funny girls

It's been a little while since an update. This is how I seem to roll: a burst of blogging, a long silence.

In case you haven't been around, our girls are funny. I think so, at least. Riley regularly cracks me up. Recently, she's been test-driving different names for me. The last three or four days, I've been "Mom" instead of "Mommy," and today, inexplicably, I became "Mama." Every time she subs another name in for Mommy, I can't help but laugh. It's not because these are inappropriate but because she says them with the air of someone who is highly clever and creative. Really, she's quite proud of herself.

She's a little chatterbox now, that one. And she has definite "likes." She likes macaroni and cheese. Any time (and I mean ANY time) I ask her what she would like to eat, she volunteers macaroni and cheese. And she prefers the easy mac Velveeta, in case you're needing specifics. She likes (though it's more like LOVES) Pixar's Cars.

She has been allowed to pick out some fabrics when we hit Jo-Ann's or Hobby Lobby. Guess what she chose.

red flannel Mater and Lightning pants

a little Cars peasant top

...and a Cars pillowcase dress

Then, when we went to Sonny Acres, she actually got to ride in a car! Wow! She told us that this one "looks like Ramone." :)



Here's another one of Riley's habits: lining things up. Not a day goes by when we don't have a line of cars and trains. Sometimes, I move one-- just a little; it doesn't go over well.


Noelle is also a little character. She's saying "Mamamamama" a lot and loves to clap and wave. Oh, and bounce. Bouncing's always a winner. She's taken to screaming (in joy), too. And she has an EXCELLENT indifferent face. See?

She can crack herself up, too, though. But really, no one makes her laugh like Riley does.




Really, we are so blessed. Both girls are such sweethearts. We like 'em. Don't you? :)

Fall Fun

Mike took Riley out for a fun Fall activity in the backyard. Here are the pics, plain and simple. :)

Arts and Crap

Before you're offended by my title, let me explain. Riley loves doing crafts. Her favorites, thus far, are making fingerprint pictures (under the close supervision of Mom, who doesn't need the whole house covered with ink) and play-dough. My favorite is everything because Riley cracks me up. She's a pretty darn good little speaker, but some words are still pretty unclear. When she wants to create, she looks up at me and says sweetly, "Mommy, please make crap?" She asks to do this nearly every day, and I still have to hold my laughter back. Does that make me immature? If it does, I don't care. If you could see her sweet little face, imploring me to make crap, you would laugh, too.

I don't have pictures of our fingerprint creatures, but here are some of our play-dough creations.

This alligator gets a kiss.

It's a good thing he got that loving send-off because, shortly after, he was consumed by our ravenous dog. Rest in peace, alligator.

Speaking of crafts, Riley turned painter during one of her naptimes last week. I won't go into detail (you're welcome), but here's, really, all you need to know.

In case that's not clear enough, let me just say that it's not chocolate, and the whole event was actually grosser than it looks. Think encrusted hands. Ew.

Alright, so there was double meaning to the title of this post. So sue me. :)

Potty Time Fail

There are going to be no surprises in this one. The title gives it to you straight. I decided, once again, to attempt potty training with Riley. Granted, I probably could have prepped a little more, but it was at least a somewhat measured attempt. Yesterday, we went to the library and picked out the Potty Time with Elmo DVD. She already had Elmo underwear, and we already had the Riley-sized potty.

(Sidenote: Elmo was and is entirely her choice. That red furball's voice grates on my nerves. Seriously, Sesame Street, why?!)

Last night, we watched the DVD, and I made sure to intersperse comments about how "awesome" and "neat" it was that Elmo was going on the big kids' potty. I mean, wow!

Today, I asked her if she wanted to wear her big-girl underwear. Initially, she refused, so I dropped it. I've heard, enough times, that it's not worth it to push your kid. A few minutes later, though, she told me she wanted to wear them. On they went.

After playing cars and modeling a little...




... here's where we ended up.

She sat there for OVER AN HOUR, watching VeggieTales, with no urine or excrement to show for it! For heaven's sake, I even let her eat her lunch, sitting on the potty! Sheesh. The kid's a model of self-control (or something?).

So I suppose I'll be waiting a while longer. Like my mom apparently used to say, "How many 21-year-olds do you know who can't do this?"

Bad Blogger (and the Allergy Saga)

Sorry, folks... It's not that we haven't had any news; it's that I haven't been blogging. Slap on the wrist for me.

Let's start with some of our most exciting news...

Two weeks ago, I took Riley in for her follow-up appointment at the allergist. She had gone in a year earlier, when we discovered that she was allergic to eggs. Because of that allergy, she also had to avoid nuts and shellfish. With my gluten-intolerance and her allergies, things were getting a little restrictive in the Green household. Needless to say, I was excited and hopeful for her follow-up, praying that Riley would FINALLY be able to eat "normal people" food.

We went, armed with stuffed animals, toy cars, and my iPhone, loaded with Pixar's Cars. The doctor ended up testing for a variety of nuts, some fish, sesame, and, of course, eggs. As Riley watched Cars, I watched her arms. It seemed, to my untrained eye, that she was NOT reacting. After all, the first go at this, the egg test site had puffed up and reddened almost instantly. Now, I wasn't seeing anything, at any of the sites. When the time was up, the doctor declared Riley ALLERGY-FREE!!!

Elated, I started trying to decide where we were going to go to get Riley a celebration cupcake. As we were driving home, I stopped at Culver's to pick lunch up for her, and when I looked back at her, one of the sites that had been negative was showing a late reaction. I wasn't entirely certain (though I was about 92% sure) that it was the egg site. I quickly called the doc, and she confirmed it. Late reaction to eggs. Gosh darn it! The nurse said she would get back to me with the doctor's updated course of action.

I was absolutely crushed. I can hardly explain how ecstatic I was that Riley could now eat eggs. The late blow was hard to take. I felt like I had gotten kicked in the gut. I put all thoughts of cupcakes out of my head.

Late that night, I finally heard from the nurse. I don't know how to build the suspense here, but I will say that my jaw hit the floor when she told me that Dr. Ozog still gave us the go-ahead to introduce eggs into Riley's diet. Two weeks later, she's reaction-free! See! :)

Daddy's Little Girl

So, I saw a dress like this the other day, and I thought I'd give it a shot. Riley's going to wear it to church tomorrow, so I'll snap a shot of her, sporting her new attire, then. I like the whole idea behind it. It's made from one of Mike's old button-downs. I mean, Riley adores Michael, and now she gets to dress like him (kinda)! How great is that?

8 months!

Noelle is 8-months-old! And cuter by the day.