2 Happy Half Birthdays

We celebrated two half-birthdays last month.  First Anna, then 2 days later Cyrena.  For half birthdays the kids can pick what they want mom to make for dinner, a treat to make with mom, and they also get a small present.  It's just enough for them to get some recognition since all 3 girls have holiday birthdays.  

ANNA

 Since Anna can't pick a treat I bought some clearance donuts at Albie's. :) We put 1.5 candles in the donut and she was happy.  

We bought Anna a Twilight Ladybug like Natalie's Twilight Turtle.

Anna facts:

Height: 34 inches-95%

Weight: 25 lbs-50%

1.  Anna is really starting to communicate.  She says a lot:

     -gog (dog)

    -stinky

    -mom

    -daddy

    -cookie

    -baby

    -no

    -fishy

    -diter (sister)

    -cracker

    -Mow! (kitty sound)
  *-book
  *-thank you
  *-ceeyall (cereal)
  *-eeeewww (while plugging her nose)

    -and a whole lot more that we don't understand!

Anna also nods a lot and can answer yes and no questions that way.  

*added at 19 months old 

2.  She is loving nursery so far.  David transitioned her quite smoothly, way to go honey!  I have nothing to do with it other than peeking in the window when I sneak out for a drink break during sharing time.

3.  Anna LOVES her sisters!  When the other girls were this age they stuck around me pretty closely but Anna is perfectly content following her sisters around-she just comes to me when she's hungry. She will play along with anything they are playing and they love to include her.  When it's time for bedtime kisses, her sisters get the biggest ones. 

4.  She calls me 'MAHHHHHHHM'; really loud and really long until I acknowledge her.  She's always got something to tell me, especially when her sisters are trying to tell me something also.  After church the girls race to the primary room to tell me everything and this past Sunday Anna joined in.  "MAHHHHHHHM, MAHHHHHHM"  until I looked at her then she proceeded with 30 seconds of gibberish and a whole bunch of nodding.  

5.  Anna has to have fresh pajamas every night and I change her sheet almost everyday.  She's going through an awful pooping stage and it gets EVERYWHERE.  I have no idea how it happens but it's always up her back and down her legs.  I dread getting her up in the mornings.

6.  Anna calls my cell phone "daddy" and her favorite thing when she wakes up from her afternoon nap is to call him and ask when he'll be home.

CYRENA

 Cyrena requested spaghetti for dinner and chocolate chip cookies for her treat.  I made her a giant cookie.  For her gift, Cyrena got a new bike helmet.  Her barbie helmet she got when she was 3 was not cuttin' it anymore.

 She got to have her friend Robyn over to play and she stayed for dinner.  These two have been friends for over a year now and they have a lot of fun together.

Cyrena facts:

1.  Cyrena is growing like a weed and looking a bit grown-up.  Her legs have gotten really long (and hairy...hehe!)

2.  Cyrena loves to be responsible whether it's getting Anna out of her crib, helping make breakfast/lunch, or watching Anna while I'm in the shower.  She is working hard on some new chores this summer.  Some of them are: emptying the dishwasher (Natalie does the silverware), wiping down her bathroom counter and sink and changing out the bathroom trashes.  It's been nice to have her home to help out a bit more.  When she twisted her ankle last month I realized how much I rely on her to "run upstairs for..." "can you pick up..." "grab me a diaper..." etc.  

3.   Cyrena continues to love to read.  When I finished teaching I felt like I had a great stash of picture books and chapter books.  We've never really had a need to check out books from the library because we have so many.  We still have plenty of picture books.  However, she has finished almost all the age-appropriate chapter books that we have!  She's read all the Junie B. Jones, Magic Treehouse, A to Z mysteries, and Boxcar Children books that we own.  And we own a lot!  So I guess we'll be checking more out from the library.  Luckily we also have used bookstores close by that we can hit up when she earns it. 

4.  Swimming lessons have been great this summer for Cyrena.  I'll post more on that soon but she is really swimming now and we're very proud of her.

5.  Cyrena talks non-stop to her own detriment.  Sometimes she's so busy working something through orally that she completely misses opportunities.  For example;  I tell her she can watch a show while I am doing something else and then when I'm done we'll play a game.  She spends the first 10 minutes of her screen time reiterating exactly what I just told her so she can work it out in her own mind.  It's hard to explain but it gets really annoying and sometimes we just have to tell her to relax and STOP!

6.  Cyrena's imagination has really grown in the past year and I love to watch her make up things for her sisters to play.  Everyone needs a director right?

Oh my girls, how I love you!