Party, church, party, bath

We've had a busy weekend here with 2 birthday parties to attend and Mira sang in church today. Yesterday Mira was invited to a birthday party by her friend Emma. Emma's mom, Brooke, and I were best friends in high school. It's sweet that our daughters are friends! They had the party at Just Jump. Mira had a great time!

Then Mira and her church school class sang in church today. They sang three songs, and they were just adorable. They had palm fronds to use while they sang.



And today was a birthday party for Chris's grandpa Lee. He turns 80 tomorrow. Happy birthday, Lee! Amelia found a HUGE balloon there and clung onto it all afternoon. It was seriously bigger than she is!
Finally, some fun bath time pics. The girls love bath time, or "baff time" as Amelia likes to say!

For the love of a beater

I admit it: I'm a beater mom. Whenever we make cakes or cookies, I let my kids lick the beaters when we are done. My mom let me, and I let my daughters. The only bad thing about that is: there are 2 kids and only 2 beaters. So I don't get one. Bummer! Anyone know of a mixer that uses three beaters? Put that on my Christmas list!

For the love of a beater. Could you say no to these faces?

While Chris is in Vegas . . . we go swimming!

I took the girls to the community pool today while Chris was busy winning enough money to pay off our mortgage in Vegas! Mira and Amelia really seemed to enjoy the time in the water. It was a nice way to get away from the chill of the morning. One tip I like to pass on: when buying a swimsuit, I like to buy brighter colors in a pattern or color that is a little less common. It really helps when looking for your child at a swimming pool. Mira's bright green and polka dot combo was really helpful today!




Mira has taken up a keen interest in photography lately. We let her use the smaller digital one to develop her passion. Here are a couple of her self portraits!

Hello, Spring!

Mira received an early birthday present: a new Barbie bike. She's been itching to ride it and Chris put it together and filled the tires with air today, so Mira was ready to ride in style. Here are a few photos of her maiden voyage:



And of course, Amelia enjoyed her stroller ride too.


Mira's friend Kelly came over for a playdate the other day. Here are the girls having some fun together.


And Amelia played doctor with her baby:


Hope you all have a lovely spring!

Waiting for spring

So we've been patiently waiting for spring. After last week's snow and cold, we are now certain we've earned it. Mira and Amelia have been entertaining themselves with the craft box and with their animals masks from Christmas.



Today we drove to Pine Island to celebrate my nephew's 2nd birthday. Happy birthday, Nicholas! Check out www.tribeofadeline.blogspot.com for photos of the event!

Here's Amelia giving baby Annabelle the love:


Amelia is having a nice conversation with Poppa Bob:


Mira enjoying the birthday party:


And the birthday boy, Nicholas, Abby, and Mira playing:


We are really looking forward to the coming weeks. Mira has a gymnastics class that starts at the end of March, and swimming lessons. I have a cardio class and two 5ks to train for. We better hop to it!

Out of the mouths of babes

Chris and I told Mira she wouldn't be able to go to church school today. She started crying and said, "But I really want a doughnut!" (She gets a chocolate doughnut after church school each week. Glad to know that's the real reason she enjoys church school!)

And then later this morning, Mira gave us this gem:
"Mom, how about this summer we plant a bunch of eggplants? Then we won't have to buy eggs at the store anymore!"

I love kids!

No boys allowed!

Mira was doing crafts this weekend, something she loves to do. She got her paper and crayon out, colored for a very short while, then grabbed the tape and went upstairs. I found her in her room a little while later, a new sign taped to her door.

Mira told me that the new sign said "No boys allowed." You can see the drawing of the boy, with an "x" next to him. Clever!


And I'm pretty happy she's banned boys from her room. Will that last until college?

I asked Mira what she would do on the nights Daddy put her to bed. She said, "Only boyfriends are not allowed. And Dad's not my boyfriend, he's my daddy. So he can just put me to bed."

I'm glad we cleared that up!

Mira goes bowling!

Today Mira went bowling for the first time. She and Chris met Chris's brother and his family this afternoon. She was really excited about the special red and white shoes she got to wear. Her favorite part was when she bowled the ball herself. Mira bowled a 67. She loved that you get two turns in a row.

Here are a couple photos of her adventures!

Happy end of February!

Every day that passes brings us one day closer to spring and warmer weather. And I firmly believed we earned it this year! We are longing for walks after dinner, eating on the deck, visiting our park. We'll still read books and paint, like we've been doing a lot of this winter, but getting some nice fresh air will also feel good.

Feel the love!

Amelia seems to be growing in leaps and bounds! She talks so much, usually remembers to say "please" and "thank you," and loves to yell, "Look at me!" whenever she wants our attention. Amelia can count to 13 (I love it when kids just end at some random number) and sing (most of) her ABCs.

Mira has taken a big interest in the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary, so we read that a bit at night. I love talking to her and listening to her stories. There is often a tall tale in her stories, which I believe is common for her age. Talking to Mira is like talking to a little adult. Mira is also learning addition at her daycare. She'll come home, hold up some fingers and show off her newest skill.

An excerpt:
"Two plus two is four. That's math."
"Three plus three is six. That's math."
"Four plus four is eight. That's math."
"Five plus five is ten. That's math."

I love seeing how proud she is each time. And I really love the "that's math" at the end of each addition!

