Our Little Wonder: 3.5

Our second born is 3.5, and I think we've finally decided she's not a baby anymore...

It's funny how the things we marveled at when she was brand new are still true today. She was all over us then and is all over us whenever we allow it now. Big hugs and climbing on her people are two of her favorite things. She loves her people. One time we asked her and her sister if they were best friends. Moriah answered immediately with a whole-hearted, most enthusiastic YES. She loves chasing and tickling her baby brother, and I love when she says "Mommy, I love my WHOLE family". Our little wonder loves big. 

Moriah spends hours playing with baby dolls and has gotten her sister to love them all over again and her little brother to join in too. She is proving to be quite the trend setter around here. The household favorite baby was named by Moriah. Her full name is Baby Merlissa Jessi Allisey Rachel Princess. 

When it's suddenly quiet, you'll find our girl dressing baby dolls, playing make believe with them,  packing multiple bags for vacation, or building and creating stories with lego pieces. Moriah is quite content in the space of her imagination and often enjoys playing solo for extended periods of time. She also changes her clothes more than any other person on the planet. Her fashion choices are creative and fun and usually involve making a huge mess. She loves making a statement by tying clothing in unconventional ways to create a new look ;) 

Moriah has a strong social side as well. She is finally an AWANA cubby and loves going to "school" at church. She's always asking if we have MOPS, and she even invited a new friend to MOPS while playing at the rec center one day.  

The many faces and dance moves of Moriah continue to amaze. She has a real serious kind of edgy persona that comes out. We're not quite sure where this comes from, but it's quite entertaining. She loves Lauren Daigle's song "Oh Lord" and refers to it as "stand my ground". Toby Mac remains high on the list as well. 

Nap time has now become rest time because Moriah was staying up until 11 p..m. or later talking to herself and all of the stuffed animals she could fit in her bed. It's a wonder she even fits in her bed most nights. We have come up to find piles of animals and books surrounding her. Sometimes she has them all covered up in a very calculated way. We've even found situations like this in the hallway outside of her room. Her creativity and crazy come together to make some pretty hilarious scenarios and has us wondering quite often what is going on in that mind of hers.

 Moriah is without a doubt uniquely made, and we're so honored to call her ours.

The Little Prince: 1.5 years

Ephraim Daniel is 1.5 and in the 13th percentile for height but making up for it in every other way. We're pretty smitten with his curls and touch of auburn hair. 

He continues to appreciate books more than almost everything else in the world. If you are sitting down for more than a second, Ephraim is sure to come toward you with a book in hand. He will make himself welcome in your lap and promptly move your hand so it's holding the book. :) 

 The Cars book from the library is one of his favorties. He loves the page where McQueen wrecks up the road and makes a big MESS. Ephraim will look at that page for five minutes at a time and just keep saying "A MESS" in the loudest most rumbly voice you've ever heard. Goodnight Moon, But No Elephants and Daniel Tiger Goes to the Playground are also at the top of the list. He refers to all books as Nan-noo (Daniel). We all have them memorized.

His love of the belly button is strong thanks to the Belly Button Book. Bee-bo!

We definitely expected Ephraim to talk less because of his two highly verbal sisters, but it turns out he's just following their lead. Our resident parrot has even used a few sentences "I want out" "Get me down". When the girls are getting too rowdy he yells "Guys, guys!" The boy knows what he wants and has no qualms about letting us know. His "Moo" sound comes from the gut and is hysterical. He surprised us all when he yelled the word "stop" at just the right time in the For King and Country song Joy. 

Ephraim is into EVERYTHING these days. Kitchen drawers and cabinets, bird baths, mommy's make-up, toilets, swinging the dining room light above the table...anything he can get his hands on. He has even been known to use tupperware containers as stools to reach higher in the kitchen. I'm so thankful that he's a shorty for now and hasn't discovered the art of climbing...yet.

Raisins (mae-maes), grapes and blueberries (bee-bees) are 75% of the boy's diet. He eats them by the handful. So far we've seen Ephraim's temper when he wants more mae-maes than we are willing to give him, when he can't quite fit the shapes into his tool bench and when we refuse to read a book for the eleventh time in a row.
He's very comfortable in social settings and has cozied up to our house guests like they were his best friend on more than one occasion. The nursery workers at church comment on how calm he is. He sleeps through a lot in there and one friend even said she wants to teach him some self defense because he just takes it all! Sweet boy.

