Cooling Off

Now that summer is just around the corner, it's starting to warm up! Ryan had the great idea of bringing out the pool we bought a few years ago for the girls. We didn't use it at all last summer, so this was a welcome surprise for them. When Lily came out of her room from nap time, she said "I saw a pool in our front yard!" She waited for a little bit, but then we decided to let her go on and jump in while Mia slept. She couldn't wait!

A picture of the pool. It has a rainbow going across it that has a little sprinkler system in it. The sprinkler was odd to them for a bit, but after a few minutes, both girls loved it. Lily's favorite part was going down the slide. However, she liked to add her own little twist each time. Her favorite trick was jumping to it to slide down very quickly; here she is catching some air.
Splish splash!

Lily showing me how to "swim." A little more work is needed, but she's getting there!

She loves making a splash!

Such a happy girl!

After about 30 minutes, I had to wake Mia up (she'd been asleep for 2 hours) because we didn't want her to miss out on all the fun. She was slightly hesitant at first (probably because I had just woken her up), but then she was ready to have fun too.

Mia liked the ball slide a lot.

Lily loved the slide!

Big splashes!

Lily teaching Mia how to dive down the slide.

Giving it a try!

Making her own splashes!

I love watching the girls have fun together!

Having a blast!

Lily also loved jumping from one pool to the other.

Fun times!

The girls had such a fun time today, and they are already asking to get it out again. Playing so hard wore them out too! They ate an amazingly good dinner which thrilled me. I made an almond crusted tilapia; Mia asked for seconds, and Lily asked for seconds and thirds of it! With good attitudes and great appetites, I have a feeling we will see a lot of this pool this summer!

Rainbow Dinner

Recently I came across a website called Cookie Cutter Lunches that I am fascinated by. The lady who does this website is the type of mom I admire. She makes cool lunches for her kids everyday. Now, as much as I wish that could be me, I know it's not. But, I am going to try a few ideas. One of the neat things she does too is serve her kids lunches in muffin tins. I thought my girls would love this, and I was right! The blog lady has a cool theme each day, but I don't have all the neat tools she does, so I just took my best shot on our first go-round.

I made a "rainbow dinner." Each girl had a colorful cup for her milk, turkey (not really a rainbow color but different than all the others and added a bit of protein), carrots with ranch dip (in colorful plastic shot glasses; they love these!), peaches, ants on a log and red M&Ms. Talk about a major hit! They absolutely loved it! The best part for me though was the ants on a log. Both girls hated the celery (loved the cream cheese and raisins), but they both tried them without my asking - I couldn't believe it!!! I didn't have to prod, bribe or even ask...they just tried them because they were in the muffin tin!

I have used the muffin tin a couple of times since this first go-round, and I have met success each time. It's amazing what a simple little change to the ordinary can make for them!

Last Day of Gymnastics

Last Thursday was Lily's last day of gymnastics at The Little Gym. She has improved so much over this past semester. It has really been fun to watch her confidence and skills take off! Here are a few pictures from her recital.

Mia was fascinated watching all the kids. She wants to partake so badly!

They always have fun with noddles.
We noticed they intentionally called Lily last to do each of her routines. During her routines, she did moves that none of the other kids had attempted. On the bars, they helped her do a handstand (see picture below), and she also did a flip on the high bar. She told me later this was her favorite part.

On the balance beam, she did a somersault; again, no one else attempted it. I am so proud of her new found courageousness!

Mia couldn't hold out any longer, so she joined Lily on the floor.

Here's Mia giving it a go on the beam.

Talk about fearless! Look at the face of pure joy as she jumps!

Each child was given a medal. Lily was very proud of her medal. When we got home afterwards, Lily voluntarily said "Since I have a new medal, I am going to give Mia my old medal so she will have one too." Love it when she is so sweet!

Lily's class after they all received medals.

What a fun Spring it has been at The Little Gym!

Thank You Grandma Jan!

A big thank you to Grandma Jan for the girls' new matching polo dresses. They both loved the ruffles around the bottom because they twirl out when they spin around. They love when they get to match one another, and they both loved these dresses. Thank you Grandma Jan!

