Cowgirl

Happy Birthday Sweet D'arcy!

She woke up and came into my room asking for breakfast as always, and I sang happy birthday to her. She listened intently with her head slightly tilted, and after I was done she said, "Thank you, mommy," very quietly. That was my favorite moment of the day.
Daddy whisked her away to Toys'R'Us to pick up a very generous gift from our good friend Bruce; a bike complete with helmet, elbow and knee pads, water bottle, and streamers. She was a little pooped from the trip, and fell asleep on the way home. We put her on the couch where she slept till early afternoon. Around two I snuggled up beside her to ask if she wanted to wake up. She said, "No, I'm not feeling well." Which is something she has recently learned to say to get out of doing things that aren't pleasant. "Not even to open presents?" I ask. At that, she pops up and runs to get Daddy so we can open presents from family in Indiana.
Later, after we were driving home from a very hot party at the park including cake and presents, she decided that she had had a very happy birthday. She is trying to convince me that she needs another birthday next week.

What do you want to be when you grown up?

"D'Arcy, what do you want to be when you grown up?" asked the Children's Church Teacher.

D'Arcy replies, "I will be a little baby and be back in my mommy's tummy."

"Yeah, mommy!"

Our pastor has been going through a sermon series entitled "Relational Fitness". We have been discussing how important empathy is to our relationships, and he has been giving very practical advise on how to react appropriately to others' emotions. He asked the congregation this week if anyone had an example of their own that they would like to share where someone had shown them real empathy. I lifted my hand.
On Friday morning, Stephen left for Pennsylvania for the weekend. After he left, I was trying to get the kids and I together to run some errands. We had some movies due back that day, and we had somehow misplaced one of the DVD cases. I began searching the house for it. I looked under the couches, under the beds, in toy bins, under the cushions. All the while, D'Arcy was asking me to dance with her to her ABC CD. I kept telling her firmly that I had to find this case. I was becoming extremely frustrated. Where could this case have gone? After searching for over an hour, I gave up. Then I looked down and noticed that there was a little bump under the rug under the coffee table. Ah...success.
I went into D'Arcy's room and casually said, "Guess what. I found the case." D'Arcy totally surprised me by squealing, "Yeah, mommy! You found the case." She jumped up and down for me. It felt so sincere. My little, almost three year old seemed to understand and reflect what I was feeling inside. She showed empathy in a way that I would never have gotten from an adult. Yet, it was a reaction that seemed so grown up for her. I was so touched that I had to share with my church and with you.

What's on your boobs?

This is the question my toddler asked a lady at the pool. Embarrassing, I know. What she was trying to say was, "What is the pattern on your bathing suit?" Thankfully, the lady happened to be the parent of her own tactful three year old so after a minute she smiled.

Signs of Intelligent Life

Don't underestimate a ten month old. D'Arcy has decided recently that Julian needs mini carrots for lunch. Julian seems to disagree as he quickly decides that he rather not eat them and decisively places them in the cup holder on his tray. Take them out, and he quickly puts them back while shaking his head and smiling.

Cousins

They don't get to see each other very often, but D'arcy is always asking about her cousin "Grabriel". It's so fun to see them interact. They are only three weeks apart, but they are developing at their very own speed. D'arcy walked several months earlier. Gabe could count to twenty at a year and a half. At that point, D'arcy was much more interested in chit chatting then counting. Gabe's attention span is really remarkable. He can repeat several lines from a movie. D'arcy might be watching the same movie, but she is distracted by trying to find somebody to cuddle with (or wallow on depending on that someones mood).
Regardless of their differences, they really enjoy each others company, and even when mommy can't get D'arcy to smile, "Grabriel" can.

My "O" face.

This picture documents Julian's two new tricks, standing (he's beginning to let go and stand all on his own) and his "O" face.

What a sucker!

It must have happened shortly after Christmas. Ju Ju found his thumb, and he liked it.

Let me give the pros:
-He can comfort himself easily which is a great characteristic of a second child.
-He looks darn cute doing it, especially when he hooks his finger over his nose.

Here are the cons:
-Our pride is hurt a little. We prided ourselves on not giving him a pacifier. He realized he had his very own permanently attached to his hand.
-Since it is permanently attached to his hand, we can't exactly take it away from him. We've heard stories of kids sucking their thumb into their teens and creating for themselves a nice row of British teeth.

He inherited a great desire to converse, though, and he's realizing that he can't talk with his mouth plugged so the thumb is now becoming a great nap indicator.

I'm just chunky monkey D'arcy.

Alright, roll your eyes. We created complicated names for our children, Jacquelyn D'arcy Edith Williams and Edward Julian Theodor Williams, respectively. Our hope, though, is that our children will love their names because Stephen and I put a lot of thought and creativity into them.

That's why D'arcy's favorite saying brings me such joy. When we say, "Hello, my sweet baby."

She'll firmly respond, "I'm not a sweet baby, I'm just D'arcy." or "I'm just Jacquelyn D'arcy." or if we are really lucky she'll say, "I'm just chunky monkey D'arcy."

She extends this emphatic response to negate adjectives as well as nouns. "You're silly."

"No, I'm not silly. I'm just Jacquelyn D'arcy Edif Williams."

Yes you are, and we love our chunky monkey very much!

San Francisco

Who says you can't travel with kids? They are actually really great to have on trips because they need to stop every now and then which makes you stop every now and then. Although we hate to admit it, adults need rest too. Maybe they won't remember the sights and sounds of San Francisco, but hopefully they'll begin to love traveling as much as Stephen and I.

Chicken Pox

Baby Julian came down with Chicken Pox a couple of weeks ago. At first we thought a bug had attacked him in his crib, but when they started to spread over his head, neck, and body we figured out that this was a different type of "bug". Trying to be good insurance users, we called the on call nurse who talked us out of the idea of Chicken Pox. She suggested heat rash. But tell me what heat rash looks like this?

But who could he have gotten this from? Every kid we know has been innoculated for Chicken Pox. Then it hit me, Poppy (Stephen's dad) found out he had shingles just a few days after we left Indiana. That was two weeks before Ju Ju broke out. Aha! Don't feel bad Poppy.
Julian's been a trooper, though. Poor guy doesn't really have the ability to scratch yet so it looks like he won't have beautiful chicken pox scars like his mama.