Classic Lizzy Moments

This afternoon Lizzy was on the deck. Morgan heard her and crawled over to the screen door. What followed was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Lizzy was making Morgan laugh, and Morgan couldn't stop giggling at her silly sister.

That's NOT the video posted below.

By the time I found the camera, the moment was over, and Morgan was more interested in sitting on my lap, a safe distance from Lizzy, than continuing the game. I did get some classic video of Miss Lizzy though. Watch the three videos posted below, if you dare.

A warning.. there is a lot of high-pitched screaming. And yes, you really can scream louder and higher if you flap your arms. And, yes, she really did do a "farmer blow" on the screen door, then put her nose in it. Gross. I blame her father for that.

Enjoy the videos... but remember, I warned you about the screaming!

Lizzy Loves Kaleb

Tonight at football, Lizzy did not cheer for Jake at all. She was too busy cheering for her boyfriend, Kaleb.

"Come on Kaleb!"

"Go Kaleb!"

"Good job boyfriend!"

Kaleb's mom and grandparents laughed, but inside, I think they're a little scared of this "stalker"....

Make Believe

Morgan and I walked to the mailbox this afternoon. Lizzy was waiting in the driveway when we got back. Here's the conversation that followed:

Me: "Hello Lizzy!"
Lizzy: "My not Lizzy."
Me: "Who are you then? Lexi?"
Lizzy: "No me Lexi."
Me: "Hello, Jakey."
Lizzy: "No me Jakey."
Me: "Hello Bob."
Lizzy: "No me Bob."
Me: "Well who are you then, little girl?"
Lizzy: "My am Emily O!" (Emily O. is a friend of Lexi's)
Me: "Well hello Emily O!"
Lizzy: "Hello Emily O's mom. You making a pie. A Skittle pie. A sour Skittle pie."

Memo to self... get sour Skittle pie recipe from Emily O's mom.

A Bad Dream

Twice last night I woke up to find Lizzy fast asleep on my bedroom floor. Twice I tucked her back into bed. This morning I was telling her what a crazy night it was, and how I kept finding her on the floor. Her eyes got huge and she explained what was going on... "last weekend my had a REALLY scary dream. My dreamed about alligators. So that's why my on the floor. My safe from them on the floor."

All Smiles

Today was a good day. Lizzy had a great nap, she got to see her boyfriend, Kaleb (she even got to sit by him in the backseat of the van! Kaleb is such a good sport...thank goodness Jake has such a understanding friend, who happens to have two younger sisters of his own!), and we had some quality family joke time in the hallway. Seriously. This is good stuff. The video will make you smile. I promise. It will also make your throat hurt a little. And really, Lizzy would make sure the word "butt" is in the joke!

"My wanna be like Jakey"

Lizzy doesn't understand the difference between boys and girls yet. I'm not really ready to explain it, but I'm afraid I may have to do it soon. She has been refusing to wear a shirt today.. saying she wants to "be like Jakey".

Monday, Monday

As much as I like Fridays, I hate Mondays equally as much.

Today was not a good day. At all. I'm pretty sure after today, I am officially out of the running for Mother of the Year, for this year and probably next year too. It was just not a good day. Jake and I clashed, Lizzy and I clashed. It was ugly.

But, amid the clashing, there were a few fun moments.. including the moment when I got my first tattoo....

And, at the end of the day, there was more arguing. Bedtime was ugly. I sent Lizzy to her room. I told her she didn't have to go to sleep, but she had to be in her room and I promised to lay down with her once I got Morgan to sleep. I didn't have to do that. And I am happy to say, I won. Check it out...

A Million Words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

I say these pictures are worth much, much more.

These pictures speak volumes. A friend and her sister took these (and more) yesterday. It was supposed to be a photo shoot for Morgan, but Lizzy managed to steal the show. Jessi and Jen did an amazing job of capturing Lizzy's personality... from the mismatched shoes, to the fairy wings, to the make-up session in the middle of a corn field..... these pictures are Lizzy. They show her joy, her innocence, her "love me as I am" attitude.

Lizzy doesn't care what others think. She is comfortable in her own skin. I love that about her. I hope that when she's a teenager and looks at these pictures, she will smile. I hope that as a teenager she is still my confident, funny, loving daughter wno doesn't care if her shoes match, or if her make-up is perfect. I hope that she still loves life and can still bring a smile to the faces of everyone she meets.

For now, I think these pictures will bring a smile to your face. Enjoy!

TGIF

Fridays always make me happy. Apparently, they have the same effect on Lizzy. Today has been one Lizzy-ism after another. I tried to jot them down as I heard them, but I'm sure I missed a few!

