Easter Weekend

This was a beautiful Easter weekend. We had such a fun time together. Here are some (okay, a lot) of pictures for you to see too.

A picture of the girls' baskets. Do you like the frosted egg cookie that Ryan made for them? Mia received four little books, some fish pool toys, a light-up spinner and a Hermie DVD while Lily received a Minnie Mouse/Daisy Duck cup, a light-up spinner, sunglasses, Princess tambourine, two little puzzles, a coloring book and a WordWorld DVD. They were both so excited to see their baskets! The little bunny decorations are the same ones my Mom used for Wayne and me growing up. I wouldn't advise eating the candy in any of them; it's the same candy eggs she used too! Saturday morning after breakfast, we got ready to color eggs. This is something I love to do. I have lots of great memories of coloring eggs each Easter at Meme and Pop's house, so it's a fun tradition to carry on with my kids. We decided Mia isn't quite ready to color them, but Lily thinks it is great fun. Here she is (still in pjs) helping to get the dyes ready.

We had 10 different colors to choose from. Here's Lily putting the first round of eggs in.
Bama showed Mia what we were doing. We didn't exactly trust Mia around all these eggs and dyes!

Lily and Mommy having fun!

Ryan said this picture pretty much sums up our girls. Lily is sitting quietly with an activity talking with me while we are barely able to catch Mia in a picture she is running by so quickly!

Concentrating on picking up the egg.

So excited to see the egg come up!

She loved the pink eggs because "pink is my favorite color."

Having fun!

Mia was having fun too!

Trying to get Mia and Bama in on the action.

The four of us having fun.

Mia and Ryan had lots of fun playing in the driveway while Lily and I were in the garage.

Showing Lily how to use the crayon to color the eggs before they go in. She wasn't a big fan of this because she couldn't see the white show up on the egg; she kept saying the crayon wasn't working. Mia always loves a good shoulder ride!

Lily showing me what the dyes did to her hands. She didn't mind being messy!

Showing off the egg I made for her.

Deciding which stickers to put on her eggs after they were all colored.

After decorating, she put some of the eggs in her basket and some into Mia's basket to share with her.

I asked Lily to help me take the eggs out of the baskets and back into the cartons so we could store them in the fridge. By herself, she matched five rows of colors together, and then took my suggestion to put pink eggs on the outside edge since there was pink on the other end. Otherwise, this was her idea. I wonder where she gets her love of all things being symmetrical...

After we colored eggs and Mia napped, we all got dressed to go to an egg hunt. First Baptist Church of Chattahoochee is the church I grew up in and Mom and Dad still attend. They put on a huge hunt for the local area. It's at the Whittier Mill Village where my Dad grew up. It's a humongous open field with a playground; they also set up lots of easy games to play, the Easter bunny is there to meet, there are animals (goats and rabbits) to pet and horses to ride before the hunt. It's a lot of fun. I also enjoy going to see lots of old friends. It was the most beautiful day to be outside too.

Mia really enjoyed the slide. She always love to go down slides!

Lily was a little shy at first, so we got a lollipop from one of the games and sat down to take everything in for a few minutes. This was the first of three lollipops which made for one sticky mess but one very happy Lily.

Here is Mia riding the small horse (they had another full size one for bigger kids). Lily refused to go near the horses, but Mia did pretty well. She started to get upset near the end of the ride, but I was proud of her for giving it a try.

I tried to convince Mia to pet the little goat which is something she loves every time we go to the petting zoo. She wasn't so sure today though.

Lily was excited to get a balloon and start the hunt!

Bama helped Mia with her basket, so she could pick up the eggs. We didn't even think about practicing with Mia beforehand, so she would know what to do with the eggs, but she figured it out pretty quickly. She really loved it too!

Hey, I think I see more over there!

Helping the girls go through their eggs when the hunt was over.

We played for a little while more after the hunt. Here's Mia enjoying the slide again.

She also had fun on the swings.

Lily and Molly enjoyed the slides too.

Bama and the girls.

Bama tried to introduce Mia to the Easter Bunny. Lily would have no part whatsoever with this. Mia wasn't too sure either.

Ryan and Mia had fun holding and petting the little bunnies. Ryan had to explain the idea of "gentle" after Mia pulled on his ears!

