i have been updating the little notepad on my phone like crazy! both girls have been making me laugh so much lately & i don't want to forget any of the sweet things they do to make me smile :)

lucy has been running around with a bunch of 6 balloons, trying to get them to lift her up to fly. she tries so hard to have them carry her into the sky :) i love that when someone she cares about leaves the house, she always runs up to them & said "just ONE more hug!" she's started taking a real interest to the clothing her dollies are wearing, and goes through my childhood collection of doll clothes trying to find just the find outfit for her babies. she's super attached to 2 dolls right now- it had been 1, so my mom got a coordinating doll for eloise, which has now turned into lucy's other baby :) she's still obsessed with the beauty & the beast soundtrack, and has named all of the instrumental songs. for example, she calls track #10 "runaway wolf"- no idea why she's named it this because that's not what's happening in the movie during this song, but she'll request "runaway wolf, please". overall, her favorite songs are ballads & instrumentals, and i think she's really going to love seeing the nutcracker this christmas season at the kaufman because of this! if we're out & about, and we forget to pray before we eat, she'll say "hey! we forgot to say grace!" & she kisses my belly & talks about her littlest sister multiple times each day. she's so thrilled it's a girl, and says she can't wait until she meets "my baby". she'll set a place at the table for the baby, and has started including her when she divides up toys, crayons, etc. this little one has a heart of gold!

eloise is more fun than ever! today she put together 2 words for the first time- "dada's bottle", as she was walking around holding jon's water bottle. her favorite thing is raiding my jewelry box with lucy when i shower- she asks for "necklaces" & "bracelets". she LOVES minnie mouse, which is so funny to me, as lucy always liked the character, but was never obsessed with her the way eloise is. she asks about "may-may" [minnie] throughout the day & gets so excited when she sees pictures of her. she is a dancing queen- unlike lucy, her favorite tunes are anything upbeat that she stomp around to :) she'll wave one of the 50 magic wands we have laying around the house & say "ba ba ba ba ba ba ba" [bibbidi bobbidi boo], and she's happy to wave & say "bye-bye" to any toys, activities, or people she's finished with :) the other day she hurt her finger & held it up for me to kiss it, which made it magically better, and i can't believe it, but she's actually turning into a little [cow's] milk drinker! lucy was never crazy about milk- we substituted with other dairy products- & eloise wasn't thrilled about it when we initially introduced it, but she's started drinking more, which has helped with me cutting out our morning nursing session, which seemed to be the reason she was waking up early each morning. she still nurses before nap & bed, with no plans in sight to end these sweet moments :) she is such a happy, strong-willed, curious little person, and watching her change so rapidly week-to-week right now is one of the greatest joys in my life!

i passed my gestational diabetes screen, which i am so relieved & grateful for! i'll have another test in 10 weeks or so to confirm that it hasn't developed this pregnancy. going through the holiday season on the GD diet doesn't sound like a good time to me! i felt the strongest kicks yet this past week, and i heard the sweetest little healthy heartbeat at my doctor's appointment. i'm thankful the nausea of the first trimester is behind me, and the cooler weather in kansas city is making it much more enjoyable for all of us to spend time outdoors. we're looking forward to some fun family outings over the next few weekends [taking lucy to frozen on ice! downtown at the sprint center, farmer's market, apple orchard, zoo, lucy's birthday party, pumpkin patch, family photos, both jon's & my 10 year high school reunions], and jon getting into a groove with his new job. he's working long hours, and his commute went from 2 miles from our house [when he wasn't traveling], to 30 minutes each way, as his office is downtown. life-adjustments, but all great, exciting changes!

our week in pictures-

lucy's now requesting to do "schoolwork" during eloise's naps :)

the bump is back :)

fun at the farm with the jansen boys- have i mentioned on here before that tarah is who drove me to the hospital when my water broke at work with lucy? she's since had 2 boys & moved down the street from us!

it took 3 oxy-clean soaks & 2 washing machine cycles to get these mud stains out of eloise's beloved minnie pants-

errands with meme to prep for lucy's 3rd birthday party- the theme is pink lemonade princess & we're having it at the farmstead :)

charlie's newest fashion accessory made by ms laura [lucy's swim teacher]- a woman of many talents! i'm going to have her make the baby's head accessories for her newborn photos :)

eloise got her first pedicure this week- lucy kept her distracted by talking to her in her highchair :) seriously, my favorite thing ever has been watching my little 14 month old toddle around the house with pink tootsies. it is darling!

& lucy requested "black nails like auntie amy", which has left both amy & i stumped- no idea where she got the idea that my sister wears black nail polish on her fingers ... because i'm pretty sure she never ever has!

the following pictures don't really need a caption, as they completely speak for themselves. eloise's thoughts on an eloise-only date to get some frozen yogurt :) middle sister getting some love!

xoxo,

-ivy