun being able to do more and more with him the smarter and older he gets
9. The first thing out of his mouth every morning is "Where's daddy?" The answer is always "Work" but he asks the same question day after day. It's pretty sweet to me his first though in the morning is for Sel.
10. He and Lyra play really well together. They fight very rarely and if they do, it's usually the younger one causing the ruckus. He does sometimes for sure, but he's more gentle-mannered in this stage of life.
11. He eats pretty good still. Both of them do a good number of vegetables. Rowan, who hated bread most of his life, has finally gotten to a point where he'll eat sandwiches and sometimes ask for "air-sandwiches" aka two slices of bread.
12. Seeing Lyra at this age and her ball-handling skills have made me realize truly how good he is. I wish we fostered it more. We used to go to the gym really regularly in Toledo, but can't quite afford to go anymore. He would play basketball almost everyday because of it and doesn't really anymore. Hopefully we will be able to get him into sports next year and keep that talent and passion alive for him
13. The winter is hard on both of them already. They'll both stand by the back door and look longing out the window. We bundle up and go out to play somedays, but most days it isn't super fun for them. I've noticed a huge difference in how sad/happy Row is by less outside playtime.
14. Rowan is SO good in sacrament meetings these days and so not in nursery. He just hates going. I'm very hopeful the primary transition next month makes him happier about those last two hours of church.
15. He's super creative. He can create hours of fun for himself with his "guys" which are any form of action figures. Little army guys, star wars guys, ninja turtle guys,all guys. He will have them interact and talk to one another. It's adorable.
16. He NEEDS one-on-one time. Not in a "that's always a nice thing" type of a way, but a "Can't function even a little" without it type of a way.
17. Rowan has an intense passion for helping us, particularly helping cook/cut vegetables. He's so sweet about it all. He'll try to open my car door for me every time we get in the van. Chivalry is not dead among toddlers
18. He's become a really good listener. He pays attention to what I ask of him. He's funny if he doesn't want to do what I tell him to because he'll say "I'm Sorry! I'm not going to/I can't. I'm just sorry okay?"
19. He loves being tickled and is most ticklish on his belly. Lyra's is her neck. I'll pin them down during the day and tickle them both and love to see their faces light up with laughter
20. He currently loves Power Rangers and asks to watch them every ten minutes or so.
21. When he wants to do something he'll say "Remember how I wanted that mommy? Remember?" Though it wasn't said up until that moment.
I really love being with them day after day. They are such good, sweet little kids with fun personalities.
It's been soo long since I wrote a blog and I've been missing it. I love looking back at old posts and remembering cute things they've done that I would have forgotten without this reminder.
Lyra at 18 months is an animal. We say it a lot and it's completely accurate. Here are some fun facts about this toddler-wolverine of ours.
1. She ONLY wears boots. We have a cute little bench in our house where the kids sit to get socks and shoes on. Lately, when I try to put on her sparkle shoes or any of her many other pairs, she'll grab her foot from my hand and scream "No! BOOTS!"
2. When she sees me grab a diaper from the drawer or the wipes, she books it as fast as she can to hide in a small crevice.
3. Lyra is a master at finding things to hide in. She LOVES hiding and will try and crawl in the smallest places possible.
4. She has so many words! She can probably repeat 60-70% of the words we prompt her to. Even if she couldn't talk so well, she has a way of letting you know how she feels/what she wants.
5. She still face rakes us all the time and pinches Rowan way too often. It makes me furious because Rowan has super sensitive skin and will cry pretty hard when she does it. He almost never is doing something mean to her when she does it. Lyra just feels angry and takes it out on his back, face or arms. The other day we told her she couldn't pinch and she started angrily pinching her own face and chest.
6. She's so cute when she tries to hide with Rowan. They really like hiding behind the curtains or under a blanket. I'll see almost all of her and she'll hold up a finger to her mouth and shush Row.
7. She loves when Sel comes home. A welcome like the one they both give him is enough make the day feel like the best one we've ever had
8. She's still nursing and demands "milky" anytime I'm sitting down by her. I've thought about weaning, but I don't think we are quite ready yet.
