Pease Daddy, Bubble baff?!?!

When Frank does "bath time" it is the best!
After the girls eat dinner and if Frank is not outside on the tractor he likes to do "bath time". He tries to get away with giving the girls a shower, but he quickly figures out Lily will not stand for it. She looooves her "bubble baff"
Frank will say, "Come on girls it's shower time."
Lily replies, "No daddy, bubble baff!" We are trying to teach her manners, so Frank says, "What's the magic word?" Lily will say, "Pease Daddy, bubble baff?!" And gives him a big hug!
Of course he can't say, "No" :)
Morgan knows exactly what's going on and she zooms into our bathroom, via crawling, with a smile on her face and squealing once she gets there.
While the girls are taking their "bubble baff" I get to do about 15 minutes of chores before helping Frank get the girls out of their bath and starting their bed time routine.
These last minute chores could be starting a load of laundry, putting away laundry, cleaning up from the girl's dinner, filling the girl's humidifiers with water and getting their bedrooms ready for bedtime, picking up toys, sweeping, making a phone call, getting our diaper bag ready for the next day, laying in the closet stretching my tired body (my favorite 15 minute alone time!), or just sitting, watching the girls smile, laugh, and enjoy their special "bubble baff" time with daddy.

"Good Luck"

In my husband's office stands a Buddha. Lily has not paid any attention to it until recently. She goes up to Buddha and names all of his body parts. I thought this would be a perfect time to add a little "good luck" to Miss Lily.
I tell her, "Lily, rub Buddha's belly for good luck!"
She now has some good luck coming her way!
(Maybe a shake or some chicky-frenchfries are in her near future!)

and one day it all changes

I feel it is very important to show affection. Hugs, kisses, a pat, or something as simple as swiping away a tendrel of hair from one of my girls' faces are all so critical. Everyday I make a special time to tickle, kiss, and hug every inch of their body. When the girls were tiny babies I massaged them with lavender baby lotion after every bath. The believe touch is vital for bonding, the massage is awesome for development, and the lavender smell is so relaxing for bedtime. Lily still loves for me to massage her feet and slowly tickle her back...it will stop her in her tracks and immediately relaxes her to an almost trance like state.
I am also the type of mom who notices small details. Especially when it pertains to my girls. I have memorized every part of their body, from their brown spots, stork bites, toes, fingers, belly buttons to their bottoms. I remember their chubby feet and grummy little fingers and palms. Then one day it all changes and their feet aren't as chubby as they used to be and the creases in their palms aren't filled with goo.
Then sweet baby Lily is putting on her own sandals with the strap in between the wrong toes!!! :)

a couple of my favorite things...

Just bathed, sweet smelling baby girls wearing their soft, new, matching pajamas!!!

If I was lost....

Lily would direct me to where I need to be... Or where she thinks I need to be.
Chick-fil-A, Braums, Nana's house, Giulia's house, gymnastics, daddy's office, or the pool are a few of her favorite places.
Let me give you some history.
Every Wednesday, Lily has gymnastics and if she behaves well I treat her to Chick-fil-A. I wake her up on Wednesday mornings and say, "Good morning, today we go to gymnastics!"
She then replies, "Chicky, french-fries?!?!?!"
I say, "Only if you listen to Coach Laura Beth"
She says, "Okay Momma!"
While driving to University Of Gymnastics she pays close attention to where we are and as soon as we take the exit to the gym she says to me, "Thank you, Momma!" I say, "Your welcome :)"
When we finish with gymnastics she doesn't forget and demands/questions, "Chicky, french-fries?!!"
Of course we go to Chick-fil-A.

More cute stories.... Lily knows when we enter Nana or Giulia's neighborhood and she says to me, "Thank you, Momma!"
A couple of times a month, I take the girls thru Braum's and order them a shake. So now when we drive past Braum's.... Lily points to the big Braum's sign while saying, "Momma, Momma shake over der, shake over der!!!"
She, also, knows which road leads to the pool and when we don't turn down that particular road she points in protest, "No, Momma, No, Momma, I wanna Go to Baf, Go to Baf!" (In the lily language- pool AKA baf!)
Finally, when we drive past her Daddy's office and don't stop to visit him she REALLY protests, "Stop Momma, Stop. Daddy! Daddy!"
She starting realizing where we are, or are going about a year ago. At first, it started with gymnastics, but now it is a whole different story!
I love it, but I have to be careful, because I can't pull any tricks on her!

"Big Girl Lily"

Lily has enjoyed her past week as if she were a "big girl"!
She went to see Shrek, and today had her first dental appointment.
She was very entertained with Shrek. I was almost tempted not to take her to see the new Shrek. I bought the book for her, read it to her once, and then realized the next day it was gone all of the sudden. I actually think she threw it away. The book made Shrek out to be a very mean Ogre by doing lots of shouting and scaring the towns people to death. So, in my mind, I think she didn't like the book and tossed it. Anyway, during the movie she sat with a bowl of puffs in her hand, munching away, with her sippy cup in the cup holder. She paid great attention to the movie. Before the movie, I told her we were going to the big girl's movie so when we get home she needs to go pee-pee or poo-poo in the big girl's potty. Has it happened? No. Is it my fault? Yes. Most of the time Lily fights me about putting a diaper on her and she likes wearing her panties, so I need to be diligent and get this potty training thing in order!!! I'm really dreading it. We've been toying with the practice, but no success. I have taken Lily to the potty, put panties on her, set a timer for 15 minutes to take her back to the potty, then we walk into the living room, I turn my back on her to do something, and next thing I know she is poo-pooing in her panties! I can't believe it! I get so discouraged I end up putting another diaper on her. Potty training is going to be a great task! I'll let you know how it goes.
Lily's next big adventure was today at the dentist. The appointment went very smooth. Not much happened on this first appointment. The dentist counted Lily's teeth and examined them for any decay. Lily left with a balloon & a box of sidewalk chalk and a wonderful report! The dentist said, "Lily's teeth looked nice & clean." I'm thinking to myself, "Thank goodness, they had better look nice & clean." Lily loves to brush her teeth and she is famous for sneaking into my bathroom, getting out her toothbrush, putting "Thomas the Train" toothpaste on her toothbrush, and standing in my drawer so she can see herself brushing her teeth.
And, if there happens to be any random make-up nearby, she helps herself to that, too. She will come out of my room with squeeky clean teeth, what looks like a bruised eye from applying too much eyeshadow, and sparkly lipgloss all over her face!
What can I say, "She is her mother's daughter!"
Yes, she is 2 going on 22.
The above pics are of her at the movies and at the dentist office.