Blue Skadoo!

Dear Havana,

Your heart is so innocent... so pure... and your daddy and I love that about you. We are committed to protecting and shielding you from the harsh world for as long as possible. An example of your sweet heart came the other day... you love the book "Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy" and we read it often. The other day when you were reading it with your daddy - you stopped at a certain page and said, "I know, I have an idea." And with that you grabbed the book and took in into the other room. You were doing something that looked like a dance and so your daddy assumed you were finished reading the book and he went to check on Selah.

A few minutes later you bring the book back to daddy and said, "Daddy, help you please?" (that is your way of asking for help). You then put the book down, you sang a little song and dance and then you jumped onto the book. You closed your eyes, opened them and then looked around. Then you said, "Daddy, help you please? It's not working."

It took your daddy a minute, but then he realized you were trying to "Skadoo" into the book. On the show Blue's Clues Steve and Blue will enter story books by singing the song, "Blue Skadoo we can too" and doing a little dance and jump and they enter the book. You were honestly trying and were sad when it didn't work out. What a precious and pure heart!

You are also an amazing sister. You often go up and smile at Selah and talk sweetly to her. The other day I overheard you and Jonah and you said,
you: Jonah, can I snuggle you?
Jonah: no
you: Jonah, can I kiss you?
Jonah: no
you: Jonah, can I hug you?
Jonah: no
you: Jonah, want to play with me?
Jonah: Yeah!

You love to play games with the whole family! You had us all being "Wonder Pets" the other day. You were Lenny, Jonah was Tuck, and Selah was Ming Ming... but that wasn't enough. You told me that I was teh fly boat and daddy was the sail. I laid down and had you ride on me and then you kept asking where the "Sail" was-- I said, "I think the Sail is outside pulling weeds" and you said, "No, the sail is grilling food." Ha! (your daddy was grilling out some food!). You even had Pluto being a pirate. I love watching you play and imagine. What a great girl you are. I love you so much!

That Jonah boy!!!!

Dear Jonah!

Out of all the little boys in the world, how did I end up with the best one? You're amazing. You are into everything, learning everything, attempting everything, and you are very much a "I can do it by myself" person. You feed yourself, you walk up and down the stairs all by yourself (it takes about 20 minutes, but you can do it without any help). When we take family walks you want to walk all the way back home - you travel and your slow little pace, but you do it! You also challenge yourself. When playing basketball or catch you will make a basket or catch the ball and then you will take a step back and try again. You keep moving back to give yourself a challenge. My little athlete!

You are talking in complete sentences. Here's a conversation we had last week:
me: Jonah, what is your favorite color?
you: My favorite color is, um, yellow.
me: Jonah, what is your favorite game to play?
you: My favorite game to play is, um, yellow.

I picked you up from the nursery the other day and you immediately said, "I said thank you to Mrs. Rebekah for cracker." I looked up and asked Mrs. Rebekah if you had thanked her and she said you did. You looked at me again and said, "I said thank you to Mrs. Rebekah for cracker." How in the world relaying exact conversations to me at one years of age?! Impressive, my boy! :)

You are also so smart! You know how to count (so, you still skip numbers 2 and 4, but everything else is right on), your ABC's, and pretty much every word to every song we've ever song. Just tonight your daddy said that you might be our singer. You really enjoying belting out songs and when you are upset that is one way to calm you right down. You figure out puzzles and toys very quickly. You also observe more than I realized. The other day I handed you an applesauce and you kept saying, "Selah." I kept telling you Selah was sleeping and you said, "Selah Spoon!" --I looked down and I had given you the spoon I usually use to Selah! What a bright boy. :)

You also follow your daddy's lead. At the end of meals he puts all the bowls and such together and stacks them neatly before taking them to the sink. For about a week now you will put all your bowls and spoons together and then push them away and say, "all done" -- we never taught you this - you simply picked it up by observing.

I am proud to be your mommy! I love you! 

Jonah and his buddy going down the slide! 

8 months old

Dear Selah.

On March 19th you were 8 months old! You have two teeth, love to eat food (baby food, yogurt, and some table foods such as bread, puffs, really small bites of chicken). You enjoy playing and can get around by rolling, turning, inch worm crawling, and backwards crawling. You love hearing yourself babble and you can sign "daddy." And, now you are finally getting so big that you can wear your hair in a pony tail!!! You're my big beautiful baby and I love you so very much! 

