Wordless Wednesday

Hard at work...

...I wish I had their job ;)

The right way to watch TV

There are no couch potatoes in this house, just couch gymnasts. If we all watched TV like these two we wouldn't even need to exercise. They never stop moving! Here they are in some especially unusual positions...

 They never cease to entertain us :)

Divided and Reunited

We started off the morning with the usual weekend cartoons and cuddles on the couch. Leyna insisted I take the picture above because she just knew they looked so cute. :)
At nap time Leyna and I ran a few shopping errands and toward the end of our little excursion she decided she just had to have a hula hoop. She had been a good shopping companion so I obliged and she was absolutely over the moon. Then we got home and I realized maybe I should have gotten two. Duh! Leyna was in no mood to share her new toy with her sister and Cora was in no mood to be put off. She came right to me with her arms held up and begged, "Can you please leave with me so I can get a hula hoop?" Not good thinking Mommy. Not good at all. After about 4 fights they finally got into the groove of being together again and sharing and all was well. Phew!

"Can you please leave with me so I can get a hula hoop?" The answer was "No, but you can have a cookie!"

Hula Girl

Truly all is well in the world when those two are best friends. Tonight, for the second night in a row, they put their pjs on and spent at least thirty minutes just laying in Leyna's bed playing with their flashlights.

It makes me so, so, SO happy to see them just hanging out like that. Talking, laughing, and just being sisters and very special friends. :)

Chwocwate

I was out this morning and afternoon for a baby shower and some errands. We had a rough night last night so I made some coffee when I got home and Cora decided she needed some "Hot Chwocwate" so she could pretend she had coffee too.

How could I turn down this face?

 Or this one?

 Or this one???

 Oh, and I can't forget this one...

So I whipped up some "Hot Chwocwate" and the girls stood in the kitchen chatting over their pretend coffee like co-workers. It was adorable :)

Uneventful Day

Today was really very unexciting. Leyna had school (which was exciting for her!), I did lots of laundry, cleaning up, cooking, and the like. Leyna and I made tortillas together this afternoon and she told me that she LOVES cooking. Then after dinner we all made cookies together and Daddy took this picture:

And other than that I am really struggling to think of anything notable. There are lots of upcoming events constantly being planned in my head and we are getting ready to register BOTH girls for preschool this fall (SOBBING!!!) and my brain is just in overdrive but apparently not for blogging. Sorry everyone. Better content tomorrow I hope. Good night!

Playing at THE PARK!

We were so blessed to have gorgeous, sunny 66 degree weather today! So of course we had to spend the day at the park with some of our favorite friends!

Pee Paw dropped by the park to swap some things between our cars and it reminded me that he sent me a little quote after watching the girls the other day. I have to share. From Pee Paw:

Today Leyna said, "Pee Paw, how old is your house?" I told her it was about 34 years old. She then said, as she was looking around, "hmmm, it looks old". Guess we'd better spruce it up a little bit.

Wordless Wednesday

New skills and deep thoughts.

First off I have two announcements to make:
1. Leyna can whistle (she's been doing it for about a week) and is so pleased with herself!
2. Cora figured out how to zip her coat all by herself this morning!
Increased entertainment and decreased tasks on the way out the door. Win-win :)

Leyna had so much fun playing tug o' war with Rudy while Cora and Pee Paw read a book :)

