Growing Up

The girls are growing up so fast and in so many ways. Daddy caught Gretters on the potty reading the Costco ads. Too cute! Next week she'll be reading the Wall Street Journal! We're just thrilled she's wearing big girl panties.
Gretters also graduated to a big girl bed. Her first reaction: "Now the girls will want to sleep in MY bed." She stayed in her bed for the most part last night, and is currently taking a nap. 'Tis a success, I would say.

Bell is such a good helper with the baby. She is always asking to hold or play with her so Mommy and Daddy can get things done. These two are going to be good friends!

Our little Fashionista, Lady. She loves accessories. Today she is sporting a matching pink headband, brights polka dots and a turquoise suede pocketbook. This girls isn't afraid to match winter and spring fabrics...

The twins gave a talk and scripture in church today, both with very minimal nudges from Mommy. They sounded professional. If I can ever figure out how to post video, I will.

Baby E-- 5 1/2 months

I'm cute
I'm thoughtful

I'm happy

I'm silly

The BEST Cooker

Our Daddy is a quasi-famous chef. His dishes are delicious and his sauces are incredible. He doesn't do things half-way. We wanted Chinese food, so he made Sesame Chicken from scratch. They were a lot of work and the best we've ever had. He completed the meal with dumpling, eggrolls and fortune cookies.
More chicken, please!

The girls wanted to try chopsticks... er, maybe when you're older.

Fourth of July RockStars

For the Fourth of July weekend we had a big family party with lots of food, lots of cousins, and lots of fireworks. It was a lot of fun. So much fun that we didn't take any photos. Good thing the girls modeled these fun Fourth of July shirts to remind us of all that fun.
My little Rock Stars. They had lots of fun playing my makeup. Daddy was getting worried when he saw them experimenting in the bathroom, but I told him it was okay... "you wouldn't understand, it's a girl thing." They decided they wouldn't use dark colors in the future because it's too difficult to get off afterwards.

Smells of summer

In the car on the way to the gym...
Bell: My armpits smell like a tree.
Lady: My armpits smell like a flower

Lady's Thoughts on Long Hair

"I wouldn't want long hair like Rapunzel because it would be too difficult to go to the bathroom because my hair would always be getting in the toilet... and that's just gross."

Sounds reasonable to me...

Let Freedom Run

On a whim, I entered the 5k Freedom run for the Fourth of July weekend. Mind you, it was my second run in 14 months, my second run post-baby, and my first race. I didn't know anything about timing chips, attaching bibs, or the like. I wasn't first, and I wasn't last... I was about 60th percentile. The important thing for me was that I did it. I ran the whole thing without knowing a single other soul and had a great time doing it. On to the 10k...
Two of my cheerleaders. Daddy was a champ getting everyone ready by 6:15am and taking them to breakfast while I picked up my packet and started the race. I can't wait for the next one.

Pretty in Pink

Another tea party... only this one had a "pink" theme, because they really like the books "Pinkalicious." Do you really think we could turn pink if we ate too many pink cupcakes?

5 months

She has recently discovered her tongue and likes to stick it out as much as possible (although we haven't caught it on camera yet). She also likes to blow spit bubbles. It's confusing for Gretters why it's okay for Baby E to spit, but not her.

Camping Trip!

While Mommy and Baby E went on a business trip to Chicago, Daddy and the girls went camping in the mountains. This isn't princess camping... there are no showers, no toilets, no rangers. They just go out and find a place to camp. Apparently lots of people camp this way. The girls LOVED it. They cooked their meals on the fire, went fishing, and sang songs by the campfire while Daddy played the guitar. Other campers came and joined them and they had a big sing-a-long.

All three girls wanted to help set up the tent

Gretters wanted to be the center pole

Victory! The tent is up. Daddy let them stay up late and then they all slept like princesses on a big air matress.

When I came home from Chicago the girls asked me if I could go on another trip so they could go camping with Daddy.

Saturday is a Special Day

The girls are great helpers.. in the garden, in the kitchen, in the laundry room... you name it. One Saturday I introduced them to a new job: cleaning the marks off the walls. They thought it was fun and we sang the song from Mary Poppins "A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down." Bell scrubs until the wall is sparkling.

Lady loves to say quote "to every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.. you find the fun and snap.. the job is a game." I sure appreciate her cheerful attitude.

Gretters loves being a big girl and helps out however she is able.

First Bath in a Real Tub

Four and a half months old and she's too big for the sink. I put her in the real tub, and big sister G insisted on hopping in. Baby E was a bit dubious of adding a splasher to the mix, but Gretters was in heaven.

