Rub-a-Dub-Dub...

Two girls in a tub!

And Elizabeth could not be happier about having a little company in the bath! She excitedly exclaims, "My sister is getting BIGGER!" It's as if she has been waiting her whole life for the "bigger" to happen and for "sister" to be big enough to play with her! And, at least where bathtime is concerned...the time has finally come!


I will have to post video soon...but I am not sure which of them has a better time! There is so much giggling and splashing that it's a wonder there is any water left in the tub with they are through!

Thanksgiving on the Beach

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM SAN DIEGO!

Even though it was only last week, Thanksgiving feels like it was about a year ago! But we had an amazing time and this mid-November getaway was just what we needed!
(It would be an understatement to say that we've just had a LOT going on lately--
more on that later!)

As much as we missed spending time with our family in Texas--it's hard to find fault with 70-degree weather and good friends!Julia, Paula, Samantha, and Dan Johnson
XOXO


Elizabeth enjoying storytime with Auntie P, Hunky D, and J!




And later with Auntie Sammy, too!

"What's this," you ask??
Why, it's "Mr. Potato-Mo" of course!

Here is Elizabeth enjoying OLIVES--the way Auntie P taught her to eat them!




And here she is hanging out with Daddy!
















And, of course, no vacation would be complete without a little bit of girl bonding...















BIG sisters...

LITTLE sisters...








And soul sisters! ;-)

Good times...good times!

The Big 0-3!

Today was Elizabeth's 3rd birthday!

Rainbow cupcakes, a car full of balls, a purple tutu, a mop & broom, an assortment of stickers, a HelloKitty necklace, a Sit 'n Spin, a Candyland game, electronic quiz games, a target giftcard, plenty of precious picture books, a TON of cute clothes, and Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!!!!


Yep...that about sums it up! :-) What a wonderful day!!!!

Elizabeth's Room

A few months ago, I posted some pictures of Ashley's nursery. So, it's only fitting that I should also post a few of Elizabeth's "Big Girl" Room!
















If you are paying close attention, you may have noticed that her name is all over the room! And that's because whenever HomeGoods sells something with "Elizabeth" on it, I just can't seem to pass it up!!! ;-) Go figure!

Two Peas in a Pod...

Errr....I mean PLAYPEN!

So, the other day, I set up the Pack 'n Play in the kitchen and put Ashley in there so she could be nearby while I cleaned up the dishes.





Elizabeth wandered in from where she had been playing in the living room and saw that Ashley was having so much fun in there that E decided she would asked me if she could get in too!

What? Two kids confined to one space while I clean up the kitchen?....um....SURE!!!! :-)

Christina Katerina and the Box

There are some of you who will be a little confused by the title of this entry, but I am confident there are others (ahem...Jennifer?...Mom?) who will immediately smile with recognition. This is the name of a wondeful children's picture book (by Patricia Lee Gauch) that I remember fondly from my childhood.

In it, the main character, Christina, lives out every child's fantasy of using and reusing (again and again and again!) an enormous BOX that delivers her mother's washer/dryer (or refrigerator or some other such appliance that comes in a ridiculously gigantic cardboard box--the kind that all children dream of having delivered to their homes!) As a child, I LOVED this book for many reasons...not the least of which was for Christina's ability to imagine (and then realize) so many of the endless possibilities that such a box has in her imaginary world!

And now, as a parent, all I have to do is look at Elizabeth's little face lighting up with joy as she squeezes herself into the empty Pamper's box...and I am instantly reminded that a box is NOT a box at all...it's a racecar, or a roller coaster, or a plane, or a Mo house, or any other thing that is limited only by her imagination!

Isn't childhood fantastic??

Just My Size

Each of our daughters has a special chair that is just her size! Elizabeth's chair is pink, and Ashley's chair is purple. (I know...that seems wrong, doesn't it? But we didn't find the purple chair until Ashley was about 3 months old!)


Anyway, until recently, the purple chair has gone unoccupied (or, on occasion, temporarily occupied by Elizabeth).






However, being that Ashley is now a "master-sitter-upper," she has taken her rightful place on the Purple Throne!

Yeah, I'd say she's wasted no time making herself comfortable...wouldn't you??

The Fairy and The Caterpillar

Halloween was a very busy day!

In the afternoon, we went to Meridian Mall for Trick-or-Treating.
Elizabeth dressed as a FAIRY...

and we met up with Elizabeth's friend, Jimmy (The Firefighter)
where they–and seemingly the rest of the population of the Greater Lansing and surrounding areas—went from store-to-store on a quest for candy!









Then, we grabbed a bite to eat and made it home at about 5:59...just in time to greet the neighborhood trick-or-treaters!

It was c-c-c-cold!!!! So we bundled up Ashley in her little caterpillar costume (on top of a warm sleepsack), and added a fluffy jacket on top of Elizabeth's outfit before she strapped on her wings!

Then, we camped out on a blanket in front of the house on our lawn to watch all the excitement!






And, what excitement there was!!! Elizabeth could hardly contain her enthusiasm at being all dressed up outside and admiring all the other costumes that the neighborhood kids were wearing. (At one point, she saw a girl dressed up as a bunny, and could not stop giggling, "That girl is a BUNNY!!!! She looks like a bunny! And she's holding a carrot!!!!") LOL

Early on, Daddy was able to coax her to visit the houses across the street to do some trick-or-treating of her own. But after only two houses, she was ready to return home to pass out candy with Mommy—which apparently was far more appealing!


Elizabeth danced happily around the blanket in her wings as the trick-or-treaters came one after another. And Elizabeth delighted in dropping a single piece of candy in each girl's bag! Several times throughout the night, Elizabeth exclaimed "I'm trick-or-treating!!!! I'm trick-or-treating!" when, in fact, she was not doing that at all. But, to her, this was about 100 times better!Small groups of pre-teen girls oohed and aahed over both the "Candy Fairy" and her little sister, the Caterpillar.

As the night grew darker and colder, I took our little Caterpillar inside to tuck her into bed, and returned with a fuzzy hat for Elizabeth to wear--beneath her tiara, of course!

Even when we finally retreated into the warmth of the house, Elizabeth's excitement was not dampened--at all! As we sat on the bottom steps of the stairs just inside the door, awaiting the remaining candy-seekers, Elizabeth giggled and grinned, exclaiming, "I'm trick-or-treating!!...INSIDE!"










Sweet girl, fun night, great memories! :-)

Art Imitates Life...

Mugging for the Camera

You wouldn't know it to look at these photos, but it is often IMPOSSIBLE to get Elizabeth to look at the camera!

Instead, she averts her eyes to the left or right (think Susannah Hoffs in the "Walk Like an Egyptian" video--which is annoying when we are just trying to get a normal straight-on smiling photo of your little one!)

Anyway, here is a rare moment of picture-taking cooperation so that she can show Grandma the new sweater-dress she just bought her at Target! Thanks, Grandma! Enjoy!

Too Many Children...

So, I know this blog is about Elizabeth and Ashley, but Mommy had to add this post in appreciation and awe of those other Mommies who have more than two children! How are you not exhausted all the time??? (Or, maybe that is an erroneous assumption...and you are, in fact, exhausted all the time!!) ;-)

The other day, I helped out a friend in a bind by watching her two children (2 1/2 yrs and 5 months) for about 4 hours when her caregiver called in sick at the last minute.


It was not a disaster by any stretch, but watching 4 little ones under 3 yrs. definitely kept me on my toes!

Overall, I think things went really well!...But there were certainly a few moments when I felt like the Little Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe! (Don't worry though...there was no whipping involved! haha!)