We did a lot of running around today. I dropped the girls off with Pee Paw and Rudy this morning while I went to a doctor appointment. Then picked them up and we met Daddy at the home improvement store for a few more bathroom renovating essentials, had lunch with him at the grocery store, and then did our bi-weekly grocery shopping. It was a little much and the girls sure let me know it toward the end of the trip. We were more than ready to get home but about halfway there traffic came to a dead stop and we saw an accident up ahead. In order to take the detour we had to drive right by a very small car that was very smashed up. It was Leyna's first time seeing a car accident up close and it really hit her hard. She immediately started to cry for the person who was all "smooshed up" like the car and asked me if they were going to be okay. Now I don't know if it's the right thing to do but I usually keep it pretty real with the girls. I know they are just little but I don't shy away from telling them about the dangers of the world and I think today I'm really glad for that because Leyna is the type of person who genuinely takes it to heart and learns from it. (Cora was kind of in and out of a nap and didn't seem too bothered by the whole thing)
First I told her that I didn't know if the person was okay but they were at the hospital and we could say a prayer for God to help them get better. That stopped her from crying for the most part. Then we talked about how important it is to always drive safe and follow the rules for driving.
After thinking for quite some time (with the most somber, grown up little look you've ever seen on a 4-year-old), she had the following things to say:
a. "Someday if I have kids driving me crazy while I'm trying to drive I'll just ignore them."
b. "From now on if I have a boogie I'll wait to give it to you when you're stopped so I don't distract you."
Funny? Yes. But seriously, I didn't mention anything along these lines to her or give her any examples of how them distracting me could cause an accident. It just blows my mind how she took that accident and applied it to herself all on her own.
She went on to ask me why there were policemen standing in the road, and why they give people tickets and take them to court. The last thing she said as we were pulling into the driveway is "I hope the people didn't die." We said another prayer and went inside and didn't talk about it anymore until she recounted it all to Daddy at dinner. And wouldn't you know Cora chimed in with "God will protect them and make them all better." I guess you never know when they are and aren't listening and what they learn from every little moment.

Sisters

These two. Ahhh, where do I start? When they love each other they LOVE each other with every bone in their little bodies. They hug and practically squeeze each other to the ground. When they're mad at each other, they stomp and yell and spit and turn red in the face. That's where I usually step in and tell them to cool it off. Leyna is learning to willingly go in her room and chill out but Cora is not a fan of this technique. She can be raging mad at Leyna but as soon as Leyna closes her bedroom door Cora in torn in pieces, bawling "Leyna's mad at me! Waaaaahhhhhh!" It's a pitiful sight to see. Really. It makes me tear up. She is always the first to apologize, knocking on the door begging "Leyna, I'm so sorry." Even when it's not her fault. When the door opens Leyna will say, "It's okay, I forgive you." Then they hug and hug and laugh and continue on with their game, even better friends than before. I hope they always stay that way. Well, hopefully without the spitting ;)

New bathroom coming soon.

Today Daddy and I woke up and decided, "Hey, let's completely redo our powder room!" We hadn't even been considering it yesterday but today was just the right kind of day for a project. Hopefully tomorrow is too because we're not nearly done!
The girls spent the morning playing while we planned and measured and made a material list. Then we hit the home improvement store and they "drove" their car cart around the store, ate graham crackers, and listened to me say "Please settle/calm down" about 752 times. By the time we were done it was way past lunch time so I took them to their favorite Chinese buffet while Daddy went home and got started. Well, kind of. A lot of the stuff he needed was actually in my car. Oops!
Uncle Steve ended up coming over to help so the rest of the afternoon for me was spent trying to entertain them and keep them out of the newly demolished bathroom. Cora was pretty dismayed that her favorite pooping spot was out of  commission. I hope she likes it's new look when it's all said and done!

Funny how while we're messing up one room of the house the girls manage to mess up every single other room in an effort to keep themselves entertained.

Peek-a-boo! (Cora was blowing her "horse lips" in this picture so that's why she looks like Carly Simon)

Cora is really trying to figure out what we've done to her favorite spot in the house. Life may never be the same...

A lovely day

Today was one of those truly lovely days. For starters, we had a fantastic play date with our friends Max and Penelope ("LP") this morning. The kids played SO well together and the grown ups actually got to talk a lot. We had a nice lunch, coffee, and quite a few laughs. When they left I told Andy, "Wow, that was totally laid back and stress-free!" It was great.

Leyna is so into babies these days. She's been asking me lately "What if I have five babies?" Today Penelope was using the bouncy chair we used to use for the girls and Leyna asked me if she could borrow it for her babies some day. She said she's going to live "right over there at the end of the sidewalk." That would be fine with me! Love that girl!

Comedianne & Audience

Cora would yell "Pa-POW!" and Max would crack up. This went on for about 15 rounds until poor Max had hiccups from laughing so hard. It was SO CUTE!

