Addie's Proposal Technique

This is one way to get engaged...

Mommy: Hi little girl.
Addie: I'm a princess.
Mommy: Oh, you're beautiful. What's your name?
Addie: I'm Belle.
Mommy: Hi Belle.
Addie: Well, arn your gonna ask me to marry me?
Mommy: Oh. Will you marry me, Belle?
Addie: Ummm... I s'pose. Yes!

Wordless Wednesday

Our Church

We spent last weekend in Colorado Springs so of course I insisted on taking the girls to see our church. We were married in the Manitou Springs Community Congregational Church because it was a perfectly cute old church in a perfectly cute old town. I have to say that I love this church and every time I see it my heart sings.

I also have to say that I love how my girls just KNOW. Without telling them, they know that this church deserves whispers because it's so special. We were so excited to be able to go inside and the girls loved seeing where Mommy and Daddy were married. Ellie even wanted us to show her how we danced though we had to explain that we did the dancing at the party after the wedding. I showed Addie where we pulled on the rope to make the bells ring and both girls made comments on how pretty the windows were.

I was also reminded of how wonderful this church must be to attend. In one section of the church the pews were lined with teddy bears. Obviously this was where the families with small children sat, yet it wasn't located in a far off corner of shame in hopes of keeping the peace. Instead, these pews were right up front, as though these families belonged to the church as much as the rest of the attendees. I loved it. I think this one gesture speaks volumes to the type of church this place really is. It even warms my heart knowing that the same pastor was there (Rev. David Hunting). Both Michael and I have always liked the way he approached his services.

I think if there were ever a church that just "fits" us, it would be this one. It's just too bad we don't live close by.

Addie's Feet

Left Foot: Hi fwiend.
Right Foot: Hi.
Left Foot: You're nice. Dowanna pay wif me?
Right Foot: Yeah! Let's go to da field!
Left Foot: I love you.
Right Foot: I love you too.
Left Foot: Dowanna marry me?
Right Foot: Yeah! Let's kiss!
Left Foot: Den we can kimb up da church and ring da bells!
Right Foot: Ok. I went to da field esterday!

A Tender Moment Spoiled

Ellie: Let's hold hands.
Addie: Ok. Look Mommy! We hold hands!
Mommy: I like seeing that.
Ellie: I love you Addie. You're a good little sister.
Addie: Yeah and I love you Ellie.
Ellie: You're the best.
Addie: Yeah and you NOT the best!

Dandelions

I've been walking to work a lot lately and have grown to love the short journey. On the way, I pass by a field of dandelions - the fluffy white wish-making kind. I never knew that weeds could be this pretty.

Don't they look like little balls of magic puff?

Wordless Wednesday

Emotions

Practicing our emotions always makes me giggle.

Introducing Kindergarten Ellie

My rockstar daughter is no longer a preschooler. When did this happen? Officially, it happened Friday night. She announced that she wants to be a ballerina when she grows up (I have it on video but for some reason blogger isn't letting me post videos anymore). I take that as a sign that she's going to do great things with her life. After all, I announced my plans to be a ballerina when I was in Kindergarten too. Regardless of what she ends up being, this little lady has certainly grown up. Now that I think about it, she really isn't a preschooler anymore. She's more mature than that. In just about every way, my little girl is now a kid. A kid whose mommy is so proud of her and all she has worked so hard to do!

Falling Behind

I suppose a part of me saw this coming. Three weeks ago I decided to start working out to get back to a point where I feel healthy again. Yet at the very same time that I made that decision I was also saying that I simply didn't have enough spare time in the day to add something else to my routine. Quite honestly my days were full.

I had two priorities on how to spend my spare time -
1. Keeping up with this blog
2. Keeping up (ha) with the demand for my Gniffer's Gnomes

I felt that if I added anything else to my day, then something would fall behind. I desperately want to publish a book this year, as well as other things. Including exercise.

