Sweet 16 (months)

I feel like I just updated about Aria the other day. How has another month already passed?
I stop and look at Aria and am amazed at how much of a toddler she is. She loves to copy Luc, and I feel that pushes her to learn things way faster than Luc at this age. She's so smart. And maybe that's why I feel like she was a baby for about a minute before she morphed into a little, feisty lady.

Luc's terrible twos started when he was 18 months. I remember a specific afternoon out on walk on the trails and we came up to the playground. It was already time to head home for dinner, etc so I told him no, we couldn't play today. As he reluctantly walked away behind me, he went into a raging tantrum. I had to carry him home. We went into our bathroom, sat on the cool floor, and I held him while he got it all out of his system. Aria is only 16 months old and she's starting her terrible twos tantrums already. She's got that angry cry, with some screaming, and swinging her arms around. But once you hold her in your arms, she calms down. How lucky are we that this is starting so early? :-\

14 teeth (the top two canines are taking their time to come in, and they're bothering her quite a bit at night)

New Words: Boo boo, More, cup, flower/fleur, cool, diaper, spoon, Me, Mine, ewww, ears, Thereyougo
Aria likes to "talk" and rambles on and on, though we don't understand about what. She's very passionate though when she does it. She also will break out into song randomly with "La La Laaaa!"

Favorite bedtime book picks (she picks it out): Time for Bed, Love My Shoes, Princess Baby

Favorite TV shows (yea, yea she's too young to be watching so much TV, but rules change when you have older kids to take care of at the same time, and my sanity to keep in the evenings after working all day and now with two cranky kids), if one of these shows are on, she's at a dead stop, watching: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Lion Guard (she gets so excited just seeing a commercial for this show).

If you ask her if she pooped and has a stinky diaper she'll come over to you to pick her up to go get changed, or meet you at the stairs and climb up to her room. Thanks to Luc, she'll also tap her own butt when she hears anyone talk about butts.

Wants every thing Luc is playing with at that moment. She steals it from him, he gets mad, takes it back, she starts screaming and chasing after him. They really do love each other though, I swear.

Thinks it's hilarious to try to make me eat my hair. :-p

Is obsessed with flowers: seeing real ones outside, seeing flower patterns on fabric, saying the word flower.

Claps to the music.

Loves to dance with Luc in the kitchen. Then she falls on the floor and lays there waiting for him to come over and tickle her belly.

We've been keeping busy while waiting for the weather to finally stay warm.

Luc's school had Grandparents Day a few weeks ago. Bonne-Maman and Bon-Papa couldn't make it because it was on a Friday morning. The school sent them a card with a picture of Luc in it. Grandma and Grandpa came, with Aria. There was a special chapel service, breakfast food for the grandparents, and then the grandparents got to sit in on the class.

Since it hasn't been warm enough to really stay outside and play yet (we did get some snow in the beginning of April!), we've been trying to make the best of indoor fun.
Besides Luc pushing Aria around in her doll stroller (which she just LOVES! and when Luc stops, she yells at him to "Go! GO!"), they've been finding other ways to play (and annoy) each other. Aria thought Luc might make a good sled. Luc was able to drag her around for a few minutes before he got tired and said she was too heavy.

We finally got a decent Saturday. While Frederic was helping demolish our deck to get Trex put in, I took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's. Daddy came along later, as well as Uncle Dave, and Aunt Alice and Uncle Bill, and we had a yummy BBQ.
Luc's new favorite things are playing with Lego, playing his Star Wars Rebel game on the tablet (he watched one episode and it gave him a night terror, so we're not letting him watch it anymore until he's older), and Look & Find books. Grandma and Grandpa went to a used book fair that's held once a month in Annapolis that morning and were able to find about 8 Look & Find books for Luc. One of them: Star Wars Lego. His favorite three things all in one book. After playing Lego with Uncle Dave, and a little of the Star Wars game, they tackled the book. Uncle Dave even included the character voices while reading.

Aria has been insistent on going outside all the time now. Not that I blame her now that winter is over and she's old enough to actually do stuff outside this year. She's in love with flowers and even picks the weeds. She didn't mind having her bare feet in the grass. Now we're wondering how she'll handle the sand at the beach this year.

The deck finally got finished (thanks to the never-ending rain!) and the kids Love it! We love it because we don't have to worry about them getting splinters.

chasing each other around the table

Working in Mysterious Ways

It's funny how God gives you what you need, before you're even aware you need it. Or you think you'll figure it out one way, and God hands it to you in a completely different form.

Since Luc was a baby he was been our family's comic relief. He always tries to make people laugh and smile. He's our little goofball. I saw early on that this was his personality and saw how well it fits with Frederic and I. Frederic and I are often too serious. We get caught up in life, being perfectionists, Type A, and focusing on making everything just as it should be. Luc came along, and with his silliness, has made us loosen up, laugh a lot, smile, and not take life so seriously. 

Aria came into our lives and filled another hole that sometimes appears. When we're furious mad and upset, she wiggles (literally) her butt into your lap and plops down. She's there to listen or have you read her a book to take your mind off things. When we're on the brink of explosion, she walks over, strangles our necks with her little arms and gives the biggest hug. Then she plops on our laps and cuddles. And when you least expect it, she'll start blowing you kisses with a big "Muahhhh!"

God knew that sometimes we need to lighten up and laugh a little or sometimes we just need to stop what we're doing and have a hug session.

There's a saying that God gives you the children He does because you're the only parents in the world who can raise them. We are the only ones who will understand, care for them, and teach them the right way- the way They need it. I also think He gives them to us to help the parents be better people. They compliment our strengths and aide us to mend our faults.