Zzzzz...

What is this thing, called - sleep?  We wouldn't know.  We never do it.  It's like, against our religion to take naps, to fall asleep at night before 11:00 and just like you can count on the sun to rise every day, you can count on us to be grouchy in the morning.  We hear Mama's not much of a morning person, either.  In fact, at this very moment we are upstairs in our bedroom for naptime telling each other off and Mommy is downstairs, blogging on our behalf, exasperated.  Sigh...  Yeah, right, it goes so fast...
Love,
Lilly, Anna and Jack

A Week In the Life!

Where, oh where has the last week gone?  Where, oh where did it go?  Did we trash the house or get anything done?  Oh where oh where has it gone??
Happy 5th month birthday, Jack Leo!  Jack is getting big - real big!  A whopping 25%ile big which as far as Kentucky M-----'s go that's BIG!  About 2 weeks ago Mommy defied Doctor's orders for the 267th time and started putting rice cereal in ALL of Jack's bottles because wise women the world over say this to her: "Have you tried putting cereal in his bottle?"  Whenever Mama answers, "No, it's not a new-crazed-bed-head-wild-woman look I'm going for - my baby STILL doesn't sleep through the night."  For the record, cereal in bottles does not work.  But, thanks for playing!
And just TWO WEEKS from today our sweet Anna will be THREE YEARS OLD!  Oh, my Anna!  I can't BELIEVE you are already almost three!  This whole time we've all been treating you like a four year old so believe me when I say this birthday has really snuck up on me because you are just now turning three, not five, and not thirteen though sometimes you talk to Mommy as if you were.  Good times, good times!  I especially like it when you throw in a yelping screech or literally ball up your little fists and go for the jugular.  That makes it extra special.
And Lilly, dear Lilly - Lilly has started to grasp that in this world some things actually "belong" to her, like really "belong to me" so why on Earth should I have to share?  Par example, the other night on our way home from dinner at Babi and Duda's Lilly says, "Mommy, I made a wish on my star!"
Anna: "I wished on the star, too!  Dear star..."
Lilly: "ANNA!!  THAT IS MY STAR!  MY STAR!  FIND YOUR OWN STAR!!!  YOU ARE GOING TO USE ALLL THE WISHES!  MOMMMMMMMMMYYYYY!!!!!!!  ANNA WISHED ON MY STARRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!"
Mommy: "Lilly, all the stars in the sky belong to God and anyone can make any wish on any star they like.  You don't own the stars, God does."  So THERE!  Argue with God, I dare you!!
Pause.
Ha!
Lilly: "Mommy, I just talked to God, and he told me to tell Anna to FIND HER OWN STAR!"
Mommy: "Okay, Anna, wish on that star over there, it's a better star anyway."
(Screaming, yelling and arguing ensue the entire rest of the way home.  Mommy turns Taylor Swift on.  Again.  Tempted though she is to listen to Eminem...)
This is just one of a hundred reasons why Mommy neither likes nor understands other Mommies who don't drink, or have a sense of humor.  Really?  How do you do it?  And Why?  Why???
Love,
Lilly, Anna and Jack

 

How Cute Am I?

 Very, very cute.  I smile for the camera so long as I can see Mommy's face.  So when she's not using the point and shoot camera she has to do her best to hold as still as possible while she peeks above the lens to smile at me.  This gets me every time.  I love it.  I'm so sweet.  Of course what this also gets is my head cut off in the photo.

 Artsy, no?  You'd almost think Mama did that on purpose. 

You know when I'm cutest?  At about 1:30 and 4:00 in the morning, when I'm waking up screaming my little baby head off for no good reason.  Nope.  Still not sleeping through the night.  Believe this, it took Lilly 8 months before she slept through the night but that's when Mommy and Daddy were first time parents.  MUCH different the third time around.  Third time around Mommy and Daddy want some SLEEP!
Well we know, we know it goes fast.  And, it does...  So we'll just treasure these precious smiles - no matter what time of day or night they come.
Love,
Jack, Lilly and Anna

The "Real, Original Teti" Olga!

