The Famous Palmer Sisters

It's been awhile since I gave a good, solid update on what my two little ladies have been up to.  People say these children of ours seem to change every single day, and I must agree.  I swear every morning I wake up to a smarter, more dramatic three year-old than I knew the day before.  And let's not forget to mention the increased sass and spunk of her little sister.  They are my greatest accomplishment in this world, and I am so grateful that they continue to show compassion and confidence towards me even when I don't do things quite right again and again.  They are the best.

So without further adieu, I bring you the current happenings of the famous Palmer Sisters:

I am reminded each day just how lucky we are to have Miss Stella in our family.  While there are many moments full of drama and tears, the majority of our time together is so very happy.  She is so friendly and polite, and loves to be part of any social situation.  Her memory is amazing and I am always shocked at the events and details she retains.  She is pretty great, and I am lucky I get to figure out this motherhood thing with her as my guinea pig.

Playing: Stella's lively imagination is truly her favorite toy.  It doesn't matter if she has princesses, barbies, books, or cars in front of her, because she is making up some dramatic scenario complete with a princess who needs saving and beautiful ball to attend.  That being said, she will play with her princess dolls for hours, loves to put on her stethoscope and give you a check-up, or loves to run from room to room in her fanciest gown acting out scenes from her latest favorite movie.  She loves making new friends and spending time with her old ones.  She talks about her best friends Brielle, Kiera, Madi, and Trey all day long, and will usually add one of her newest companions to that list on any given day.

Singing:  This one is always singing.  She loves her primary songs and will break out in "I Love to See the Temple" every single time she sees it.  Which is usually about 5 times per day.  She also has the best memory when it comes to music.  It may be my own music-loving soul talking here, but she may just be a prodigy.  She can hear the first five notes of a song on the radio and know exactly which song it is.  She picks up on TV show theme songs really quickly, too.  Quiet time and bedtime are always accompanied by a song.  It is dependent upon the number of books we read: two books means two songs, three books gets you three songs.  For about a month straight her song of choice was "My Little Playmate", but she also loves to request "I am Like a Star", "Twinkle, Twinkle", "Rock-a-bye Baby", and any other primary song. I can't help but dream of watching this one on the stage one day, singing and dancing her way to stardom!

Saying: Oh the things that come out of this girl's mouth!  I am constantly laughing and wondering where in the world she came up with her latest catchphrase.  Here are a few of our recent favorites:

Stella and Nana Joni were sitting at the kitchen table having a conversation and Stella say, "I'm not perfect."

After coming home from getting my hair colored brown for the first time she asks,"Where'd your blondes go, mama?"

After a long night Eliza ended up sleeping in the pack-n-play in the playroom.  When Stella woke up she asked where E was and I told her.  We went in to get her and Stella says, "Oh hi, Liza!  You in your packing box?"

One day Stella and I were talking about my earrings and I told her she could have some when she gets bigger.  She says, "Big like a mama?  And then I can vacuum and do laundry and change Eliza's diaper like you!"

While sitting on the toilet trying to go poop I encouraged her to just relax.  She says, "I don't need to relax, I need to poop!"

She had been on a Tarzan watching kick and at the end of the movie when Jane joins Tarzan in the jungle she says, "She got jungle clothes, mom!"

Ryan went to go put Stella back in bed one night.  He turned on the light to give her a drink and she looked up at a picture of Christ on the wall and says, "Hey, that's my friend Jesus!"

While looking at the hair on Ryan's knuckles she asks,"What's on your finger?"  Ryan asks her what she thinks it is and she replies,"Hair.  How'd it get there?  It's supposed to go on your head!"

Stella was getting mad at me for doing something and said, "Don't! That's weird!"  I responded with, "No, you're weird!" Which I know is awesome parenting, but due to her response I am not too worried about her self-esteem!  She says, "I'm not weird, I'm perfect!"

We were getting food at Taco Bell (again, nice job with the parenting) and Stella asks why this place is called Taco Bell.  I tell her it is because they sell tacos, to which she replies, "so where is Chicken Bell?"

I gave Stella a Cadburry mini egg with a little crack in the candy shell and she says, "Oh no!  It's hatching!"

Stella wanted some privacy in the bathroom so she says to me, "I need a little space..." Meaning get out and close the door!

Stella: "It smells like throw up."

Taryn: "What does?"

Stella: "This kitchen."

Don't worry that I had just deep cleaned and baked muffins.

After eating some cookies I had made that were a little on the crispy side she says, "I don't like these cookies!"  Ryan asked her why and she says, "Cause they taste like chips!"

After her good friend Trey arrived to play she says to him, "We will get you cleaned up in no time!"  I asked her what she meant by that and she said she was going to turn him into a prince.  When he politely declined her request she threw her hands in the air and said, "Oh no!  This is terrible!".