This was a lot of fun. As we were leaving, Lily summed it all up by saying "Mommy, that was great!"

On Sunday afternoon, we upheld our tradition of going to my cousins, Judy and Robert's, house. It's always nice to catch up with everyone. It was such a gorgeous day that we were all able to sit outside on their big porch and just relax and talk to one another. Of course, we enjoyed a fantastic meal together. Boy can my family cook!

Here's a picture of all the great-grandkids in attendance before the hunt. We were missing about 6 or 7, but this is a good summary! Madi (who was the flower girl in our wedding over 8 years ago!) was nice enough to hold Mia to try to keep her from squirming away; they are on the back row second from the left. We were so proud of Lily for sitting calmly this year too; she is also on the back row, third from the right. I guess telling her there would be no egg hunt until a picture was taken worked. Afterwards I told her I was proud of her for sitting up there for the picture. She grinned really big and said "Yeah, I sat with the big girls!" as she referred to Averie Ann and Ella who were next to her.

They let the youngest kids get a head start, so Mia was off to the races! Thankfully Granna was available to help Mia.

Checking out the rest of the action in the yard. It was a little chaotic!

Lily had fun hunting too. Two things about that. First, all day Lily had said she wanted one purple egg and ten yellow eggs which is what she had picked up at Saturday's hunt. I just kind of agreed and didn't think much about it because I knew there would be lots of colors to choose from. However, when the hunt started, she walked right past a lot of eggs, and when I pointed them out she replied "Mommy, I am looking for one purple and ten yellow eggs." So, that's what she collected. Once she was satisfied that she had found those, I asked again if she wanted to pick up other eggs too, and she agreed saying "I'll share them with Mia." After the hunt, she started opening all the eggs to see what was inside (see the picture below). She got really excited about ones with candy inside, but several eggs had coins in. She liked these too because of the rattling sound they made when she shook them. She would empty these into my hands. When they were all empty, she looked at my hand and said "Mommy, now we have enough to go to the museum!" Granted, we collected $4.49 in change, but that's not quite enough for the museum's admission charge! I thought it was funny though that she connected we had to pay to go to the museum, and she believed we now had enough. What a cutie.

Sharing her loot with me.

Mia wanted to try carrying both baskets full of eggs.

Mia loved the candy bracelet that was inside one of the eggs. Don't you love her little Pebbles-style ponytail? I do!

Both girls enjoyed playing inside the playhouse.

Lily loved pretending she had a dog inside the house with her. Don't get any ideas anytime soon kiddo.

It was a tiring day and both girls missed their afternoon naps. They were both out within a few minutes of being in the car.

There's nothing like seeing your kids sleep to remind you of what precious little angels they are.

Fun Pictures Around Home

Here are some recent pictures of us having fun around the house.

How cute are they?! I love hearing them laugh and seeing them smile!

Such a sweetheart. She loves playing with her Baby Kaylee doll. This was the first doll she ever received (a gift from Meme), and she still loves her. She also recently received her first Cabbage Patch Kid doll from Aunt Kendall. She named the doll Care-A-Lot; you know, like where the Care Bears live. She loves playing "Mommy" to all her dolls!
Lily with her "Sports Hat." What a cutie!

An angel fast asleep.

I think she is going to outgrow her crib sooner rather than later.

I love having Mia's hair pulled into this little ponytail!

One of Lily's friends at school had a birthday party, and Lily received these little sunglasses in her goody bag. Mia loves them and looks adorable in them!

Lily gives the best hugs and kisses!

We have two of the sweetest girls! They bring us so much laughter, and we love them to pieces!

Happy Birthday Bama!

Today is Bama's birthday! Lily was lying in bed with us watching cartoons this morning when Bama came upstairs. I said "Lily, do you know what today is? It's Bama's birthday!" She gasped, and I said "I just heard her come upstairs, so go tell her happy birthday." She quickly scooted off the bed, ran into the kitchen and said "Bama it's your birthday!" Not exactly saying happy birthday, but she was so excited. Liz and Lily made some blueberry muffins together that we all got to enjoy. As we were eating breakfast, Lily said "Mommy, we need to get things for Bama's party. We need plates, napkins, streamers, party hats and honky horns." I showed her where the hats and horns were, pointed out the streamers were still up from my birthday and we got happy birthday plates and napkins from the pantry for them to use at lunch. We decided that after breakfast, she and Bama would color a picture together, and Lily would give it to Bama as a present. As Ryan and I were leaving, Lily said "Let's get this party started Bama!" She loves a good birthday! We all wish Bama a very happy birthday!

