Sunnier Days and Ellie turns 3!!

My sweet little Ellie is a big 3 year old! She is such a funny, happy little girl. She loves her big sister and singing and babies. She is friendly and affectionate and just makes me smile all the time. Grandmas came to visit over the weekend and we had a nice little birthday party complete with awesome bubbles :)   Happy Birthday pictures and sunny day adventure pictures below:

Wake me up when it's Spring

Ugh, this time of year can be so gray and bleak. Right now the wind is howling and it is 38 degrees and pouring. I think the girls (and I) are going pretty stir crazy. Not to mention all of this political nonsense that has got us all feeling a little down. I think I have the sequestration blues. 

But the girls have been doing some cute projects in school and I have been pleasantly busy with various PTA activities.  Ellie graduated to her big girl bed perfectly and had her first real haircut. And there are a few signs of Spring in my little yard which make me feel hopeful. 

 Crazy Hat/Cat in the Hat Days :)

 New haircut, grumpy face

 New haircut, happy face

 

 

 Oh Flowers, how I love your bright, happy colors and your eternal optimism. I can't wait until April when we can spend more time together.

V Day 2013

Valentine's Day is a bazillion times more fun when you have small kids. Since February is such a dreary month otherwise, we really get into making Valentine's fun around here. We do crafts, heart-shaped foods, and decorations all over the house. It makes the month happier :)

Next up, St. Patrick's Day and my little Elliebean turns 3!! She gets her big girl bed tomorrow and we are making progress with potty training. I think she'll finally get a haircut soon too. I'm dragging my feet a little bit with all of this because I'm sappy and sort of sad to see the babyness leave altogether.

 Making homemade valentines :)

 Mia is becoming such a great reader!! I just love it!

 Of course Ellie must do everything her sister does :)

January Gems

A few gems from Mia lately:

1) While watching the Inauguration, Mia says "One day I want to be a president"... (we thought she was ending her sentence here and were ready to congratulate her on her high aspirations)..."'s wife".

Oh, ok. Well that's great too. I guess. Sigh. Remind myself that she is still only 5 and I think she was enamoured with the red dress :) 

2) The Martin Luther King "I have a Dream" drawing that she brought home from school said "I have a dream that one day I will have lots of children so that I can be in charge and make all the rules". 

Gotta love it!  A few January photos below:

 Silly girl :)

 Poor Ellie has a black eye. You should see the other toddler. Kidding. She fell on a brick walkway while her hands were in her pocket :( It looks much better now.

 We got 1 1/2 inches of snow this week. We'll take it :)

 Annual ice-skating trip with friends :)

20thirteen

My only real resolution this year is More Yoga.  Everytime I do it, or at least some quiet stretching, I feel so much better in every way.  I am actively looking for a class that fits my schedule or at least a really good DVD.

And these two excerpts are speaking to me this early January and I hope to remember them throughout the year:

From the book Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin...

I remind myself, "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." (Cribbed from Voltaire). A twenty-minute walk that I do is better than the four-mile run that I don't do. The imperfect book that gets published is better then the perfect book that never leaves my computer. The dinner party of take-out Chinese food is better than the elegant dinner that I never host.
 

And this quote from Winnie the Pooh is making me smile: "What day is it?" asked Pooh. "It's today," squeaked Piglet. "My favorite day,"  said Pooh.


Unrelated pictures from our great visit with Ben, Morgan, Kaylee and Grandma below. Happy New Year and may you have peace, quiet, love and joy.

 

Tons of Holiday Pictures