proud momma

i've been meaning to post for awhile now that miss adelyn's been getting better and better....well, really slower and slower at coloring. she now takes her time and is doing great at staying in the lines!

this has been her best yet....she colored it in january....

and she's started to draw people....

the cutest people ever.... :)

and elena puts on a storytime daily and really puts such an effort into reading! she's soing so well!!! and is reading new words every day!!!

and then of course ad does a storytime too.... ;)

"Do not ask that your kids live up to your expectations. Let your kids be who they are, and your expectations will be in breathless pursuit." ~Robert Brault

lil kickers

last saturday elena got to perform with the lp cavalettes (the same dance team i once was on and coached) during the high school basketball game halftime. they has 2 practices proir to their big debut. she aboslutely loved it!!

her nervous/giddy/overjoyed wide-open-mouth-tongue-hanging-out-smile didn't leave her face the whole time....

there were 106 "lil kickers" that participated! e was front and center....

we were SO proud of our lil kicker!! and it felt good to be back on such familiar turf for j and i....

lanie's lil kicker performance....



"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance." ~Japanese Proverb

so they say....

at the dinner table....
elena: uh oh i have to toot.
daddy: ok, well go ahead. just use your manners after.
[...silence and staring...]
daddy: did you toot?
elena: well yea, but it was just steam that came out.


daddy: how was your day, elena?
elena: eh, decent.


adelyn: shut the door.
[i shut the door.]
adelyn: noooo, not like that.
me: how? you want it just cracked?
adelyn: noooo, DON'T crack it. just shut the door.


j and i lay with the girls for a bit when they go down for bed. we all call out to each other, "i love you ________!" filling it in with each of us. it was adelyn's turn....
adelyn: i love you mommy. i love you daddy. i love you lanie. i love you ME!


playing....
elena: i'm going to go to outer space so i can get a baby in my belly.


going into the kitchen....
elena: bye, like, whatever your name is...like, jason....like, molly. i'm outta here.


in church....
me: (whispering) STOP picking your nose.
adelyn: (still diggin' and whispering) i can't stop...
me: (whispering) we are almost done and we will get a kleenex as soon as we leave. stop picking your nose.
adelyn: (loudly) i CAN'T WAIT to pick to my nose!!


sitting at the table making their grocery lists....chatting to each other....
elena: my girls used to eat princess vitamins, but now they want jesus, mary and joseph vitamins. (pretending to write it on her list)
adelyn: oh yea, i know them! them is soooo nice!


while sound asleep....
adelyn: "i'm done going pee pee, mommy."
SOUND asleep.


coloring together at the table....
adelyn: (holding up her picture) "see my plower, lane."
elena: "yes. i see your flower. it looks like it's dying."
adelyn: (long pause for pondering) "no. it's not dying, lane. it's hanging on."


to j and i before bed....
elena: "i love you to jesus to santa claus to the rainbow to the moon to the sun and to the stars....the hot ones and the cold ones."


"A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer." ~Author Unknown

wordless wednesday {cuddle and tug your sis' ear style}

while watching a movie...

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." ~Marion C. Garretty

hair cut

we made this appointment months ago, but i was still apprehensive to cut my babies' hair! e on the left, ad on the right....

e has had 2 trims; and they were barely even that. and this would be ad's first haircut! this is the before....

elena was first...

abbie put it in a little pony tail and chopped it off....

we saved it....

adelyn looked on while practicing her letters....

elena even got pixie dust in her hair....

then it was ad's turn....and she was all smiles!

after abbie confirmed her hair is in perfect condition we decided NOT to give miss ad her first haircut! so abbie pretended to cut it....

and then curled it for her....

it looked so sweet....

and of course a little pixie dust....

elena's before and after....her hair feels and looks so much healthier now! she was a bit upset at first, as she really loves long hair....but she now says she loves it and we're excited that it can grow at the same length! no more V! those sides just aren't growing!

and ad's NON-hair cut....super cute curls! we'll schedule the first haircut in another year or so. :)

"How can I control my life when I can't control my hair?" ~Author Unknown

4 1/2

four and a half!!!

i can't believe it, little mamma. you are 4 1/2 today! we are celebrating tomorrow because you had "lil kicker" practice tonight.

so you, miss elena, at 4 1/2....

- you are a very very kind person. you're extremely thoughtful of others and never cease to amaze me just how thoughtful a 4 yr old can be!

- you sometimes totally talk like a valley girl. not quite sure what that's about, but it's pretty hilarious.

- you still love babies, pretending to be pregnant and taking care of them.

- you're dramatic. dra.ma.tic. never, always, nothing, everything.

- you are often in the mirror looking at yourself - making faces, singing, dancing, performing...studying yourself.

- you are a dancer and singer.

- you like to be a leader. you love to take on the lead role and organize your friends play.

- you're sooooooo girly. like girly, girly, girly. you love to dress up, you only want to wear dresses, you love your nails painted, you pretend to wear make-up, you always want to wear jewelry, etc, etc, etc.

- at your parent/teacher conference we were told she "wished every student was like YOU!" your favorite centers are the writing center and the science center...and you'd rather learn than play! which doesn't worry me cause you sure play enough at home!

- you're quite creative...and you especially love to think out of the box with your crafts. the other day you made a person from all these paper scraps. you folded them to be porportional to the human body and created a person. you're always trying to create something...

- you give away all your creations. you're a total giver!

- you love to be right. um, let me re-phrase that....you HAVE to be right. and i, uh, get that.

- you love movies. you'd rather watch movies than tv. your favorite is "happy feet."

- you're still an eater. your favorite is still peanut butter and jelly. your favorite dinners are tacos and chicken pasta.

- you wear a 9-10 shoe and 4-5 size clothes. you're growing out of 4T, but can wear a 4R and fit best in 4/5.

- you're a real quick learner. you seem to have a photographic memory and just are intelligible.

- you're beginning to read. but... NOT when we ask you to. you often look at something and read it - clear as day. and then ask for confirmation, "does that say, ___________?" "yep! you read it! good job! can you read this? sound it out...." and you get all flustered. you've read some random words.

- every morning you wake up like the energizer bunny! you make your bed before you even get out of it (don't know where you get that! ha!), pick out an outfit, dress yourself - hair accessory and all, go potty, set the table for breakfast AND help your sister with ALL of the above! it's soooo nice!

- you love to be praised. i mean, who doesn't? especially a 4 yr old? but you love love love look for it love to be praised.

- you're a pleaser. see previous comment. ;)

- we were out to eat a few weeks ago and we brought this home and i realized you kinda did soduko...without any instructions on how to...

- i guess we finally got that you have an interest in math when you asked santa for a math book! he delivered and you love practicing your math!

- you've been drawing religious pictures, especially in church.

- this is your picture of outer space. you've (re)taught me some stuff! for realz.

- you're understanding sarcasm. ahem, not that we'd use it while parenting.

- you can be super whiney sometimes and we're working hard together to lessen that.

- you're a ham. majorly. and we love it.

elena jae, it's a pleasure to watch what an amazing person, inside and out, that you are blossoming into. happy 4 1/2, baby girl!

"Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell, the name will carry." ~Bill Cosby

our vday

was a pretty typical day, except for heart shaped waffles for breakfast....

adelyn wrote most of her name by herself on daddy and my's cards... (she wrote the A, d, and L. )

and heart shaped pizza for dinner.... mmmm - so many crusty pieces, i was in heaven with my valentines!

and of course a bottle of champagne for the momma and dadda after the girls went down....

"Fall in love and you fall forever." ~Author Unknown

happy valentine's day

muah....

"I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon." ~Author Unknown