Harms Family News

At night the girls take turns praying for the meal. We let either one pray if they want, actually. Tonight Miss M prayed, "Dear Jesus, thank you for this food. Help mommy's baby come out so we hold it. Amen. " So sweet! They have been to two appointments without an ultrasound being done (I got spoiled early on) so they are really missing "seeing" their baby sibling. Three weeks until the "big" ultrasound! Actually, as long as my bp meds do their job, three weeks before I go back again (doc wanted to see me in two but she's out of town and apparently does not want me seen by anyone else).

Last night I was laughing so hard I nearly snorted my roll! Before I get into the story, here is a little setup. We have one child who is particularly interested in saying the word "poopie." I decided I did not want her saying this word all of the time, so I have tried to be consistent in saying that it is a word to be used in the bathroom. Last night this child had to use the bathroom during dinner. If you have been to our house then you know that we can see the bathroom from our dinner table. She went in and was sitting on the potty proudly proclaiming "poopie! poopie! poopie!" Daddy told her she needed to finish and come back to the table and stop saying poopie, to which she replied "But I in the bafroom, so it OK say poopie!" Then, she shut the door. "You can't see me! Poopie! Poopie! Poooooooopeeeeeeeee!" She continued to say the beloved word and giggle her head off for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, we were all, big sister included, crack...

Well, Miss M has had her first ER trip. Here is the story. We had been having such a lovely day. I let the kids stay up during nap since they were obviously not tired, but they let me get work done, and in the morning while N was at school Miss M played so nicely and allowed me to get my chores done. By about 2:00 I was tired of working and chores and decided to bake some pumpkin muffins. Miss N was playing computer and needed my help, so I went downstairs to help her. While I was down there, Miss M found the cinnamon that I had left out and poured some in a bowl. She was having a lot of fun measuirng it and pouring it with the utensils I had left out. I was annoyed at the mess but it was already there, so I let her play. She was having so much fun. After a while she was pretty covered in it. She wanted more but I obviously didn't want to waste all of the cinnamon, so I gave her some flour. She played for probably an hour. When she was done I was cleaning her off. She had been play...

Well, I totally intended to wait to tell the girls about the baby a little bit, but the cat got out of the bag fast when they saw the ultrasound picture on the table. (oops) Miss N already knew I was getting pictures taken of my insides this morning, and she wanted to know what the "big hole" on the picture was. I was not able to answer her honestly without telling her the whole truth, so I told them. Miss N responded with a big smile and a "I hope it's a brother." and Miss M responded with, "I see the hole in your tummy mommy?" and asking me to lift my shirt. Then Miss N said, "Mommy, I love you. I will love you no matter how big you get." Oh my, crazy girl! I am glad she loves me. Then she was very worried about something, "Mommy, my teacher told us to raise our hands if our mommies had a baby in their tummies, and I said no because I didn't know." I think she thought she had lied. . . I assured her she was fine :)

Miss M is certainly the little comedian. Here are a couple from just the last two days! We were in the locker room at swimming lessons and Miss M was very interested in seeing all of the other ladies. Now, you need to understand that i am by no means a skinny-minnie. In fact, there is very much in that regard I would like to change, and my kids understand what a curvy woman looks like. Anyways, this woman comes out of the adult changing area in her bathing suit. She was very nice and was chatting with the girls. Then she goes over to wash her hands and Miss M says, "mommy, why dat lady got big butt?" I wanted to crawl in a hole and laugh at the same time. I said, "Miss M, everybody's bodies are different." Then of course after the lady left (quite quietly) I told her, "If you want to ask a question about someone's body, please wait until we are in the car." Then this morning I was telling her she could not wear her rain boots because yesterday she ...

Three years ago, God blessed us with this 10 lb. 4 oz bundle of energy. Miss M, one day old Miss M, one year old Miss M, two years old Miss M, three years old. There are no words to describe this child's personality. She definitely knows what she wants and will do what it takes to get it, even if it gets her into lots of trouble. Here are some accomplishments Miss M has made this year: Truly learning how to talk and communicate verbally Learning to sing many songs, including Jesus Loves Me and ABCs Learning how to climb the ladder on our slide climber Learning her first Bible verse Attending her first Bible School Moving into a real Sunday School class Really learning to play with her sister Graduating into a "big girl" bed Potty training (woo hoo!) I am sure there are more, but these are the ones that come to mind. While this child brings many challenges that are quite different than her sister, in the last year she has really blossomed and become a joy to me. She m...

My littlest one loves to eat. She loves to eat and isn't too picky either. She is highly motivated by food. She will pick candy over any other treat or prize. When we go to chuck-e-cheese, she could have 300 tickets and she will spend them all on candy, not a single other thing. But, the "experts" all say not to use food as a reward. Now, I am not one to follow what the "experts" say on everything, but I am one who struggles with her weight, so my kids are going to be prone to that too, and I will do what I can to help them not have those struggles. We limit candy in this house (they get one piece per day as their dessert, and occasional treats when given by others like at school or the doctor), mostly because my oldest gets sick if she eats too much. But here is the dilemma. The little one will do just about anything for a candy. Sometimes, when discipline does not work with her, offering her a reward of an M&M for good behavior does. Nothing but candy trea...

Lately, I have been noticing signs that my two girls really do love one another and are becoming friends. We have our fair share of sibling rivalry and days when I throw my hands up in surrender thinking I am raising worst enemies . Then, I get little glimmers into what life with a sister can really be like. This week Miss N got her first minor scraped knee of the season. I was doctoring it up because it was pretty dirty, and she was crying pretty hard. Miss M went and got her a toy of some sort and patted her on the back. "Thanks (sob) Miss M, (sob), You're my BEST friend." was the response. in the midst of the tears, this mommy's heart was melting. I told her, "That's right, and your sister is a friend who will always be part of your life." She will soon enough know the temporary heartache that comes from "best friends" who move to a new school after the school year, I fear, with the upcoming end of preschool and start of kindergarten. There ...

