Long Update- sorry

Just a couple tidbits of what's been happening the last couple weeks:

My girls love to be helpful when we're grocery shopping. I always take all three girls (never ceases to be an adventure) and they love to help put the food on the counter to be paid for. Well, Mom was in town and she was keeping an eye on Ellie and Katie while Sarah was handing me groceries to scan in the self-checkout line (I thought I was taking the easier way out). Well, I turn around for a minute to scan and I hear my mom gasp. I looked over and saw that Sarah was being extra helpful by trying to hand me the eggs one by one. There were broken eggs everywhere. What do you do? I gave a great sigh, cleaned up the eggs while Mom got a replacement pack, and then just laughed. A little too helpful!

We've had our kittens over a month now. The girls are getting better... slowly. The cats are amazingly patient are really quite fun to be around. They really enjoy being in the action, which I sometimes wish they would just run for their lives!!! They're constantly climbing on everything- including the Christmas tree. We've had to remove all ornaments, as they like to swat at them and knock them off. Then Mom made some pipe-cleaner candy canes, which the cats also knock off and play with. Nothing is safe on that tree. Daisy even likes to nibble on the foil star that Steve and the girls made.

Ellie told me yesterday that she loves church day because it's the day she gets to wear her beautiful dresses. Yes, she is all girl! Katie and Sarah have learned to love to play dress-ups with Ellie (much to Ellie's enjoyment) and they come down in some very interesting outfits. The favorites lately have been the Halloween outfits- as Katie and Ellie can fit into all three dresses. Sarah prefers a rather silly, poofy pink skirt.

Sarah is just a crack-up. Some of the things she comes up with are just hilarious. She of course is great at saying no, but it usually comes out as, "uhhhh.... nooooo". So funny. While she doesn't have a lot of words that anyone outside the family could understand, she really is doing great at communicating. And she likes to copy her sisters- tonight she asked for a co-cone over and over again when she heard Katie request an ice cream cone.

Katie regressed on the potty training while Grandma was here. She's hasn't had a dirty diaper in weeks, but she tends to get that pull-up rather wet. I'll take it anyway! She is amazingly good at remembering and singing songs (although she is terribly tone deaf so far). The girls LOVE the Raffi Christmas CD the Tolmans got us last year and we listen to it whenever we are in the car. The girls know most of the words to most of the songs now.

And it was just wonderful having Mom here. But of course our week flew by far too fast, as usual. The girls did projects every day and had a blast doing it. Ellie informed me one day that I was no fun- only Grandma. C'est la vie, right? Mom helped me pick out fabric, etc. for the projects I'm doing for the girls for Christmas. I am so incredibly excited about them, too. Ellie and Katie are going to love it. I'm still not done and am not going to give it away, but will get pictures on Christmas.

Steve is finally done with his Masters degree from Webster University online (out of St. Louis), which is a huge relief. He is being highly recruited by BYU at the moment (obviously accepted there) and has his acceptance to Georgia Tech as well. We hope to find out mid-January about the other two schools: Purdue and University of Illinois.

I am amazingly large. Steve laughs almost every time he sees me because I'm so big. I just stick straight out. I might break down and get picture proof of it one of these days. I am having strong Braxton Hicks (some really hurt), I don't fit in most of my maternity clothes any more (strange for me), and I'm getting rather awkward doing just about anything. But I still have a month to go and will somehow survive! Carrying a boy is tough work!

I think that's probably enough for tonight. Oh- I did receive callings again at church. I'm back to playing the piano in Primary, which is great, and I'm also the Visiting Teaching Coordinator. That one will keep me busy! I tried my best to get a picture of the girls in their "beautiful dresses" after church by myself and Steve is currently cleaning one up for me. I'll try to get one posted soon. I'm certainly no photographer, but my subjects sure are cute :-)