Just Precious

Sometimes I just look at my girls and my heart about bursts with how precious they are. Don't get me wrong, they have their moments! Most of the time though, they are amazingly awesome kids. Two quick stories of my heart bursting though:

1. About 12:30 Sunday morning, I heard Mia coughing, and I thought "that doesn't sound right." I looked at the monitor, and a second later she started throwing up. I ran in there, and sure enough, she had gotten sick all over herself and her bed. I got her undressed and cleaned up while Ryan took care of getting her bed cleaned up. When I laid her down on the changing table to put new pajamas on, she looked up at me and said "I sorry Mommy." I immediately said "Oh sweetheart, it's okay. You don't have anything to be sorry about." She replied "Okay." When the same scenario repeated itself about 30 minutes later, I got her changed again and she said "Mommy, go to rocking chair?" She just wanted to be held and rocked, so of course we did for about 5 minutes until she said "Go back to bed Mommy." Melt my heart!

2. On Tuesday, I was able to stay home from work to hang out with the girls. We went to the zoo because it was a beautiful day, and we had a great time. I didn't take any pictures while we were there since we go pretty often, but on the way home, I couldn't resist snapping a camera phone shot (see below) of Mia who had fallen asleep (we were stopped at a red light if you're wondering). What I love about this picture is the green lollipop that is stuck to her sweater. I had given each of the girls one of these lollipops as a treat on the ride home thinking that would help keep them awake and not mess up nap time...the best laid plans, right? For the record, it didn't mess up Mia's nap time. She was so exhausted from a few nights of not sleeping well that in addition to this 20 minute car nap, she slept for almost 3 hours at home.

Sweet Gifts

I completely forgot to put these pictures in the last post. The girls (with a little help from Bama) made the cutest bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day. Lily also picked a bright pink bird to sit on the flower pot; she was very excited about this bird and points it out to me multiple times a day. It is so adorable! On Sunday, they gave me a fabulous card (picked with a little help from Daddy) that has Tinkerbell on it and it sings. The girls love this card, and they are constantly opening it over and over to hear the song and sing along.

Showing off their gifts.

How sweet!

Mother's Day

What a lovely Mother's Day weekend! On Friday evening, we had the team that recently returned from Alaska and their families over to catch up and exchange pictures. There were 19 of us in all, and it was a great time. Ryan grilled huge, delicious burgers while everyone else chipped in with all the sides and drinks. It was a beautiful evening, so we were able to eat outside, the kids played on the playground a lot and we were able to sit back and enjoy one another. Somehow, it ended up with the men moving our office and dining room furniture out to make room for some new things coming. Thanks for your help guys!

On Saturday, Ryan had an all-day seminar up at the church, so I got to spend the day playing with the girls (and doing a ridiculous number of loads of laundry). We played in the morning and then met Liz at Steak and Shake for lunch. After lunch we headed to a playground we rarely visit, so the girls had a blast exploring the "new" place; we climbed a tree (okay, they only climbed to about my waist-level but they felt on top of the world!) and ran all around the playground. They were worn out by the time we got home for nap time; they slept great! This allowed me to read, watch tv, rest and enjoy the quiet. Ryan got home soon after nap time ended, and we all headed over to my mom and dad's house. I'm so glad I was able to spend some of Mother's Day with my mom. I love her to pieces, and I'm so thankful to have her for my mom! Wayne's family was there, so the kids all had a blast playing together. We watched the Kentucky Derby which was really neat, and then enjoyed a delicious dinner that Dad grilled. Another great evening!

Sunday was a third wonderful day. We had nursery duty at early church so we were in a hurry to make it on time (but we did!). After church, we headed home. I hate going to crowded restaurants, and they are always packed on Mother's Day, so we decided to make a simple picnic lunch at home. It was perfect. We ate on our deck and simply enjoyed being together. After lunch, Ryan headed to the office to get some work finished up, so the girls and I played together for a bit before their naps. They didn't rest very much, so I only had about an hour of peace and quiet today, but that was alright. We enjoyed playing together once they got up. Ryan came home a little bit later, and we headed to one of our favorite restaurants: Figo Pasta. It was delicious as always, and we enjoyed sitting outside on the patio. We are all loving this amazing weather!

This was a wonderful and simple weekend. We didn't even think to get any pictures which I can't believe. Oh well! We are so grateful for our moms; we love them dearly and appreciate all they have taught us. I am also so blessed to have my two girls. I love being their mom!

