Creative Dance

The girls started their first dance class. The three year old class was full, so I was able to get them into the four year old class. It meets once a week for an hour. The kids can wear whatever they like as long as it allows their dance teacher Miss Mary, to see their bodies move. The girls wanted to wear their ballet skirts and their hair in buns, "just like ballerinas." I bought them pink leotards to complete the outfit, but I have to keep them out of reach during the week, or that's all they would wear! Bell was chosen to be the leader of the class last week because she was such a good listener. Last week was Teddy Bear week, where all the kids brought their own "dancing partners." The girls LOVED that! Lady's white bear is actually wearing a ballerina outfit.

Baby steps along the way

They say the days are long but the years are short and I believe it. They grow up so fast and I just want to bottle up these moments so I can savor them when they're grown and gone to take on the world. Here are a few of my favorite shots for Baby G for this week. The girl knows how to take care of herself. I was busy doing something and when I came in the kitchen I found baby had climbed up on the table and helped herself to her sister's breakfast.
Mmmm... oatmeal and berries... my favorite!

Someone was hinting that she wanted to go for a bike ride. If she had her way, she'd be riding the bike with us in tow.

Our desert oasis

It feels like Summer has arrived with temperatures in the mid 80's. The whole family made a trip to Walmart to buy our first pool. The hose attaches to the pink dolphin, which sprays water out its mouth. The girls don't like to be sprayed, but they enjoy using the dolphin to fill the pool. There are actually two sections to the pool. This side has a fish slide and palm trees.
Bell will only get into the pool if Lady holds the dolphin down, so it doesn't spray water. I keep telling them, "you can't avoid getting your face wet when you go swimming," but they don't believe me. Tomorrow they start swim lessons at the local Rec pool. Hopefully, they'll be able to overcome their fear of getting splashed. If not, it's going to be a long month of daily torture!

Dandelion Fields Forever

I love seeing our girls play outside. Everything is fresh and new. They remind me to not take for granted the simple joys of life... like blowing dandelions into the wind. Lady is in orange and Bell is in blue.

Love this girl's smile~

Just like a lady

The girls love having their nails painted. First we washed their hands and scrubbed their nails, which had obvious "sandbox" residue. Next, I clipped their nails and then painted them Sleeping Beauty pink. Afterwhich, they asked for their toes to be painted, and as I was painting their toes Bell said "Mom, we need the tissue for our toes... that's what Aunt Marin says." So I ran to get napkins to wrap between their toes. They were pleased as punch. Bell is on the left and Lady is on the right.
Happy Feet

Our Little G. I don't feel like we can call her Baby G anymore. She's growing up so fast. She's given up the bottle on her own, is talking up a storm and just this week she's been folding her arms on her own when we kneel down for family prayer. We've never even attempted to get her to fold them because she's so active... she just started doing it on her own. I'm amazed at what she picks up just by watching us... it's a big incentive to be on my best behavior.

We love our little girls... they are growing up too fast.

The things they say

Yesterday, Daddy and the girls were watching a ballet show and showing their best ballerina moves, when the following conversation ensued:

Lady: Daddy, where are your ballet shoes?
Daddy: I don't have any ballet shoes
Lady: Daddy, you can't do ballet without ballet shoes. You need to go work on the computer.

Tonight, while asking the girls to get ready for bed...

Bell: Lady is my mom and she says I can draw
Me: She's not your mom, she's not old enough to be your mom... I'm your mom.
Lady: I am too old... I'm almost four, so we're old enough to be moms.

Our Trip to California

It's been an embarassingly long time since I've posted on the blog. Life seems too busy to be able to sit down and write about it... but I need something to remember when the kids are grown and Daddy and I sit around remembering the good old days. Last month my whole family flew down to California to have a weekend reunion with both sides of my parents' families. Here we are with my dad's parents...the girls' GREAT grandparents... their Great Grandpa is 89 years old and is still in amazing shape. A mind that is sharp as a tack... I think he remembers more than an elephant. Grandma Annabelle is as kind and wonderful as I remember her to be when I was a child.
Eight great-grandchildren... a gazillion shots and this is the best one of the group. Gotta love group shots.

We all stayed with Grammy while we were in town. She had beds and pillows and food for everyone. She even ordered warm weather for us. Here we are: Nine of the eleven grandchildren and eight GREAT grandchildren. Good thing Grammy is in good shape and can keep up with this group.

What would a trip to California be without a visit to the Magic Kingdom. Sixteen of us in matching Red Mickey "We Are Family" shirts descended upon the Happiest Place on Earth during Spring Break. The girls LOVED the princess castle, of course. They were so brave and rode all the fast rides because they were tall AND brave enough. The only ride they weren't tall enough for was Indiana Jones... but that ride is even a little too scary for Mommy.

Baby G and Mommy on Dumbo!

We are family!

Grateful for the Zoo...

We're so grateful for our zoo pass... it sure has paid for itself and then some. It's a small zoo, but it has the important things we think a zoo should have: a carousel, gorillas, bears, elephants and a tiger. It should have a lion too... but since ours doesn't we like to pretend we're lions.
Our cute girls had to go to Children's hospital for some unpleasant tests and afterwards we went to the zoo as a treat. We rode the zoo train for the first time and played on the play equipment. It helped turn an unpleasant day into a really fun one.

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

Every other Sunday our cousins Tosh and Kia come over for dinner with Uncle Jason. We have lots of fun playing all kinds of outdoor activities. Flying kites is one of our favorite past times.

Uncle Jason carefully selects one of the prized family kites

Bell holding one of her favorite kites... it's almost as big as she is.
Baby G loves to be outside. When she thinks no one is looking she tries to make a run for it with her little teddy bear.