Happy Valemtimes Day!

That's how Audrey says "Valentine's Day." On Sunday morning we were going to a later Mass than usual so the girls made us stay in bed (how dare they!!) while they worked on a special Valentine's Day surprise for us. Well, Audrey and Lili worked on the surprise, Kateri just dragged a chair over to the counter where Lili's Valentine's candy from school was and helped herself to some delicious Nerds until Luke and I heard the mysterious crunching sounds and rushed out to rescue Lili's stash. Here was our surprise! They dressed up the flowers Luke had bought for his household of girls.

Please notice how our little Daddy's girl Audrey smothered his card with as many foam hearts as possible. What a nice way to start the day! They even cleaned up their craft mess before leading us out blindfolded.

Maybe Audrey needs more structure to her day

I had just finished putting Kateri down for a nap and I came out to see that ALL of the light switches in the house had been carefully set exactly in between on and off thanks to Audrey. I asked her about it and I guess she thought they worked like dimmers and she wanted "Perfectly medium light."

That was yesterday. Today she came up to me after her bath wearing a towel and a defeated expression. She handed me her underwear and said, "Mom, I just don't understand my panties." I guess she couldn't tell the front from the back because the tag was on the side.

What to do on a Friday night...

If you are lucky enough to live in Phoenix, and it is a beautiful January night with a gorgeous full moon, you can break out a bed sheet and a projector and watch Star Wars in the back yard with some friends. Maybe it was the s'mores, but some of us were a little more excited than others...

It was just chilly enough so that the fire in the fire pit felt nice, and the pillows and blankets came in handy.

Star Wars has some intense scenes,

Lucky for sweet little Mr. Finn, his sweet big brother was there to put his arm around him during the scary parts.

Audrey loves...

...our backyard. I love our backyard, too, especially during the winter. During the summer the grass bakes and gets crispy and uncomfortable, but right now it seems like our own little slice of heaven on earth, decrepit old swing set and all. Audrey spends a good part of each day swinging happily on her beat-up old swing and making "salads" out of grass and lemon leaves and rosemary. We also like to play hide-and-go-seek with her beloved Koala. Audrey and I take turns hiding him in the yard and the other person has to go find him. During a recent session of this game, Audrey came inside giggling to tell me that I would never find Koala...he was in the best hiding place ever! I did find him in fact, in a lonely corner of the yard, buried in torn-up grass...I think the fact that he is lying face-down adds to the stealthiness of it all...

Grouchy Bedhead Video

I pulled out my camera today after Kateri woke up from her nap so I could document her glorious bedhead, but she was being so fetchingly grumpy I had to start taping. I realize that to people other than her immediate family her grouchiness probably comes off as more bratty and less charming, but what the heck. It is scary how much she is learning from her sisters. Whenever I tell her no, her response is always, "Why?" Another bad habit she has picked up from them: she mimics them getting their hair done by picking up the brush, touching it gingerly to her frizzy blond birds' nest and wailing, "OW! OW!" until I give her hair a totally unnecessary spritz of detangler.

A Conversation with Audrey

We were driving home from JoAnns today when Audrey decided to share:

"Last night I had a dream about heaven, and God looked the same exactly as Obi Wan Kenobi."

me: "Really?"

Audrey: "Yes, but Jesus looked the same."

me: "The same as what?"

Audrey: "The same as we see him on the cross at Mass...and do you know what I imagine Mary looks like? She has a white hood and blue clothes."

me: "What does her face look like?"

Audrey: "Well, she has beautiful eyebrows...and I think her eyes are brown. I don't know what kind of shoes she wears because no one know what kind of shoes Mary wears"

Who does Nanny love?

This past weekend Kateri and I took a trip to Louisiana sans Lili, Audrey, and Luke. Hopefully I can write a post about it later, but it was so much fun. Beautiful wedding, beautiful bride, beautiful babies I got to meet and hold for the first time, and way too much fun with my family. Kateri likewise had a ball. Here is what Nanny taught her. She is still a little zonked from her weekend of travel and partying, which probably explains her refusal to blow a kiss at the end...