We miss you NANAY

Ok... tears for real this time Lynn's family members. I came across this little gem in one of my buried folders on my hard drive. I'm so glad I was able to catch this meeting and I hope you all enjoy it, too. Plus... OMG!!! Look how small Bella was :)

Life Lessons From My 4 Year Old

Hey everyone - it's Charlene, aka 'Mama to the Moncrief Girls.' Today was a really tough day. The only thing harder than being a mother is being a working mother, and working I mean, working the work force. As if you're not already feeling like you don't have enough hands to cook meals, do laundry, kiss boo boos, break up fights, teach your girls the difference between right and wrong, and most importantly, make sure they always know they're loved no matter what. Add to that having to deal with all the craziness that a work environment can add, and it can get really overwhelming. REALLY overwhelming. Zac mentioned that I'm a checker, and that's an awesome job. But it's also an awesome responsibility and me being the uber-perfectionist that I can be, it's hard to do everything perfect all the time. (Although I certainly do try.)

Anyway, after having one of the hardest days in my life at work (trust me, it was), you know what finally, FINALLY made it better? When Bella came up to me, handed me an Ariel sticker and said, 'Here mama, this one is for love.' Kids are intuitive; they know when something is amiss. Her 4 year old little brain just knew that I needed a pick me up, someone to tell ME that I'm loved too, no matter what. And that's when it hit me... it's all about this. Whatever b.s. is happening in the world, in that moment, Bella, Vivi and Zac were all that mattered. And really, that's what living is all about. Thank God Bella was there to teach it to me.

Can't believe it

Wow - I feel pretty lucky right now. My lovely wife had to work tonight (checking for a Disney channel show "The Replacements") so I get the fun task of putting Bella to sleep. The great part about this chore is it allowed me time to put this together.We are currently in the final stages of getting the girls to sleep through the night, in their own beds. Vivi has been a trooper since the begining, but we are still have some tough transitions with Bella. So, while Vivi is at a place where we can lay her down and pretty much say "night-night" and leave the room... Bella still needs one of us to sit here and be in the room until she falls asleep. Once we have Vivi sleeping straight through the night, we can then remove her from the room and help Bella transition into putting herself to sleep, AND staying in her bed the whole night. She's pretty darn ready, it's just that at this moment, Vivi wakes up 2-3 times a night crying, thus waking Bella. Then we have 2 babies screaming and crying in the same room... and the nightmare begins there. I have a feeling that within the next month or so, it will all be worked out. Our game plan looks pretty good, and honestly, it's the only choice we have. I'm sure I'll fill in more about it later.

Bella-
She has been pretty amazing this week. It seems like every time I turn around, she is becoming more and more aware of her position in this family as Vivi's bigger sister, or Ate (pronounced "Ot-tay"- Filipino family tradition title given to the oldest daughter). She realized that she holds a special place in Vivi's life and that she has this little shadow that thinks the world of Bella. I've found her on multiple occasions sharing a hug, a kiss, telling her "Good Job Vieves.. Good Job" and just being a joy to watch as the two of them interact. Of course, Bella still needs to learn to give some space and is frequently reminded when Vivi just stands up and WHACKS her one. All I know from the "so far" is that Bella loves her little sister, and it puts a little smirk on my face everyday.

Vivi-
She's a trip... she's totally going through this crazy phase where all day long it's "Papa Terry...Papa Terry" She wants to be in my arms at all moments of every day. Cooking- "Papa Terry", making the bed- "Papa Terry", going to the bathroom- "Papa Terry", putting on shoes- "Papa Terry", making out with my wife- "Papa Terry"... no matter what I'm trying to do "Papa Terry! PAPA TERRY!" It can be very hard at times, but I unfortunately know that this will only last for so long so I'd better enjoy it while I can. The other thing she's doing right now that just makes us laugh EVERY time she does it is say "yeah." It's her answer to just about everything, and approximately a month ago she was saying it in Armenian. Now Ani, don't correct me too much here, but.... Everytime we'd ask Vivi "Do you want ?" she's always answer with "Ha. :) " It was done with smiles and also eyes flowing with tears, frustrated by our inability to understand something she wanted, and when we would finally guess the right thing, we'd get this answer with complete broken spirit "ha...". Well, I'm sure you'll eventually find it in some video somewhere on here.. but she's still pretty damn cute with her "yeah"s. Hope it last for quite a bit longer:) "Vivi, you want some juice????"

Ok- Here's a short clip from Christmas Eve 2007. There's plenty of footage from this night, and I hope to attach more to this post later, but enjoy this one for now. This is one of the few songs Vivi kinda knows all the way through. Of course, Bella's rendition is a little creative, but SO DAMN CLOSE:) Enjoy

Can you blame me?

Ok... I just couldn't resist! I loaded these pics in from my camera today and haven't stopped smiling after seeing these pics. ENJOY!

Bella's Christmas Pageant Contribution

I had to stay up a little later tonight just so I could add this little clip, too. This was so much fun for all of us to watch Bella practice for many weeks prior - We were so proud of her:) 

I hope to post another video of the girls singing- that one has another "solo" version of this poem.

Wish Me Luck

Oh  boy- I've done it now. Yep, I've decided to start a blog featuring my lovely daughters and our family. I'm kinda trying to treat this as "My Family Photo Album/Scrapbook/Journal/Etc.". We'll see how it goes.

Here's a link of my youngest at her first Christmas Pageant. Oh yeah.. and wish me luck with this blog... it could be a really cool thing for them if I can keep it up:)