To Azure

I feel like you've grown leaps and bounds recently. Maybe not so much physically, but mentally and emotionally.

You are going potty now consistently every day. You are so proud of yourself. Daddy and I are proud of you too. You make me feel pretty good about myself when you praise me for using the potty too. "Yay Mommy! You went pee in the potty!" Thanks for boosting my self-esteem when I'm having a hard day. We haven't yet ventured to using the potty outside of the home yet, so we're still a few steps away from being completely trained. You've taught us to be patient, and to have a good sense of humor. Thank you!

You are phrasing sentences together very well as of late. "I need some yummy soup in my bowl." Your pretend play is hysterical to watch. You tell your babies step by step what you are doing, always ending with an emphatic, "Okay?" at the end. And sometimes you scold them, which is sobering to watch.

We had some friends over for dinner on Sunday and you performed "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" for them. There was twirling, and crescendos, and it was beautiful. You love attention and clearly love to perform, definitely your mother's daughter.

Sometimes when just the two of us get home from running errands, the first thing you blurt out as we open the door is, "Hi Charlie!" When asked what your name is you reply, "Azure Marie Jensen," with the utmost confidence. When I ask you what Mommy's name is, you say, "Denanna." What's daddy's name? "Charles." Hopefully you can retrieve that info if you ever get lost.

It is so fun to see your exuberant delight at such small things. I found these jammies on sale for $3, complete with slippers. You love them! You are cute and feminine in them.
You are such a blessed little girl. I thought of you constantly when I was dating and trying to find a suitable daddy for you. I have always been pleased with my decision. Heavenly Father helped me to choose the very best. When you are sick or sad, Daddy can always give you a priesthood blessing of health and comfort because he has the authority to do so. And more importantly, he is worthy to do so. He loves Jesus, and you, and Mommy. He works very hard so he can support us. We are so blessed to have him. And we are blessed to have you, Azure Marie.

Pumpkin Patch

So happy she smiles so beautifully for pictures when asked. Let's hope this stage lasts a long time.

Sweating, Swimming, Socks, Shoes, Strollers, Sleeping, and Singing

I won't list my excuses for not posting regularly lately. Good things have been happening. Last Friday it was 90'F with 100% humidity. So ridiculously hot! So, Azure and I decided to be spontaneous and went swimming at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I put her floaties on and she swam the entire length of the pool with no help from me! It was so fulfilling to see her grasp the concept of swimming on her own. She cheered herself on and said, "Yay! I did it. I'm swimming!" It was cute to see her so pleased with herself. We were both all smiles :) She's a great friend to hang out with. We swam and splashed around for about an hour.

Lipstick prints on her cheeks from mommy

She's had this fetish lately where she'll put on Charles' socks, which go up to her knee, and then put his shoes on. It's funny because she insists on putting his socks on with the shoes. She won't put his shoes on without his socks.
I purchased this baby stroller for her for $2.50 at a thrift sale. Money well spent, she loves it.

Me at 25 wks

Charles is usually tired after class and naps for about half an hour on the couch. Azure enjoys putting her blanket on him and getting her entourage of dolls/babies for him. He doesn't even flinch. So, I'm extremely proud of myself for getting the following pictures:

2 weeks ago my choir performed Verdi's Requiem in a beautiful cathedral along with the orchestra and 4 amazing soloists. It was an incredible performance. Here's the only good picture I have of the cathedral.
Since finishing the performance we have started working on our Christmas concert. Singing songs about the Savior's birth gets me really excited for the Christmas season.

I am more exhausted than usual at this stage of my pregnancy but, am grateful to be able to go to the gym which boosts my energy. I've bought a lot of clothes, and even some Pampers Swaddlers on sale (my fave diapers for newborns). So, we're getting stocked up and ready for Vince's arrival. I can't wait to snuggle with him!

Self-awareness

Today is the first day that Azure has noticed her hemangioma. At 27.5 months. She was looking at herself in the mirror, pointed to it and said, "Mommy, what's that?"
"That on your labio (lip)?"
"Yeah."
"It's called a strawberry."
"Is it so yummy?"
"Yes, sweetie, it's so yummy."

Lovin' Life

I love Azure's sweet blonde ringlets, that she inherited from me :) Take a closer look at them...
Responding appropriately to "cheese".

Azure likes to line up her babies in a row and help them "go sleepy".
And here she is dancing at the Jazz Festival on Thursday.
My best friends Catherine and Evelyn came to visit this week. I wasn't the only one who adored their company. Azure completely fell in love with them- probably because they gave her way more attention than I do and complied with her every whim. She bawled when they left. We all anxiously await their return.

What's been going on...

Azure has been a real treat the last few weeks. Her verbal skills (vocab and articulation) are getting even better. Sometimes she says "yetters" instead of "letters". I made it a point to teach her to pronounce the "L" and now when she says it, she exaggerates the "L" sound and tries to make eye contact with me when she says it, as if to say, "See? I'm saying it right now."

She has also impressed me by knowing almost all of the lyrics to "I am a Child of God", all 3 verses I might add. And "I Love to See the Temple". I'm impressed.

Charles has been getting her up in the mornings before he leaves for class. She likes to jump in bed with me and roll and jump around. I tell her to "be careful with baby Vince in mommy's tummy." Apparently I tell her that a lot. On Saturday, somehow either I or she hit her own tummy. As she clutched her tummy she said, "Hurt my baby Vince."
"You hurt your tummy?"
"Yes. Hurt my tummy and baby Vince."

She continued to hold her stomach as I buckled her into the carseat. I heard her whisper, "It's okay Vince." She will be such a sweet big sister!
She looks forward to our weekly football games. Every Saturday she wears her BYU Cougar shirt and talks about "Cougar football games," and says, "Cougar time!" Once last week in our bedtime prayer she thanked Heavenly Father for "cougar football". Charles and I couldn't help but, open our eyes and laugh!

She also looks forward to going to church every Sunday. We only live about 1/2 a mile from our church building, so we frequently pass it while running other errands. She always yells out, "Church! Nursery!" when we see it. After sacrament meeting on Sundays, as if on cue with the post-lude music, she says, "Nursery!" She sometimes even cries when we come to pick her up from nursery, though she's been in there for 2 hrs. I hope she's always this excited to go to church :)

A real post coming soon...

In the meantime please enjoy the recently added quotes to our quote wall on the right.