Reeisms, Vol. 2

This girlie continues to say the funniest things, pretty much on a daily basis.  I manage to remember a few of them, at least!

{Photos taken a few weeks ago, all dressed up for our little friend Maeve's first birthday party, wearing a vintage Polly Flinders dress that was a gift from a friend when Nell was little.}

This soon-to-be-three-year-old has personality in spades, and keeps us on our toes... and keeps us laughing as well!

Some of her words are still mispronounced, and are of course making their way into our family lexicon in their altered states, so that I hear Nathan asking her at bedtime, "Do you want to wear your fwabiddy jammies?"

Strawberries are fwabiddies, blueberries are boobiddies, and most of her L's are still Y's and R's are still W's.  When she wants something to eat sometimes she asks for "A yittle bit but not a yot."  I'm also fond of hearing her sing "Mary had a yittle yamb."

"Little," is often her adjective of choice, and usually used in multiples, so it's "I hurt my yittle yittle yittle foot," or "Daddy is your yittle yittle yittle yittle mouth feeling better?"

Her other substitute sound is F, so that when she has an itch it's "My ear is fassy!" (scratchy), back in December our Christmas tree was the "Fismas Fee," her toy train tracks are "fain facks," and the trash truck gets greeted each week with excited shrieks of, "The fash $#%* is here!  The fash @!*$ is here!  I'm going to wave at the %&*$!" Naturally, we find this particular word of hers to be a combination of humorous and potentially embarrassing at any given time.


She calls a water fountain a "water mountain," and my metronome she refers to as a "nick nock," which of course is exactly the sound it makes.

And for some reason, for several months she constantly sang her own version of "Polly put the kettle on," the second part of which went, "Stinky doodle off again, stinky doodle off again..."  We have no idea why, but in the meantime I took to calling her "Stinky Doodle" from time to time, a nickname she quite enjoyed.

At Christmas time, she was given a candy cane, which I temporarily permanently confiscated, since sweets abound at holidays and I try to be selective about what the kids have.  Ree went to Nathan and said, "Daddy, my Mommy took my candy cane.  Can you get it from my Mommy and bring it to me so I can eat it all up?"  Nathan thought that was pretty funny; no doubt the first of many times she'll wonder if she can get a different answer from a different parent.

{twirling}

While snuggling in bed with her at bedtime Ree whispered to me lovingly:
"My Mommy is cozy, my Mommy is cozy..."

* * *

In her sleep when Nathan went to move her slightly:
"No, no, I have a meena (banana); I don't need help!"

* * *

Barging into the bathroom while I was taking a bath, smiling at me out of the corner of her eye:
"Can I touch your body?"

* * *

Talking on a wooden block she pretends is her phone:
"Oh hi!  No, I don't want any of that; that is poop.  Poop!"

* * *

In some kind of minor trouble:
"WHOBODY IS GOING TO HELP ME?!"

Apparently unimpressed by all the construction projects Nathan has had going on around the house:
"Daddy is ruinin' this whole house.  This is a nice house but Daddy is ruinin' it!   Is he going to ruin this part too?  Is he going to ruin over here?  And over there?"

* * *

When she was sick one day, right after I took her temperature:
Me, to Nell: "Poor Marie has a fever this morning."
Ree, pointing: "It's wight here, under my yittle armpit.  See it?"

* * *

On a windy, bitterly cold day, she yelled right at the wind in frustration:
"WIND! TOP! (stop!)  TOP WIND-ING ME! YOU BAD! YOU ALWAYS BAD!"

("You bad!" has been her insult of choice lately, occasionally used on a parent or on her big sister, the latter of whom takes it quite personally, poor girl.)

* * *

Hearing a lot of birds chirping loudly up in a tree one morning at the Audubon sanctuary:
"Those birds!  They havin' a party up there!"

* * *

Some sisterly negotiations I overheard:
Nell: "Can I have a turn Marie?"
Ree: "In forty five years."

{pretending to be a mouse with little whiskers}

After falling down on the living room rug one day:
"I just hurt my... my... everything on my body... but... it's ok!"

* * *

Nathan: "Marie, can I have a snuggle?"
Ree: "Yeah.  One snuggle, and then one kiss, and then... ALL DONE."

* * *

Trying to play Go Fish with both girls one morning:
Me: "Will you let me help you, Ree?"
Ree: "No! I want to help YOU!"

* * *

In the kitchen one evening as I'm cooking dinner, trying to tide a fussy kid over for the last few minutes until we eat:
Me: "Hey Ree, can you see if this noodle is ready?"
Ree (looking curiously at spaghetti noodle in her hand): "Are you weady, noodle?"
(Looking up at me): "Yes, it's weady."
(Eats noodle happily)



During my pregnancy:

Listening to music:
"I hope the baby is dancing in your tummy!  I hope she is doing that!"

* * *

One morning while I was still in my PJ's:
"Oh Mama I yove your dress and I yove your pants and I yove your slippers!"
{The "dress" was a maternity pajama shirt, but I'll take a compliment wherever I can get it, I suppose!}

* * *

And:
"Mommy, your belly button isn't, isn't, isn't... isn't really a nice round circle anymore."
{Admittedly this was quite true at nine months pregnant!}

After being epically inconsolably for a while at bedtime one night, then suddenly calming down:
Ree: "Mommy?"
Me: "Yes?"
Ree: "I am happy."
Me: "What makes you happy?"
Ree: "My Mama and my Daddy and my yip bom (lip balm)."

* * *

At bedtime the night after Daylight Saving:
"But... why is it really so morning?!"

Completely inexplicable:
"Yook Mama, my owie yooks yike an eensy weensy 'pider!"

* * *

When Nathan took out his drill for a house project, and clearly Ree had become accustomed (albeit usually with fear and wailing) to much louder power tools:
"Oh Daddy! (Pleasantly surprised) Daddy that is not too soundy!"

And managing to be at the same time among the funniest and the worst things she's ever said, when the girls and I were on a plane after visiting my family in California in February, Ree was outraged when the woman in front of her reclined her seat, causing Ree's tray to move slightly as well.  She unbuckled herself in the blink of an eye, stood up on her seat to her full impressive two-and-a-half-year-old height, and yelled, "NO MA'AM DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

And while I wanted to disappear under my own seat in utter humiliation, it did occur to me to at least be glad there were no trucks (*&$%!) involved in the situation.

P.S.:

We love this crazy girl.

Margaret Elizabeth

She's here!

Our third daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, arrived at 1:58 am on Friday, March 10.  She weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz, and was 19.5 inches long at birth.

Like both her sisters before her, she was born with a head of dark hair, beautiful delicate features, and oh-so-kissable cheeks.

She is adored by her parents and big sisters alike.

... and admiring Aunts and Uncles, too!

My heart is so full, and I'm so grateful that I get to have a newborn all over again.

In some ways it is harder to fit in the snuggle time and enjoy all the sweetness with a third child, when life is already so busy.

But in another way it is almost all the more sweet and poignant, because with each moment where my cheek is pressed up against hers, or each deep breath I take to breathe in her delicious aroma, I'm loving our little Molly but also enjoying the wash of memories of a baby Nell and a baby Ree not so very long ago.

We are all doing well, attributed in no small part to the fact that Nathan, for the first time for any of our three babies, has paternity leave this time around.  I am so grateful for his presence at home as we adjust to life as a family of five, and I know the big girls are relishing some extra time with him.

Time is flying by all too quickly... this little lady is two weeks old already!

Life is a wonderful thing.