Birthdays in the Family

Two of my nieces turned three in the past two weeks. That's a whole lotta sass being raised up around here!

B & I celebrated Lily's birthday with her on Sunday. She's hilarious-- such a talker. It made me remember back over Christmas when she kept trying to haul Teddy Ruxpin, a diaper, and a box of wipes around the house. Um, Teddy is heavy. It wasn't going well. B tried to tell her to leave the wipes or let him carry them (Nana buys in bulk!), but she wasn't having it. "I a good mommy," she told him.

B and Lily have a special bond. To start, she's in love with him. Her mom told her that my gift for the birthday girl was letting her marry B, which she was oh-so okay with. Watch it, monkey! She snuggles right up next to him every time she sees him. So freaking cute.

One of my favorite Lily memories with B was a year ago May, at my friend K's wedding-day brunch. B looked out the window and saw Lily trying desperately to reach bottled water that was in the bottom of one of those big drink tubs. She'd gotten as many as she could reach and was now trying to haul the entire bucket over to the steps, smart girl, so that she could reach more.

B went to help her so she wouldn't throw her 18" back out and moved the bucket to the stairs. He handed her a water, which she hugged then sat on step, then proceeded to lurch herself into the bucket to reach more ice-cold water. I got so tickled watching the two of them through the window-- Lily soaked and B trying to explain to an almost two-year-old the logic of not falling in a bucket.

We're both super excited to be moving closer to the other birthday girl, Ella. This girl is quicker than quick and you can't really pull anything over on here. If you try to lie ("no, Gabi, there are no more cookies"), Ella will point her little finger in the air, Nancy Drew style, and say "Wait a minute. I think that I know of some..." and you're totally shot. It's like my brother says about his son, "If you're on trial and Alex is on the stand, take the plea, because he's totally going to rat you out."

Oh these kids. Can't wait to see them! B's out of town tonight for a trial in Mobile, so I'm out to dinner with a friend then home to keep packing. Goal: Make the apartment unrecognizable before he returns. Outlook: Doubtful. :)