New joy

I'm a great-aunt -- again! Our oldest niece and her husband had their second child, Jaylyn Rose, on March 18. We were thrilled to meet her this weekend. Eric and I have finally hit that we-miss-babies mode, so these grand-nieces are quite the perk.

Sara, holding Jaylyn:

Jaylyn's older sister, Kyleigh, with Leah and Sara:

Their point of view

This idea is going around...thought it would be enlightening. Their ages are next to their answers. Enjoy!

1. What is something mom always says to you?
9: Levi, come here!
7: Good morning!
6boy: I love you
6girl: Go upstairs
5: I love you

2. What makes mom happy?
9: When we fold all the clothes on the bed without fighting
7: Hugs
6boy: When she sees her family
6girl: When we do something right
5: Hugs

3. What makes mom sad?
9: When we do something bad that upsets you
7: When we have to leave
6boy: We really need to go, but we can't
6girl: When we do something wrong
5: When I do something bad

4. What makes your mom laugh?
9: When I don't know what I'm saying but I say something funny
7: When I tickle her
6boy: funny things
6girl: Dad
5: Daddy!

5. What was your mom like as a child?
9: She read, read, read, read, read and read
7: Nice
6boy: I never seen you like a girl!
6girl: I don't know!
5: I don't know

6. How old is your mom?
9: Hmmmm...33?
7: 34
6boy: 33
6girl: 30?
5: I don't know

7. How tall is your mom?
9: 5'3"?
7: I don't know!
6boy: I don't know
6girl: tall!
5: I can't know


8. What is her favorite thing to do?
9: Clean the house.
7: Cuddle
6boy: go to the store
6girl: Go on the computer
5: Me!

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?
9: I don't know
7: Well, if I'm not around, I don't know.
6boy: play with others
6girl: I don't know, cook?
5: Talk


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
9: Playing the piano
7: Because you want to?
6boy: I don't know
6girl: cooking
5: Her

11. What is your mom really good at?
9: Playing the piano
7: The piano
6boy: playing the flute
6girl: cooking
5: Talking


12. What is your mom not very good at?
9: Catching a football
7: I can't think of anything
6boy: when you're playing the recorder
6girl: watching tv
5: Spelling

13. What does your mom do for her job?
9: Take care of us
7: I don't know
6boy: I don't know
6girl: helping
5: Do my pile

14. What’s your mom’s favorite food?
9: Corn on the cob
7: Corn on the cob
6boy: Macaroni and cheese?
6girl: Pizza, maybe?
5: Great-grandma's rice

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
9: I don't know!
7: There's a lot of things
6boy: Graduating
6girl: Because she's nice
5: Like you love me and I love you

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
9: Blossom the Cat
7: Sara Groves?
6boy: No one
6girl: Word Girl
5: Dora

17. What do you and your mom do together?
9: School
7: Cook
6boy: play together
6girl: Clean
5: Play

18. How are you and your mom the same?
9: We have alike hair
7: We both have blue eyes
6boy: I don't know
6girl: We love each other
5: Because we have the same skin

19. How are you and your mom different?
9: She's taller than me
7: Our hair
6boy: Because you're a girl and I'm a boy and you brush your teeth downstairs and I brush my teeth upstairs
6girl: We look different
5: We have different clothes

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
9: Because she's always wanting to kiss me.
7: Because she hugs me a lot
6boy: Because....I don't know
6girl: Because she always loves me
5: Cause you love me when you hug me and kiss

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go to?
9: A restaurant called Shoney's
7: I don't know
6boy: to the store!
6girl: Wal-mart
5: Wal-mart

(What I learned: they don't really even know what "famous" means, and they're so logically-minded they rarely take guesses!)

...and that's what little girls are made of

"Is it time to make my cake now? Right now!? I'll wash my hands...can I get my thing on, you know, my Leah thing? Oh yeah, my apron! Do I pour like this? How many eggs?!! Four? But I'm going to be five, mommy! We should do five eggs! The mixer is loud...yes, I'll hold it very carefully."

"That's a LOT of chocolate, isn't it, and chocolate chips. It's hard to stir!"

"I scraped all I could, mom. Is it ready now? Oh, right, we have to cook it!"

"Guys, come on, come on! It's finally time to ice my cake!"

"I'll be verrry careful licking the knife, mom."

"Happy Birthday to Leah, happy birthday to you."

So pitiful, so sweet

Illness has hit the household this week, starting on Tuesday. It starts with a pretty rotten fever, and after 24-36 hours (depending on the kid), the fevers subside and are replaced with a hacking cough that looks and sounds painful. Fun!

Leah was the fourth to get it (I was kind of thankful, because at least we know she'll be better on her birthday this week!). She complained of a headache late one evening, so we knew she would probably wake up with a fever the next morning if the pattern held true. She came down around 5 a.m. or so, crying, and saying she "can't sleep in that bed."

"Why not?" we asked.

"Every time I get back in it, it hurts me."

Oh, sweetie. So we set her up on one of the couches, which are already sick-room ready. That whole day, when we would ask her if she needed anything, she'd say, "I want to move. This couch hurts me."

She was most comfortable in our laps, all curled up, and would fall asleep there and truly rest. It reminded us of how she was the one of our babies who loved most to sleep on us. It's like all their baby patterns show up again when they get sick. Delaney, for example, was just A.Ok on that couch and didn't want to be touched or have any loud sounds and has barely eaten for about 4 days. Memories.