Neverland

If Neverland were real, my little family and I would soon be on an airplane headed straight there.

Because rumor has it that Neverland is a place of eternal childhood and the perfect home for those who refuse to grow up.  Or, in my case, who refuse to let their children grow up.

Time is moving quickly and my sweet babies are growing at a rapid pace.

This lovely lady is now 9.5 months old.

She still deserves the award for best baby around, and although I am the biased mother I don't think I am the only one who would bestow such an honor on the little miss.

I can tell she is discovering the world around her a little at a time and I love being a part of each new achievement.

It is pretty much a toss-up between bath time and meal time being her favorite part of the day.

She is a splashing machine and is continually trying to do the back stroke as soon as her toes hit the water.

It may be Olympic fever talking, but I think we may have a future swimmer on our hands.

She is the Houdini of the baby world and can get that diaper off in two seconds flat.

She claps, and gives kisses, and has finally started to say mama!

She is 17 pounds 9 ounces and nearly 28 inches of pure goodness.

She pretends she can crawl, but it is really more of a rolling-scooting-rocking motion that gets her to where she wants to go (and often times where she doesn't).

She eats big girl food and can not get enough of it.  Tonight's dinner consisted of Greek yogurt, peas, banana, chicken, and avocado.  And we made her stop there.

She loves books, her sister's toys, and has the cutest scrunched up face when she smiles.

She survived yet another adventure when she fell out of her Bumbo, off our kitchen table, and onto our very hard tile floor.

It was a horrible way for her mommy to be reminded of being aware and focused on what really matters.

Thankfully a few tears and a panicked phone call to the doctors office later she was just fine, but that didn't stop us from bringing the babe to our bed for the night.

And yes, the irony of the current Bumbo recall is not lost on me.

Giant goose eggs aside, we sure love our Bug, our Boo Boo, our Liza Lou.

She is the perfect sweet to her big sister's spice; and we can not imagine our world with out her in it.

And then there is this girl.

Oh how we love this spunky, imaginative, energetic little lady who is our first born.

She has been a busy body since day one, and it doesn't look like that is going to be changing anytime soon.

The other day she was a princess, a bunny, a monster, and a monkey; and that was all before lunchtime.

Her imagination is running wild these days, and I absolutely adore every minute of it.  Well, some moments playing the role of the prince for the 100th time that day can get a little tedious, but then I remember that chasing after Cinderella with glass slipper  in hand is pretty much the greatest job in the world.

 You might be noticing a trend in these photos?  It is pink, fluffy, and always around the princess' waist.  The tutu certainly isn't her only fashion obsession, as anything that can be made into a dress, Rapunzel hair, or a necklace of jewels is a hot commodity around these parts.

I am certain we have not done anything out of the ordinary to indoctrinate her in the ways of princess and pink, but she has happily found her place among the girly-girls of the world and we are just fine with that.



At two and a half years old Stella loves dancing and singing to Disney Pandora, eating tomatoes, playing Barbies, going "running", reading stories, going to Nursery, watching Disney Junior, drinking juice, saying prayers, playing make believe, navigating mom and dad's Iphones, talking about temples and weddings, playing with her friends, and asking lots of questions.

She isn't a big fan of going potty in the big girl potty, bugs (especially flies), green beans, her sister's spit-up, or taking naps.



She always has lots to say and some of our recent favorites include these gems:

After giving her a donut covered in multi-colored sprinkles she exclaimed "It has sprinklers on it!"

Anytime she sees other kids of any age "My friends are here!  They're here to play with me!"

When giving her options for lunch one day I was saying 'How about a sandwich? How about Mac n Cheese?'  With out missing a beat she responded with "How 'bout....cookies?!"

One night we were laying in her bed reading stories before going to sleep when she took my face in her hands and says,  "You're my best friend!"

When spending some time in Idaho just before moving to Montana Ryan was leaving to go fishing and Stella yells after him, "Ryan, where are you going?  You going to Montana?  Wait for me!"

She was being grouchy  and refusing to eat her lunch while we were at City Creek.  After finally taking a bite she says, "I'm so happy now, mama!"

Even when she knows the answer to the question you are asking her she responds with "I don't know..." and then she will follow up with the answer you were looking for one second later.

While watching me blow up the air mattress for Ryan's parents to use while visiting us she exclaims, "I can't believe my eyes, mama!"



These girls bring me more joy than I ever thought possible.

They also bring me more frustration and exhaustion than I knew I was capable of feeling as well, but that's a story for another day.

Their love for one another continues to amaze and overwhelm me; and I hope they always remember the love and friendship they are building.  Because we all know the days of fighting over clothes, slamming doors, and hormonal tears are coming.

But for now I am going to enjoy the giggle fits, the smiles that overcome Eliza's face when she sets site on her big sister, and the way Stella shows concern over her baby sister's every tear.

They are my world, my joy, my everything.

And I don't ever want them to grow up.