By the time our guests were gone Cora had missed out on nap time so we decided to keep the energy level up with some play time outside. We took a long walk in the sunshine, rode bikes, did a little bit of garden clean-up, and played on the swings. The highlights for me were having one-on-one time with each girl for a little bit. Leyna and I drew with chalk for a while, tracing her on the driveway and then drawing in her face, clothes, and even a bouquet of purple tulips. A bit later I sat on the swing with Cora on my lap and we went higher and higher and she leaned her head back on my chest and laughed and laughed. Moments to remember indeed :)

PJ Day and Sleepover Time

Today was pajama day at school! Leyna and her classmates were SO excited. The wait in the foyer before we went into the classroom was absolutely adorable. The kids were all giggling and happy in the pjs and slippers and were MUCH more excited than I've ever seen them for any of the parties they've had. Here's are little pj cutie:

She insisted on the "I love my mom and dad" pjs even though I really wanted her to wear her Tinkerbell ones. I don't win a lot of clothing wars these days. But I will say it was AWESOME not having to get her dressed this morning!!!

This evening I got to go play Bunco with some of our great neighbor ladies and the girls had Winnie the Pooh movie night with Daddy and Uncle Steve. Afterward they got to have the sleepover they've been waiting for for 2 nights. Here's what I saw when I got home:

Precious!

Wordless Thursday

A checkup and another party

Cora Jane had her 30-month-old checkup at the doctor today. I'm happy to report that our little peanut gained 1 1/2 pounds in the past 6 months and is doing great! They didn't do a checkup at this age for Leyna so there's no comparison this time but here are the stats:

Weight: 24 lbs, 8 oz (5th-10th percentile)
Height: 35 inches (25th-50th percentile)
Head circumference: 49.8 cm (75th-90th percentile) <--she's got a lot of smarts in there!!!

Now moving on - When did Valentine's Day become a 3 day celebration? We have really made the most of this holiday! This afternoon we went to the house of a neighbor we recently met (and it turns out used to be neighbors with us and play with me when I was 4 - SMALL WORLD!). There were lots of kids, cool moms, crafts, snacks, sweets, and new toys to be enjoyed. The girls had so much fun and both said "That was a GREAT party!" when we left. They also seem to both have crushes on the boys who live at the house. One is a year older than Leyna and one is Cora's age. Oh no, time to lock them in their rooms til they're 18!
After we got home the girls were totally worn out. Leyna wanted me to keep all of the lights out and let her just read books on the couch. This was at 6:00! So here are the tired little bookworms doing one of the things they love best :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I think it's safe to say we had a very FULL, FUN, and sugar FILLED day!

The girls' special breakfast table for 2 :)

They each received a card, a Valentine book, and a chocolate rose.

And a marshmallow bouquet (that didn't last long!)

Breakfast was heart-shaped pancakes filled with strawberry jam and Pink strawberry smoothies.

After breakfast we geared up for an afternoon Valentine's party for our friends. Here's the candy spread.

The table with another marshmallow bouquet.

We decorated the cheap way with various cards, crafts, and favors we had already received. (I had high hopes of making some heart garland but it didn't happen)

Valentine's for our friends (butterflies for the girls and super heroes for the boys).

Large and small sugar cookies for decorating (homemade pink raspberry buttercream on the side)

Our first party guest, Liam!

Lunch was delish! Fruit salad, green salad, and homemade pizza with salami hearts.

Pink raspberry lemonade with special straws :)

Everyone (except I missed Scott) munching away

Playing hot potato

Doing a Valentine's Mad Lib

They were all cracking up by the end :)

Craft time!

They made these adorable little hats.

Everyone in their hats (except Liam and Brielle)

And finally the cookie decorating/candy eating extravaganza!

I loved Scott's cookie. He's good!

And if that wasn't enough excitement Daddy came home with 3 long-stemmed roses. One for each of his Valentines :) He's one lucky guy!

Then it was time for a "Lady and the Tramp" inspired dinner. Spaghetti and homemade meatballs. This scene is not staged, Leyna insisted upon it :) Oh, and I tried to talk like "Tony" the whole time but it kinda freaked them out... "HEEEEY POOCH! YOU WANT A MEATABALLA?" LOL

And to top off the day Nana came and sent Mommy and Daddy out to dinner AND babysat the girls (poor Pee Paw was sick). Of course they received some more Valentine goodies and had a wonderful evening.

Love to all! Good night!