Sun-Shiny Day

I can see clearly now the rain is gone

I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It's gonna be a bright, bright

bright sun-shiny day!

So this time around, not having another baby on the way,

 I havn't been in much of a hurry to get to the "big girl" things with Ellenie.

  She still sleeps in a crib, still has her paci, and still wears wore diapers.

With Lillianna I had a time line for each one and

 checked them off in a well-planned and well-executed fashion.

  This time, well, I just havn't been as motivated.

Finally, after several slightly embarassing situations in public

 where Ellenie declared she either

 needed to poop, had just pooped, or wanted me to "change her stinky poo poos" -

  I decided it was time to tackle potty training.  ugh.

Only Miss Priss could make it look, um well, glamorous...

Can you tell what her reward of choice was? 

It wasn't all pretty though...

Several times in the first couple of days Ellenie we wanted to give up

 (above, she's begging to put a diaper back on)....

but after many tubes of "meek up" and promising Snow White could come live with us,

Ellenie is 83% potty trained! yea!

Now for her big girl bed...

Summer Lovin'

The Little Turtle

by Vachel Lindsay

There was a little turtle.

He lived in a box.

He swam in a puddle.

He climbed on the rocks.

He snapped at a mosquito.

He snapped at a flea.

He snapped at a minnow.

And he snapped at me.

He caught the mosquito.

He caught the flea.

He caught the minnow.

But he didn't catch me.

(one of Lillianna's favorite poems)

Summer has already been flying by.

Toads, swimming, swinging, visiting with friends and family, treasure walks, sleeping in, popsicles, movie nights, a new playhouse (built by Brad!), and Christy the turtle (seen above).

Love it all.

Happy Memorial Day!

A couple of weekends ago, with Dandy & Wil here to visit,

we went to see something you don't get to see everyday...

An Air Force Air Show!

The girls really enjoyed seeing the planes and jets up close and getting to meet some true heros...

I don't normally put adults on my blog but I figured these two were good exceptions.

We don't know them but we sure are grateful for their service to our country!

The male pilot flies this F-16 which Ellenie loved and

the female pilot is one of very few female Thunderbird pilots (girls can do anything!).

We really had a nice time...my only complaint was

it was so hot!

Another day, another toad.

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.