This is Mommy's Teti Olga.  She is the original Teti and she is fabulous!  Isn't she beautiful?  She's like 85!!  Look at her!  Teti was very adventurous throughout her life.  Mommy thinks that I (Lilly) will be much like her Babi and that Anna will be much like her Teti and that our relationship is already pretty similar to the stories we hear. 
Teti Olga lives way out in Oregon which is a beautiful, magical place.  Mommy got to visit Teti once when she was in third grade and she went with Babi and it was one of the best trips of her childhood!  She saw Mt Hood - her first real mountain, she went fishin', hikin' and caught the "living out West" bug and so she did for four and a half glorious years after college.  If only it weren't so far...
Anyway Mommy loves Teti so much, and Teti found some letters Mama wrote her when she was a little girl. 
For your reading enjoyment:
"Dear Teti,
How are you?  I really miss you!  Maybe next summer I can visit your house.  I play the flute now.  It's easy and fun.  when I visit again I'll bring it.  Thank you very much for the photo album (of my trip).  It does come in handy!  I like that heart shaped music box too.  Once we had a babysitter named Chris Wagner, I had my music box on and he said, 'How'd you do that?' and instead of saying, 'Just push this' I said, 'Look into the mirror.  If you are brave, fearless, handsome and kind it will play.'  Nothing happened!  Ha!  I embarrassed him!  That was my lucky night!  For Halloween I might be a bride.  Mom wants me to be a gypsy or a karate person.  Forget those ideas.  I might also want to be some moocho richo lady!  I love you lots!  Hope to see you soon!
Love,
Krissy"
And Mommy still dreams of being some moocho richo lady - keep dreamin' Mama!
Love,
Lilly, Anna and Jack

Happy Birthday, Ollie!

Happy belated birthday little Man!!  We are sorry Mommy didn't post a Happy Birthday to you yesterday - she was in South Carolina visiting Teti, Uncle Mark and Miss Aunt Kimber!  We're sorry we missed your special day, little dude!  We will make it up to you next time we see you by shoving popsicles in your face and telling you to eat them because everyone else is literally doing it...

Really, it's good....try it we won't tell your Mommy and Daddy you had synthetic food coloring!  Promise!
Ha ha, just joking.
Little Dude, we aren't making a charitable donation in your name.  We are sending you a present!  Charity is great and all but when you're two, well, you want some goods.  We are happy to oblige!  Of course, it will be late.  It will be like another birthday surprise when you do get it!
We love you!!  Can't wait to see you soon!
Love,
Lilly, Anna and Jack

Dear Papa...