Mia on the Phone

Mia loves to pretend that she on the phone. It doesn't matter if it's a real phone or a make-shift one. Yesterday, I was in her room switching out Winter clothes for Spring/Summer ones (fun times there!). Mia walked in with the tv remote to her ear "talking" away. She handed it to me, so I talked for a minute and handed it back. I asked "Who are you talking to Mia? Bama?" Mia smiled and replied "Mam-Ma!" (she hasn't quite gotten the "Ba" part down yet). Then she walked over to the basement door which leads down to Liz's area at our house and started banging on the door with one hand while holding the phone with the other and saying "Mam-Ma! Mam-Ma!" She loves her Bama!

Lily and the Toots

I was getting Lily ready for bed a few evenings ago, and she said "Mommy, I need some medicine. I feel some toots coming on, and they hurt my bum." I said I was sorry they hurt her bum and how sometimes, we just can't help that we have toots. She said "Yeah, sometimes I have them all day." I love a child's honesty!

Outdoors!

Yesterday it was a beautiful day outside. When I got home from work, the four of us went outside to play. The girls love being outside. You have to really watch Mia though; she is quick and looks for almost any chance to run towards the street or climb our front porch stairs which are way too big for her. She really enjoyed running around and kicking the little soccer ball though; she has a great laugh when she kicks it. Lily was having lots of fun throwing her baseball so we could hit or catch it. She was very specific too as she would stand on top of a little hill that we have, loudly yell "Keep your eye on the ball!" and then throw to whomever was batting. She also insisted if we were throwing to her, we do the same thing. We had lots of fun chasing after the balls together. After we had been out for a few minutes Lily said "Mommy since I'm playing sports I need to go inside and get my sports hat." Ryan took her back in and a minute later she emerged wearing Ryan's Atlanta Braves baseball cap; she looked adorable and of course I didn't have the camera handy so you can see! I am so glad it is warming up so we can play outside again!

A Shot at Bama

Lily and Bama were watching a Disney Sing-A-Long video yesterday, and Bama was singing. Lily looked at her very seriously and said "Stop singing Bama. It's making my tummy hurt." Ryan and I have both been told it "makes my ears hurt" before, but this is a new one. I think we need to work with Lily on her tactful (or not) way of saying things! Lucky for Lily, Bama has a good sense of humor!

The Art of Small Talk

Lily makes me laugh as she is learning the art of small talk and polite conversation. Yesterday, when I came home from work, she ran up to me and gave me a big hug which is my usual greeting from her. She started to run back to playing, but then she stopped, turned back to me and said "So, how was your work?" When I told her "It was good today, thank you" she said "Good. I am good too." Then she returned to her typical self and ran back to the playroom while saying "Mommy, come see what I am playing with!"

This morning as we were all getting ready for school and work, Lily came and sat near me. I asked if she had finished her breakfast (as she was holding a small piece of her waffle in her hand), and she said "No, but I want to sit here so we can talk." I said that was fine (it was just a couple of bites left). She then said "Have a good day at work honey." I had to fight back laughter, but I said "Thank you sweetie. I hope you have a great day at school" to which she replied "I will."

I'm amazed to see her acting so grown up as she picks up on our habits and phrases. It makes me laugh as this pint-size person says these things. I could eat her up she is so adorable!

Little Lily Story

A funny conversation with Lily today...

Lily and Ryan were talking this afternoon and discussing how my other name is Allison (my primary name of course is Mommy). Lily said "There are two Allisons. The one I saw yesterday (referring to our friend Allison Sepulveda who we last saw a few months ago) and Mommy. Just like I have two eyes, two ears, two hands and two feet, there are two Allisons." What will she thinks if she meets a third Allison?

The girl keeps us laughing!

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my 31st birthday. I love celebrating birthdays. Don't get me wrong, I love celebrating holidays too; however, everyone celebrates a holiday at the same time. A birthday, though, is special to each person. Sure you share it with some people, but not everyone. I just like to think that everyone has their own special day.

