Things to Remember

I just wanted to take a moment to record some things about my great girls that I want to remember. Here are ten things each.

Sally-
"Dad, you're the best." I loved seeing this. It was out of the blue.

She'll ask us questions she knows the answers to, and when we respond she'll say congratulate us with a "Good Job!"

"Mama, can I (fill in the blank)? Yes or no." If the answer is no, she'll respond, "Yes?" over and over again. She starts this very calm, but sometimes gets frantic if the answer continues to be no. The girl is persistent.

She still talks about playing the cello. Whenever I talk about me playing the violin, she always talks about how she's going to play the cello. I'm excited she has the desire now! I hope it will last. I would love to have a string quartet in our family, she can definitely follow in Uncle Deej's footsteps.

"I'm getting bigger! And Alice is getting bigger! And you're getting smaller!" I hope that's true.

She loves to build things and line things up in trains, We recently were the lucky recipients of some magna-tiles. I love to see her play with these. She makes lots of shapes and pretends they are all kinds of things- dogs, trains buildings, airplanes, faces. I love to see her imagination work.

While watching conference, she would get so excited when anyone would say anything she's familiar with. "He said Holy Ghost!" "He said Joseph Smith!" "He said temple!" Each time she'd be wicked excited and continue saying it until we responded. That's very much her style.

When we pray, I love to hear the things she says she is thankful for. She'll always say each member of our little family, and a sprinkling of extended family members and friends. She usually will say something in nature like flowers or butterflies. Teletubbies and books- especially "You can do it Sam" and "Goodnight my Angel", very often make the list. Sometimes, it's yummy treats.

She loves helping Alice. She'll give her toys (though sometimes take them) and give her a binky. She'll get me diapers and wipes. She will tell her she loves her and give her hugs and kisses and holds her hand.

She independently declares her love for us and gives big hugs.

Alice-
The girl LOVES food! She only hasn't liked the turkey, which is pretty much like cat food- I don't blame her. Other than that, she can't get enough of eating.

She will put her hands on either of my cheeks and "kiss" me.

Sometimes, she'll suck on my chin or nose.

She's sitting up on her own. She does better when she has something in her hands, otherwise she's searching for something to put in her hands.

She's very good with her hands, her small motor skills rule! She can easily do all the activities in her exersaucer and pick up her binky and put it in her mouth

She can twist her tongue in a way I can't- turn it upside down. She does this a lot.

She's starting to move- but backwards! She'll kind of get on hands and knees (only for a moment and much more hands than knees) when she gets down, she'll move backwards. She's moved off several blankets this way.

She's a cuddler. She'll burrow into my shoulder or neck and then come away for a moment to give me a smile. Then, she'll go back to that sweet cuddling.

She's a mama's girl. When I'm around, she's a pretty "easy" baby. Very laid back and easily soothed. When I'm away, however, I guess she sometimes struggles. That's what they tell me at the gym. Sometimes, I get called out of my workout to take care of her. As soon as she sees me, everything is okay again. I know that isn't the best thing, but it makes me feel good to know we have that special bond.

Her smile is so bright. It's easy to come by and impossible not to give one back.