In the words of his six year old sister, "I think Ephraim's going to be easy to fall in love with." I couldn't agree more.

Our Felicity: 6.5 Years

I just can't believe it. She is six and a half years old...

In just a week she'll finish American Kindergarten, although I recently overheard explaining to a friend that she's on a different timeline because she has already finished Tunisian Kindergarten (insert smiley cry face). 

Felicity loves school. She hops out of the car and marches right in like she owns the place. We're so thankful that she has made friends this year. At first she was a little confused at why kids weren't surrounding her, eager to play. It took a few conversations about how to engage others when you're not the only blonde with fair skin from America, but now she's a pro at navigating the playground scene. 

She knew the names of every kid in her class after the first week and comes home everyday telling me all about what everyone said and did that day. At recess she loves to swing (she just learned to pump!) and play tether ball. She also likes to invent games with her friends about vampires and villains (yikes) and "Let's help 'B' (a fellow classmate) know Jesus"...quite the wide range of interests she has! Aye-yi!

Having a mailbox is a new thing for our kids this year, and Felicity LOVES to race to it right after school. She also continues to be very social, especially with adults. The other day I stopped watching the girls for a sec to deal with Ephraim, and to my delight I found them at our sweet neighbor lady's house helping her sweep up her driveway. Felicity is such a good helper and inspires her sister to do the same! 

It makes my heart happy that she still has a deep appreciation for parks and Happy Meals. Watching her swing and sink her teeth into a McDonald's cheeseburger are two things that give me such delight because she understands that these are extras, things not to take for granted...I hope she holds on to this and carries it over to other pieces of her story as it grows. 

There's so much to say, but I definitely can't leave out that Felicity is a hard worker. She gives her best and goes above and beyond most of the time. She's always rehearsing everything she's learning in school whether it's songs from music, reading and math, or P.E. warm-ups! She even had MoMo and me doing high knees and seat kickers in our living room! Her determination in learning to jump rope was amazing to watch. She came home from school one day wanting to learn and kept jumping and jumping until she finally got it a few days later. So proud of her for not giving up!

She is obsessed with drawing and coloring and loves to do drawing contests with anyone willing to face her. Her sweet singing voice melts me, and I love to look in the car mirror to see her dramatic expressions that go along with it. She loves Ryan Stevenson's song "The Gospel"  and insists that Daddy sings it better (in a very sweet way) to every song on the radio that she has heard him sing.

My favorite recent story is when she told me that a boy at school was unkind to her even though he was nice to the other kids. She finally came to the conclusion that he just didn't like her. I loved her gracious spirit when she remarked, "But I decided to just roll with it and be nice to him anyway." A big thank you Jesus moment for Mommy!

Felicity Renee is brave and just watching her navigate all of the transition of of the past few years is a beautiful testimony to many prayers answered and the kindness of our God. He is faithful, and I love watching His story unfold through the life of our Felicity. What a privilege.

Our Little Wonder: Three Years

It's hard to know where to begin when a little life is lived so big that it's just bursting at the seams... 

Moriah is our middle girl, but she loves to live on the edge of extremes. She loves to play at full sound, running, jumping, dancing, giggling, chased and chasing...at the same time she can sit forever playing alone in her room talking softly to Peppa, princesses, baby dolls, or stuffed animals. Her temper can flare with screaming, vein popping, and exasperated sighs, but she's also the most empathetic member of our family. Countless times I've seen her carry the hurts of Felicity and Ephraim as if they were her own. I continue to marvel at where it all comes from and be thankful for the special work God did in creating Moriah Ann...

Moriah makes us a bit crazy at times. When things transition from loud to quiet too fast, you can almost guarantee she's upstairs changing her wardrobe AGAIN. Her favorites are swimsuits, tights, tutu skirts, and princess dresses. She's very independent and does a great job of dressing herself but gets extremely frustrated if things aren't working out and generally leaves a trail of wardrobe changes behind her. She also started waking up in the night again, and I'm not kidding she always wakes up sounding like a horror film. We're working on that. Age three goals. 