I love how we celebrated my birthday this year. On Friday evening, Ryan and I met my parents at The Georgian Club. It is such a treat to get time with them where the girls are not with us. I think we all had a great time. Mom, Dad and I enjoyed the lobster bisque (one of my favorite things to eat) while Ryan started with Caribbean Chicken Kabobs. For our entrees, I had a delicious flank steak with bordelaise sauce, Ryan had a panko-encrusted rack of lamb, Dad had balsamic glazed duck and Mom enjoyed a sampler platter of small portions of steak, chicken and shrimp. For dessert, Ryan and I shared their famous praline basket with ice cream and berries while Mom and Dad shared a Macadamia Nut Pie slice. It was all delicious! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I am so thankful to have such wonderful parents, and I am so grateful for all they have given and taught me. I love them very much.

A picture of me with the girls on Saturday morning.

I really wanted to spend some time with the girls and Ryan on Saturday morning because I had decided I would take the whole weekend off from work (a treat in the middle of tax season!). We decided to take the girls on a trip to Imagine It Childrens Museum. Lily loves the museum! When I told her where we were going, her eyes got really big, and she broke into a big smile; she said "Really? Yea!!!" Mia has been once before, when Grandpops and Grandma Jan visited, but she was only a few months old, so this was the first time she could go and actually play; we knew she would love it. We were very excited when we found out that Brian, Parker and Macey would join us. This is such a fun place to visit with kids!

Mia and Macey had a good time in the area designated for the under 2 set.

Mia had a fun time climbing in and out of the tubes.
Trying to learn how to play the piano. Mia loves music!

Lily had fun grocery shopping and then going to pay for them at the cash register. I handed her each item, and she would ring it up. A small item would get one small number while larger items would receive several numbers. She then put each item back into the baskets; she wouldn't let those baskets out of her sight for most of our visit there.

Ryan spent most of the museum visit with Mia and the Hendersons while Lily and I spent time together. As attached to me as Lily is, Mia is attached to Ryan!

Brian, Parker and Macey had fun together too.

Lily, Mia and I enjoyed playing with the moon sand together.

Just before we left, Lily painted which she has never done there before. They have a big white wall, and they give the kids a brush and three colors of paint. Lily painted a few lines and liked seeing how the colors mixed together.

Each time we go to the museum, something different holds Lily's attention which really fascinates me. This time she loved "driving" the big bus. I was a little surprised by this because there isn't much to it. It's a big grocery delivery truck, and it only has a wheel that turns; it's not like there are a lot of bells and whistles on it. However, she kept going back to it again and again. She would look through the window, and if someone else was sitting in the driver seat, she would say "Let's sit on the bench Mommy and wait our turn. We'll wait til he's done and then it will be our turn, okay?" I was impressed with her patience because that is not one of her usual virtues. She also had a lot of fun with the trains which have never really interested her much before. I thought it was funny at one point, there were about 10 little boys playing with the trains...and Lily. She didn't even notice that a bunch of boys were around her because she was having a great time pushing the three magnetic train cars through the tunnels and over the bridges. She amazes me.

After the museum, I wanted to go to The Varsity for lunch; what a treat! It was really crowded but we managed to find a table to hold all of us. Lily wolfed down her hot dog and some of my onion rings while Mia preferred to stick with her graham crackers. Parker and Lily were thrilled when we got ice cream after lunch. I know this food isn't good for you, but I love it; it was the perfect place to have lunch!

We got the girls home after lunch then it was time for naps. After we put the girls down, Ryan and I quickly packed and headed out.  Our Birmingham family had come over to keep the girls for us. We headed to the Marriott near Lenox Mall. We were both exhausted from all the work we have been doing during tax season; we really wanted a chance to get away so we could rest. We used Marriott points to stay; a free hotel room is always nice! We had planned on ordering room service (always my favorite meal), but really, the menu didn't sound that great. We decided to go downstairs to Shula's instead. I am something of a club sandwich connoisseur, so when I saw that on the menu, I had to try it (I was still pretty full from lunch so a big steak didn't sound appealing). It was one of the best clubs I have ever had. It was on chibatta bread, and it had this spicy mustard-mayonnaise spread that was fantastic. Really delicious. After dinner we went back upstairs and watched our Netflix rental which was a 45 minute stand up comedian named Brian Regan; it had some pretty funny moments. We both took Tylenol PM and were out by 10PM. I didn't wake up until 10:30 Sunday morning (really 9:30 if you don't consider the time change). It was awesome! I felt so rested; this was definitely needed.

