Big Sister Quote of the Day XXXII

"I wanna push Addie on da swing be-kuz I'm a big sister and dat's what big sister do."

Cutest shirt EVER!

Big Sister Quote of the Day XXXI

Addie: Squawk (smile).
Ellie: (smile)
Daddy: Squawk.
Ellie: No, Daddy. She's talking to me!
Addie: Squawk (smile).
Ellie: (smile)
Mommy: Squawk.
Ellie: No, Mommy. She's talking to me!
Addie: Squawk (smile).
Ellie: See? She's smilering at me. She's laughing at me.

Mommy Ink???

I need your vote! Pah-lease!!!????

I'm thinking I still really want a tattoo and I want it to symbolize my children, and aspen leaves might just be the way to go. One green for Ellie born in the spring and one yellow for Addie born in the fall. The fact that it's an aspen leaf is great because they turn in September (when Michael and I got married) so it kind of ties all three things into one image.

So... Here are my two favorites at this point in time (neither of which is perfect - these are just random pictures I found online)...
Option A: I like the yin-yang feel of the design:
Option B: I like how the yellow leaf could be smaller than the green one:

Tell me what you think! Which one do you like? If you want to post a comment anonymously, that's fine too. I'm just curious what others think.

Wordless Wednesday XXXVII

Always wear protection

Go away monster!

We recently took out a bunch of board games and have really been enjoying them. One of Ellie's favorites is "Go Away Monster." It's a simple game where you blindly pick pieces out of a bag. There are pieces that fill your bedroom with stuff (bed, picture, teddy bear, lamp) and there are monster pieces. I love the game because the technique to get rid of the monsters is simply adorable.

Ah shucks, thanks!

My friend, Salina, posted the following:

"My friend Niffer has always inspired me to see motherhood from a positive angle. She reminds me with every one of her posts how wonderful and breathtaking it is to experience life through the eyes of my children..."

I'm always so flattered by such unexpected compliments from other wonderful mothers.

Thanks!

...And that was the end of Addie's nap

A while ago I read yet another beautiful post by one of my favorite bloggers. Somewhere hidden in the long post was a picture of her sleeping baby smiling in response to her Mommy speaking to her. I wanted to try it out.

A sunny day at the park

I don't think an explanation is needed. The pictures say it all. The park brings joy to everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE. Life doesn't get much better than a warm sunny day in Colorado.

A girl and her friends

Unfortunately I failed to get pictures hugging Ellie hugging two other girls at the party (one left crying and one left after exchanging "knuckles" instead of hugs), but I love the fact that my little girl is loved by her friends. It makes me happy to see her so filled with laughter. Hehehe... doesn't that last picture (with Brynnie) look like two best friends drunk in a bar?

Wordless Wednesday XXXVI

Ellie's tea party

If you want the short version, here is how the party started:


And here is how the party ended:

It's like a Toddler Mosh-Pit!

For more details, feel free to move on. Or you could watch the videos again. That would be fun too.
Though I had an idea in my head about the order in which we would partake in the party activities, the reality was that we were dealing with a room full of toddlers. So when, after the girls got burned some energy running circles in the kitchen, Ellie said she was hungry I decided to have a snack first. AVOID ANY CHANCE OF A BREAKDOWN. I loved watching Ellie explain to her friends how to take the fruit off of the kabobs. At times she seems so confident.
After the snack, we moved to the tea table for the official tea party. And I think the girls loved being so big. I tried to get them to hold out their pinkies while drinking their tea but I think it just confused them.
By now you might have noticed that many of the girls are wearing their pretty hats that we decorated for them.
All except for my Ellie who, as I'm sure you've noticed by now, preferred a different type of hat. It's not my idea of proper tea party attire, but at least we know the gift was a hit!
After tea, we went back to the little table to decorate our purses and make necklaces. It turned out that moving back and forth kept the children pretty happy without requiring them to sit in one space for too long. I love it when things just work out.
And after hearing about how sad it was that Ellie would not be getting a cake for her birthday, the cupcake tower was a big hit. Since then, I've heard her tell many people that she got a cupcake for her birthday, of which I'm sure the image in her head was more impressive than the one most people have when they picture "a cupcake."
After cupcakes, Ellie wanted to open presents. I was actually hoping to avoid doing that while the girls were around because I'm not positive that kids this age understand why one child gets ALL the presents. However, much to my surprise, the girls were very excited when Ellie would open THEIR present. They seemed so proud of the presents they got Ellie. One little girl quietly wanted to open a bunch of the presents, but her birthday was just last week so that's an understandable mistake. =)
And finally, as a grand finale, the girls danced to the "I like to move it" song. It was a crazy crazy scene. Crazy, I tell you. Crazy.

But in the end, there is no doubt in my mind that the girls had a good time. The parents were all impressed and I heard lots of comments about how ambitious Ellie's Mommy was to take this sort of thing on. I've decided that throwing a big party was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to future ones.

Watch out! Niffer has discovered yet another way to enjoy parenthood! We could be in trouble.

Life in our home (update)

Look! I'm famous! She actually included my entry in her blog post. I'm guessing that means I didn't win the contest, but she said she got over 500 entries so at least I'm cool enough to be a runner-up!

Check it out in her post. I know, I know, you have to scroll to find the picture, but it's there and now I'm famous. I've always wondered how that would feel.

Ellie's birthday preparation

Ellie's birthday started with bed-hair and movies (as I already posted) but then the fun really began. We spent some time using up all her Easter stickers, which ended up being a very enjoyable moment for me. Sometimes it's the simple moments that take your breath away.
Then Ellie helped us clean for her party. Daddy wondered how it ended up that he was cleaning AND entertaining BOTH girls at the same time. I told him that I'd take a picture so that he got some credit for his effort. Notice the helmet Ellie got for her birthday. You will soon see that the helmet was a big hit.
Ellie helped set up for the party, too, and then decided to make a game out of the arrangement. Too cute. I never thought I'd learn how to skadoo like Blue.

Ellie had a hard time falling asleep for her nap - I'm sure she was too excited about her party. We wanted all the decorations to happen while she slept and we were thankful that she finally did fall asleep. The last thing I wanted was for her to melt down at her own party. Anyway, here are some of the details from the party:
Ladybug cupcakes. Ellie overheard me telling Aunt Erin that she wasn't going to have a cake (but cupcakes instead) and has spent the last 2 weeks telling anyone who brought up the topic or was willing to listen, "My birfday is coming soon. I'm going to be tree, but I don't get a cake" in such a sad sad voice that you'd think I was punishing her.
Bird nests made for an adorable tasty treat.
And fruit-kabobs on pinwheels were a fun touch.
For crafts, we had the girls make hats,
and necklaces,
and purses. Perfect attire for a tea party.
And finally, the decorations... Here is the craft table we set up.
And the big table setup for a pretty tea party.
And last, but not least...
Ellie's cake! I think it turned out pretty darn cute.

I know, I am setting the standard high with this one. Michael thinks I should have waited until Ellie was older so that she would remember the party, but what's wrong with living in the moment? It just means we'll have to do another tea party when she's older.