• "No my gonna be nice to Jake. When my hear him my  just gonna close my ears."
• "Everytime my open my purse there's no money in it. Please some people give me some money."
• Lizzy was in a super silly mood this morning. She was doing all kinds of weird, double-jointed things with her hands while we were driving to daycare. She kept asking if I could do the things she was doing. I couldn't do most of them but when I was finally able to wiggle my fingers like her, she was so proud. She giggled and said "my teaching you all kinds of silly things, right mom?" Then she made me blast Lady Gaga on the radio while she danced...all while still safely buckled in, of course.
• Lizzy was struggling with a straw and yelled "shut up straw!" Just as quickly as the words came out of her mouth, so did an apology. "Sorry Mom. My didn't mean to say shut up, but my just so frustrated with this stupid straw!"
• Apparently Morgan and Jorja were bugging her at daycare (getting revenge, I'm sure!) Lizzy told them, in a frustrated tone, "You're ruining my life!"
• "My hate being the kid. My want to be the Mom, and my want to drive. Now." 
• For whatever reason, the umbrella stroller got put in the seat by Lizzy. She picked it up, squished her face between the handles and said "Look,  now my look chubby. Do my look like Dad?"

• Lizzy and I ended this Friday with a crafty night... coloring giant Dora pictures and fingerpainting with Lexi and Tess. I don't remember fingerpainting being quite this messy last time we did it... I think someone was showing off for the big girls! Their punishment... they had to give Miss Lizzy a bath!

Wake Up Call

Lizzy loves to wake Jake up in the morning. Her favorite way to wake him is by farting in his face. One recent morning, everyone was a little slow waking up. I coaxed Lizzy out of bed by telling her Jake was still sleeping and she could go wake him up. She paused, then smiled and said "Ok, I've got a big fart brewing!" and ran into Jake's room. The next thing I heard was Jake laughing and yelling "I"m already awake! Don't do it!" 

My work as a mother was done.

For the record, surrendering didn't save him. Lizzy farted in his face anyway.

Fingerpainting with Lizzy

The artist hard at work

Clearly, I've lost my mind. Had I been in my right mind, I never would have allowed this to happen. But, lucky for Lizzy... I lost my mind years ago.

Today, Lizzy fingerpainted. Amazingly, my carpet is ok, she wore the paint shirt (for most of the project...for the last one she decided to do naked fingerpainting.. I didn't take any pictures of that).

Watching Lizzy create her masterpieces was pure entertainment. Here's a brief glimpse into our fingerpainting session:



For Shane - it's a dude in a boat on a lake, obviously

For Sheena - it's a painting of Sheena

This is Jesse, for Jesse, of course

Great Idea

Lizzy and I are planning to fingerpaint this afternoon. I was explaining the fingerpainting rules to her. The rules include we need to wait until Morgan is napping, we need to put a sheet down on the floor to protect the carpet and a big piece of cardboard on the table, and Lizzy needs to wear a paint shirt. She agreed with all of them, except for the paint shirt. I explained how the paint shirt will protect her beautiful dress and tutu (yes, she's wearing a tutu again). She was still refusing to wear the paint shirt so I told her I guess we won't fingerpaint today. That was the clincher. She exclaimed "Wait! My have an idea... my was just teasing you! My wear a paint shirt.".

Mom always wins.

Football Fan

Most kids snuggle a favorite blanket or a stuffed animal when it's time to go to sleep. Not Lizzy. Today, at naptime, she cuddled up with Jake's football. She kept it within arm's reach during the entire one hour nap. Maybe she could teach some Minnesota Vikings recievers a thing or two.

Lizzy Has a Crush



Lizzy's beautiful outfit



Jake was playing at his friend Kaleb's house tonight. I told Lizzy it was time to go get Jake, and she disappeared into her room. Turns out she was changing clothes....she emerged wearing a tutu, a beautiful dress, and her blue high heels. I asked her if she wanted to put her tutu on over her dress so people could see it. She said no, she likes it under her dress so "it looks like my have a big butt."

As she was climbing in the van, she told me her plan. She was going to get out of the van at Kaleb's house and he would say "Woo, woo, woo. You look so beautiful. I want to marry you."

When we pulled up, the boys were playing in the front yard, so I told Kaleb what he was supposed to say. He laughed, and then said it! Lizzy smiled and said "thank you boyfriend".

Just Like Big Sister

Me: "Lizzy, are you going to be good or bad today?"
Lizzy: "Hmm... let me think."
She thinks for a few minutes, then responds "My be good if Lexi bes good."

Monday Lizzy-isms

It has certainly been a Monday at our house. We all overslept, the little girls went to daycare in their pajamas (I just couldn't bring myself to wake these sleeping beauties...that both wiggled their way into bed with me early this morning!), Jake forgot his cello, and I missed breakfast. But, the late start and the extra sleep hasn't slowed Miss Lizzy down. If anything, it has inspired more Lizzy-isms than usual. Here are just a few, but keep in mind, the day is far from over...

• I walked into daycare to pick Lizzy and Morgan up for the day. Lizzy was sitting at the table, finishing her lunch. She looked at me, waved her fork in my direction and said "Mom, stop annoying me."
• Lizzy is playing with silly putty. Suddenly she has a great idea, looks at me and says slowly "watch and learn, watch and learn."
• "Mom when my say my don't like something, it means my love something."
• Lizzy  made a magic wand at speech today. I heard her trying to make the door open by just waving her wand and saying "peanut butter and jelly, open this door".
• I can't even remember what she said, but Lizzy's speech teacher laughed and said "Oh, Lizzy, you are so full of life". Is that a nice way of saying "Oh, Lizzy, you are a pain in the neck"?!?!?

