Need a smile?

Then look no further!

This one is SOOOO Addie.

Mommy Mommy Mommy

Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: Awww, hi there!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: I'm so glad to see you too!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: Did you miss me?
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: But I just saw you this morning. I love you!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (is she ever going to stop?)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (I guess that answers that question)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (Surely she can't keep this up)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (She's being so sweet, can I ask her to stop?)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (I can hold out longer than a 3 year old can)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (or can I?)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (oh dear god. Stop saying that!!!)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (Don't get mad at her. She's just being sweet.)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (This too shall pass)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (GAH!!!! I can't take it anymore!!!)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (Stay calm. Think of a solution.)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (A better solution than strangling her)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (Oh! I know!)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: (Oh wait, the idea is gone. What do I do???)
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: WOW, Addie! I don't know what to say other than WOW!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Addie: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy: You... ummm... I sure do feel loved now.
Addie: Oh good because I love you so much!

Wordless Wednesday

Addie's Wedding Plans

On the car ride home from Uncle David's wedding, a very tired Addie could NOT stop talking about her own wedding plans. Her conversation went something like this...

"... When I get bigger, I'm going to get married! When I am tenty years old, I will get married at Kiss-mas time! My marry will be at Kiss-mas time and I will sing Kiss-mas songs all the day long! I will sing Kiss-mas songs to my pince all the time because it will be Kiss-mas time when I marry my pince. And I am going to have a snowfake pincess costume! And when I kiss my pince, my wings will come out and I will be so happy to fie! Den I will use my wand to give my pince wings too so he can fie too. Den I will wand everyone so we can all dance in the sky all the whole night long! Then sparkles from the wand will come down like snow! And I will dance in the snow wif my pince. I am going to have snow falling from the sky at my widding when I am a fairy pincess because it's Kiss-mas time! Do you want to come and dance wif me in the snow falling when I get married???"

Be the Good

Promise me...

Dove recently conducted a "social experiment" where they took a forensic artist and had him sketch women according to how they described themselves and then again according to how someone else (i.e. stranger) desrcribed them. I thought the results were... what word am I looking for? Shocking? Sad? Uplifting? Inspirational? Let's just stick with "Powerful." There are a lot of aspects to defining the word "beauty." In my opinion, "beauty" includes mind, body and spirit...

I compliment my girls on how good they are at coming up with solutions to problems more often than I compliment them on their looks. I do not need to remind them (though I do) how much fun it must be to learn so many new things each and every day. Beauty includes the Mind - CHECK!

Sure there are times when I compliment my girls on looking pretty. Why not? They DO look pretty and I want them to know it. That being said, I also tell them "You look really healthy today!" or "You look very happy today!" just as often. Beauty encompasses ALL aspects of the Body - CHECK!

Beauty goes beyond what is in your mind or body... That's why the word is so meaningful. In order to be truly beautiful, someone needs to be a GOOD person. They need to care, not only for themselves, but for others just as much. They need to go out of their way to brighten someone's day. They need to be thoughtful and share. They need to be the beauty in the world around them. My girls know this, I'm sure, because they remind me of this lesson every day. One can not be beautiful without the Soul - CHECK!

The Dove ad was so powerful, not because it included EVERY aspect of beauty, but because it reminds us that we can be our own worst critic. It reminds us that we ARE beautiful. It reminds us that the warm smile we give to strangers makes us look younger, while the dreary look we give ourselves in the mirror makes us look older. It reminds us that we need to not be so hard on ourselves. We need to love ourselves. It reminds us that you're beautiful **IF** you truly love the person you are, inside AND out.

If my girls read this some time down the road, I want them to promise me one thing... Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Promise me this: Love yourself as you deserve to be loved.

** ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS **
All images were taken from the Dove "Real Beauty Sketches" campaign website:
http://realbeautysketches.dove.us/

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - Christopher Robin to Pooh

My purty girls

Love and Logic

Addie: I yove you SOOOO much, Mommy!
Mommy: Oh, and I love you too!
Addie: D'wanna know how much I yove you?
Mommy: How much?
Addie: I yove you too much to argue wif you right now.


Hahahha

Wordless Wednesday

Ellie's Birthday Party

Mommy: Ellie, what do you want to do for your birthday party?
Ellie: I want to go to Mid Air Adventures where they have those big swings and zip lines!
Mommy: Ok, that means we can invite 6 friends to your party. Who do you want to come?
Ellie: I mostly want my sister, Addie, to come. And she is going to want to bring a friend so I guess that leaves 4 more for me.

Seriously??? These two have it. The bond between sisters.

