Tidbits for Ghana.

Mel and Sandy,

Here are some of my latest notes of what the girls have been doing. I feel like it has been forever since we have seen you and we all miss you around here.

Lily has been saying the funniest things.

When she does something naughty, afterward she'll say apologetically "I forgive you" with a sympathetic pink pout on her face.

Chloe has too.

She said this to me while pretending Lily was a newborn baby..."You keep all of your babies in the waiting room, Mom. They are just waiting and waiting for you to come and get them." Profound and funny.

Both of the girls have been playing "Ballet" non-stop. They put on shows for us each day and ask for Handel's music for the Royal Fireworks. They love it.

They have not wanted to help me in the kitchen as much lately (it hasn't stopped me from cooking, in fact I have been more efficient). I love having helpers but, they go through their fazes. They instead opt for making "their own ______" with ingredients they dig out of the fridge and put together themselves. It is never edible but, very creative.

They both tell me they want to be teenagers and often say things like "When I was a teenager I...."

I asked Chloe one day about the allure teenagers have and she said, "They can drive themselves without a mommy driving."

Lily hates having her baby toenails clipped. When I tell her it is time to trim her nails she bends down and holds her baby toes and says "Not the baby ones...Okay Mama?!". I have the same hatred of my baby toes being clipped (after years of ballet) so I give her plenty of reassurance, plus those little guys never grow...why is that?

The girls love watching a 20 minute DVD from (the 80's) and our local library called "Sky Dancer". They sing, "I can dance, I can fly...Sky Dancer...You can make it happen if you really try...YOU CAN FLY!" Ben and I have been especially enjoying this.

Chloe has been telling Lily "If you believe in yourself you can do anything..." and other motivational poster phrases at strange moments of the day...it is so sweet and funny.

Chloe and Lily have been asking for a Girl baby. They definitely don't want a Boy baby. Not that it is even in the plans for a couple years. They have made their stance known and frequently. Ben and I like the idea of the three Sabey sisters. It has a nice ring.

Chloe and Lily both love going for bike rides with Ben.

They are excellent cleaners.

Chloe loves to follow the rules and Lily loves to break them.

Lily likes to play by herself and will say, "I don't want anyone to play with me...I want to play by myself." She goes to great lengths to achieve this goal.

Chloe likes to play with other kids. She gets along best with boys. She likes to be near the center of the commotion that five year old's make. She has a full play date schedule because of it.

Chloe loves pretend and Lily still loves make-up.

Lily wants salad for her birthday dinner "with chicken"...I am wondering if this means Chinese Chicken Salad or Grilled Chicken Cesar Salad? Translating a three year old is difficult. They are NOT detail oriented.

Lily has also requested a "ballerina cake", make-up, and candy.

Lily loves collecting things for our nature table. Her preschool teacher always has a cup full of "treasures" for me that Lily has collected each morning. When she finds something outside she says "Mama, will you put this on our nature table" or "this is for the nature table...keep it safe in your pocket".

Chloe loves to wrap presents she invents and make cards for her friends. She is very much into creating artful things and still spends a lot of time with her art supplies. There is always a constant floor of scraps of paper and other odds and ends she has been using for me to clean up at the end of the night.

I'll think of more later. We miss you both tremendously. Right about now it feels like we are due for a visit. Hugs and kisses to the far reaches of Africa.

Love,
Isa