Wow, it has been so long since I have posted!! The summer has just completely flown by, and we have played hard through it all!  I'm so sad it's already coming to a close!  Just a couple more weeks until Brooklynn starts Preschool!  We have been to Utah to visit and then Banff for the Davies Family Reunion, and then back to Utah to visit and celebrate Tiff's birthday!  It's so crazy how much the girls are growing and changing.

Brooklynn and Madison are getting along pretty well lately.  Don't get me wrong, I still have to break up fights daily, and Madison is still stubborn and has a hard time when things don't go her way, so she's quick to push or hit, or take whatever toy she wants.  She's also pretty quick to apologize and give loves after she's been in timeout, so we're trying.  Brooklynn has learned that if she wants something Madison has, she just has to find something else that Madison would be interested in and give that to her, and then she can get whatever she wants that Madison has. It's funny to watch her scheme.  Brooklynn calls Madison "Little Bug" or Madison Moo, and is constantly saying things like "Come and get this Little Bug!" or "You want this Madison Mooey?"  She also calls her sweetheart, and it's stinking' adorable.  When they are playing nice together, all is good in the world.  They love to run around chasing each other, or tickling one another, and they usually get hyper when they are tired and can just sit there and laugh at one another, and just be in a funny mood, which usually happens right after dinner time.

Brooklynn has become a little bit sassy in her 3 year old age.  She has started saying things like "Don't say that to me" or "don't talk to me like that", or "No, you don't say that to me!"  Whenever I ask her to do something numerous times, and by about the 5th or 6th time I ask her with more of a stern tone, she gets all hurt and offended.  It's so hard for me to ask 5 million times for her to do the same thing.  A lot of the times she's a really great listener though, so I can't complain too much.

Some of the cute things she says is "In a couple while" (in a little while) and when she's in a good mood she calls us all sweetie or sweetheart.  Today while Joe was changing Madison's diaper, Brooklynn was sitting in the recliner watching him and she said matter of factly "I pooped yesterday!  And it was a big one!"  ha ha ha!  Joe and I busted up laughing.  She wasn't trying to be funny, just stating the truth.  She calls burritos "torritos", which is another funny thing she says.  I'm trying to think of other things.

She still loves doing everything by herself, and I feel like that's where most of the tears and frustration come for both of us.  She wants to do it all, and sometimes there's just not time or I don't have the patience.  She had a meltdown at the register at Walmart yesterday because she wanted to put all the groceries on the belt that were up in the seat with her, and I was in such a rush and the woman was waiting on me, that I just had to throw it up myself, and she literally burst right out into tears and was crying and yelling, and ended up losing her treat she had picked out for the pool, because of the way she acted.  I try really hard when we are home to let her do most things, and give her her own little tasks, like putting ice in the water cups or bottles before meals, helping set the table, she helps empty the dishwasher, clears her plate after meals, loves to help make toast, and she always wants to put her own jam on. She's in charge of going to get hers and madison's pajamas from their dressers after dinner, and she's responsible for putting her pajamas on the washer for me to wash the next morning.

She's about to start preschool and she couldn't be more excited!  She has been talking about it everyday for the last few days.  It's going to be so good for her, I'm excited to watch her grow and blossom even more.

She gets dressed on her own, brushes her own teeth, uses the bathroom by herself, gets herself in and buckled in the van, puts her own shoes on, clears her dishes from the table, loves to butter and put jam on her own toast, wants to put ketchup or salt and pepper on her own food, loves helping me make my protein shakes, loves to help me clean the toilets with the toilet brush, likes to sweep and vacuum by herself, and loves pushing the unload button on my silhouette machine when I use it.  She and Madison also love helping me make my protein shake for breakfast on the days that I do my BBG workouts, and then they both have to have their own cup full.  If Brooklynn wakes up around 6:30/6:45 and Joe is in the bathroom getting ready, she comes and lays on his side of the bed and waits for him to get out of the shower and get dressed and then he'll open the door and let her in the bathroom to watch him finish getting ready.  It's so funny to see the little routine they have.  After that she'll go get herself and yogurt and eat breakfast, all while I'm still sleeping sometimes.  She still loves going up to "get Madison" when she wakes up.

We have had so much fun at the pool this last little while.  She loves using her "goggles"(face mask style) and has a little Minnie Mouse kick board that she loves to take.  She wears her little floaties and loves jumping in by herself.

She's still a great eater!  I'm so blessed not to have really picky kids.  I just keep having them try the foods they don't like, and eventually they have learned to like them.  Brooklynn used to hate tomatoes and now she loves eating one sliced up with some salt and pepper, just like her momma.  Tomatoes are one of my favorites! Madison is coming around and has finally started eating things like strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and oranges.  All of which she didn't used to eat.  So I've learned to just stick with it and give her at least a taste of something every time we eat it.

It's so crazy to me that Brooklynn is starting preschool and is 3 years old already! The days are long sometimes but the years are just flying by!  I sure love this little independent girlie of mine!  I look at her and I can't believe how quickly she is growing up.  Her hair is getting so long now, and she's just such a gorgeous little girl full of love and she's the best big sister to Madison.  Being a mom is so hard, but I can't imagine my life without her.

