Snapshots

Catching up on some life snapshots from April and May...

When I was growing up, we only took school pictures in the fall. Abby took fall and spring pictures this year. I was amazed at how much she had grown when comparing the two. What a precious little Pre-K student. 

The first signs of Spring brought us lots of joy as we broke free from the house for the first time in months. To say it was a long winter is an understatement. The sunshine on our faces has never felt so good.

I love Saturday mornings when we are all out in the yard together getting it cleaned up. Not to mention, the girls are actually old enough to help! :) Say hello to Daddy's little stick collectors.

one of my favorite kitchen helpers

pretzel date with Mommy

coloring at her new desk from Ms. Megan

loving their finished Lego product and the fun Lego subscription they have through pley.com

I took Ella for her first haircut! She felt like such a big girl in the salon chair and did a great job.

Loving their new 'dos.

I took a Saturday to drive to Boston to spend the day with Chrissy, Terry and their new baby, Devon. From 7th grade friendship to new babies...the sweetness of these moments are not lost on me. I love being able to celebrate life together and being moms together too!

In other news, I think our little boy is doing a great job bonding with our third baby girl. This is how he spends most evenings. I can't help but wonder where I will fit our new baby when she arrives since Oliver thinks this is exclusively his spot. :)

We got word that Food Network's, Guy Fieri, had one of his food trucks on a nearby campus. One night, Joe took Ella to check it out and bring the back some goodies. Ella felt pretty special riding to campus with Daddy in her jammies.

Ella is not the only one going on special dates with Daddy. Before his trip out of town, Joe needed to go pick up a new pair of dress pants at the mall. He invited Abby along for a date and her much needed fashion advice! Halfway through their trip, I got this picture. While walking through the girls' department, Abby saw a princess nightgown that she just "had to have". She even insisted that she had to try it on in the fitting room like a big girl. It didn't take much to for Daddy to come home with his dress pants and two matching nightgowns for his little ladies. 

 I'd say they feel pretty lovely in their new nightgowns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4hYudSlWRM

When Abby was at school, Ella asked me if she could make a picture for her best friend. When I asked about her picture, she told me it was a picture of two sisters (Abby & Ella) standing outside under the apple tree.

Then, she signed her name on the back! :)

The many faces of springtime!

Abby had a blast with her school friends at Hailie's birthday party at the rollerskating rink. Abby was not a fan of rollerskating and wanted the skates off as soon as she put them on. We practiced for a while to see if she would get the hang of it and feel comfortable enough to get out into the rink, but it was a no go! I'm pretty sure Abby is not a fan when she does not feel she can gain control of the situation, so wobbly roller skates were not for her. She did have a great time visiting with friends and dancing away at the dance party afterward! 

For the first time, I was just a mom standing on the sidelines getting a glimpse into the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im_sdGsh-94

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hho7m1gzEfc

When I went in to check on them during quiet play time, I found Ella fast asleep next to her sister.

Uncle Cory came for a visit. He needs some ladies to go shopping with him for new clothes and the three of us were more than willing to help! Ella and Abby were positioned right outside of the fitting room ready with their "thumbs up" and "thumbs down". Then, Uncle Cory took us out for ice cream.

My baby

We are getting ready for someone to turn three around here in just a few short months. Don't you know? It's almost G-I.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L_gLqDlRPY

Abby is surprising us daily with her new reading vocabulary and her ability to finish entire books without any help! Hearing her read books is like music to my ears. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOxOeg-jqag

Future MDs?

One of the things I love most in life is watching my girls learn. I love seeing their excited minds soak up information like a sponge as they make new discoveries about life and entire worlds are opened up for them.

In April, our local hospital hosted their annual Journey Through the Body exhibit at the mall. It's a health education series developed to educate kids about the functions of the human body and how to lead an active and healthy lifestyle. Everything about the exhibit is very interactive and engaging.

Just to name a few activities we enjoyed...

• walking through a 16-foot brain
•  traveling through the colon
•  shaking hands with a skeleton
•  touching a pair of healthy lungs and sick lungs
• doing an obstacle course with glasses on that mimicked what a traumatic brain injury might be like 
• walking through the human ear and watching the nerve endings light up when they sensed sound 

We even met up with our friends at the mall for lunch beforehand! To say the girls were thrilled by the whole experience is an understatement. They kept asking lots of great questions and didn't want to go home. They loved the exhibit so much and insisted Daddy take them back the next morning to show him everything they learned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAtTFF86f14

I thought for sure the girls would show some hesitation when it came to touching the cow's heart or the human lungs, but both girls wasted no time slipping on their plastic gloves and diving in. They will be dissecting their 7th grade frogs like it's nothing.

So who knows...maybe we have some future health care workers in our midst. Maybe not. But, what I do know is that we have two girls who love to learn and I think that makes my job as their mommy even more fun!