Chessidy and Adorae by: Nicole

I realized last week that I haven't written a blog in almost a year!  I neglected to write a 2 year old update on Chessidy OR a one year old update on Adorae!

So, here we go!

Chessidy, at 2 years and 4 months old is quite a toddler!  Full of mischief, wonder, energy and sweetness, she keeps me on my toes!  She has a very large vocabulary, and speaks very clearly, but only in groups of people she knows well.  Her sweet curly hair gets her attention wherever she goes (and at home too, because, really, it's just SO CUTE!).  Chessidy is a very passionate girl!  Hot or cold but never in between, she lets us know when she likes something, or doesn't.  One thing that will always win her over is silliness.  She absolutely loves being silly on her own, or with a friend, sister, parent, whoever really!  She is a determined kid, who will find loop holes in anything I tell her that is against what she wants ("chessidy, don't pick up the apples on the ground." Chessidy responds "don't pick up, just look?"  "Yep, just look at it."  she will then bend over and put her face or eye directly on the apple because she really just wanted to touch it.) which is a trait she inherited from her daddy.  I cannot, for one minute, keep my eyes or ears off her, because she will most certainly get into something she shouldn't be into.  Her favorites are my purse, the laundry room, and the pantry. One on one Chessidy is the sweetest, most delightful girl I could ask for! She really loves being the center of attention, but what child doesn't? In her sibling group she's the first to give kisses and hugs, and the first to take someones toy.  She will gladly let Adorae pull her hair and scratch her face, and never reacts negatively, but she will scream, very loudly, if her toys are taken or Ila tells her no. She often pretends not to hear me when I'm giving her directions or calling for her, and at times it has made me seriously question her hearing.  She loves to cuddle, sing and swing.  She looks up to Ila in a lot of ways but I can see that she is trying, every day, to be her own person, and not to be led too much by her big sister.  Her name quite suits her, and we just love her!  Her favorites are: Yellow, juice, fruit chews, Buzz and Woody, Daniel Tigers Neighborhood (which she calls "tigerhood"), Jesus Loves Me and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, taking pictures and videos then watching them, playing with Ila and Daddy, and her Marma, Poppy, Grandma and Grandpa.

Adorae, is 1 year old (and 8 days if you want to be picky)and she is MY girl, and if you've spent any time at all with her, you know what that looks like.  She LOVES her mommy! She has grown a lot in her mommy needs, and now tolerates (and sometimes even enjoys), fairly well, others.  She does much better with other people if I'm not in the same room.  She is full of joy and sweetness, but is uncertain about the rest of the world outside the group of people she knows well.  I've come to accept that it's more than okay to be skeptical of others, especially when you're so young!  She can walk, but prefers to crawl. She would be carried around all day if I would and could carry her around all day.  She absolutely LOVES her sisters and they can bring out a smile or squeal of delight faster than anyone.  She enjoys her daddy time too, but is still learning to enjoy his style of playtime.  It's growing on her, but she is still uncertain about the wild play that her sisters so love.  I'd be surprised if she grew up and was an extrovert, but stranger things have happened!  She seems to like very small groups and alone time quite a bit.  Her first word was Ila, and it's still the only repeat word in her vocabulary, although she has two or three times cried out for "mamama" and I'll take it! She loves giving me kisses, and I love getting them even though they are super slobbery and wet.  She has 5 teeth and eats everything.  She doesn't appear to have any allergies or many food dislikes at this point. My favorite thing about her is that she can't really laugh.  She kind of screams instead of laughs, and it just about kills me every time! She has a face of pure joy, but the sound comes out and if you're not looking at her you'd probably think something was wrong with her! It's so funny and weird, but I'll always remember her baby "laugh."  She also loves to be silly.  Her favorite game is the "blanket game" which consists of Ila and/or Chessidy pulling her and moving her around in a blanket.  They parachute it over her head, and put it on the ground and she throws her body onto it and screams with delight as they twist and turn and pull it all around.  It's a very supervised game, as injury is just waiting to be had playing it, but they all love it so much we just go with it!

So there you have it, a little glimpse into our sweet girls personalities.  We are sure busy with them, but we wouldn't have it any other way!