Snapshots and Quotables

morning at the library 

waiting for Daddy to come home

at the mall doing some shopping

Buffy is the most gentle dog (even while eating), which is why Ella sits right down next to her and encourages Buffy while she eats. "Mum (come) Buff. Eat. More! More! Yay! *claps*"

Ella's new thing is having tea with Nagymama every day. Not apple juice in a tea cup, but real tea. She drinks the whole cup. For the last few mornings, she has refused her breakfast and planted herself on the steps until Nagymama came up for the morning. Then, when her Raspberry Zinger tea was ready, she ate. She could teach her momma a thing or two about enjoying hot tea!

These girls are wild after bath time! 

loving their days with Joseph

having lots of fun before dinner 

I couldn't create these moments if I tried. They always want to be snuggling Nagymama. Ella woke up from her nap and crawled into Mama's arms. We sat to take a break at the mall and Abby wanted to be in Mama's lap. Priceless moments that fill my heart to the brim! 

game night 

Abby: Mommy, look there is an Olympkicks car! 

M: Oh, cool. Do you see a bumper sticker on a car? 

A: Yeah. Yeah. 

A week later, we pull up to a red light behind an Audi. 

Abby: Mommy, look! It's the Olympkicks car I was telling you about. I can't figure it out though. Why is it missing a ring and why aren't they different colors? 

(Can I just note how much I love how Abby pronounces Olympics...Olympkicks?) 

Ella: 20 months

Our baby is 20 months old today! 

Bells- You are talking so clearly and with lots of new words. You're making us laugh more than ever and throwing tantrums as a side job. You are the biggest love, hugging and kissing everyone you can. Snuggling is your love language. When you nuzzle in, you search for skin to skin contact right away. If I'm wearing a scarf, you lift it up to find my neck and tuck your hands into my shirt. It is precious! 

You love having a four legged best friend following you around everywhere. It could be because she loves you or because you are Buffy's most faithful "snack" provider. I reminded you once again today NOT to give Buffy another piece of your lunch. Your response (complete with extended figure) was, "No! One more! One more!" 

We turned your car seat around, which seems to elevate you to big girl status in a new way! 

You still love to go "BYE" and insist someone takes you somewhere at least once a day. 

We looked in on you while you slept the other night. You are growing so fast. 

Your eye teeth are starting to poke through which means we've had some rough nights of sleep. In the moment, those nights are painful (literally for you and generally for me), but it's so sweet to wake up next to this face.

Love you Belly B. Can't believe there is only four more months until you turn 2!

Unexpected Blessings

At the beginning of February, we lost someone very special to our family. Laci Bacsi was like an adopted great grandfather to our girls. We will miss seeing him on our trips to Florida. In the wake of the events, Nagymama decided to come to New York for a month to spend time with all of us as she works through the loss. Despite the sad circumstances that led to Mama's early visit, having her here has been the greatest blessing to all of us. So much so that it's hard to imagine her heading back to Florida in just a couple of weeks. We are all enjoying having her and Buffy (her sweet Miniature Schnauzer), as a part of our normal everyday life. 

She's here! She's here! 

It took Buffy a little while, but she  is slowly adjusting to this brutally long winter in NY. Sweet Florida pup needs to be warmed up after her walks, but I'm pretty sure she secretly loves the snow. 

Can you stand the cuteness? 

Mama finally did it. She became the owner of an iPad. We have been telling her for a couple of years that she would enjoy it and be able to use it much more than her computer. This was her face when we walked out of the Apple store. One week later, she is checking Facebook, writing emails (complete with her installed Hungarian keyboard), Facetiming and watching movies her iPad like it is no big deal!

 watching Wheel of Fortune before bed

story time

Nagymama introduced the girls to Shirley Temple! 

best buds

This was just the beginning...more pictures to come soon! In the meantime, We're soaking up every minute of these blessings! 

Footie PJs and Grandma

Two weeks ago, Joe had to take a trip to Arkansas for ministry training. Five days without daddy was a long time for us, but we loved having Grandma here for the week while he was away. We embraced our girlie time together! We played, painted nails, had lunch at the mall  and watched movies. I loved staying up late and chatting with my mom. It was a total blessing to be able to go out and run errands mid week while the girls spent time with grandma. To top it all off, my mom helped me start spring cleaning my whole house! Thanks Mom! We love you! 

We missed Daddy! 

storytime

 Sleepovers in footie PJs! So much fun! 

snuggling with grandma before nap time 

love.

Ella & Daddy

A picture is worth a thousand words. So here are four thousand words of true love.

Strike a Pose

I decided to take the girls to get some professional studio photos done since it had been a while. The last time I took the girls, Abby was two and Ella was three months old. This was the first time they posed together.

Abby was all smiles and ready to pose for the camera. Ella was not having it. At home, she is a little ham, but she made it known very quickly that she is NOT a fan of the huge flash that goes off each time. When the photographer asked Ella to sit down or go stand by her sister, she very matter of factly said, "Noooo" and walked away. It took every ounce of effort (and maybe even some bribery) to get her to sit long enough to catch the shot above. All of the other group shots showcased Ella's angry eyebrow and pursed lips face. A memory for sure!

Abby was patient and very helpful. She spent the majority of the time trying to convince Ella that taking pictures together would be just as fun as it is at home.  After a while, she looked at the photographer and said, "Can you please take a picture of just me?".  Nobody told her what to do, she just posed the way she wanted to. The beautiful picture is below.

I took side by side pictures before I replaced the pictures in the frame. Look at how my baby has grown up. I'm always amazed at the difference two years makes.

(Abby: 4) (Abby: 2)

The only time Ella wasn't running from the photographer and hiding in the corner was when she was allowed to play the baby piano. This was the only time her face softened and we saw her precious smile during the shoot...then the photographer raised the camera and Ella was all serious business. Oh, but she loved that piano and we did capture a sweet one. Look at how grown up my littlest baby is!

Ella (18 months)  Ella (3 months)

Life Lately

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE4ojK3VreI&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNca_yUmm6o&feature=youtu.be

This pic hilariously captures how heavy and lifelike the babies are that Nagymama gave the girls for Christmas. It doesn't stop them from carrying them around everywhere. Ella just huffs and grunts a lot. 

They love their daddy! 

Ella with her little buddy, Joseph

Abby was playing on the computer. Ella climbed up on the bench. Then, this spontaneously happened. I can't make it up. They seriously love each other so much. 

rockstar

Ella eats lemons like they are sweet as apples. She also loves really spicy and vinegary foods.   

We had a spring like day in NY and put Ella on her bike for the first time. She loves it. 

spending some time with Papa 

Abby went down to her playroom for some quiet playtime because she wasn't tired enough to take a nap. After a while, I noticed how quiet it was and went down to her like this. She had dumped out every toy bin, surrounded herself in a little fort and put herself to sleep. So sweet and cozy.

Abby's hair is finally getting long enough to play with.

sweet Ella getting ready for bed

making a popsicle stick road