Snapshots

She made me a cake. Delicious! :)

"Hey Ella! Pass some over here!"

In case anyone needed convincing that my furbaby is seriously like a third child.

time for a haircut

Pre-K movie night at school on a Friday night

Aunt Cyncy a.k.a. Queen Crab

The girls had been counting down the days until Aunt Cyncy's visit for weeks. When can we start considering something a tradition? Because our spring  and fall visits with Aunt Cyncy have become one we look forward to and enjoy so so much.

We started our visit with dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, which I think we can officially say has become our thing. The weather was unseasonably gorgeous, so we sat on the patio and caught up, while the girls played with the crab crackers. That is until the Cupid Shuffle came on. Then, they ran into the main dining room with Joe to watch the waitstaff do the dance. The thing is Abby has been practicing her cupid shuffle for two years now. It's her most favorite thing about Joe's Crab Shack. So, she didn't just watch. Abby ran right into the lineup and held her own with the other dancers. Joe and Ella joined in too!

The bibs really never get old.

On Monday morning, Aunt Cyncy got a glimpse of our chaotic routine that involves getting everyone fed, ready and out the door by eight. Monday morning always seems to be a little more challenging than other days of the week when it comes to getting it together and not feeling rushed. Aunt Cyncy came with Ella and I to drop Abby off at school. Abby couldn't contain her excitement as she walked us down the hall. She loves showing off her classroom and her morning routine to anyone. With a few hours before we had to pick Abby up, Ella got some special time with Aunt Cyncy and I. We started with the only thing open that early, Starbucks. The grownups had coffee while Ella enjoyed her sweet treat. Aunt Cyncy and I couldn't help but dream about how fun it would be to do this once a week if we lived in the same area.

With no real plans for the morning, we went over to Barnes and Nobles. Between our time looking at books and playing with the train table, we spent about an hour at the mall.

With a little more time until we had to pick Abby up, we headed over to the park and Ella went down the slides about 1,376 times with the biggest smile on her face. It was a great morning!

I guess we were having so much fun when Aunt Cyncy was here that I forgot to take pictures of the rest of our time. We spent lots of hours connecting. Each visit we learn more about a part of family history through a photo album she brings to share. Aunt Cyncy even helped Abby sort her big pile of colorful beads while she was here! :)

Thanks for making the drive to come see us, Aunt Cyncy! We are looking forward to next time already. Until then, we have always have Thanksgiving! 

Snapshots and Quotables

Ella is in a very fun communicating phase and shares new Ella-isms with us every day. While we understand her 95% of the time, Abby understands her 100% of the time. We consider her Ella's official translator. There is nothing like watching Ella's personality shine in new ways now that she has so many words to express herself. She continues to crack us up!

Some of our most recent favorites:

• "Oh my DOSH"
• "One More" with finger
• "Bye Bye Now"- We aren't sure where she learned this, but she says it to everyone as we leave a store and also says it when she wants me to get the hint and end a conversation with someone.
• Ella's favorite breakfast food is Oatmeal, pronounced "Eat-meal". 
• "Dare you dope."- There you go
• "It be otay!" - Our little empathizer has the biggest heart and is always reassuring others by trying to give them hope.
• "a little bit while"- Ella's phrase for a little bit/a little while

sister love

Rainy fall afternoons are perfect for trips to the library.

a reminder of real life and messy mommy days. Ohhh but when that mountain is tackled, folded and put away, it feels so good.

lazy mornings and "eat-meal"

"Am I not turtley enough for the turtle club? Turrrrtle. Turtle.

Strengthening our marriages at the "I Still Do" conference

a good afternoon nap

The other day, Abby told me that she can't wait to be a mommy. When I asked her why, she told me she is really excited to read lots of books to her babies and go grocery shopping. :) My sweet girl  spends hours a day playing "mommies".

Now that Abby is in school, I pack her lunchbox for snack three days a week. I put a little note in there with her snack and drink. She had never mentioned them to me, so I didn't think she really cared about her notes much. Until the rushed morning when I forgot to put one in. At dinner that night, she questioned me. "Mom, why didn't you put a note in my lunchbox today? It wasn't in there. I couldn't find one anywhere." It was a sweet reminder to me that the little things matter even if they go unspoken. Needless to say, I will not forget her note again!

Abby and Ella were playing mommies the other day and when I was cleaning up later that night, I opened a bag they were using as a lunchbox to find a note that Abby (the mommy) wrote to Ella (her kid):

She insisted on making me lunch.

  

The girls are loving their beads. They've been busy making necklaces.  A perfect picture of Abby's organized and detailed personality is her desire to sort and categorize any and everything she can. She was delighted at the chance to sort through these beads and took the job very seriously for days. Let's be real, I was more than happy to join her! 

