Week Sixteen: 21 graces

This week I am dedicating my "21 graces" post to my sweet, 3-year old Sydney.  Preschoolers are crazy little people.  They are simultaneously quite frustrating and extremely sweet and funny.  This week I decided to not focus on the frustrating, but the sweet and funny.  Here are 21 quotes from Sydney throughout the week:

1. While stroking my early morning, un-fixed hair: "I like your hair, Mommy."
2. The self-check out register at the grocery store said, "Thank you for shopping at the Commissary!"  Sydney shouted, "You're welcome!"
3. She finally removed her socks after slipping several times on our tile floor.  She slipped again and said, "Oops, I slipped!  Maybe I should take off my toes."
4. Lorelei pointed to my fork and said, "Baboo!"  I held up my fork and said, "Fork."  Sydney said, "Mama, I think she said 'baboo.'"
5. "Daddy, can we make a castle out of blankets?"
6. Chet gave her a glow stick to use inside her castle of blankets.  She said, "This helps the dark."
7. After laying in her bed for over an hour, but not napping: "That was a good, fun nap!"
8. To her stuffed hippo: "I'm so glad you're here!"
9. "I think it's raining..."  (Chet was washing his truck and she couldn't see him using the hose from where she was standing.)
10. "There you go" after she helped me take my boots off.
11. When she wakes up in the morning she watches the PBS Kids app on the iPad while I get Lorelei up.  Lorelei wasn't awake yet, so I got into our bed with Sydney to read my book while she watched the iPad.  She patted my leg and said, "Do you want to watch the iPad with me?"
12. She likes for us to ask her questions like, "What's your name?" and "Where do you live?"  I asked her her name, and she said, "My name is tortilla."
13. I gave her a tic tac and she bit into it: "It makes my teeth spicy!"
14. Playing with and talking to one of her dolls/stuffed animals: "You're the baby and I'm the grandma."
15. I was looking at a shirt online to buy her.  I asked if she liked it.  She looked at the thumbnail picture of the shirt and said, "I think that shirt is too small.  I think it will hurt me if I put it on."
16. "Lorelei is so funny!"
17. "We always take naps after church and dance class."  (It finally sunk in after telling her over and over and over...)
18. "Can I try a hally penno?"  (Translation: "Can I try a jalapeno?")
19. This past week the girls started sharing a room (I moved Sydney into Lorelei's room).  She said, several times, "I like where my bed is now!"
20. I could hear her ordering Lorelei around in the other room while I was getting dressed.  I peeked in on them, and Sydney was sitting cross-legged on the floor, waiting for Lorelei to pick a book from the shelf.  "Mommy, I am reading books to Lorelei!"
21. Me: "Sydney, please don't stand on that chair.  Get down."
Syd: "Why?"
Me: "Because I said so."
Syd: "Okay, Mommy.  Next time I will not say, 'why.'"

21 graces

1. Staying ahead of laundry this week
2. Learning more about my camera
3. Receiving packages in the mail
4. Seeing a friend I hadn't seen in almost two years, and meeting each other's second-born child
5. A fun 2-year old birthday party
6. Burning off energy in a bounce house (the kids, not me)
7. Much-needed rain
8. Catching up with a friend from church
9. Dinner with friends who are moving soon (side note: nearly all of our friends are moving this summer...wah!)
10. A first, very successful dentist visit for Sydney
11. A major shopping trip to Walmart sans kiddos (I know I mention this often, but I really am super thankful every time I'm able to do this!)
12. A new Ben and Jerry's flavor: Chocolate Peppermint Crunch
13. A 10:30 a.m. doctor appointment for Lorelei (verdict: ear infection); I recently switched her from the Air Force hospital to the health clinic on our base...and we were home by 11:05 a.m.!!!!!  No more three-hour allotments of time for doctor appointments!
14. Chet being able to leave work earlier than usual three times this week so that I could attend various events
15. An interesting (good interesting) Ombudsman training session
16. Amoxicillan working its magic
17. Lorelei turning 18-months old!
18. Sydney conversing with the librarians
19. A morning stroller walk to the further-away playground
20. An afternoon bike ride (we only made it to the end of the street though, because I got caught up in conversation with end-of-the-street neighbors...also a blessing!)
21. Sydney quote: "I'm happy when I go to dance class!"

Back Again

I had to take another blogging break.  My other grandmother, Granny Burrous, my dad's mom, passed away Thursday, April 4th.  Her health had been up and down for quite a while, and we are thankful she is finally at peace.  She turned 88-years old March 1st.

The girls and I headed to TX Friday (Chet couldn't accompany us this time, due to work), and even though I don't love the reason for our trip, it was so nice to see aunts, uncles, and cousins I hadn't seen in too, too long.  Most of my dad's side of the family hadn't seen Sydney since Christmas 2010, and I'm not sure anyone had met Lorelei yet...

I will post pictures from our trip another day (hopefully later today, or tomorrow), but here is one of the best pictures I have with Granny Burrous.  This was taken at my wedding shower in May 2006.

L to R: Mom Wyckoff, Granny Burrous, Me, P-ma, Mama

He is Risen!

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter!  We had a lovely service at church, where our pastor reminded us how great it is that we set aside a day every year to remember and give thanks for the Resurrection, but that we are free to celebrate the Resurrection every day!

Excuse the high-quality indoor iPhone pictures that I used to take pictures of the girls' dresses.  Chet and I were not photographed, but take my word for it that we all looked quite snazzy.  ;-)

Sydney wore my old dress:

On the way to church, Sydney said, "I have a hole in my tights."  I told her not to touch it, and I forgot about it until we arrived and there was a HUGE hole in the left leg of her tights, impossible to hide.  Keep in mind, Sydney has been wearing tights nearly every single Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. since July (for dance class).  That's nine months of wearing the same pair of tights every week, and they don't even have a hint of a snag, but she managed to create a giant hole in a brand new pair.  I don't know why I'm surprised; she deserves a medal for the dance tights lasting so long!

Needless to say, we ditched the tights right before walking into church:

 

 

After church we headed home to change clothes...

...and had a little egg hunt in the backyard.

 

Chet explained the rules of the hunt (Lorelei was enthralled with the basket):

 

I took a million egg hunt pictures, so bear with me (gotta keep the grandparents happy):

 

Syd guarding her eggs:

 

We gave them their Easter baskets after that (which I did not get a picture of beforehand...oops).

 

Hello Kitty slippers:

See Lor's Easter basket?  Chet's dad made it.  Actually, the one is this picture was Chet's basket growing up (his dad recently painted over the blue ears to make it a more girly purple).  Sydney's basket is the same, but with pink ears.

"Peter Pan" and bubbles:

Chocolate:

Syd likes opening cards these days:

 

Next was nap time, and then we went to a neighborhood Easter egg hunt hosted by one of our very generous neighbors.  I hope y'all had a great day!