On the other hand, MoMo definitely keeps us all laughing. Her crazy, frozen, serious/somewhat disturbed with a bit of silly faces when she hears her favorite songs in the car have us rolling, and she has taken to dancing in a swimsuit on our ottoman every morning. "Mommy, can I have "Lights Shine Bright?" Her moves are a unique slow-Mo arm sequence with intense faces followed by supper fast punching arms. Gets me every time. 

No one will ever forget her grand entrance to the living room at Christmas proudly carrying the removable section of her potty chair and announcing her great accomplishment. She says the funniest things like "Look Mommy, I got screw drivas under my pillow. Wanna see 'em?!" and things we're still trying to undersand like "tamation is yuck. we have to clean it" and "let's go to the chocari baseball game" What is tamation and chocari? No idea, but she sure knows. 

A few other things can't be left out like Moriah's obsession with sweets and impersonations of Elmo and Cookie Monster. Her favorite foods are "Thai" which is anything with rice, chicken and red sauce and Tunisian cous cous. Every once in a while she surprises us with a Tunisian word and still wants a Tunisian story. She's a charmer for sure and seems to have a thing with older men. We are terrified! She adores her classes at church and all of the teachers and little friends that come with them. Chocolate eggs at Easter (almost a year ago), the crazy fireworks we saw on the 4th of July, open gym and Day Camp at Bloomingdale Church all made a lasting impression on her and come up pretty regularly in conversation. All things physical like summersaults and climbing seem to come naturally and without a hint of fear. And we've all fallen in love with the things she says:

tank tang/ chicken
tanakits/gymnastics swimmin' suit
green beams
swimmin' cool
You got armpips?
What you got?
What you say?
mash-a-tabowls/ mashed potatoes
I love you, sweetie.
Oh you so cute!
Oh my crash!
nuggle/granola bar

When I first coined her our Little Wonder, I had no idea how true to her it would be. As we leave year 3, I find myself on the edge of my seat excited and just a little terrified for what's in store for year four. No doubt some crazy, fun, hilarious, times ahead with just the right splash of sweet to keep us all under the spell that is Moriah.

The Little Prince: One Year

Ephraim Daniel you have been such a sweet presence in our family during this first year of your little life. There is a calmness that comes with that oh so serious piece of your personality. It has been such a gift and pure grace in a year of so many changes. In twelve months you've lived in four homes and traveled more miles than many go in a lifetime. You have been easy going and steady through it all. 

I am amazed by your persistence and determination and wonder how what is now a full focus army crawl toward a gadget, wire, cabinet, vent, bowl of water, etc. will look as God grows you in days to come. You haven't quite caught on to the word "no" and have to be removed physically over and over from the places you go that are off limits. This same spirit allows for some intense ring stacking and block building. Once you put your mind to something, you are a force to be reckoned with...

So many gifts to hold on to from this year...swimming on your tummy in the tub, your little newborn cry that sounded more like a goose than a man cub, your Dracula phase when all you had were the top two vampire teeth, how you relish the sister and daddy chorus of "nigh-night HONEY" each night before bed, your first word was Ma-Ma and block (blah) was a close second, your awkward bald ring around the back of your head stage, pulling up all of the vents over and over, your raspy early voice that eventually led to a big Bubba Roar!, army crawling like a boss and learning to crawl super fast on knees and hands at 11 months, rocking to music and standing at the piano whenever daddy plays, that sniffing crinkly nose smile that actually shows your top teeth, standing at the window to see the wide world outside or play peek-a-boo with the curtains, eating so much all day everyday, imitating my humming sound affects at one year old, making your sisters crack up laughing on a road trip at 8 months old, your giggle when I realize it's a fake cry and do my best imitation of you, and that stank face when you are upset...so many other things I wish I would have written down, but I'm grateful to have treasured them up in my heart. God has filled it so full with serious love for you our serious boy.

Once Upon a Time...

January 4, 2017

2 weeks old

1 month and still a bit shell shocked...

2 months

3 months and SO serious...

4 months

5 months and it's hard to keep a straight face with dino toes...

6 months strong...

7 months with so much to ponder...

8 months...finally caught a smile!

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

A whole lot of love...

...ONE handsome, sweet Little Prince...