So let's just say that I'm not surprised that I've fallen behind. Now that I work out and walk to and from work, it soaks up a lot of my "spare" time. I do not spend as much time making gnomes, but on top of that, I can feel this blog falling behind.

I am NOT happy about that. I cherish this blog, but I find that in the last couple of weeks I've struggled to have the energy to pay attention to the cute things my girls do. Hopefully that will get better as I start to get past the muscle soreness and convince my body that it's good at this exercise stuff.

And it's not the end of the world if I don't write every day, is it? Hmmm... I feel like I'm letting my future self down.

This isn't a rant to be hard on myself. No, it's just a moment of thought. Change is good. I just need to find my balance again.

Marriage Plans

Addie: Bye Michael! That's my Michael, Mommy!
Mommy: Oh is it? Is he nice?
Addie: Yeah. I love my Michael.
Mommy: I love mine too.
Ellie: Addie, are you going to marry Michael when you grow up?
Addie: Umm...
Ellie: I thought I was going to marry my Michael, but I changed my mind.
Mommy: Why?
Ellie: Because he didn't think it was a good idea. He just wants to stay friends.
Mommy: Did that make you sad?
Ellie: No. I'm just going to marry David instead.
Mommy: David? Is he nice?
Ellie: I like Michael better, but I like David too.
Mommy: Why not wait until you meet someone who you like even more than Michael? Why are you going to marry David if you don't like him as much?
Ellie: I'm going to marry David because he asked. I don't want to make him sad by saying no.
Mommy: Oh.
Addie: And we don't want to make our friends sad, right Mommy?
Mommy: I suppose not.
Addie: It's not very nice.
Ellie: But don't worry, Mommy. If I decide I don't like David, I can find another boy to marry.
Addie: Or a girl.
Ellie: No, we can only marry boys.
Mommy: What if you decide you really love a girl instead of a boy?
Ellie: Hmmm... If that happens then the three of us can live together. We can get a really really big bed like Gramma's!
Mommy: I suppose that's a solution too.
Addie: Yeah, and I love my red fox too!

Wordless Wednesday

Opposites

Just a few off the top of my head...

Ellie is a natural leader.
Addie loves to follow her sister.

Ellie has never been phased by the dark.
Addie is terrified of the dark.

Ellie always insisted that her favorite color (not yours) was green.
Addie always lists every color she can think of. When in doubt "sparkles" is her favorite.

Ellie has stayed by our side - no need to worry about her wandering.
Addie will explore on her own - don't blink, she'll be gone.

Ellie has (for the most part) done what we've told her to do.
Addie looks at us difiantly in her adorable way.

Ellie likes her shoes tight. They can never be tight enough.
Addie likes her shoes loose. They are always too tight.

Ellie always gave us troubles during bed time, until recently.
Addie has never questioned bed time, until recently.

Ellie screams bloody murder if she is feeling sick in the middle of the night.
Addie wimpers quietly and apologizes for not being asleep if she is sick in the middle of the night.

High Tea

As a special treat for Mother's Day we went to Celestial Seasonings for afternoon tea. Actually we went at 10:30 in the morning, but it was yummy just the same. I LOVE the little sandwiches and desserts that come with High Tea.

I'm thinking I'm going to put having tea on my list of favorite things to do with my girls. I don't know why, but there is something about it that is just fun and just about as frilly as this Niffer ever gets. I loved watching Ellie enjoy mixing her own teas and trying different flavors.

And Addie had fun too, though she I think she enjoyed the food more than the tea. Still, both girls had lots of smiles and that's all I need to have a wonderful day.

Of course it didn't hurt to have a bit of silliness with our proper High Tea. These guys make me laugh.

I wonder if Afternoon Tea will become a "tradition" of sorts between my daughters and I. I sure hope so! Is it too early to make reservations for next Mother's Day too?

You can't have a proper Mother's Day without the proper collection of treasures from both little and big loved ones alike.

This year I got a butterfly windsock! I can't say I've always wanted one, but that didn't stop me from finding the perfect place to hang it!