Dear Papa,
It's been a year and we still miss you every day.  I show the girls your pictures all the time (all the time) and we talk about you all the time.  Sometimes they'll find the necklaces you gave them, or the monkeys or a little Indian trinket and they'll say your name and that you're in Heaven which is very far away.  I like to think even though you're not here they'll still grow up knowing you and how much you loved them.
Despite the gaping hole you left us with it's been a wonderful year.  I believe you've had some hand in it.  I had the best year ever, Papa in sales (I always wanted to be a sales rep just like you; I used to love in the summers how you could come home for lunch every day and work in your garden; you always loved your job and I knew I would love a job in sales too, and I do).  How many times did I want to call you to tell you about the "big deal" I just won (or lost) knowing how proud you would have been?  I talk to you every night in my prayers, I hope you can hear me.
There have been so many other wonderful things over this past year.  Kimmie graduated from college (with honors!) and moved all on her own down to Greenville where her heart always was.  She found a great job for a sports company and she loves it.  She's getting a dog in a few weeks, a big one that will probably bark a lot.  She's naming her Lulu (actually she's not but that's what we are all going to call her).  Mark proposed to Miss Kimber, and you loved her and so do we.  They bought a little house and you'd be so proud of him.  He travels all over the place for work and he hasn't lost that goofy boyish charm he's always been famous for.  These days he's using it to his advantage.  Dan I think has really finally come into himself and he's settled into his adopted home city of New Orleans.  He got a big promotion at work that he really deserved and he's almost all set to graduate with his Master's degree in a few weeks.  Moreover he's got a group of friends that love him and accept him unconditionally and I know you'd be happy knowing he's finally found his niche.
To me, the most important thing that happened this year was that we were blessed with a beautiful, healthy baby boy.  We named him Jack.  I like how it sounded like a good, solid name for a boy (and a man).  I know you would have been disappointed that I didn't name him Mathew but it was just too soon for me and the hurt was still a little too deep.  Also, Kimmie has always said SHE wants to have a little Matt! ;-)  He's precious to me, and so are the girls.  You would have loved him so much.
One day my kids are going to read this (maybe, maybe not - I think I've got well over 400 posts now - they might get bored!)  I want them to know how much we loved you and how much you loved us kids.  The bond between a Grandpa and his grandkids is so special and important.  There's nothing like it.
You should know, I put a little Papa into my every day.  I really do.  I keep your picture in our car to remind me.  I don't bullshit people.  I talk to strangers - even assholes.  I say what I mean.  I try to put away my grudges - life is too short.  I give more than I take.  I save for a rainy day.  I remember that nothing, nothing, nothing is more important than family - no matter what.  You taught me that and so many other things and I will always love you for it.
I miss you.
Love,
Krissy

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Just a couple weeks ago a tornado touched down right in our neighborhood.  The only damage it did was to trees and property.  Mommy thought how lucky we got that we were not only spared but so were our neighbors.  This past Friday people were not so lucky as very strong tornadoes ripped through our neighbors' homes here in Kentucky and in Indiana and almost 40 people lost their lives. This makes our hearts hurt.  Our neighbors need your prayers.
Love,
Lilly, Anna and Boots

Our Bedtime Routine...

 Our bedtime routine takes about an hour and forty-seven minutes.  First we start around 7, 7:30ish by saying "Okay girls, time for a bath!"  We whine, cry, bitch and moan for give or take 4 to 8 minutes and then we begrudgingly go upstairs to get ready for a bath.  Mommy and Daddy ask us 167 times to get undressed for our bath and we run around screaming our heads off throwing things at each other.  At this point Mommy and Daddy start saying things like, "You've got to the count of 3! One, two..." and then one of us will run some sort of interference and they forget to finish counting and we carry on with whatever it was we were screaming about.

 At some point, usually about 33 minutes after we get upstairs we actually get into the bath and then while we are in there we scream these sorts of things: "DON'T WASH MY HAIR!  DON'T TOUCH MY GOOZIE!  SOAPIE IN MY EYES!  THAT'S MY WASHCLOTH!  GIVE ME THAT!" etc. etc. etc.  Mommy and Daddy exchange "What the honky tonk were we thinking?" glances.  We get out of the "tubby" and then we complain about how cold we are, our feet are wet, we don't want to brush our teeth...

 Jackie on the other hand LOVES bathtime and throws NO fits, raises NO objections he just lays there all cute like and kicks his legs and smiles and makes little gasping sounds.  It's like 5 minutes of get-ready-for-bedtime bliss.  Mommy scoffs at new parents who thinks one baby (or two for that matter) is "hard."  Amateurs.

This particular evening Mommy must say bathtime was overall pretty pleasant.  After bath, get jammies on, brush teeth, read books, tuck in bed, give 74 hugs and kisses, go downstairs and for approximately 2 hours we remove every book from our shelves, rearrange all of our drawers, fight some, rearrange our stuffed animals, fight some more, rearrange the books, fight some more, forget what we were fighting about, surrender and crash.  All in all from start to finish just under a four hour process.
Easy peasy!
Love,
Lilly, Anna and Jack