Date night for Mommy and Daddy meant late night snuggling with Papa.

celebrating one of our favorite people's 31st birthday

There's that real tower of laundry again. I was about to start folding, but I couldn't find my dog anywhere. Do you see him?

hanging with her best buddy, baby Joseph

ohhhh baby toes

It was Ella's turn to get her flu shot (actually her flu nasal spray). Abby had gotten hers the week before and because if happened to be Abby's first traumatizing doctor visit in her life for other reasons, she was very concerned for her sister's visit. Before the nurse even came in to administer the spray, Abby started crying because she didn't want to see her sister cry. Ella looked at Abby with a  little grin and reassured her that she wouldn't cry. Ella was comforting her big sister on the day of her own flu shot. "Abby, it be otay! My won't cry. It's otay Abby." And you know what, she didn't cry at all. She sniffed like a little bunny when the nurse shot the spray in her nose and then started laughing because it was all done!

This moment also made me seriously aware of just how grown up my "baby" has become.

They seriously just love each other so much.

Making Monster Muffins with Mommy...

...then feeding them to all of her "Annas" (Ella's word for her princess dolls)

As we have entered into this new napless afternoon season, some days the girls have quiet playtime in their individual rooms and some days they snuggle up and rest with a cozy movie.

I can't even handle the sweetness happening in this picture. Abby was feeling pretty sick and Oliver set up post where he knew she needed him most.

On Wednesday mornings, Abby goes to school and I lead a small group for women at our church. Ella loves it because she gets to be with her teachers while I an in growth group. She thinks this is her version of school and it makes her feel special. Ella packs up her little bee backpack each week and tells Abby that she is going to spend the morning with her teachers. She loves those hours!

Another morning, Ella got to go into childcare at the gym with Mason while Mommy and Ms. Angela went to Zumba. After class, we walked to the grocery store together. Isn't this adorable?

This is what it looks like when you have a wonderful babysitter. The girls sat waiting for her an hour before she was even due to arrive.

reading the Bible with Daddy

Abby comes home from school and starts playing school. This couldn't be more like me as a child. I'm pretty sure I've even taught that bear on that exact same bench. My grandfather made me the bench when I was a little girl and I used it the same way. I've had that teddy since I was born. She was in my crib when I came home from the hospital. Abby has renamed her, Lula.

Yesterday, Ella slipped down the last two stairs as we were all getting ready to walk out the door. She caught herself and surprised us all when she jumped up with a smile on her face and exclaimed: 
"My Superman! My here to save the day. My fly up high in sky!"

Did I mention that Ella has been totally in love with shoes since she was old enough to sit up? She just loves them and she loves Aunt Ashley too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpvxQVg87ts&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ

Ella's First Day of Dance

Ella has been eagerly awaiting this moment for months: her first day of dance class! Last year, she watched her sister from the sidelines, but could hardly contain her desire to be out there with the rest of the class. At home, Abby taught Ella all of the dances and Ella faithfully learned all the moves. We didn't plan on signing her up for dance until she was three, but with her sister starting Pre-K this year, Ella was really ready for a special activity of her own. The fact that Miss Margaret would be her teacher was just icing on the cake. This girl was ready and excited!

When we got there, she ran into Miss Margaret's arms and then stood so seriously next to Margaret and faced the mirror (even though class wasn't going to start for another ten minutes). She knew what she was supposed to do and wanted to do it right. It was adorable.

Little dancers are always cute, but little two year old dancers are enough to make my heart burst with cuteness overload. This class is especially fun, because these are all the little sisters who played together in the back room last year, while their big sisters did ballet.

Check out the big sister encouragers who were very concerned that their little sisters wouldn't get it right on their first day.

Goodbyes are Hard

Goodbyes are hard! We knew Mama was going home eventually, but I never like to think about that part. (You wonder why we are always planning the next visit before this one even ends.)

On Mama's last day, Uncle Cory came to pick her up and spend the day with us. The girls spent time jumping all over him, checking out his new phone and taking lots of selfies with him.

We realized Mama had never been to the state museum and Cory always loves going, so we piled into the car and drove downtown for the afternoon. Even though, I've been to the museum a lot, it's always fun to share it with others and see it through the girls' eyes. Every year and with each new age, they have new discoveries and interests. This was Ella's first time since she was an infant, so it was all new to her. Abby only seemed to remember the Sesame Street exhibit and firetrucks from previous visits. This time, she was really interested in the longhouse and lifestyle of the Native Americans. You could see her soaking up the information like a sponge as we showed her the corn husk toys made by the Iroquois children.  

the 9-11 exhibit

It wouldn't be a trip to the museum without a carousel ride. Love these guys!

Oliver shared our feelings as we watched Mama and Cory drive away. He actually stood there for a solid hour. I'm pretty sure he was longing for Buffy and wondering when his long lost love would return.

There's just something about being with our "people" that always feels like home.  Let's not say "goodbye".  How about "until next time"? It's pretty much all my heart can handle! :)