We thought about getting room service breakfast, but decided it didn't look great and was overpriced, so instead, we went to Lenox Mall to California Pizza Kitchen which was yummy. We then shopped for a little bit, stopped by Target and then got home. The girls were sleeping when we got home, but I was so surprised to walk and see this...

Liz told me how Lily picked out all the decorations. They had picked a Happy Birthday balloon that matched the paper products, and then Lily saw a princess balloon. She told Liz "I'm sure Mommy will like this one too." How funny is she? We rested for a little while until Lily woke up from her nap. She came in and immediately said "Mommy, come see your surprise." I followed her into the dining room and she said "Ta Da!" She was so excited and proud of what she had done! She told me about going to The Dollar Store and picking everything out...the plates, napkins, streamers, balloons, party hats and my personal favorite: "honky horns." They are the noise makers that you usually see at New Years, but I thought it was hilarious that Lily called them "honky horns." Cracks me up. Here's a picture of Lily showing everything to me.

Lily loved the party hats and insisted we all wear them!

Mia however wasn't so sure about the hat.

Ryan and Mia were ready for the party.

They had also picked up Jim and Nick's for us to have for dinner and a cake from Publix which is always good. They make the best cakes there. Lily was so excited about the cake and couldn't wait for it! We were really glad that our friend, Kyle Kline, was driving through Atlanta this evening, so he stopped in and had dinner and dessert with us. It was a treat to catch up with him.

Here's a picture of us in hats and with honky horns before the cake.

Blowing out the candles on my cake. We borrowed Lily's 3 and Mia's 1 candles; they didn't mind.

Thank you to everyone who made this a wonderful birthday! I am so fortunate to have so many wonderful family and friends. This was a great celebration weekend!

Recent Pictures

So I have gotten a little better about taking pictures of everyday events instead of just special events. However, I have not taken the time to upload many of those pictures. I have a little extra time this evening, so here are some miscellaneous pictures taken over the last few weeks. Enjoy!

How's this for an outfit? Lily put a pink tutu over her black pants, Clifford the Big Red Dog ears on and her Chicago Cubs hat over the ears. I know I'm not the most fashionable person, but surely I am teaching her better than this???

Mia has finally learned how to climb up onto Dusty by herself. She loves that she can rock back and forth! She is becoming such a big girl!
Mia was so proud of herself for putting Lily's shoes on. It didn't bother her that they were on backwards. She loves putting on shoes! When she is getting dressed each morning, she will put up a fight to put pants on, but she holds still and holds her feet in the air so we can put socks and shoes on.

How sweet is this face? Mia and Lily love to eat muffins; really, they love almost all breakfast foods. Almost every week, a friend of Liz's in Birmingham, Mr. Ron, gives her a big blueberry muffin or two to bring over to share with the girls. They both love these muffins and look forward to it. Thank you Mr. Ron!

Taking a big bite!

Josh and Amy came over to visit last weekend. The girls were a little shy at first, but once they warmed up, they had a great time. Lily loves that Uncle Josh is a fireman. Anytime we see a fire truck or fireman in a book, she points out that is what Uncle Josh does. They also love that Josh is a great guitar player; they had so much dancing when he would play songs for them.

Mia rarely holds still these days. Ryan would have let her lay against him and hug him for hours!

Mia is quite proud of herself for putting on Lily's dress-up princess shoes. They have little heels on them, so they are more difficult to walk in, but she likes to try.

Lily and Bama have a great time making craft projects together. Lily loved her princess tiara (or "tee-tara" as Lily still calls it). They make all sorts of cool things with paper, stickers, pipe cleaners, crayons, etc. Liz's experience as a kindergarten teacher is one of the many great points for her keeping the girls. She knows how to actually teach them things, and she does an awesome job at it!

Lily knows she isn't supposed to get out of bed at night, and most nights, she stays there once we put her down. One night though, everything was quiet, so I thought she was still in bed. I happen to walk by her hallway, and the picture below shows what I saw. I couldn't help taking a picture before putting her back to bed.