Biker Chick

I finally cleaned out the garage - well mostly anyway. I have a small pile still to go through. But in doing so I set up an area for the kids to play in their little house and a place for them to park their bikes where they can actually get to them. I know - amazing huh! Something that has been long past due since we moved here a year ago. Anyway, Ella loves her new bike. It plays music and she dances while she is on it. It is quite the sight. She also likes to put on her sisters helmet, which of course the elves forgot to include one with Ella's bike. So mommy needs to make a purchase soon.

Santa Came!!!

And boy did he ever. The girls were so excited to wake up Christmas morning to find a letter that Santa had been here. When they walked out they were in their glory. Here is what they saw:



Juliana were in their glory. You can see the excitement and awe in their faces. It is those moments that are so very precious and create memories that I will always remember.

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve. During the day Eric's parents came over and we had lunch and watched the girls open their gifts. Then that evening we headed over to Element for worship and fellowship. It was a beautiful service. Then we went back home and got ready for Santa. Juliana who hated her Christmas dress was not so quick to get into her pajamas. She at some point in the evening decided she loved her dress and wanted pictures of her in it by the tree.

Christmas Cookies

So I thought it might be fun for the girls if I let them help me with the Christmas cookies. I am unsure exactly of just how much frosting and sprinkles they devoured in the process. I know that my floor was a sea of sprinkles. But I think they had a good time.

The Entertainment of a Sleepless Night

You know those nights where you get the kids in bed and you settle in yourself. Your head plays through what went on that day and then moves to what will happen tomorrow. Just as you get comfortable and about to drift you remember you have a load of laundry sitting in the wash. In my case it was a fluffy load of diapers that will be needed first thing in the morning. You groan as you get out of bed, switch the laundry and then crawl back into bed relieved to be there. But then just when you are sound asleep, that whine starts echoing over the baby monitor.

My teething toddler princess was not happy. So I go in and give her some Motrin - and no I don't drug my kids - she was in pain. At this point my oldest is now awake. JOY! It 2:30am. So I send the oldest to my bed, also known as "the big bed" in our house. Of course the daddy is in there sleeping so soundly. Amazing how that works. I then spend 40 minutes getting Ella back down. Half of that time was spent trying to figure out is she asleep, or is she not. I finally make it out of her room and back into my bed. Now accompanied by one extra person.

Right as I start to fall asleep, there goes that darn monitor again. I tried to wait it out, but the littlest princess is sure she doesn't want to be in her bed tonight. So I scoop her up, push the oldest one closer to her daddy and make room for all four of us in the bed. Cozy! I close my eyes and feel lots of arms and legs wiggling around. OUCH! That little ones foot went straight in my face. So I grab her and hand her her blankets and tell her to be still.

Ah! Silence! And then I hear snoring. But not the loud growling snoring- Eric is literally blowing air out of his mouth like a whale blows air out of his blow hole. After a few seconds the little one starts to giggle and blow air too. I think at this point she thought that daddy was playing a game. She then sits up and starts blowing harder. She for some reason decided to take her finger and stick it straight in her daddy's mouth. I think she thought she would clog up the blow hole. Eric then flips madly over and scares Ella. She is crying again. Awe, but listen - her daddy is still asleep. Amazing!

By the time I got Ella calmed down back to sleep, I just got up. All you can do is laugh at the complete humor of the situation as I drag through the day realizing that the hot tea I keep consuming in this 80 degree winter weather contains no caffeine.

Diaper Contest

The cloth diaper company I love love was having a contest. You entered a picture of your baby in a diaper and if they choose it to use for their site you get a gift certificate. So I grabbed a few and sent this one in. I also happened to catch an adorable picture of the girls together that I love and thought I would share it too.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

We took the girls to Disney World for a few days. Our first event was Mickey's Christmas Party. The girls had a blast. It snowed on main street, there was a special parade and even Santa was there, we sipped hot chocolate and ate Christmas cookies, a special Christmas show with the characters, and we even saw a special fireworks display. It was a bit cold, but we had a great time.

Santa's Workshop

We went to visit Santa's workshop. The girls got to see where Santa sleep, eat some cookies from Mrs. Clause, watch the elves work, and even see Santa himself.

Happy Thanksiving!

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving at home today. I made my first ever turkey. After watching a few you tube videos and grabbing a Bobby Flay recipe - I was ready. Everything turned out great. We were blessed to have our good friends Jenni and Joe and their 2 beautiful princesses join us for the day. Wishing you and yours a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving day.

My first Thanksgiving day spread!

My Stunt Babies

Eric's aunt and cousins from Kentucky were over for dinner and visiting as were his mom and dad. It is always so nice to see them and the girls love having them over to play. I will say that the highlight of the evening for Juliana and Ella was being thrown through the air. It is almost as if they are preparing to be stunt girls or something. Does everyone's kids love this as much as mine?

Holiday Jammies!

Juliana is gearing up for Christmas. Between the 30 catalogs a week that we get in the mail, the endless tv commercials, and the decorations appearing all over the bay area the girl can't wait. So tonight I decided to go ahead and let the princesses have a little something early. I busted out their new holiday pajamas and even dug out their Christmas blankets. These are two excited little girls. Juliana told Ella that now they are ready for Santa to come. Santa better hurry and finish getting those gifts.

18 Month Well Check!

Ella went for her 18 month well baby visit today. She is doing great. She is 33 1/4" tall and 24lbs. We finally are catching up on the weight charts. We talked about her speech since that was a concern of mine. Several kids her age are in speech therapy and well, I am an overly concerned parent. But he assured me she is doing great and says that she is right at or above a 2 year old level and that I have nothing to worry about. Apparently at this age kids need 5-10 words and we are well over that. Dr. Mark actually laughed at me as I pulled my list of words out from the diaper bag. His opinion was confirmed when Ella looked at him and said "lollipop". Every child deserves a lollipop after a visit with the doctor. She also got 2 shots today, but will not need anymore until she is 4 - except for her annual flu shot. That is awesome! And she doesn't go back until she is 2. So all is well in the world of Ella. I have some pictures of her from her visit that I will add when I get them uploaded.

Happy Birthday Grandma

Today is my Grandma's birthday. We went to the nursing home and had a little party for her. It was just family, but it meant a lot to her. She enjoyed seeing both the girls and it just made a very special day for her. Happy Birthday Grandma!

Mini Photo Shoot With the Girls

Silly Little Princesses

This is what happens when you ask two little princesses to sit together.

First Pony Tail

I got Ella's hair in her first ponytail. It looked so cute and she looks so big. And a picture of Juliana because she wanted everyone to see her pretty hair too.