Escape Artist

Liz had the great idea of documenting our little escape artist at work so after nap time I asked Mia to show me how she climbs out of her crib.

Ta Da!

Silly Girls

Our girls make us laugh for a lot of reasons...

Mia LOVES bubbles! We bought these wands that make huge bubbles at Wal-Mart the other day. She had so much fun spinning around trying to get the bubbles as big as possible. Of course, she also had a lot of fun pouring the bubble soap out and stomping in it to see how many bubbles her feet could stir up!

Lily loves bubbles too. She has the most fun trying to catch the bubbles after she blows them.
Mia is the messiest eater I have ever seen!

This is some of the funniest laundry I need to do.

Mia couldn't get enough of Lily's swim goggles.

I love this little one's laugh!

The Wedding

Today was the wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton. I love weddings in general, but throw in the British royal family (you know I love just about anything British), and I couldn't wait. Where did I get this love? From my mom; I think she was even more excited than me! So, I spent the night at mom and dad's house last night, so we could watch the festivities together this morning. We couldn't bring ourselves to get up at 4:30 when everything started, but we did get up at 5:30 to watch. Mom made breakfast pizzas and fruit slush for us to enjoy (two of my favorites by the way); we started out laying in bed to watch but then moved down to the den to eat and watch the ceremony. It was absolutely beautiful! I was only 2 when Charles and Diana wed, so I don't remember that wedding, but I will certainly remember this event, and I know I will always remember watching it with my mom. What a fun morning!

Easter Eggs

I love dying Easter eggs. I was probably more excited than the girls when we decided to do this last week. I have such fond memories of doing this with Meme each year, and I hope my girls will have those same great memories from this. Since Easter fell after the tax deadline this year (woo-who!), I was actually able to enjoy these type of activities even more! Our office was closed on Thursday and Friday to allow all of us a time to rest and recharge after a hectic tax season. On Thursday morning, we decided to color eggs. I made 18 hard boiled eggs for each girl. Liz was smart to think to put down a tarp on the deck, and the girls sat at their picnic table for the fun part.

Each girl wanted to help with the set up. They put their little dyes in each of the cups and then helped me measure out the vinegar and the water. They thought it was pretty cool how the water bubbled up as the dye melted into the water.

Lily knew to gently put the eggs into the colors so they wouldn't splash everywhere.

We had to remind Mia multiple times to be gentle with dropping the eggs in! She got the hang of it though and did pretty well. Actually, we thought she wouldn't sit there for more than an egg or two, but she loved it. She liked dropping the eggs in and then watching over them. She tried hard to pull the eggs out, but it's a little tricky so I helped her with that part; Lily was able to get hers out by herself. Each time I pulled one out for Mia she would go "Ohhhhhh."
She liked the blue ones a lot. After preparing all 18 eggs, Mia decided she wasn't ready to quit yet, so she started double-dipping the eggs. Why not?

Having a great time!

So much fun!

After all the eggs were colored (and re-colored in many cases), it was time to dry them off and decorate them. The kit we bought came with lots of stickers which Mia really enjoyed. Lily though loved the kit my mom gave them. It had lots of jewel-looking stickers in there that made some really pretty designs. Lily really loved them. Here she is showing off one of her Bedazzled Eggs.

Helping Mia out with the stickers.

Lily was concentrating really hard on her eggs. She was very content to sit there at the table for about an hour decorating. She wanted each egg to be done "just so." I wonder where she gets that from...

After coloring her eggs, Mia did a few stickers, but then she was ready to get up and have some other kind of fun.

She showed off her eggs to Bama. Isn't this a sweet picture?

This picture captures our girls' personalities pretty well. Lily is in the foreground being very meticulous to get her stickers on the eggs in just the right way while behind her Mia spins in circles to make bubbles. They are as different as can be from each other, but we can't imagine them being any other way. These are the two most amazing girls, and we are so proud to be their mommy and daddy!

Mia had a good time with the Mickey Mouse shaped bubble makers.

Seriously, Lily was having a great time decorating these eggs. I am going to have look for these type of kits again in the future. She is such a artsy-crafty little girl!

Once all the girls were decorated properly, we attempted to get a picture of them both with their basket full of eggs. Trying to get a picture of both of them looking at and smiling towards the camera is like trying to herd wild cats!