Madison is miss spunk!  She's started talking a lot more lately, and it seriously is the cutest thing ever!  I love hearing her say things, and love when she tries to say new words.  She still uses some sign language that only I understand, and that cracks me up too.  When she wants her binki or her blanket she will come up to me, and just put her hands up like "Where is my binki?" or "Where is my blankie?" and when I say "you want your binki?" she smiles and nods her head.  She says "mom" ALL THE TIME!  Sometimes to the point that it starts to drive me crazy.  She's gone through this phase where she just wants me to do everything for her.  She's slowly started to let Joe do more for her, and she's gotten to a point where she will even cry for him, or cry when he leaves. She's still super clingy to me when it comes time to go to nursery, or when I take her and Brooklynn to the daycare at the gym while I workout.  She ALWAYS cries when she goes to either of those places, but they say she just cries for a while and then she's fine.

She loves to be silly and loves to laugh.  If you do something she loves or she thinks is funny, she will say "Again!" over and over a million times!  She loves to color or sit down with a pencil and paper and just "write".   She loves to be outside, and is happy just going down the slide into our blow up pool, over and over and over again.  She doesn't get bored easily and can play on her own for long periods.  She loves to run and have fun, and LOVES to dance and move her body to music whenever she can.  It's the funnest thing to just watch her.  She loves to scream when something gets her excited, and she's so fun to snuggle with.  She is also full of spunk, and she will beat up on Brooklynn sometimes if she doesn't get what she wants.  She'll quickly say "NO, no no, no no!" if she doesn't want you to do something or doesn't like something.  She HATES bugs or anything that looks like a bug and she will say "EWWWE!"' and kind of freak out!  Speaking of Ewwee......Today when Joe was taking her into nursery I walked by and she was holding on to the door frame trying to keep herself from going in, and she was saying "Ewwe, Ewwe, Ewwe," over and over again.  She did NOT want to go to nursery today.  She screamed for about 15 minutes and then she was fine they said. I couldn't help but laugh at my crazy child!  Ha ha!

Ever since we came back from Utah she's freaked out every night when it's time for bed.  She hates when I say goodnight and close the door.  She used to scream and cry for about 15 minutes, and tonight she was down to about 2 minutes, if that.  Slowly but surely we are making progress. She used to just lay down and have no issues whatsoever when I would leave the room.  Sleeping in one room together in Utah messed that up I guess!  She cries for me in the night if she can't find her binki and I'll have to go up and find it for her, cover her up, and tell her to go back to bed.  She'll scream again for a minute or so and then she'll usually go right back to sleep.

Madison can be more picky.  She hasn't learned to like a lot of fruits still. One day she will eat blueberries, and the next day she'll say "Ewwe!" if I try and put them on her plate.  She does however, LOVE dill pickles, tuna, yogurt, cheetos puffs, and the girl can down some avocado.  It's so weird to me that she won't touch a  raspberry, but she could eat two whole avocados by herself in one sitting.  She'll always say "More!" if she wants more of something.

She loves watching "Anna" (FROZEN) and Mickey Mouse.  She also loves the disney movies we own.   I can get her to clean and be a really good listener if I tell her she can watch a show if she.......does whatever I need her to.  She hates puppet looking cartoons.  At my parents' house I've been putting on the show "Bob The Builder" because they don't have cable hooked up so it's one of the few shows I can put on, and whenever these puppet looking cat and other animals are on she starts fake crying and yelling "EWWEE!!"  until I fast forward it.  If they come back on then she does it all over again.  It's so stinkin' funny!

She loves riding her little bike to the mailbox, even though she can't technically do it by herself yet.  I basically just use the handle and lift the front of her bike up because she doesn't know how to steer yet, and I just push her but she has her feet on the pedals.  She loves taking a turn on Brooklynn's bike too, with me pushing her. Both girls love going to the park and LOVE to swing.  They love dogs, Madison more from a distance, and Brooklynn loves to pet them if the owner says it's ok.  Madison tries to be brave like Brooklynn but most times she ends up getting scared and crying.  They love going to Pets Mart and just looking at the animals and watching the dogs get their hair cut.

They both love reading books now.  Madison didn't like it for a long time, but she finally is enjoying reading books together at night before bed, and I will even catch her during the day over there looking at books on her own.

They are also both crazy about Family Home Evening!  Brooklynn LOVES to conduct it, and they both love to stand up there and conduct the music while we sing.  We always do "Wash the Dishes" after our lesson, and London Bridges, and Ring Around the Rosie.  It's a highlight for them, and it does bring a peaceful spirit into our home, and I can tell a difference in our week if we forget to do it.

These girls are our world and we are grateful for them, no matter how hard being a parent is sometimes.  I finally am feeling like I'm at a point where I may even consider another baby.  I think it's a decision I need to go to the Lord with, but I feel like life is a little less chaotic and crazy now that they are both a little bit older.  I think with the next one, Madison and Brooklynn can play together and entertain themselves while I take care of the baby, so it may even be slightly easier than when I had Madison and still had to entertain Brooklynn too.  I guess we will see!