Center of Attention

Lizzy likes attention. Sometimes she acts like she doesn't like to be the center of attention, but deep down, she craves it and will do just about anything for a laugh, and to grab everyone's attention. Here's just one example: 

Today, we were at a baptism (Brad and I have a new godson!). The baptism was done after mass, so it was a small group of people gathered at the baptismal font. Lizzy and a couple other little girls were watching the Deacon and the baby pretty intently, and leaning on (and climbing on) the baptismal font the whole time. I was watching the baptism with one eye and had the other eye on Lizzy. I was just waiting for her to dive into the water. She wasn't quite that disruptive, but she did put her hands in the water, then make the sign of the cross on herself (impressive...maybe she does actually pay attention in church!)....she also managed to get her foot in the water (don't worry..the socks and shoes had been ditched long before that moment) I kind of thought, and hoped, no one else noticed. I was wrong. The baby's grandma brought it up later. I was so embarassed, but she laughed, and said she too was expecting Lizzy to go in head first, not feet first. I told her if ever there was a child who needed a little extra blessing, it is Lizzy. I'm hoping that holy water she got on her foot does some good....but I'm afraid it may have been cancelled out by the Ranch dressing she managed to get on her foot at lunch!

"Do not go in there!"

Lizzy is a little (ok, a LOT) gassy this weekend. She sat on my lap at the football game last night, and her farts kept me warm, despite the snow. Tonight we were at a friend's house and she ripped one that echoed on the chair. And just now, she came out of her bedroom and exclaimed "Whew! Do NOT go in my room... it really, really stinks in there!". She totally takes after her father, by the way!

Attitude Adjustment

Lizzy was close to a meltdown today when we were shopping. I was not going to buy her anything, and I was holding firm on that . She started throwing a fit as I was paying for the things I was buying. I tried to calmly explain why she wasn't getting anything, and how her attitude wasn't helping her case. I reminded her that we had several projects at home we just bought, and we could work on them when we got home, if she shaped up. Suddenly, her attitude changed, and her face lit up as she said with a smile "Oh yeah! My dot (that's Lizzy-speak for "forgot"). The whole store started laughing, and the crisis was over!

"My win!"

We were running a little late getting the big kids to school this morning. I accidently backed out of the garage before Miss Lizzy was buckled. I looked back and saw she was still struggling with her seat. I asked her if she was ok. She replied "My just having a little fight. But my won." Indeed she did. She was buckled, and ready to go...just had to show that seatbelt who was boss.

"Jeepers, kid"

The newest Lizzy-ism: "Jeepers, kid". I can't even tell you how many times I heard her say that this afternoon. Each time it was with style too. When she says "Jeepers, kid" it is with total attitude, in the eyes and the voice.

From 3:00 until 8:00 tonight we were running... Lexi had basketball, Jake had football, then Jake had Cub Scouts. Lizzy and Morgan were just along for the ride, patiently getting in and out of the van. At one point, Lizzy was trying to get our attention, but we were talking, until she yelled "How many times my have to tell you to stop talking? Jeepers, kid". She definietly got our attention, and reminded me she really does hear everything. I wonder how many times I've yelled that exact sentence (ok, I probably say "I" instead of "my"). Oops. Leave it to Lizzy to call me out on my bad parenting!

Welome Home

• My aunt watched Lizzy and Morgan at our house this morning while I went to work. When I arrived home, Lizzy met me at the top of the stairs and exclaimed "Helloooo Mom! What is going up?"
• Lizzy got up at 5:30 this morning, so I'm pretty sure she's about ready to crash. I suggested we go downstairs and watch a movie. She responded "No! Just Dora!" then did a dramatic sigh and mumbled "Jeepers kid!" I made her repeat it several times so I could figure out what she was saying. She repeated it with the same annoyed expression and deep sigh each time.

Let's Make a Deal

A few weeks ago, pop was on sale at Target so I stocked up. I had Lizzy and Morgan with me, so the cart was full. Without being asked, Lizzy unloaded all the cases of pop from the cart and put them in the back of the van. I was so proud. As she was getting into her seat I thanked her and asked for a high five. Her response? Not what I was expecting.... "My only give you a high five if you buy me an iPod Touch, a real one, like Lexi's so I can text, play games and listen to music." Let's just say there was no high five that day, and hasn't been one since!

There Once Was a Girl Named Lizzy

Lizzy, lovin' life

Lizzy.

Sweet, funny, energetic, exhausting, hilarious, naughty.

So much personality for such a little girl.

That's my Lizzy.

I never knew how much I needed her in my life. Now I can't remember what I did without her.

She makes me smile, laugh, cry, and yell on a daily basis.

Lizzy is three, going on 30. The things she says are priceless.

Someday I will write a book filled with Lizzy-isms. For now, I will record them here.

So from now on, when you need a chuckle, this is where you go. I promise, just like life with Lizzy, there will never be a dull moment on this blog. Ever.