In her prayer the other night she thanked Heavenly Father for her "Cool family", and her "Cool and fancy friends."

Eating: This girl can still do some eating!  I am not lying when I say she can out eat me at some meals.  She still loves her tomatoes and pickles, requests a PB and honey for lunch every single day, and has recently developed a love for helping in the kitchen.  She loves pulling over her little red chair and helping mom make cookies, banana bread, or a little pizza for lunch.  I hope she always loves food and has a strong appetite for healthy things.

Reading:  Every trip to the library continues to be incomplete without finding a princess or ballerina book to take home.  That being said, Miss Stella is finally starting to branch out a bit and enjoy more books about deeper topics such as the body and outer space.  Thanks to that great memory of hers she has multiple books memorized, and can repeat full paragraphs out of one of her Princess books.  I love when she reads to me for a change.

Creating:  Stella still isn't big on arts and crafts.  She is enjoying painting more, but I don't love getting those out when Eliza is awake so it doesn't happen as often as she would like.  She does love stickers, and her current favorite activity is to make a sticker collage and then make up a story to go with it.  It is always some gripping tale full of princesses and stepsisters and ballet classes to attend.  

Wearing: Twenty out of the twenty-four hours of the day Stella Rose can be found wearing some form of beautiful gown pulled from her dress up box.  Underneath all of that fanciness you are likely to find something pink.  A pink shirt with ballet slippers, a pink "sleeping Beauty" dress, or a pair of pink pants.  She is still fairly reasonable when it comes to letting mom pick out her outfit for the day, but I try to relax and let her have more freedom with her choices when we are having a day at home or at the park.  She is getting better at dressing herself, but she still loves to act helpless and have mom do all the work.  We are working on increased independence in many areas of our dear girl's life.  We recently purchased some "days of the week" panties and have a good discussion each morning about what day it is and what princess will be worn to the days events.

Sleeping: After finally transitioning Eliza out of her pack-n-play in the playroom and into her crib, Stella decided she didn't want to sleep by her loud, crying sister.  So now Stella is the one sleeping in the playroom in the extra bed every single night.  The truth is I really don't care where anyone sleeps as long we are all sleeping!  Stella's naps are becoming less frequent, so we have moved to having some quiet time on most days.  She has to have her water bottle by her bedside, the bathroom light on, and the proper story/song combination before she can finally go to sleep, whether it be day or night.  We are lucky to have a child who doesn't put up too much of a fight when it comes to bedtime, although on occasion she does know how to delay slumber just a little bit longer with requests for more water or yet another trip to the bathroom.  

Growing: This girl, I swear she grows two inches every night.  Especially lately she just seems so big!  So tall and lean and old.  It makes my heart hurt a little bit when I realize just how high she comes when we are standing next to each other, or how mature she looks next to some of the babies in nursery.  Her hair is starting to get longer and maybe even a little thicker.  I am always tempted to cut it and even things out once more, but I just can't bring myself to do it.  At her 3 year check in January our big girl was just around 33 pounds and 37.5 inches.  She loves standing on the scale in our bathroom or at the gym, so I know she is still hanging right around that weight, although I wouldn't be surprised if she has actually grown an inch or so in the last four months.  One thing is certain, she just gets more beautiful by the day, both inside and out.  

Anticipating:  There is certainly one thing that is on repeat in Miss Stella's little mind right now, and that is DISNEYLAND!  We head to California in four short days and this girl could not be more excited! (The rest of us are pretty happy about i, as well!)  As if she wasn't excited before, the ghetto carnival made it's way to town and all Stella wanted to do was ride that rickety Ferris wheel.  I told her we couldn't go since we would be heading to Disneyland soon, and we needed to save our money for that trip.  Well, now she can't wait to ride the Ferris wheel, carousel, and hunt down princess Sofia next week; all things that I am not entirely sure Disneyland even has so let's hope the poor girl doesn't walk away completely brokenhearted.  The second thing Stella Rose can't wait for is the start of preschool in the fall.  The girl has been begging to go to school since last September, and is so excited about her "Shiloh school".  Stella will be attending a Christian preschool called Shiloh Christian Academy.  Lots of families in our ward have sent kids there and she will be in the same class as one of her best little friends, Kiera.  Bring on the Bible verses!

Oh, Eliza Scott.  This one has turned into such a feisty thing, but I still just can't get enough of her.  All she has to do is flash that goofy smile and we are all putty in her hands.   Her personality is growing almost as fast as she is.  I can't believe the things she says and does and learns every day, but at the same time she is still such a baby to me.  It is crazy to think that when Stella was this age we were only two months from welcoming baby E into our family.  We are so lucky to have this little girl in our lives.  Thanks to her all of our days are full of silly giggles, sweet snuggles, and perfect kisses.

