There's a toad in my abode.

Hello.  This is Toad #4 of at least 24 that the girls have caught in the last month.

He, along with the rest of them, was loved very well

(but not as well as Toad #21 who was loved too well).

This is how it goes:

  Lillianna catches a toad, squeals with excitement and

then runs to show it to Ellenie who insists on carrying it around with her at all times. 

They know they can't keep the frogs toads for more than a day, even if we've provided meals for it,

 because the toad misses his Mommy & Daddy too much and MUST got home.

While they have the possession of the toad(s), they assume the role of its Mothers and take an active role in parenting such an amusing amphibian.

For instance:

Sometimes the toad shows off his amazing dance skillz.

Sometimes the toad needs his eyeballs checked for reflexes.

Sometimes the toad gets a piece of food lodged in his tiny esophagus and need the Heimlich maneuver.

And sometimes he just needs the gentle, loving touch of his two patient, nurturing Mothers.

Beachin' it. Part 3

The whole trip was dreamy.

(Okay, there were several not-so-dreamy-2 yr-old-hates-being-sandy and 4yr-old way-too-tired moments).

This moment was the most dreamy of them all.

Mother's Day morning and we all took a long walk at my request.

Oh please, oh please, oh please I hope I remember forever how sweet and beautiful

 and perfectly special it was.

I loved it.

Beachin' it. Part 2

More friends...more fun...more beach...more sun.

Beachin' it. Part I

Once a year.

One week at the beach.

Just the four of us.

It gets even better every year.

Love it.

They loved it.

They loved the thrill of the waves.

They loved discovering the periwinkles and other tiny animals.

They loved the sea shells.

They loved digging a giant hole with their Daddy.

They loved taking walks with their Mommy.

They loved playing with eachother.

Loved it.

This is what Ellenie loved...

Cuddling in a blanket, in a chair, preferably in the shade,

eating goldfish and drinking a Capri Sun.

Loved it.

And this is what Lillianna loved...

All of it.

The sand, the creatures, the water, the waves.

Always finding the next treasure.

Loved it.

Goodbye School! Hello Summer!

E:  Are you nervous La La?

L:  Nope.

E:  Will you remember all the words, remember to smile, and remember to wave at me?

L:  Of course, I'm famous since my ballet recital.  I'm a natural with these things.

Lillianna's end of school program...

E:  Yea La La!!  You did GREAT!  I loved it! I knew you'd be great!

L:  Ah thanks Ellenie!  I knew I'd be great too.

Of course, I knew she'd be great too!

It really is the little things...

Baking Strawberry cupcakes usually leads Ellenie to this...

which then leads her to this...

which quickly leads her to needing a quick bath...

(good thing she still fits in here)

which leads to one happy little girl.

Catching up and having fun

A couple of weeks ago, we were treated to a wonderful visit

with Aunt Corky and Baby Connor (as the girls still call him).

The girls really did try to give him their royal treatment...

complete with coronations

and kisses.

Of course, being the gentlemen that he is, he offered his best to them:

  they were welcome to smell his piggy toes anytime.

Connor really was perplexed by the less than enthusiastic response he got...

Why, his Mommy LOVES to smell his cute little feet!

So does his Aunt!  I want to eat every little bit of him up!

Where is Lillianna?  Realizing she wasn't with the rest of us, I found her.

Studying a tiny caterpillar of course.

This is the "slightly exasperated with Mom/I'm trying not to giggle" look. 

I have feeling this is the foundation of the "I am so annoyed by my Mom" stare

 that will be around in (I hope no sooner than) 10 years.

Regardless of it's meaning, I love this look.  Love her!

Beautiful Ballerina

This past weekend we had a very memorable event....

Our first dance recital.

Ballet to be exact.

Lillianna danced as a flower bearer in the ballet story of Esther.

* 'Ballet Bun' hairdo was a very strict must.  We were instructed to use lots of hair gel and a hair net.

Lillianna heard the instructions so there was no way for me to get around them.

So we used lots of both and actually succeeded in achieving a bun.  Even if it was the size of a quarter.

Once it was done and she took one look in the mirror and said,

 "I'm not sure about this.  I don't really look like me."

Here she is  (far left) handing her flowers to the newly crowned Queen Esther at the coronation cermony.

Here she is (far right) doing part of her precious, precious dance.

Love, love, love this picture.

  I can't begin to explain how excited, how proud she was on stage.

She beamed.  She glowed.  She radiated with pride.

She felt so beautiful and loved seeing all of us in the crowd.

She did dance but she did ALOT of waving.  And even more smiling.

She was literally the first one off the stage.

  She ran down the stairs, smiling from ear to ear and literally jumping with excitement.

She was already so pleased and proud that her Mommy, Daddy, Ellenie, Ya-Ya, & Marshall were in the crowd.  I thought she just might burst when she saw two of her best buddies in the audience too.

Thank you for coming Meg & Lillie!

Such a great night, such a sweet little girl, such a precious memory,

such a proud ballerina...and a very proud Mama.