9. She goes through bouts of happily sleeping through the night, but not presently. She's had a cold since Thanksgiving and she'll get really stuffed up and thirsty at night.
10. She's adorable and so sweet when it's time to say prayers. Lyra will often remind me halfway though lunch or breakfast if we've forgotten it. She'll fold her arms and bend her head down while still trying to look up. She's started to say "mumble Father mumble mumble thank you men!"
11. Lyra adores broccoli. She'll even eat it raw (my least favorite way to eat it) and cry if she sees me cooking it and not giving it to her. I'm hoping that sticks around.
12. Lyra loves babies and stuffed animals. Rowan was always okay with them, but she adores them. She almost always tries to carry more then one. It's hilarious. If there ever was a baby momma ready to have multiples, she'd be it. If she drops one, she can't leave them behind. She'll make every effort she can with miniature t-rex arms to rescue the fallen.
13. Guurrl is tough. She'll get banged up badly and cry for a few seconds max.
14. Row is tends to be more tender-hearted and she is a different brand of sweet. She is particularly more prone to hugging, kissing and snuggling than he's ever been.
15. She loves Moana and Baby Signing Time. She'll swing her arms and sing the signing time song a lot. She has a Moana shirt from my mom and whenever she wears it, will get so adorably excited to point her out on her chest.
16. Lyra loves checking that Rowan is seeing what she's seeing. She'll look out the window and see something and go "Row-Row! Sun Row-Row?" Or if I ask them what they want to watch in the car Lyra will say "Moana Row-row?" and every time he says he wants to watch something else, she ends up being okay with it as long as it addresses her questioning.
17. She likes going down our little mini slide backwards, face forward, or in any other number of very painful looking ways. She laughs about it for the most part
18. Her dancing moves are too cute. I can hardly handle that little baby bum drop and shuffle.
19. Both the kids love a place called Pizza Ranch because it has games (Her favorite is skee ball and Row's is Terminator). 60% of the times we get in the car, Lyra believes it is to go to Pizza Ranch and will excitedly say "Row-Row! RAAANNCH! Ranch Row-Row?!" It's a sad thing to crush her spirit. The irony is how little they both tend to eat at America's Least Healthy Restaurant. Lyra tends to only eat mashed potatoes and Rowan will at least eat some bell peppers and a slice of pizza, but that's it.
20. Her hair is probably never coming. I've been putting it in ponytails or pigtails, but she rips it out after one minute. She ends up with a mohawk most days which seems to be her spirit hair animal. She just strikes me as a girl who'd dye her hair neon pink, hop on a Harley, and ride around town with her army of stuffed animals strapped to the back. She will NEVER be allowed to do those things...maybe we'll settle on neon hair streaks..but my children are forbidden from riding donor cycles forever
21. Her lack of hair is made-up for by still having such beautiful eyes. People we look at her and smile, but then they look a little closer and will remark on her eyeballs. They look like they'll stay this pretty hazel color for now with her one being darker than the other.
22. Lyra LOVES candy. Rowan is still a chocolate man and while they both happily cross to the other side, they tend to root more for their favorite whichever it is.
ROWAN
1. Man this kid is a heart-melter. He's just SO tender and I love him more and more everyday because of it.
2. He is getting crazy smart. I worry I'm not giving him enough to truly reach his full potential because I can see it RIGHT there. He has full letter recognition which felt like he might have been behind in before. He'll notice letters in words on signs and "spell" them out. He'll say "D-O-L-L-A-R that spells store mom!" Not quite.
3. For the toddler who never let us read him books, he loves them now. He'll read stories out loud to himself at night while I put Lyra to bed and loves checking them out from the library. He has a great memory and can get really close to retelling stories word-for-word.
4. I'm so unbiased in thinking he's crazy handsome. He has super thick, wavy hair to die for. He recently got his first big boy haircut and did a great job. He looks so sharp and grown-up. I miss his longer waves, but it was time someone corrected my terrible chopping job.
5. Rowan loves the color green. It became an obsession over night for him. He asks for everything to be green and sadly lamented the other day "I wish I had green eyes like you. I don't want blue eyes". Oh my broken mom-heart. I assured him his blue eyes were the most beautiful, perfect eyes a 3-year-old could have.