First Pony Tail!

Sitting in the stroller like a big girl!

Riding in the shopping cart for the first time!

Playdate with friends!

Havana!

Dear H,

You are amazing! I find such joy and satisfaction in being your mommy. You are so special and God created you for such a specific purpose.

You remind me so much of myself - which at times I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. ;) You love to walk on your toes just as I did and the suspense of surprises eats you up... just like me. The other night after dinner daddy was telling you that I was going to take you somewhere in the morning and you kept trying to guess and finally you yelled, "Tell us, mama, Tell us!" Your daddy and I began laughing so hard because that is just how I respond to surprises as well!

You also have learned my name, "Darby," but you are unsure whose name it is. As I was doing your hair one morning I asked you if you knew your whole name and you said "Yes, Havana Darby Dugger" -- not quite. When I said that your middle name was Corynne you said, "Havana Corynne Dugger, NO!" -- so apparently you only associate that name with getting in trouble! :)

I know I've said it before, but your imagination is so much fun to watch. I love watching you play with your animals and being a "mommy" to your babies. In fact, the other day I walked in and you had one of your baby dolls in your shirt and you were pretending to have a baby in your belly. You pretend to go to work where you work with Dr. Howell (your pediatrician) to make sad people happy again. I think this came from when I told you your daddy is a DR like Dr. Howell and that he helps sick people feel happy. :) One night you stood up on your chair and you exclaimed, "I am a magical princess and I have a magic wand!" Where do you get this stuff?

You are also getting sneaky in your old age. :) You saw some candy on my desk and I told you that you were not allowed to have it. All of a sudden you said, "Mommy, I want you to go over there." (and you pointed to the other room). I asked why and you simply said, "Mommy, I want you to go bye bye! Go over there, please." (and again you pointed to the other room). I knew you were wanting the candy and so I grabbed it and left and I watched you as you looked all over my desk for it. Sneaky little girl! :)

You are such an incredible big sister. You love playing with Jonah and smiling at Selah. You are very good about giving toys gently to Selah and giving me a play by play of your conversations with Jonah. You came into my room the other day and said, "Jonah said, 'Let's build a tower!' and I said, 'no, I cannot build a tower right now.'" I love hearing these conversations replayed back to me. You also help Jonah pronounce words. In the backseat of the car you will say, "Jonah, say Basket-Ball."

You are not only a good little teacher, but you're a good little mommy.  Selah knocked her bottle off of her high chair and you said, "Selah, that isn't a good heart when we throw our cup down." And then that evening she was crying and you said, "Selah, that's enough!" Hm, those sound familiar... just like things mommy says to you! ;)

You are feeling like a big girl these days! I think you are ready to be older than three because I asked you your age the other day and you said, "I'm three- no, wait, I changed my mind - I'm 4!" Before I know it you will be four, but for now I'm enjoying every day with you my sweet three year old! I love you bunches!

Hide-N-Seek Champ!

Sitting on your mat for dance class!

Today...

I walked in to get Jonah from his nap and I said, "hey Big boy!" to which he replied, "hey Big mama!"

Then Havana pretended to be Selah and carried on a full conversation with her speaking in a very high pitches tone... Her imagination is taking off!

I love motherhood!

Weather Craziness!

In the past week we've had highs in the 70s, a F4 tornado, snow on the ground, and then back up into the 60s! The kids have enjoyed every minute! Here are some photos of the past week. These babes are so much fun!

J-O-N-A-H

Jonah can spell his name now! He was saying it and at first I didn't realize what he was spelling and then I freaked out screaming, "Jonah, good job, you were spelling you're name!" So smart. He's talking to Havana non stop and loves "bossing" selah around (no, Selah! There ya go, Selah). He loves the moon and looks for it every night, his obsession with basketballs continues and he can't play sports enough. He will intentionally fall down and then look at me and say, "Jonah, you okay?!" To which I have to ask him, "Jonah, are you OK?" He'll get up and say, "yes, I OK." He's become super snuggly with me and always wants me to hold him... i have no objections to this new phase. I love my little man!