A cold day at the beach

We went to the beach the other day in a vain attempt to take a picture for the Christmas cards I would like to send out. First of all while it was fairly mild at our house the beach was absolutely freezing. First strike against me. Second getting a good picture with both of the girls is nearly impossible. So although some of these are very cute they did not make the cut as Christmas card material.

Apocalypse Now

That's the first thing I thought of when I saw Molly look over at me with these camouflaged colored paints smeared perfectly around her eyes. First of all when we broke out the easel for some artistic release she would not let go of her balloon she pain stakingly did it all with just the use of one hand. Then she did this to her face. What a little goofball. But you have to admit she does resemble martin sheen in that movie.

Packages in the Mail

Ella loves receiving mail and these packages from her Nana and papa and Great grandma and Great Grandpa really made her day!

Ella's Fourth Birthday

I can not believe that Ella is four. She is no longer a toddler she is a little girl. She really enjoyed her party. She told me a few day's before her party that the best part of a birthday is the balloons. So I went out and ordered a whole bunch of helium balloons for the party. Well within ten minutes of bringing the balloons in to the house all but 6 popped. The textured surface of the ceiling was the problem. When we all ran around the corner after hearing the popping Ella was holding the balloon pieces asking if we could fix them. She handled it well though not one tear. She changed her mind about the theme of the party four times in the week leading up to the party. First it was going to be hello kitty then leaves then the backyardigans and finally the power puff girls. Nick and I are not big fans of the power puff girls, but she was the birthday girl and I guess it is just the beginning of the struggle for independence. Some day we will wish it was just a battle over the theme to her birthday, and her independence will serve her well in life. Happy birthday to our little girl!

Bobo's First Haircut

Molly had her first haircut. I have been putting it off for some time now, I just couldn't do it. It means she is growing up she won't have those little baby curls anymore. It had to be done though it was starting to look like a rat tail. Ella's first haircut came after a group of boy's in a restaurant said "hey lady that's a cute baby she's got a nice mullet" I had to admit it was indeed a mullet. It's just so hard,their hair changes after you cut off all the baby hair. And as I knew she would Molly instantly looked a year older after the hair was snipped. She was a very good girl (the lollipop definitely helped) and she looks adorable.

Caught in the Act

The girls have thoroughly enjoyed their Halloween loot. Their mother has not exactly loved their sugared up behavior but it's only once a year and thanks to mom and dad the candy supply is almost tapped. In these pictures you can almost see the sugar working it's way in to their bloodstream, the eyes widen and begin to glaze over.

The Soothie Addiction

My girls both love their soothies I don't know how we will ever get them to give them up for good. As nick likes to joke it's a good thing we have dental insurance. At one point at the suggestion of their dentist I tried to switch them to the orthodontic kind but as you can see the transition was not successfully. Ella has about twelve soothies in her bed, we have managed to keep Molly down to a more manageable four (2 green and 2 yellow). Ella has green, yellow and one very special blue soothie which are no longer in production. At one point we had lost the last blue, it fell in a lake and down in between some large rocks. That was a sad day for Ella but she eventually moved on. Not long after she had accepted her fate with no blue Ella's friend Cait found a blue soothie underneath a bed and as Ella puts it "saved her life". We have managed to keep track of that one blue soothie for 2 years. It doesn't sound that amazing but it is considering how many of these things we have lost. At on point I bought them in bulk 25 to a package. I don't think I want to know how much we have spent on soothies in the past 4 years. Well this post has probably been boring to anyone who actually read it but as Ella's fourth birthday approaches this weekend I find myself sort of glad she still enjoys the soothies. As independant as she sometimes is, in a few ways she is still my baby. And as much as I cursed these stupid soothies as I crawled around on the floor 8 months pregnant searching under furniture for them they are a part of who she is. She likes to put one in her mouth and one under her nose, she always says I need a soothi to sniff with. Molly likes to put one her mouth and one or two in her ears. This past Saturday morning Ella climbed in bed with Nick and I and said I didn't know that soothie's had a dot com. Nick said where did she get that from and I said there is a web address on the soothie. Nick asked her if she read that off the soothie and she replied yes. Clearly a sign that she is too old for these silly plugs. I am torn though, I know that someday she will give them up on her own time but should I be making more of an effort to help her give them up? I am sure we will find the answer someday

MY LITTLE COWGIRL and her daddy's new hair

The Spooky Tub

On Halloween the girls got to take a eerie glowing tub before going to bed!

The Children's Museum

On Wednesday we went to the Children's museum or the Toy Museum as Ella calls it. The girls had a really good time, and it shouldn't surprise me but their favorite exhibit was the tubes that blew air out and allowed various balls and small things to float "magically" in the air. Ella pressed the button to start the air without knowing what would happen and she was a little startled when she got a blast of air in her face. But after that it was all fun. Molly had a great time running away from us and climbing into little spaces she knew I could not fit in or get her out of. When it was time to go she climbed up a ladder in to a submarine exhibit and was thrilled to learn I had no way to remove her. I had to recruit Ella to go in and get her but that was unsuccessful as well,l it was actually Aunt Hayley who was able to finally get her out.

The Children's Museum II