Almost over...

Everyone at our house is anxiously anticipating the end of this week! Some obvious reasons- finals will be over and some sleep can finally be had. But we're excited to be heading out to Oklahoma on Friday and see Christopher's brother who just came back from his mission to Spain. We're can't wait to see parents and siblings that we haven't seen since Christmas, too. Though the driving isn't the most relaxing way to spend vacation, it'll be nice to just hang out with family and not worry about being here or there.
Being that it's Wednesday, finals are half way over. Christopher has done very well considering the crazy expectations he and his fellow classmates have been held up to this month and we're so proud of him. He's still stayed relatively healthy and we can't be more grateful for that.
Kira's doing better with sleep. In fact, she needs every last minute. I made the mistake yesterday of waking her up from her nap (she typically would have been up by that time anyway) to go to a friend's house, and was greeted not by a sleepy-eyed, mini-Sleeping Beauty but a grouchy badger that let you know her displeasure at being disturbed. And she wasn't the most cheerful playmate, either. Oh well. At least she went to sleep and stayed asleep all last night without problems. I thought I'd list a few funny things that Kira's been entertaining us with. Most of this she got off of the TV (not a great reflection on my part) and after finally figuring out what she was saying/doing and what movie it was from, it makes us laugh every time.

• The other day, I can't remember what I asked but after putting the question out there, I hear this bored, matter-of-fact "Yes, mother." (more like, "Yes, mudher.") At first it caught me off guard because I don't think she really knows what "mothers" and "fathers" are. She knows "mommies" and "daddies", so this kinda sounded foreign to my ears. And I thought it was pretty cute because she'd use it right whenever I asked her a question. I had no idea where it came from, though. Then, one time, she said it like she was kind of annoyed. And that's when I figured it out. It's from the Winnie the Pooh show when Tigger and Roo are getting ready to go out bouncing in the snow and Kanga keeps pestering Roo about how warm he is and replies with a very impatient, "Yes, mother." So, there you go.
• Today after watching Disney's Alice in Wonderland (one of her favorites), I caught her staring at her reflection in the oven (a normal occurrence) while trying to bend over and practically yelling what sounded like, "YES, yur mad-esy!" She kept doing it over and over again and I couldn't figure out what she was saying. Finally it dawned on me that she was being Alice, trying to curtsy to and address the Queen of Hearts "properly". Such a crack-up.
• She's starting to actually play with her baby dolls. It's so fun to just watch from the sidelines as she feeds the baby, cleans it up after it "made a mess", tucking it into her own bed, complete with kiss, "nigh-night", and another kiss blown at the door. She's starting to play with her stuffed animals and dolls, treating them and talking to them (most of the time reprimanding/reminding them to share or not yell in the house) like people. It's fun to see her imagination develop.

These are just a few off the top of my head. I need to write these down when they happen! Anyway, I'm doing pretty well. I'm trying to pick up a workout routine again now that I'm gaining weight without much effort and feeling better. Alexis is a mover and a shaker. For a while, I'd worry sometimes because she wouldn't do much during the day when she had before and at night I'd feel her a few times before I went to bed, but that was it. Lately, though, she seems to be tap-dancing all day long! It's comforting and exciting to know she's growing and active. My projects have fallen by the wayside and I'm anxious to find time to do them. I never seem to be on top of the house and I feel like I should be before I add to the mess. The two big ones are to finish the girls' curtains and to start a better home-organization system (closets, kitchen, office...everywhere!). Hopefully, I'll get these done before I have two young ones to juggle. Besides that, we're doing well and are looking forward to a break and some warmer weather (hopefully!).