At the party itself, Addie was too nervous to do the swings or zip lines until Ellie went with her to show her that it was safe. Afterwards, Addie was a pro and kept her friend Julia safe on the swing just like her sister kept her safe. So cute.

Uncle David & Aunt Brandy's Wedding

Last Friday Uncle David got married. The sun came out for the wedding and went back behind the clouds afterwards. It was perfect.


I thought it was such a pretty venue for a wedding. It made me want to redo my wedding and have an outdoor one!


I'd also redo the guest book. LOVE IT.


The girls loved the joyous occasion and they dressed in their best, complete with heart braids in their hair. I do believe just about everyone at the wedding commented on their hair.


Such a simple wedding, yet it was so stunning all the same.


And along with Brandy, her daughter Haydn is now a part of the family. Isn't she purty?


Afterwards the party began. I got a kick out of watching these girls dance with each other. They had so much fun, and it didn't surprise me one bit that it was Ellie who led the way.


What did surprise me, though, was this dancing princess. She danced her little booty off and was dancing far more than anyone else at the party. I believe she danced just about every song and enjoyed shaking her booty with the grown-ups even if she didn't know any of them. It is so strange to me to be related to such a free spirit. Are we certain she came from my tummy????


And of course the obligatory photo of a girl dancing with her Daddy...


... these always make my heart feel like it is about to burst.

Setting Up Camp

There is nothing a child loves more than to help set up the tent on a good camping trip, and by now Ellie is a pro.

Addie was given the job of finding rocks to hold down the tarp in the wind. She's getting so big...

... and so strong!

Like I said, they love putting the tent up.

Dinosaur Tracks

Just how big were the beasts? Well, their footprints were just about the size of this pot-hole. Actually, precisely this size.

Camping

We joined Aunt Erin camping last weekend. On the drive there, Addie woke from her nap and asked in a very disappointed voice "Did we already go camping?" Poor girl thought she had slept so long that she missed out on the fun! The rest of the weekend was filled with even more smiles and laughter. Good times.


I have to laugh at the fact that most of Aunt Erin's family photos are silly ones like this. Apparently that's the only way to get little Clive to participate. Too cute.


Beautiful. Oh, yeah, and the view wasn't bad either.


Speaking of views, this was the view from our camp site in one direction.


And the view looking the other direction wasn't too shabby either.

In fact, pretty much everywhere we looked, we saw Pretty...











And of course, what's a camping trip without a good fire?

When did these happy campers get to be so big???

Who guards the gold at the end of the rainbow?

"My Leopardchaun is super soft. My leopardchaun likes to have me pet her. My leopardchaun likes to chase mice. My leopardchaun is a baby. My leopardchaun loves me very much."

How deeply do you love?

Mommy: Ellie, you have a big heart.
Ellie: No, Mommy. My heart is only this big (holding her fist up in the air).
Mommy: Are you sure?
Ellie: It just seems bigger because I love with all the bones in my body.

Uncle David's Wedding Day

Today is Uncle David's wedding. Ellie drew him a picture. It shows him getting married to Brandy, and people sitting in their chairs watching. It brought tears to his eyes.

Where does Addie live?

She lives in the "Magic States of America."

Ellie meets a new friend

There was a new girl in school. Her name is Charlotte. Monday started off on a bad note. Apparently Ellie is still a strong personality and so is Charlotte. As such they both want to rule the classroom. Personalities clashed. It was bad. When we asked Ellie more about Charlotte, she said that she didn't like how Charlotte would always make bad faces at her. She gave an example. I agreed, that was an awful face and I'm not sure how I would respond myself. But we talked about her options and came up with some solutions.

By Friday she came to me and said "Mommy, do you want to know something sad? Charlotte wasn't here today and when my friends found out about it they started cheering and saying things like "Yay! Yay!" but I didn't think that was very nice so I didn't do it. It made me sad for Charlotte." Upon asking her teacher, Ellie's version of the story was right. Indeed she stood up for her new friend, who she herself struggled with at the beginning.

In the end, Ellie said "I kind of like Charlotte now. I guess she's gotten used to me."

Ha. In the end, I couldn't be more proud.

It's the easiest way, really

Ellie: When I get bigger, I'm going to marry Michael and we are going to have 9 babies. If they're all boys then I will name them all Michael. That way if something needs to get done I can just say "Michael, come do this" and they will all run to do it. Like if I need to have the dishes cleaned, I can say "Michael please do the dishes and my married Michael will come and all the baby Michaels will too. It would just be easier that way.

Heartbeat

Our house now has a heartbeat. Honestly I'm not sure how it was ever a home without one.