So many things happening

Sorry I'm posting two very long blogs on the same day, but I was behind on my posts.

The most exciting thing for us this week was that we went car shopping yesterday for a larger vehicle since we are expecting and our small car won't hold five. We found one that we loved and the dealer actually offered a really low price to us since we were not quite sure we wanted to buy at the price it was at. Since it is the end of the month, they dropped the price a lot! It was funny, too, because we had walked out of the building after they dropped the price the first time because we wanted to think about it. They chased after us and offered to drop it lower if we will buy this month. We were really blessed. We are going to pick up the car and sign the papers tomorrow. I am so excited! It is a Dodge Grand Caravan. It is really nice!

Violatte has learned so much lately. She is learning her shapes. Her favorite shape is the triangle. She is also learning a lot of Spanish words. It's amazing what she picks up. She has also in this stage where she wants to sleep on her floor in her room. She just decided one day that was what she wanted, so we've been letting her sleep there. We gave her a sleeping bag, so that she stays on something instead of rolling off a blanket. I don't know whether or not that was a mistake but she sure loves it and doesn't seem to have any intention of going back to her bed.

This week we found out that Violatte won't be going to the preschool that I was hopeful she could go to. I really loved it and was disappointed, but there are lots of good preschools here, so it'll be good.

The funniest thing this week with Violatte started with the missionaries. They were at our house one night and one of them did a simple magic trick where he put something in his hand and waved a pencil over it and made it disappear. The next day Violatte was so sure that she could do it, too. First, she had me hold the small toy in my hand and when she waved the pencil and the toy could disappear from my hand, too. She was so proud of herself. Then, she had me wave the pencil and she held the toy. For some reason, it wouldn't disappear. (She just couldn't figure out why not.) She thought, for sure, the problem was with me. She tried the exact same thing with her Daddy later on and it disappeared when she was waving the pencil, but not when Daddy was and she was holding the toy. It was pretty funny. She played that game all day. She would get so mad when she was waving the pencil and holding the toy and she couldn't get it to disappear. I kept hearing her in the other room saying, "Ok, try again" . . . "Ok, try again" . . . It really made me laugh.

Today we were trying to put the girls down for a nap and when we asked Violatte to climb in bed for a nap she said, "No nap, I'm happy." Usually, I tell her when she is really cranky that she is feeling yucky and sad because she is tired. She was trying so hard to get out of taking a nap.

Violatte has also had a hard time eating lately. She gets so distracted during dinner time that she doesn't eat anything and then wants to eat when we are putting her down for bed. We have been strict with her because we want her to learn that she has to eat what is for dinner at dinnertime. It has been a real struggle lately.

Annalee has learned some really cute phrases. I have taught her how to say, "I love you soooooo much!" She does it so cute. Today, she was looking for her blanket (which was in the wash) and she kept wandering around the house saying, "Blanket, where are you?" Another phrase she has said a lot is "Help me." Every time she is stuck or can't reach something I'll hear a little voice saying,"Mommy, help me!"

We put up our swimming pool this week and the girls had such a good time playing in it. She just wanted to be in there all day. The water was pretty cool in the morning but by about noon it was really warm. It's been a fun thing to do together. The weather has been around 110 degrees lately, so the water has been such a relief to all of us. There was a smoke covering this past week because of a fire nearby so it has been cooler than it would have been. Today, the smoke covering was gone and the sun seemed so much more intense. It sure can get miserable. One night it felt cool and really nice and we saw a sign that said it was 98 degrees. We've adapted pretty well.

This week we also got some plants for our yard. We got some grapes and we were also given some branches from an olive tree that we planted and are trying to get to grow. They are not working so well, but we are trying. There are so many amazing plants that we can grow here. We can grow almonds and nectarines and grapes. We can't wait to be able to get our yard full of fruits and vegetables.