Kids Say the Funniest Things...

I think this video speaks for itself...

Wrangling the Little People

OK, so the title sounds so much worse than this really is. We finally completed our "keep the kids in the backyard and away from the busy street" fence. Hooray!! What a fortuitous week for this to be completed, since Mia has not once, but TWICE, run down our street in an attempt to avoid going home from a play date.



I cannot claim any credit for the fence other than keeping Patrick hydrated while he dug through the 2 feet of clay for each post hole, poured concrete, and erected the fence pieces. It was treacherous evidently, and he vows never to dig another post hole again. The rest of the yard will have to be completed by someone else. (Well, the hysterical, er, historical society might request we use professionals anyway.)



This weekend we also attended a birthday party for Mia's friend Lottie, made some magical pink star cookies that Mia and Laney got for their birthdays from Cousin Jacque, and I got a whole day off to shop and spend some time by myself.



Cookie Baking and Confetti Making...




Fun With Playdoh at the Party


Oh! Laney said "Duck". We're not sure if it's her first word or not, because we think she can say "Kitty", "Dada", and "Mama", we're just not sure if she really understands what she's saying. Either way, we got it on video - have a look!

3 Going On 23...

OK, Julie's right. It's more like 13.
















BUT, that's our Mia. She's into dressing up, ANYTHING sparkly, sunglasses, skirty-skirts, shoes, and now, makeup.

















This is my new long-lasting lipstick that stays on for 16 hours. She got it out of the medicine cabinet just minutes before we were supposed to be heading out to dinner for a pre-preschool function. Yippee. Luckily, moisturizer was able to get most of it off so her first impression given wouldn't have been that of a clown.

Mia is a rough and tumble, loud, energetic, exuberant, happy child who completely melts down when things don't go her way. She is very matter-of-fact (never wishy-washy), and LOVES LOVES LOVES water. She also loves her daddy, her sister, kitties, horses, and her mommy (probably in that order.)



AND, she just grew. Mia seems to have major growth spurts right smack dab in the middle of a season. One week her clothes fit just fine and the next they are ALL too tight. (It's either that or I'm just not paying close enough attention.) Either way, today we went to get her a new summer wardrobe. I bought a few things too big that will hopefully last into those warmer fall days as well. AND, her pink tennies had to be replaced not with a larger size, but the same size, wider shoe. Weird. Anyway, the new ones fit much better. :)

To Be, or not To Be...that is the Kitchen

Our kitchen is what I like to call an "afterthought". It is roughly 5 feet by 13 feet and also serves as a hallway and a mudroom of sorts. The ceiling is cracked and falling plaster is imminent, and the door is broken in many places. Somehow, however, we manage to create 3 meals a day there, as well as Christmas dinner last year and regular special occasion dinners for birthdays.





Our design ideas seem to get modified on a monthly basis. For the last 2 months we had decided we were going to push one wall back 2 feet and have real hallway width between both sides of the kitchen. This also preserves the bedroom next to the kitchen which we would use as an office. Currently we use this room as the playroom and to house additional kitchen items such as the coffeemaker, microwave, linens, utensils, etc.






BUT, a few nights ago PV and I were discussing what the difference in cost and value would be if we decided to forgo the office and use the whole space as a kitchen. We are still toying with this idea as we finalize our appliance choices.

This, as well as moving our upstairs bathroom, needs to be completed before the family arrives for Christmas, so we'd better get cracking.

We'd love to hear votes and/or opinions on our choices, so feel free to comment and brainstorm.

Fun Fourth of July Pictures

Ok, we have some really cute pictures of the girls from the 4th of July parade and later in the day. We were part of a privileged set of neighbors who got to enjoy some of the best seats at our friends' home along the parade route, and Mia got to dance the day away with her friend Lottie. Enjoy the photos!

Laney is One!!

Laney celebrated her actual birthday by attending the Takoma Park 4th of July parade and staying up way too late to watch fireworks.



We didn't actually go to the middle school to see them. We thought it would be too late, there was a large chance of rain, and a tornado warning, so we stayed inside and watched the National Fireworks on tv. We were lucky though, and were able to peek out our window to see the local fireworks just above the trees. Laney was mesmerized and kept hitting the window everytime she saw one. It was really cute.









Laney has come a long way in a year. She feeds herself, chatters nonstop (though we don't understand what she's saying), dances whenever music is on, is learning to sign a few words ("milk", "more"), and LOVES baths, electrical cords (!!), ripping paper, dolls, and of course Mia. She hates putting shirts with sleeves on, she hates when Mia is in timeout, and she really dislikes it when I take things out of her mouth that she finds on the floor or has ripped from a magazine.
Next on her list is walking, which could be any day now.









Happy Birthday Laney Bun!!

Princess Party!!

This year, we had a joint princess birthday party for Mia and Elena. Both girls had a great time, and Marme and Grandaddy got to come up to join in the festivities.



I made a castle cake I copied from the Coolest Kid Birthday Parties website and the kids played with bubbles, playdoh, hobby horses I picked up from the thrift store, and we decorated foam tiaras and princess hats with foam stickers. We also tried a version of the duck pond game, but I realized rather quickly that 3 and 1 year olds don't really know all the numbers and so everyone who got any number on their duck won a prize (which was everyone).

























We gave the girls a swingset as their gift this year, and Patrick and Grandaddy picked it up and put it together in the back yard. It's perfect.





Planning this, I realized that I really like to plan and throw parties! Who knew?