April at the Merchants

I am not certain where the last month has gone. It is all a bit foggy for me, and for anyone trying to stay updated through our blog -- well the last month has literally been a blank. So, I thought I would recap some highlights of what happened in April at the Merchants.




DANCING IN THE RAIN
It is spring in full force with temperatures ranging from the fifties to the eighties. Overnight it seemed that everything around us turned green and our home is once again blanketed with in a canopy of leaves. In Virginia this also means lots of rain. Mia and Maggie LOVE the rain. They are impervious to the discomfort of being cold or wet and will run outside to puddle jump and soak themselves as often as I will let them during a storm. We will never be able to level out our driveway since right now it creates perfect spots for pooling water and gigantic splashes!




MAKE NEW FRIENDS, BUT KEEP THE OLD...
We enjoyed a visit from our good friends the Novacs. The Novacs lived three doors down from us in Salt Lake City, and early on my girls discovered a bastion of welcoming friendship at their home. They would constantly invite themselves into the sandbox in the backyard or to swing on the swings at any time of the day (and often while still wearing their pajamas). We loved having good friends so close, and literally available to chat with and play with when we walked out our front door. We have truly missed the Novacs since moving in August.

It was very fun to have them stay with us here. Mia and Cristina had many adventures to catch up on. They had to hide from witches, go exploring, be wild horses, and a host of other pretendings that I never figured out. They also rehearsed and directed ALL the rest of us in a theatrical production.

Maggie, early in her life, found a way into Giny's and Andrei's hearts and was delighted for them to return to admire her shoes and "squeeze" her. In fact, when the Novacs were loading in the car to leave Maggie asked, "Where everybody go?" I told her they had to leave and go back to their house, to which Maggie replied, "No stay dis house. Stay dis house." When they didn't, she got mad and refused to say goodbye.

We are having to readjust again to the boring life we live without the Novacs nearby.


MIA'S WORLD
About a week ago I drove through McDonald's for Happy Meals for the girls on the way home from an errand and an evening where I was running out of time. They got these horrid, plastic "American Idol" toys that played music. Mia said to me, "Mom, when I am on American Idol, what song would I sing?" "Well," I replied, "You should sing whatever you really like." Then after a pause for some thought, Mia said, "Could I sing a church song?" I tried to explain that people usually don't sing primary songs on American Idol, but she should sing her favorite song if she was ever on the show. Thinking the message had soaked in well, and knowing Mia has a broad repertoire from which to select, I then queried, "So what would you sing on American Idol?" Without missing a beat Mia replied, "I am a Child of God, of course -- or maybe Scripture Power." All I can say is: watch out David Cook; who can refrain from voting for a rock version of Scripture Power?

Mia has been on a constant search lately for a new pet. First, she caught and carried into the house a large, gray moth, which she named "Greya." (Mia loves to name things the color they are plus a "y" or an "a" at the end. When we first adopted Lucy it took awhile to convince her that "yellowy" was not a fabulous name for the dog.) Anyway, she took Greya to her room and built a house for her atop her dresser using doll house furniture. She picked some grass and put it in her window sill for the moth to eat. Then, after watching her sit on the window for a couple of hours, and running around the house stating, "I can't believe I have a pet like Greya!" she decided to play with her. Mia grabbed the moth by the wings and began running and dancing with her. Jeffrey found them; Greya's wings tattered shreds at this point, and insisted the most humane choice was to re-release Greya to the wild. Mia was very sad at the loss of her pet. It was only days later that she found a small, blue bird's egg in the front grass and brought it in. It had a small crack, and clearly was never going to hatch. But, I could not convince Mia of this fact. She built and decorated a castle home in the basement for her new baby bird, which she is planning to feed with a miniature bottle. It still has not hatched. But, I am just bracing for the next critter from nature that she tries to adopt.

The last thing to take over Mia's world lately has been an obsession with the Chronicles of Narnia. I had determined we should wait a couple of years for these stories, since they are rather intense. But, Mia got an abridged version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in a kid's meal at Chik-fil-A. (Okay, so when two of my stories are related to feeding my kid's fast food -- which normally I do quite rarely -- well, I have to think something is non-functional in my life!) She was so enthralled by the pictures and asked so many questions about the story and was so persistent about wanting every detail, we finally determined to just read them to her. In the past two weeks, she and Jeffrey have finished two books and are half-way through the third. It has been making bedtime a very exciting and anticipated event. The problem is that nearly every night she cries before bed because Jeffrey won't read to her for more than an hour! I also wish I could listen in on the conversations she tells me she has with friends at school when she is setting up the blocks and explaining that they are the four thrones that must be defended on Cair Paravel.


CAN YOU SPEAK "MAGGIE"?
Maggie communicates quite well, but there are several important phrses that could confuse the general public. So, I thought I would provide a short lexicon for those interested in speaking "Maggie."
Nae-Nake: Naked
Lala: Mia
Bebe: Blanket, specifically the pink and purple one Nama made for Christmas
De Up-Down: Upstairs or downstairs (This can be a bit confusing if you ask Maggie where she left her "bebe" and she says "up-down." You then have to search both upstairs and down.)
Louie: Lucy, the dog
Ews: Shoes
Ocks: Crocs shoes or socks (We had a long misunderstanding related to the intention of this word just the other day.)
Noo-Noes Cookd: Macaroni and Cheese, or really any other type of pasta (and, for the record, I don’t usually feed her noodles, uncooked)

Maggie has a habit of leaving off the ends of words when she speaks. Which gives rises to several important phrases:
Pocks: Pockets (Maggie is always delighted when her clothing includes these.)
Buck: Buckle (This is usually accompanied by the word "No," since Maggie prefers to not be buckled into high chairs, grocery carts, or her car seat. "No buck!")
Butt: Button (This gives rise to my favorite Maggie phrase of late: "Tummy Butt," which is her belly button. She loves to show anyone ready to admire her "Tummy Butt.")

Finally, the number one most used phrase in Maggie's vocabulary is "Me too." This follows any request, plan, or idea that her sister Mia has or anything that we may say to Mia. Maggie is determined not to be left out. "Me too. Me too. Me too."