Sigh. My "poem" from Ellie. Need I say anything more?

Yes, Ellie, yes I did. I had TWO fantastic tea parties. Thank you sweet girl.

And thank you sweet Addie for all your smiles and hugs. And thank you, sweet Love for all your continued affection. I love you all!

Mommy and Me Tea

My daughter's class hosted a Mommy and Me tea party that turned out to be so much fun. The only thing that would have made it better is if it were outside (who knew we could cram that many people into that room?) but the weather was too cold to allow for that. I was the first mother to arrive (no need to cheer, I thought it started at 3:00 instead of 3:30) so it gave me a glimpse into the life of my daughter at school. Sort of. Oh my goodness was she proud to have me there. She would stand in line when told (not saying she doesn't do this when I'm not around) and beam with pride every time our eyes met. It was as though she was saying "Look at me, Mom! This is what ***I*** do!" I think that this half hour before the other mommies arrived was what made the afternoon tea party so special to me. I loved the look of pride on Ellie's face any time someone asked commented on me being her mommy.

The kids gave the mommies their presents (I'll be sure to post all my treasures later this weekend). And every time Ellie would build it up as "You are going to REALLY like this one. I KNOW you will, Mommy, because I KNOW what you like most of all. And it's this!"

She'd say the same for the next present too.

Each mommy got a balloon with a secret message on it. The card read "You are a great mommy because..." and then you blew up the balloon to read why. Ellie surprised me with being able to blow the balloon up herself, but her answer surprised me even more.

"... because you have me for a daughter!"

Sisters

Ellie and Addie often hold hands and tell each other "I love you, you're the best." when we're in the car. Enough said. And yes, after seeing this photo I lectured Ellie on her seat belt ettiquette. Her booster is a new thing and she's learning the rules of her new-found freedom. Back to the photo... Awww.

Wordless Wednesday

Addie these days

I can not believe how much my Addie has grown. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that she is as old as she is and as mature as she is. I certainly find myself thinking she's always going to be my baby, which makes it easy to forget that she's growing up.

Both girls have been taking swim lessons, but now it's Addie's turn to take me by surprise. Like her sister (who, by the way, is able to do a double flip under the water), Addie has really taken to the water. She's not old enough for many of the classes but her teachers say that she's behaving at a level 2 classes above her. By the time she's old enough, she might be able to skip directly into the class that Ellie is in now. The only thing holding this girl back is her age (and thus her height), but she is a crazy fish and absolutely loves the water.

Addie loves to help Mommy with her activities, including the attempt to make felted soaps. I hear they're all the rage. lol. I love her quiet entusiasm and I love that she initiates playful behavior instead of just following suit.

Addie is so sweet, even if she thinks this pregnant figurine is a princess. Not only that, she think's the princess is me. Sigh. I can't hold it against her when she smiles and still tells me I'm her best friend.

I love seeing how happy Addie can get and I thought that this photo was good enough for a Wordless Wednesday, though I have plenty in stock for that occasion. Addie recently went to the dentist and was very brave just like her sister, but we were told she doesn't have her teeth (the ones next to the front teeth). It will be interesting to see if she has her permanent ones or not. If not, I blame Nana completely for those genes. Apparently we have options, but I'd rather not think about that right now. In my mind her teeth are still growing in because she's still my baby. Remember?

Sleep Over

For as long as Ellie can remember Brynn has been her best friend. We've had many sleepovers with her, but this was the first time that her little sister Lilah joined in for the fun. Lilah is Addie's friend by default. How could they NOT be friends if Brynn and Ellie are so close?

As soon as she walked into the room, Brynn knew right away which movie she wanted to watch - The Last Unicorn. Apparently Ellie has spoken a lot about the movie because Brynn was quite excited to see it.

You can't get a group of young girls together without them dressing up like princesses. I love this photo. It makes me laugh that my girls know to look toward the camera, but their friends are always paying attention to where the silliness is happening.

