Kisses for Sisses

Outdoor Fun

Playing in the dirt and sand, my cute husband (how did that one get in there?), Elly in the tree, and our annual "in front of the tree" picture.

Marcus and the Mosquitos

Today, Eden was in pretend mode and told me not to let mosquitos bite Marcus because they "suck all the hopefulness out of him."

Who's Who?

Toddlerhood for Elly Belly

Elly has really made the jump from baby to toddler. Some would argue she did that months ago...walking before 9 months tends to speed the process along. She is using full sentences now, like:
"Momma, where are you?"
"Go outside!"
"I don't want to!"
"Go to bed."
"Eden is asleep. Shhh!"
She loves the sandbox and rocks outside. She has very little need for snuggling with Momma anymore, which makes me sad, but I think I will handle it better this time, since I know from Eden that growing up is a good thing. Eden now wants to snuggle me again (though she is a little big for me!). The independence has kicked in for sure, she wants to do her own shoes, drink from a big girl cup, wash her own hands, and "pean" up the toys. She has a real tomboy streak in her. She loves dirt and bugs and always stops to listen to planes and motorcycles.

By Request

Our good old friend Robin in Germany requested some pictures with Nia in them, so here they are!

The Flood

Just thought I would post a picture of my grandparent's cabin in the flood in Big Lake, MO. This isn't the first time (or the last) it has been flooded. Note that the cabin is built up on 6' stilts, so the water didn't reach their belongings. The dark brown cabin on the left is theirs. I guess Big Lake has been on CNN and I saw it on ABC World News as well.

One of those days...

By 9am today Elly had...

dumped her bowl of cereal on her head while I was feeding Marcus.

By 1pm today Elly had...

dumped a large quantity of sandbox sand onto her head while she and Eden were playing.

By 6pm today Elly had...

dumped her plate of spaghetti on her head and rubbed it in really nicely.

By 7pm today...

Elly was in the tub!

More Facts

Name: Eden Lily Grimes
Age: 4 1/2 yrs
Height: Almost as tall as Momma!
Favorite Food: Still Tuna Tetrazzini
Favorite Snack: no chip is safe
Catch Phrase: anything in a British accent
Fast Fact: She'll be starting BlastBall soon! It's a Tball league for 4 and 5 yr. olds where the bases make honking sounds!
On a typical day, Eden: sneaks off to her room and shuts the door for some alone time with her toys.
Most Shocking Moment: Eden put herself down for a nap one day at noon and slept until 3pm. Or the time she sang "t-t-t-tasty, tasty!" just like Fergie.
Cutest Thing: Eden calls Marcus "Buster Boy" and talks in a singsong way to him and tells him he's gonna be a big guy someday.

Name: Elly Lyn Grimes
Age: 20 months
Height: 2'9"
Favorite Food: popsicles or grapes
Favorite Snack: Goldfish
Catch Phrase: "How do doin' Honey?" (means "what are you doing, Honey?") or "Momma, where are you?"
Fast Fact: Aside from Honey, Elly also likes to call people Sweetie.
On a typical day, Elly: takes two naps, one at 11am and one at 3:30pm, then goes to bed at 8pm.
Most Shocking Moment: We realized that Elly's jibberish is actually sentences!
New Words: birdie, munny (bunny), Minnie (Brynnie), Mimi (Grammy), Papa, kitty, downtaywz (downstairs), ipin (open), penny (pencil, marker, pen)
New Phrases: I'm fwying! (I'm flying), I dough what to! (I don't want to!); Minnie! NO, uh Minnie (means, Minnie isn't here)
Cutest thing: When you say "Goodnight, Elly!" she says, "Goodnight, Elly!"

Catching up...

The girls enjoy a tea party...

Big Guy


Eden's Nuh Nuh outfit

Sisterly Love

Mommy Likey

Today the kids and I had the morning off so we played outside, went to the Rec Center for playgroup and then Story Time, then we picked up Daddy and had lunch together. I think they were so used to their normal routine, this wore them out! Elly begged to be put to bed at noon, then Eden put herself to bed at 12:10 and Marcus squawked twice and was out like a light.

Now, what do I do?

The Wonder Pets

Eden's new favorite show, The Wonder Pets, sparked another Edenism this week:

Eden: The Wonder Pets are pets. They are called Wonder Pets because you wonder what they are, then you say, Oh! they are pets.

Eden's Words

Eden has always been pretty good verbally, but she still has a few words that give her problems (I think they are so cute) so I wanted to list them here, since I am sure she'll grow out of them soon!

Good Merring Amornica (Good Morning America)
Gra-Nora-Ball (granola bar)
War Mart (WalMart)
Yo-Gret (yogurt)
Lemon (melon)
Bref-kist (breakfast)

A Glimpse of What's to Come?

It seems that Elly has "one of those faces." Everyone seems to think she looks like someone else. The latest comment was from Grandpa Lee, who said he thinks she looks like the Olsen twins. I see a little resemblance, but I am not going to tell Dan to retire just yet.

Edenisms Part 5

Eden, in the van, writing letters on her MagnaDoodle: "Hey! I wrote 'on' and 'off'!" I looked back, and sure enough, she had written the words "On" and "Off." I said, "You did! Where did you learn that?" [expecting her to say Grammy, or Brynnie, since we hadn't taught her to write those words yet] Eden says, "Oh, just from some switches."


Grammy is pushing Eden on a Merry Go Round type thing in their yard. Eden says. "Wait til I'm prepared Grammy!" Grammy pushes her again, and Eden says, "Just a minute Grammy! Put a little slow in that fast!"


Just now, Eden is writing at her table and Elly comes up and starts to "write" too.
Eden exclaims: Mom! This is incredible! Elly just wrote a 'C'!
Mom: Wow, that's great, she must have learned it from you Eden.
Eden: Elly, I am SO proud of you!
Mom: Isn't it fun being a big sister?
Eden to Elly: Just doin' my job little Missy. I am so happy, I could shake my bum bum all day long!

Farm Fun

Princesses for the Day

Easter Weekend

Hannah Banana looking SO cute...daughter of Dan's sister Trish, and her hubby Chris, who spent the weekend with us.

Eden FINALLY got to wear her Easter dress! She's had a hard time leaving it out of the princess rotation.

Elly's sweet grin.

The girls one morning--still in their jammies.

The three girls!

Little Eden

This is the oldest one of Eden I could find on this computer. I will have to transfer older files to this hard drive to find the real newborn pictures. I think Eden is less than a year here, but I am not sure. She looks so much different than Elly, in my opinion. Though there are some days where things Elly does gives me a flashback. Eden is just so grown up now!

Where Did My Baby Go?

This was taken just a few hours after Elly was born. My precious little one. And now she has entered full-fledged toddlerhood, complete with tantrums and throwing food, independent streaks, snuggles and kisses, and saying things like, "I love you Honey Momma!" She is a sweet girl, but the baby lover in me sometimes wishes she were still a little bundle like this. I have to remind myself that growing up is good, it's the GOAL, and that these precious ones are just on loan to me anyway.