Miss M has always had a lot of hair. She's only 2 1/2 and she's had at least five haircuts, the first being before she turned 2. Today, we went to a beauty shop for the first time because our in-home hair dresser was having a baby today. My little girl has her shortest cut yet and it's so cute! Before! This was jumping on the trampoline (the shirt was self-chosen and I'm too lazy to iron a two-year-old's shirt on an at-home day) During After: Mommy: Can you sit here and look at me so I can take your picture? Miss M: NO picture! Mommy: Please? This was the resulting pout A slightly better "after" shot. I am linking up to Simply Modern Mom this week!

Ok, I see how this goes. First you take a card. . . Then you chew on your game piece. This is Fun! Wait, I have to wait for my sister to take a turn? I'm not so sure I like this anymore! I am posting this in participating with Project 52. I missed last week but here's this week! To see more great posts, visit the link below:

Will the cuteness not stop this evening? Daddy came home from work very (very) late. The children had already been fed, but I waited to eat with Tim. We were sitting down to eat and the girls were having a small snack since they ate their dinners well and were still up. Here is the conversation: Miss M: Mommy eating? Mommy: Yes, mommy is eating. Miss M: Why? Mommy: Mommy waited to eat her dinner with daddy. Miss M: Why? (Before I could answer the 'Lightbulb' look came over her face). Miss M: Mommy (points to me) LOVE Daddy (points to Tim)! Then she proceeded to kiss us both on the arm. Yeppers, that is why I waited to eat dinner with my husband. I loved this moment!

Dear Mrs ____________, I know we do not know each other, and that you have a full class of little people to love this year, but I just wanted to give you some insight into how my Miss M works, because it just might make your job of teaching her a little better. I hope you have a good sense of humor, because once she is comfortable, Miss M is likely to be your class clown. She doesn’t have much care for what others think about her, as long as they are laughing. Even at two, she has an excellent sense of humor, and loves to play jokes and tease to keep us laughing. She doesn’t tolerate being bored easily, and if she is bored, she will find her own ideas about what to do. Like today for instance, when I was busy in the kitchen, she found her own entertainment by repeatedly pumping the soap dispenser in the bathroom until her hands were drenched. Thankfully today it was just her hands. You have to keep her mind busy, or she will find a way to keep it occupied herself. Miss M needs to be mo...

(Sharing some sister snuggles before Mommy and Daddy got up) My kids constantly crack me up. This is the first holiday ever that we did not have family to go to. It was strange, but also nice. Growing up once we moved away from California, holidays were almost always just us. While I would have preferred not to have the circumstances that forced us to stay home and would have loved spending time with Tim's sister and family, today was nice. (Miss M said, "More?" at this point - she wasn't so sure about the way the tree looked :) ) Our plan: Buffet restaurant for lunch, Thanksgiving craft, putting up the tree, watching Toy Story 3. I am happy to announce all were accomplished. At the restaurant, my kids pigged out. They haven't b een to many buffets, since mommy finds it silly to spend that much money on food when you can't take home your leftovers, but they loved being able to pick and choose what they ate. (Can I just say she looks way too grown up all of a...

Now that Miss N is in school, I have at least one day per week where just Miss M and I spend the morning together. I am learning something. I don't really know my toddler. She is very naughty, and I'm beginning to think that part of the reason she is always into things that are dangerous or not for her is because she gets my attention. See, with Miss N, she loved to read books, snuggle, color, and do things I enjoyed doing, so nurturing and bonding were much easier. I don't know what Miss M loves to do with me. She likes to wrestle with daddy, and she loves when I swing her up in the air, but she's so heavy I can only do that a few times. She only snuggles when she is sick, rarely wants to be read to, and has a mind of her own about what she is going to do with her time. I need to find a way to bond with my baby. This is a matter I am going to make a matter of prayer. I love her, but I find myself exhibiting frustration and anger toward her more often than love and supp...

As Miss M gets more and more vocal, Miss N is starting to enjoy being a sister more and more. They are waking in the morning and crawling into bed with one another to wait for mom and dad to get up. They are starting to play WITH one another, and Miss N has been rejoicing with us over Miss M's potty training successes. It's wonderful to watch what i pray will be a lifelong friendship blossom. But, they are still siblings. And the little one gets on the big one's nerves a lot, usually intentionally. Like the other day. I can't remember what Miss M was doing, but Miss N had had enough. After I reminded her to be loving, she looked at me and said, "WHEN will we have a baby BOY!!?!?!?" Very funny!

It was the perfect fall day for a trip to the apple orchard. Slightly overcast and cool, with rain earlier in the day to drive off the big weekend crowds. Somewhat on a whim, we packed up the kids after nap and went on our way. Apple cider donuts and cold cider drinks were calling our name. Miss M is smack dab in the middle of the potty training stage, and is doing fairly well. While we are primarily in underwear, we stuck a pull-up on her since the potties at the apple orchard are not very convenient. Off went to have some family fun. We arrived, did the potty thing, and then saw the animals. We played, we picked berries, we ate donuts. In the midst of all this fun we had several trips to the potty. Through it all Miss M stayed clean and dry. Donuts were a hit, as was the “juice,” (cider). Miss N played reverse psychology on me, pointing out a toy she wanted and then saying, “But I have enough toys, right mom?” This is the phrase I always say when she’s begging for something (because ...