Scotch Tape, Rockstars and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ella made the big transition into a big girl bed. One morning, Joe woke up and decided it was the day. I was in no big rush. Why ruin a good thing like sleeping through the night or being contained when I say it is bedtime? We just lost her afternoon nap. I wasn't ready to mess with an easy bedtime too. But, Ella was as excited as her Daddy to get some more big girl status around here. You can see the freedom in her eyes, can't you?

 Most of my fears were completely unfounded. She took to her new bed like a champ. The first few mornings when she woke up, she called me to ask permission before she got out of her bed all by herself. Then, she started getting out of her bed and knocking on her bedroom door when she was ready to be let out, which was seriously the cutest thing ever. Last night, she walked out all by herself. Now, she really knows she is free. This could get interesting! :)

Look at me! I'm a big girl!

Big sister was just as excited for Ella.

Just a little two year old who feels lots of emotions and lots of daddy love:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyA0uAkh_Rg

 The girls are always playing dance class. They take turns pretending to be their dance teachers, Miss Margaret and Ms. Guin. The other day I looked over to find Ella teaching her Doc McStuffins dolls how to plie.

  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVYpNy5CKmo

Oliver was out of commission last week as he recovered from surgery. It's official. There will be no puppy making in our house. Poor little guy had to wear this cone around the house for a few days. Other than being irritated by the plastic growth around his head, he was as sweet and snuggly as ever. He healed quickly and took the cone off himself by ramming himself into the railing gate until it came undone. Did I mention he no longer stays in his crate when we go out? Like a little Houdini, he has figured out how to escape from a locked cage.

You know all that talk about getting a child who will give you a taste of what you did to your parents? All throughout Jr. high and high school, I covered my bedroom walls with photos of movie stars and posters of boy bands. It drove my dad totally nuts. The thing is I wasn't even like the average kid who wants the freedom to decorate his or her own walls. In addition to my posters, I started to tape together a collage over my bed of every celebrity I ever "loved". (For the record, there were a whole lot of pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio, the cast of Dawson's Creek and Justin Timberlake.) 

I can still hear my dad threatening to ban scotch tape from our home if I didn't take my collage down and make it on one big piece of poster board before hanging it on the wall. Instead, I hung each little picture with four pieces of tape and connected the next one to it until it was huge and covered the wall behind my bed. Can you imagine my dad's face when it was time to move it and take it down? We were picking bits of tape off of the wall for years. Sometimes I think about how much money must have been on that wall. I spent a lot of allowance buying all of those magazines to read and cut up for exclusive pictures. :)

Thankfully, Abby has no desire to hang pictures of boys and movie stars on her walls. But, she has been saving up her artwork for weeks without me even knowing it. Any little masterpiece she made was stored away in her drawer. Then, she started asking me daily for her own roll of scotch tape. I should have known then. After all, she is my daughter. When she got her hands on the new roll of  tape, all was quiet for a good hour and then she called me to her room for the big reveal. To my surprise, I found nearly every inch of her reachable blank wall space covered with TAPED pieces of artwork. She was beaming and I totally turned into my dad inside. There was tape everywhere and all of my ideas for what Abby's room should look like were gone just like that.

The thing about my dad is that though it wasn't his preference to have magazine clippings plastered all over my walls, he let me harmlessly express myself and decorate my space how I wanted without ever making me take it down. In that moment, I channeled my inner cool dad and looked past the tape to admire my little girl's beautiful artwork. I'd much rather her room be a space that she creates and loves anyway!

When I called my dad to tell him the story that afternoon, he shared some words of wisdom that I AM SURE he never said to me as a teenager during our scotch tape disagreements. Through his laughter, he said, "That's good. It's good. It's all a part of growing up!" Sounds like the words of a wise grandpa enjoying every minute of the payback moment. :)

Mom morning out taking an exercise class at the trampoline park turned out to be the most fun and most challenging workout we've had in a long time...maybe ever?

sister snuggles

hanging out with their buddies after church

excited about the progress we made framing and hanging some new pictures on our gallery wall

just hanging with my boy

My little helper doing some chores

Any Sunday when we get to eat lunch with this crew after church is a fun treat!

A window consultant was at our house discussing new windows. Ella was really curious and came out of her room to find out who was here. Her new phrase when trying to figure out who the man was is totally adorable.  "Mommy, where does he belong?"

an afternoon at the library playing boardgames with Jayden

Abby (all dressed in a pretty yellow dress with flowers): I like this dress. But mom, this is not what a rock star wears.
M: Rock stars wear dresses!
A: They wear dresses, but not dresses like this. Rock star dresses are black and silver.

Cone or no cone...he knows where home is.

I love baking with these little beauties. They are both so interested and eager to be a part of  everything that goes on in the kitchen. On this day, we were making some delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Who says you need pants to bake cookies?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies 

1/2 C. Butter (softened)
1 1/2 C Sugar
1 egg (room temperature)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 C. pumpkin (canned or fresh)
2 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 oz. chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugar; add egg, vanilla and pumpkin. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder and soda, salt and cinnamon. Slowly stir flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended; fold in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfmGlop1GTo

Grandma Week

Our week was filled with visits from Grandmas.