And I got a nice case of strep throat. Yay. Now I know what that weird rash and my recent headaches are from. So I'm on the qt for a while as I take my antibiotics. Pray the kids and Chris don't get it!

Have a great March!

The Nutcracker

Mira and I had the joy of seeing "The Nutcracker" in December. I found the photos in the camera today so thought a late post is better than none! Mira and I first visited Macy's Christmas display. This year it was "A Day in the Life of an Elf." It explained all the things elves do in a typical day, from playing to making toys. Mira really loved it. She met Mrs. Claus!


Then Mira and I walked to the State Theater for "The Nutcracker." Mira loved that as well. We'd been reading the story at home, so she was able to follow along quite well. We bought the CD so we could listen to the show's music whenever we wanted. It was a fun experience for both of us.

A picture is worth . . .

Just a few new photos of Mira and Amelia!

{nearly} normal eyes

Mira had her eye doctor appointment today after four months of patching. She's doing so well with that and doesn't complain. What a trooper! Her eyes are improving so much!

Her left eye has stayed steady at 20/25, and her right eye has gone from 20/80 to 20/50 to 20/30. The patching is definitely working! The vision in her left eye is pretty normal for a 4 year old.

She has another appointment in 3 months. We can drop her patching down to 4 times a week for 2-2 1/2 hours a day. The doctor said she might need to wear glasses until she is 8 or 9 years old for vision maintainence, but might not have to wear them after that. And maybe she won't need to wear them quite that long.

Oh, and Mira was accepted into Cedar Island Elementary school in Maple Grove for Kindergarten next year! We decided to open enroll her into a different school so that she could take the bus right from daycare every day. There are 3 kids from daycare going to Kindergarten next year, so they can all walk to the bus stop together and walk back to daycare together. Safety in numbers! {Or they will just get into more trouble together}. But they are all really good kids, so I'm glad they will be going together. It was either open enroll her, or pull her out of daycare and do the before and after care at the school. I think keeping her in a familiar routine with her friends is the better move. Plus Amelia is at the daycare and this eliminates 2 drop-offs in the morning.

A new Etsy shop to enjoy!

My friend Christy has just opened her very own Etsy shop! Christy is a very talented designer who makes wonderful cards, invitations and announcements. They are great to keep or give as gifts. If you have time, click the link on the right and visit her site. She does custom orders. I already ordered thank you notes for the girls' birthday party. Good luck with the new store, Christy!

A new niece and some awesome moves

My newest niece was born on Thursday. Welcome, Annabelle Jo! We all drove down to visit her today. She is so cute and such a peanut! Really adorable with a little head. Mira had the chance to hold her and looked so proud! Amelia kept saying "Baby Anna" all day at our house. I think she was excited to see a baby too. Anna slept the entire time we visited. It was so fun to see her. Her room is adorable. Justin and Mandy seem completely prepared for the journey ahead! Here are a few photos of the newest addition to our family:



I recently gave Mira my old iPod shuffle, loaded with some of her favorite CDs. She puts her headphones on every day and twirls and dances and sings at the top of her lungs, mostly to The Lion King. It's really fun to see her enjoying it so much!



And here is one with the girls and their Grandpa Randy. He brought cookies for Valentine's Day!

Amelia's first {self-imposed} time out

Amelia was being a little bratty last night, and I asked her if she wanted a time out. She said "yes" so I told her to go take a time out. She toddled her cute little body over to the first step and sat down with a huff. I had to get a picture of it. Don't worry, I know she's a little young for time outs, but I think this was a nice first introduction to it.


Not much going on here. Mira and I went to see "Hotel for Dogs" yesterday as a part of "Mommy and Mira" day. It was a cute movie. Mira ate an entire small popcorn by herself! I was hoping she didn't wind up with a stomachache. Then we baked muffins in the afternoon, followed by cupcakes today for the daycare party on Wednesday.

Amelia has been growing verbally quicker than ever! She speaks in full sentences quite a lot and has a very large vocabulary. She just turned 21 months, so we think her verbal skills are ahead. I'm thinking potty training will begin in about a month and we'll see how it goes. Then . . . we get rid of the pacifer. Dum dum dum! We are slowly trying to whittle it down to just nap time (and as I write this, she is on my lap with a pacifer in her mouth!) That might be a tougher process. I'm just waiting for her to be old enough so we can explain it to her and she can actually understand.

Mira really loves music lately. We have quite a few CDs in our family room and Mira goes through them and picks a favorite to play (over and over and over!). Her current favorite is the Broadway Cast of The Lion King. She listens to it and sings at the top of her lungs while twirling in a circle. She can do this for over an hour. I get tired just watching her!

A sweet pre-Valentine's Day photo of the girls today. They play so well together (usually!). Here is a happier moment between the two of them:

What do you do when . . .

What do you do when you come home and find your toilet in your bedroom?


I guess it's okay when you are having tile installed in the bathrooms! Mira got a big kick out of the toilet being in her bedroom for a day. But the toilets (the master bath one was also displaced for a day) are back in place and the bathrooms look great!



And what do you get when you try to bake an angel food cake for your bithday, but split it into what you thought were half-size cake pans, only to discover they were probably one-third size cake pans? This:


Oh well. Lesson learned. Good thing I thought that might happen, and planned ahead by putting a cookie sheet under them! At least the cake tasted good!