Lately...

It's crazy how time flies by so quickly. One moment I'm twelve and awkward, the next I'm twenty-eight and...still awkward. :) But then add a husband, a two year old, a two month old, and a dog, and time flies at super-sonic speed!

At the "sand beach" for the first time. She LOVED it!

Little Miss two-year-old has blossomed into a queen of sass and funniness in the past month. She came into our room a couple of nights ago proclaiming she is Princess Eva as she wore a crown and swung her wand around. Tonight, she again called herself Princess Eva as she laid on the floor. Then said, "Hi, Princess Mommy." That made me smile really big. (I answered, "Hello, Princess Eva," which earned me a big smile and a giggle in return.)

What you can't see is the cookie that she is using as a pillow. :)

She has gotten into Fancy Nancy (whom she lovingly calls Fancy Fancy) and now everything she does must be fancy. Her favorite "jammies" choice is her "Fancy Fancy" nightgown. She walks on her tiptoes. And the accessorizing has continued, extending into putting on makeup and wearing high-heels (mine and a dress-up pair she has).

She walked around the Littleton Historical Museum with her sunglasses in her mouth like this. She thought she was very sophisticated.

All things "Eva" make me smile (except the tantrums. although on occasion those can make me laugh too). My biggest smile - the inside and out smile that comes with a melted heart - occurs when she is the darlingest big sister to Kylee. Eva absolutely adores her baby sister. She is constantly concerned for her, always wondering where she is and if she has her pacifier or blanket. Even if she is in the midst of a tantrum, she will stifle her cries for a moment to ask where Kylee is. She has no end of hugs and kisses for her little sis.

She almost always can be found with her baby.

And now, that smile and melted heart become even bigger and more melted because Littlest Miss has begun to smile -- and she always has a smile for her big sister! (it's a wonder I'm still put together with all this melting. :) ) Whenever Kylee is awake and hears Eva talking, she immediately smiles. And she looks for her big sister, too. One day at my aunt and uncle's house in Utah a couple of weeks ago. Kylee was laying on a pillow on the floor and Eva was playing in the same room, singing and dancing around. Kylee kept her eyes on Eva the whole time, searching for her when she was out of her line of sight. It was adorable!

It seems as though we have kindred spirits in our midst who made a connection in Heaven and continue that connection here on Earth. I am grateful for it. And I am deeply humbled to be the mother of these two heavenly beings. What a joy they are!

Kylee is one of the happiest babies I know. So content just about all of the time.

P.S. A few funnies we wanted to remember, courtesy of our oldest Little Miss.

Eva calls swimming goggles, "gobbles." And her swimsuit is a "swim soup."
Her version of "bad guy" is "the big guy."
When in San Diego for the 4th of July, whenever she saw boats: "Boats love me."
From that same trip, we were there to see the Big Bay Boom. After the fireworks went off all at once, Kyle and I were talking about it and how it was deemed the Big Bay Bust. So Eva came up with her own version, "Fireworks broken."

At my Aunt Bertha's house. She asked to wear my nursing cover as a cape. Then ran around saying "Super Eva!"

At church on Sunday, our intermediate hymn was "I Am a Child of God." Eva, who had been busy eating her snack and going thru my bag, immediately perked up, gasped and exclaimed, "I'm a God!" (her name for the song). She clambered up on Kyle's lap so she could stand up and see what was going on. This song has been one of her favorites, consistently requesting us to sing it to her at night, especially the second verse, "So my greats," as she says. Most recently, her nightly request has been "Heavenly Father," which translates to "A Child's Prayer." So after we finished singing the first verse of "I Am a Child of God," without a beat she said, loudly, "Heavenly Father!" Then she continued making her request after verse 2 and then again after verse 3. It was hilarious! I love that she recognizes these songs, and I know she feels the Spirit when they're sung. And I am sure she understands the messages that they convey. And that makes me happy.