6. When he turns 4, he is going to be able to do some crazy things. He prayed that my nephew (who is almost 6-months-old) would kill all the bad guys in the whole world when he turns 4". Rowan's also said he can't wait to fly when he turns 4. He's going to be way let down come July.
7. He still struggles a little meeting new people or going places with big crowds. It's very hard in the moment, but he usually gets over it.
8. He loves board games and card games and video games and all the games in the whole world. It's fun being able to do more and more with him the smarter and older he gets
9. The first thing out of his mouth every morning is "Where's daddy?" The answer is always "Work" but he asks the same question day after day. It's pretty sweet to me his first though in the morning is for Sel.
10. He and Lyra play really well together. They fight very rarely and if they do, it's usually the younger one causing the ruckus. He does sometimes for sure, but he's more gentle-mannered in this stage of life.
11. He eats pretty good still. Both of them do a good number of vegetables. Rowan, who hated bread most of his life, has finally gotten to a point where he'll eat sandwiches and sometimes ask for "air-sandwiches" aka two slices of bread.
12. Seeing Lyra at this age and her ball-handling skills have made me realize truly how good he is. I wish we fostered it more. We used to go to the gym really regularly in Toledo, but can't quite afford to go anymore. He would play basketball almost everyday because of it and doesn't really anymore. Hopefully we will be able to get him into sports next year and keep that talent and passion alive for him
13. The winter is hard on both of them already. They'll both stand by the back door and look longing out the window. We bundle up and go out to play somedays, but most days it isn't super fun for them. I've noticed a huge difference in how sad/happy Row is by less outside playtime.
14. Rowan is SO good in sacrament meetings these days and so not in nursery. He just hates going. I'm very hopeful the primary transition next month makes him happier about those last two hours of church.
15. He's super creative. He can create hours of fun for himself with his "guys" which are any form of action figures. Little army guys, star wars guys, ninja turtle guys,all guys. He will have them interact and talk to one another. It's adorable.
16. He NEEDS one-on-one time. Not in a "that's always a nice thing" type of a way, but a "Can't function even a little" without it type of a way.
17. Rowan has an intense passion for helping us, particularly helping cook/cut vegetables. He's so sweet about it all. He'll try to open my car door for me every time we get in the van. Chivalry is not dead among toddlers
18. He's become a really good listener. He pays attention to what I ask of him. He's funny if he doesn't want to do what I tell him to because he'll say "I'm Sorry! I'm not going to/I can't. I'm just sorry okay?"
19. He loves being tickled and is most ticklish on his belly. Lyra's is her neck. I'll pin them down during the day and tickle them both and love to see their faces light up with laughter
20. He currently loves Power Rangers and asks to watch them every ten minutes or so.
21. When he wants to do something he'll say "Remember how I wanted that mommy? Remember?" Though it wasn't said up until that moment.
I really love being with them day after day. They are such good, sweet little kids with fun personalities.
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| Typical. Sel did this AMAZING life-saving toy re-organization where there is a bag like this for everyday and they only get the one bag per day. It's made everyone over here lots happier. |
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| She eats like an animal too. Growling and fisting food. She'll still this bag of frozen blueberries out of the freezer when she can coerce Rowan to open it for her |
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| Her sweet smiling self |
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| Hiding in the library |
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| Hiding |
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| Believing this 3 lb bag of sugar has her name on it. Lyra is spelled T-r-o-l-l-i |
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| Hiding from me at the post-office. |
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| Hugging it out frist thing in the morning |
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| Capturing their personalities pretty well. Lyra with her lips pursued not really sending out the love vibes (because I haven't earned it yet today) and Rowan smiling with a hint of a laugh |
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| Both kids really really love their aunt Sarah. Cause dang! She's fun |
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| Helping cooking breakfast. They both have little step stools they unfold and help me cook |
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| Cutting squash |
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| Cutting peppers |
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| Eating the scraps |
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| Isn't his smile SO cute |
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| Swinging at our zoo. They both WORSHIP the zoo as do I |