Joe and I were invited to the wedding of good friends, so Grammy planned a visit for that weekend. For us, there is nothing better than having to go somewhere and knowing the girls are with someone who loves them so much. For the girls, there is nothing like mom and dad being away for the evening and knowing they get so much quality time with one of their grandmas. Double win! And...I'm pretty sure Grammy is a fan of the alone time with her favorite little girls, too.  (So, really...triple win!)

Joe and I had the best time celebrating with our friends! We danced and laughed a lot! I cried like a baby (happy tears) as I watched my friend of almost 15 years and his beautiful bride get married. It was a sweet celebration!

Their little guy, Levi, walked his momma down the aisle. This may have been when I totally lost it.

my hot date

love these guys so much

friends for life

Ella has a thing for pretty shoes. When I came home with these new ones for the wedding, she was the first to check them out. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYdjgL56VsY

 On Sunday morning, Grammy came to church with us and took us out to a yummy lunch afterward. It was a chilly, fall day that called for some afternoon rests, sweatshirts and even some scarves. When the girls were done resting, they went out into the backyard with Grammy to hunt for the best leaves they could find. Grammy promised them they could make leaf placemats for dinner that night with the leaves they collected.

For some exercise, we went for a family walk to the park at the top of the street. We looked for more leaves and the girls played on the playground before the cold took over and we had to head home. Even Ollie had his share of fun at the park (see video below). The girls especially loved doing their place mat craft with Grammy! It was a perfect table setting for our very fall inspired dinner: chili, salad and pumpkin cornbread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNbauDzgEpQ

On Monday, Abby got to show Grammy her school during dropoff. Then, Ella had a special morning date with Grammy (just like Aunt Cyncy's visit). We started the morning at Starbucks, took Grammy to Barnes and Nobles where we spent a lot of time and then walked through the mall a bit. Our Christmas shopping juices started flowing. We even got a few great gifts for other people while we were out and about.

Looked over in the store to find Ella wandered a few feet away where she found lots of shoes to try on. She wasn't about to wait for us. She just went at it herself.

After we picked Abby up from school, we all came home for a quick lunch before Grammy had to head home. Not before Ella got in one more round of playing Frozen dolls with Grammy though. I had to get it on video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIMchUf8JWM

Just two days later, Grandma came to town for a couple days! We took a trip to Target, ate lots of good meals together and had loads of playtime. We spent a lot of time at home, which made for a bunch of great conversations and focused playtime.

At one point, the girls and my mom had been playing downstairs for a solid two hours. I didn't dare interrupt. Listening to my mom and girls playing downstairs is such a blessing to me. She was running mommy circles around me with her marathoner imaginary play skills. She was right down there on the floor with them making hilarious noises and throwing a pretend birthday party for Ella. It was the sweetest.

bedtime stories

It would only be fitting that during "Grandma Week", the girls would get a package in the mail from Nagymama with freshly knit (and matching) sweaters and hats and some cozy pants to go with them. When Abby saw who it was from she was tearing the box open and shouting, "It's my new purple sweater!!! It's here. I'm so excited".

And in case you were wondering how Oliver gets treated when Grandmas are around...he gets spoiled with love and attention just like the rest of the kids. Everyone else was taking an afternoon rest, so Grandma and Oliver cozied in for a quick nap too.

One of the reasons Grandma came for a visit this week was because Friday was Grandparent's Day at Abby's school. The students got to invite their grandparents to spend a couple of hours with them at school. All of Abby's grandparents wish they could have been there, but because of distance, work and Grammy's visit just a couple of days earlier, Grandma was the only one who could make it. Abby was so excited to show Grandma her school and show her school her Grandma! 

My mom got to observe what Abby's time in the classroom is like on a normal day. The students introduced their special guests during circle time. In addition to the normal routine, Abby and Grandma did a special craft together.

They even found a minute to take some sweet selfies!

These pictures have more meaning than a few words could ever capture. The Lord says: "I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten..."- Joel 2:25

These pictures mean years and years of prayers being answered. These pictures point to a gracious God who keeps His promises. This is God's grace and it's beautiful.

Abby's class prepared a song and performed it for their grandparents. What a sweet moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft8bEbBQ1oQ

My mom came back to the house smiling from ear to ear. Because it was Abby's special day with Grandma, Abby got to pick what Grandma bought her for lunch. I'll bet you never guess what she chose. No, I'm sure you guessed it right the first time...PIZZA! So, Grandma ordered a pie (for all of us) and had it delivered and ready for Abby when she got home.

Grandma left after lunch to head home. Once we got Ella to stop crying and pounding on the window for Grandma to come back to her, she took a really good long nap. Even when she woke up and came out to the couch after her nap, she fell back to sleep and I snapped this picture. All the fun of Grandma week wore this little lady out.

We had such a great week with our Grandma visits. Thank you both for making the trip and spending days with us. Come back soon! We love you! 

In honor of a really special week and because it was Friday, the four of us went out for some Fro-Yo at Sixteen Handles after dinner making for some family time and a great start to the weekend.

yum!