Girly things

My first french braid on the girls... I'm so proud.

Our cousin Ann came to town for a brief overnight visit and brought tiaras for the girls... which they absolutely loved. She bathed them and played "waterfall" with them and showed her usual Ann Poppins magic. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Ann Poppins--- but I did catch a quick snap of Gretters wearing her tiara. Thanks, Ann!

Baby E enjoying her pedicure. Those baby nails grow so fast!

Family Date

Daddy and I try and go on individual dates with each of the girls. They're usually pretty simple, like going out for icecream or going to the mall. We thought it would be fun to go on a family date and make it a big one: dinner and a movie! Here we are at Red Robin.

We had some extra time before the show started, the girls played on a few cars, buses, spaceships and trains. Here the twins ride on a big yellow bus.

Gretters had fun on the train pretending it was choo-chooing. It was weird to think that only a week ago, we had been at Disneyland riding a real choo-choo.

Shrek... the final chapter. This was mommy's favorite of the four movies because it was about families and being grateful for what you have. I am blessed with a wonderful family and I am grateful!

Brief cousin visit

After the Grand Canyon visit, my sister's family passed through to visit other family in the area. One night they played with us at the trampoline place, and then returned to the house to eat pizza and play dress-up. Good thing we have several princess dresses.

The twin cousins

Grand Canyon

Growing up, my family always took long vacations. Because of those trips, I've seen 45 of the 50 states, but we had never been to the Grand Canyon. We decided to take a road trip with our three families from California and see it together. All I can say is that it doesn't even seem real; the beauty is indescribable. And we definitely want to go back, with just the adults, on a hiking adventure. Here we are, keeping the trip tradition alive with our own families.

Our own little family standing on the "edge" of the North Rim.

The hotel we stayed at was only a couple years old and was all decked out in cowboy parafanilia. The girls loved the mini fridge. We swam with all the cousins in the big pool, ate pizza together, and ran across the hall back and forth between the rooms. It was cousin heaven.

Gretters standing in our cowboy bathroom. Notice the boots and steer horns on the wallpaper.

Bell and E in the hotel. All three girls clamour to hold their littliest sister. It's so cute.

My little sis and her groooowing family; all five kids and one on the way!

Little brother and his little family.

The cousins sitting patiently waiting to start our Grand Canyon tour.

Sisters from another mother. My sister and I joke that Gretters and Eva were twins separated in heaven. These two munchkins are a year apart, and that's about the only difference. They are both fiery and independent and simply charming when they want to be.

Celebrating Dad's 60th

My dad turns 60 this year and for his celebration he wanted us to all go to Disneyland. We made t-shirts again like last year, only this year the ears indicate the "magic" number. We chose blue because it's his favorite color.
This is how I spent a good portion of my time... yes, there is a baby under there.

Bell drove Mommy in the Utopia cars. She didn't crash into anyone. She said "Mom, now that I know how to drive, maybe I can drive when we get home." Hmmm... maybe... in 10 or 11 years. She did a great job, but pointed out how Grandma Red did NOT obey the signs when she crashed into us. Yes, Bell... Grandmas can be naughty!

Both the girls rode all the fast rides (except Indian Jones because they didn't make the height requirement). They love rollercoasters. Here, Lady poses with her fancy sunglasses in front of the Matterhorn.

Gretters favorite rides were "Pirate Booty" (Pirates of the Carribean) and the "Ghost Ride" (Haunted House). She still asks me to hum the tune they play while in the haunted mansion. This girls isn't afraid of anything (except maybe ants). She also loved chasing the little birds that populate the Disney grounds.

Baby E enjoyed looking at all the people from the comfy seat of her bjorn. Mommy lost her polka dot sunhat in the Haunted Mansion, so she had to buy Baby E a lavendar tinkerbell sunhat. It only cost a semester's worth of college tuition.

One of the rides the whole gang could ride... It's a Small World. With 10 grand-daughters, it's no wonder that the "doll ride" was a huge hit with this group.

This is a replica of a photo we have of the girls when they were 16 months old on their first trip to Disneyland. We were carrying them in bjorns back then... but now they're too big for that. It doesn't seem that long ago that they were first here... and yet, I definitely have two grown-up girls. Where did the time go?

Highlights from this Disney Trip:

1) Being together of course in our matching shirts

2) Yummy Mexican Food

3) Gretters shutting down the Alice in Wonderland ride (oh yes she did)

4) Buzz Lightyear competition

5) Me finally refusing to ride Dumbo, but watching all the other poor suckers wait in the longest line for the shortest ride