Yankee Doodle

Mia's preschool programs keep getting better and better :) Here is a cute version of Yankee Doodle.
Oh, and what exactly does "and with the girls be handy" mean anyway?? :)

Sleepyheads

I want to ride my bicycle

We finally got new bikes and the weather was decent enough to try them out over the weekend! Mia did such a good job keeping up and Ellie was adorable in her huge bike helmet. I'm looking forward to lots of riding this spring!

In other news, Ellie got her first ear-infection on Valentine's Day :( She seems to like to get sick on holidays. Sean and I even had reservations at a new restaurant that we had to cancel. But we hope to try again soon!

And, I took a great class last night called Parent Photography 101: All I want are great photos of my kids. I got lots of good tips although I realize that it is just a LOT of work--even for professionals! But I actually did finally grasp the concept of lighting! Light should always be on the face of the person you are photographing. So I am going to make myself practice some more, and use my new techniques for getting the girls to cooperate :) Wish me luck!

My first time getting the lighting right in the front foyer! And don't you just love Ellie's amazingly awful baby hair :)

Lollipops for Breakfast

Conversation at our house this morning:

Mia: Mommy, Daddy said I can have a lollipop if I ate all of my cereal. Look, I ate it all, can I have my lollipop?

Mommy: Hmmm, I don't think that is what Daddy said....

Mia: Yes he did, yes! I can, I can!

Mommy:  Well, let's just call Daddy and double check...

Mia:  Ummm... I know he won't mind if I have it Mommy, really!

Ha!

New and Cute Stuff

Because I kind of treat this blog as a "baby book" for my girls, and I intend to print it out one day, I like to use it as a place to brag about their latest and greatest achievements, or just some cute stuff they did recently.

Here goes: :)

Mia:  My girl is getting BIG! I think she had a major growth spurt recently. Her legs look so long and skinny and she just seems so grown up with that hair. She writes her name and loves to try to read (she has memorized her favorite books and will recite them along with us when we read to her). She has so many favorites but some are: Dr. Seuss-The Lorax, Horton, Fox in Socks, (oh the endless times we've read Fox in Socks...), Berenstein Bears Go to School, and Hug and Make Up, and Little Critter books. After we read her a book at bedtime, she loves to tell us her own stories. Usually they involve a princess who likes to dance (she is interested in Cinderella lately), but sometimes it is a crazy, meandering story about elephants who ice-skate and miss their friends and have fairy godmothers. It is very adorable. One day I will write one down word-for-word. She loves her little sister although can be a little too rough on occasion. She just wants to hug her a little too hard :) We plan on doing swim lessons this spring in anticipation of a fun summer at the pool!

Ellie: This baby is on a roll! She does something new daily! She is trying so hard to talk and I know she makes perfect sense to herself. Her first words have been Mama, Dada and Ball. I think Ball is the only one she actually gets right all the time. She will scream Dada at the cat and other animals she sees, and she says Mama anytime she is upset. She loves to hand you things and then take them back. She loves to drop her sippy cup off of her high-chair tray. She will stand by herself for a few seconds before falling on her bum. She is the most ticklish kid I've ever known and has the most delightful laugh I've ever heard. She loves to feed herself and is a great but extremely messy eater. Mia says she blows her kisses, but I haven't witnessed that yet :)

Now if I could just get a cute photo of the two of them together!!

 I love this picture.

I tried...

Bundled up in the backpack before brunch.

I just loved this. Mia said she was going to draw an owl and this is what she did. How cute!