Surprisingly the girls spent A LOT of time in the car. It shouldn't be anything special, but since I recently got my car back (Gramma had been borrowing it), Ellie and Addie feel like it's something quite cool. I can't help but flash into the future when these girls will be teenagers driving and having fun. Hopefully with their seatbelts on. Gah. I'm not ready.

Again, can't you just imagine the future version of this scene? A car full of cute boys pulls up and the girls can't help but say hi and then teasingly drive away. Drive away, girls. Drive away!

Addie's Best Friend

By this time in Ellie's life we had fully established relationships with her best friend, Brynn, and Brynn's parents. We cultivated their friendship so much that they identified themselves as being the other's best friend. There were two Brynns in the classroom and when I asked one child how they differentiate between the two, her response was "There's Plain Brynn and there is Ellie's Brynn."

Sadly the same can not be said about our attempts to connect with Addie's friends. Life just seems more hectic these days and it seems as though we don't have time to squeeze in any more relationships into our daily routine. I feel a bit bad about this, as it's another example of how the girls are DIFFERENT even if we try to treat them equally.

However, even without our help Addie has a very distinct best friend at school. Her name is Bella. Addie talks about her all the time and so when we told her that she could invite ONE friend to Ellie's party, there was no doubt in her mind who she wanted to come. Bella. It was a lot of fun to see the two girls playing together as that's not something we've really focused on in Addie's life. It's apparent, though, that the connection is there even if we don't do anything extracuricular to encourage it. Addie loves Bella and Bella loves Addie.

It will be interesting to see how their friendship grows. A close second to Bella being Addie's favorite is Gabby. I'm told that the three of them are insparable at school. I wonder if they'll define themselves as a unit as much as Ellie and Brynn did. I wonder if their bond will be as strong in spite of us not spending as much time with Bella as we have with Brynn. I wonder if it will be easier for these girls to handle the tensions that are bound to arise in the next couple of years as they continue to develop their social skills. Ellie went through some difficult times with Brynn, but still managed to come out of them with their bond still strong. Are the same sort of struggles in store for Addie and Bella? I suppose only time will tell.

Sister Protection

Ellie is such a good big sister that moments like these are not rare. Addie's confidence leaps 10-fold when she knows that she has her big sister there to protect her. No scary movie can harm her if Ellie is by her side. LOVE it.

Wordless Wednesday

Ellie takes over Daddy's notepad

Ellie recently got a hold of Daddy's notepad and would not give it back. After a couple of weeks of her having access to the pad any time we drove somewhere, I was shocked at the number of drawings she did. They all make me smile. Apparently Ellie LOVES to draw her own pictures (more so than coloring pictures in). This was a unintentional success so we got her her very own notepad to draw in from now on. I LOVED having this peek into Ellie's thoughts and what she considers to be important enough to sketch.

Teddy bears eating cake with balloons.

A Christmas tree made out of shapes. This one actually quite amazes me. Perhaps she's got engineer in her blood?

Daddy and his girls.

Christmas tree for Santa Claus.

"My family that I love" complete with fireworks.

Sunshine rain and her pony (complete with a white diamond on his forehead).

Hehehe... Does this mean we go here too often?

Another sketch of her pony. I'm not sure why he has stripes.

Another pony - perhaps she wasn't happy with how angry he looks?

Pegasus, unicorn and dragon looking awfully happy.

Dragon, unicorn and pegasus watching fireworks.

Bunny eating a couple carrots with balloons and a birthday cake.

Ellie's monster.

Ellie's robot.

Flowers and sunshine rain.

Butterflies.

I'm told these are angels looking down onto the mountains. Interesting. I wonder what made her draw these?

Pegasus (not sure why the wings are on his head), dragon and unicorn.

Mommy and Ellie in the wind.

I can only assume that this is Mommy, Daddy, Ellie and Addie but it's the first time I've seen her draw curly hair. It might be Gramma?

Mommy and Ellie dancing in sunshine rain. This girl knows what makes her mommy smile.