Playing:  While E really just loves to play with take away anything her older sister seems to be interested in at the moment, she does seem to be forming a few interests of her own.  Namely, baby dolls.  Stella has never been into dolls so it has been fun to watch Eliza love those little babies with her slobbery kisses and the  occasional drop on the head.  She also loves the play kitchen, the real kitchen, and carrying around all sorts of treasures stashed away in her "bags."

Singing:  Eliza seems to love music just as much as her sister, and is starting to put enough words together that you can tell she is singing a specific song.  She likes to sing "Ring Around the Rosies", "I Love to See the Temple", and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."  Thanks to nursery she is learning the actions to "Once There Was a Snowman", "Popcorn Popping", and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes."  She is just the cutest little snowman you ever did see.

Saying:  This little girl's vocabulary is taking off.  She is consistently putting two words together when she speaks, and even adds a third and fourth in there on occasion.  She wants to speak in full sentences like the rest of us, but instead it just ends up being a bunch of gibberish most of the time.  She is starting to learn how to count and can count to 10 a lot of the time.  Sometimes she starts at three and skips seven, but it is still pretty cute to hear.  She knows the name and sound of most animals, but recently started making this adorably horrible growling noise whenever she sees a horse, which is multiple times a day due to the fact that we live in the country.  A few nights ago I decided to let her help say our family prayer thinking that it wouldn't really work, but she repeated every single word I said and completely melted my heart in the process.

Eating:  Compared to most kids her age, Eliza really is a good eater.  However, compared to the amazing eater she calls sister I feel like she is a bit finicky when it comes to food.  First, if for any reason she does not want to eat the food in front of her (or do anything we want her to for that matter) she gets the most concerned look on her face and exclaims, "Hot!".  No Eliza, those cold grapes and pieces of cheese on your plate aren't actually hot at all, you just don't want to eat them.  The girl also goes through phases where she won't touch foods of a certain color.  Sometimes it's red, sometimes it's orange, and other times only things that are green are left on the plate.  It drives me crazy, but I know she will be back loving her sweet potatoes or broccoli tomorrow so I just try to let it be.  And if you ever find yourself being chased by a 19 month-old holding a sippy cup and chanting "Apple juice!", just know she is actually asking for milk or water but for some reason (I'm going to go with big sister) she calls every beverage apple juice.

Reading:  One thing I love about this age is how much both of my girls have loved books.  Eliza can often be found closed in her room, "reading" her latest favorite.  She is currently obsessed with "Dear Zoo", "Curious George", and "I Love You, Stinky Face".

Creating:  If this girl catches sight of a pen, pencil, crayon, or marker; you better be getting her a piece of paper ASAP.  For as much as Stella doesn't seem to have an interest in art, little sis loves to color and draw.  We shall see where it takes us.

Wearing:  Thankfully the 19 month-old is still pretty uninterested when it comes to her fashion opinions, although trust me, we are getting there.  We are still using most of Stella's old stuff and it seems to be working great, especially when I dress Eliza for the day and then get to remember little Stella wearing the same thing two years ago.

Sleeping:  Oh, sleeping.  Sometimes it's good, most of the time it's bad.  Since recovering from her latest ear infection it has been pretty good, but I would say most nights she is still up at least once.  Thankfully she is pretty easy to put down for her nap and bedtime as long as she gets to help shut the door, pull the blinds closed, and turn off the light (which lately she enjoys doing with her toes).  Of course she has to have her beloved Binky and blanket, but once she has those and her music is turned on she is ready to sleep.

Growing:  This little lady is definitely growing.  She just had her 18 month well check, where we found out she actually wasn't so well due to an ear and eye infection.  Poor girl just can't seem to catch a break.  She had a couple of battle wounds going on at the same time, and I just felt sad for her every time I had to look at her poor head.  Apparently the girl has already gained 3 pounds since January, bringing her to a whopping 24 pounds.  She is also somewhere around 23 or 24 inches long, but I sort of lost the paper that had the actual statistics.  Poor second child. 

Anticipating:  If I had finished this post three weeks ago when I started it I would be able to say that Miss Eliza is looking forward to the start of nursery!  However, she  has now been going for almost a month so I guess that kind of throws off the whole anticipation of it all.  So far she is loving her time singing songs, having snacks, and playing with big sister and all of the other fun kids.  And I would have to admit that although she doesn't really know what Disneyland is all about, she is pretty excited to see "Mickey!" herself.  This trip is either going to be the best thing ever or so stressful that I will never want to enter a theme park again.  Let's all hope for the best.

For as long as this post is, I am sure there is so much I am forgetting to mention about my two sweet girls and all that they are saying and doing.  While every age and stage comes with it's challenges, these two are at some pretty great spots in life.  It is more than obvious that they love each other and that they love their mom and dad, and really, what could be better than that?