Wednesday, May 26, 2010

It's a Jungle in There...

hmmm...I don't see very much pink

That's what my dining room table is starting to look like. Party paraphernalia is starting to pile up, and I'm not quite done shopping yet. Anna Claire and Mallory turn two {as in 2!!??} one week from today. Can you believe it??Their party will be Saturday, June 5th, and party plans are in full swing with invitations having been delivered earlier this week...

We hope you'll be able to come monkey around with us.

I bet we'll have more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

We'll just go bananas if you can't be there!

We are getting soooo excited! Oooh-Oooh-Aaah-Aaah!

O(o_o)O O(o_o)O

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Weekend Update

Anna Claire has "gone potty" every night since our last post. She even pooped in the potty once this weekend. {I know, TMI, sorry!}

Mallory can say pretty much anything she wants and speaks very clearly. Today...uh-oh, spaghetti-o, cauliflower, gigantic, and zip it! {to Cody barking at the back door...hmmm...wonder where she heard that?}. She can rattle off some pretty amazing words, comments, phrases. I've got to start writing things down!

Anna Claire bumped her head pretty badly twice this weekend. Once she was playing {not sleeping} and bumped her cheek on the bed rail, and the other time she bent down to get her lovie off the porch floor and bumped her forehead on the table on the way down. She's looking pretty rough tonight, poor sweetie.

Both girls enjoy the Wonder Pets and spent much the weekend pretending the couch is the fly boat...hours of entertainment!

Anna Claire and Mallory "decorated" {another word I didn't even know they knew} Tanner with every dish towel in the drawer...the things I let them do so I can get dinner on the table!
And, this weekend I learned there is a dragon living under our bed. Mallory found him. Don't worry, he's a nice dragon and we fed him apples. Anna Claire was a little worried at first, but then we looked under the bed together and talked to the dragon. Once she realized that he really was a nice dragon, she was okay and more than happy to help feed him apples.

What a weekend!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Potty Break

Anna Claire went pee pee in the potty tonight for the first time!

We aren't potty training yet, but we have had potties for a while and the girls do like to sit on them before bath time for fun. Their two-year-old attention spans usually get the best of them before anything "happens." Well, tonight Anna Claire jumped up from her potty shouting, "potty, potty!" and pointing. She was so proud of herself and we did make a very big deal, so much so that Mallory wanted to pee pee in the potty too, and I had to make her get in the bathtub when it didn't look like anything was going to happen. I think she may have sat there all night. I probably should have given her a little longer because the minute her feet hit the bath water...

;-)

Playing School

We're talking to the girls a lot about what playschool will be like this coming school year to hopefully prepare them a little bit, and that includes having them sit still on the floor in front of me while I read to them like their teacher will do next year.

So this weekend I hear Mallory through the monitor saying, "teacher, teacher..." so I peeked in their room to see her sitting on the floor with Anna Claire playing school. I was able to run for my camera and take one quick shot before they decided they wanted me to be the teacher.

Does it get any cuter?

Monday, May 17, 2010

Busy Weekend...

We had a busy weekend with a Walter's office party Friday night, shopping for the girls' party Saturday, and swimming Saturday evening. We finally had time to stop and smell the roses Sunday... We spent all day playing at home Sunday, and the girls napped so well that I was able to make them adorable new pillowcase-style dresses for Cousin Brennan's birthday dinner Sunday evening. I made my own pattern (!) by tracing one of the girls' dresses on a LOFT bag and making a few adjustments. I could make a hundred more of these dresses for them; it was so easy! They love the fabric which is a park scene with birds, trees, raccoons, and squirrels, but I think they wish they didn't have to look at it upside down!


The girls had such a fun time playing with Brennan. Mallory could not get enough of new baby cousin Finley which totally surprised me. It's Anna Claire who is such the little mommy, and she didn't even give Finley a second glance. One day, I am sure, she will be much more excited to have her only girl cousin!

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

...most of the time.
Anna Claire seems to prefer sleeping at the foot of the bed.



Oh, to sleep like a baby again. Doesn't she look comfortable?

What a difference five weeks makes. Bedtime and nap time in big girl beds has gotten much better, but it certainly has taken a lot of hard work. We now sit in the room with the girls until they fall asleep. I know; I know, but this was necessary for the survival of us all, and summer break is right around the corner, so we can work on that in just a couple weeks when I don't have to be up before the sun to get ready for work.

The great thing is that {most of the time, really} if we're sitting in their room, Anna Claire and Mallory stay in bed and fall asleep in under 30 minutes which is a huge improvement from all four of us running up and down the hallway for 1 1/2 hours plus!

We've continued to follow our normal bedtime routine...
Bath: splishin' & splashin' & sudsin' & brushin'

Pajama time: we turn on the sound machine, turn off the lights, and get the girls dressed for bed. This is usually when we like to get a little silly with the girls with tickles, bear hugs, a little dancing, etc., but we've tried to tone that down a bit.

Books: we read two books before bedtime; current bedtime favorites are Goodnight, Gorilla; Let's Go to the Farm; and Llama, Llama, Red Pajama {we were reading Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed then decided it just didn't make sense to read a book about monkeys jumping on the bed right now}. We're trying to read books where everyone stays put in their beds and is sleeping at the end.

Bed: we place both girls in their beds, help them say their prayers {got to get this on video!}, and shower the girls with lots of hugs, kisses, and words of encouragement along the lines of: you did great last night and I know you'll do even better tonight; mommy loves you and I know you can stay in your bed all night long; I really want you to get a good night's sleep so we'll see you in the morning; and if you want to go swimming tomorrow, you better stay in bed and go to sleep!!! ;-)

Then we wait.

Bedtime really has improved, and I couldn't be more proud of the girls. Now if we could just figure out how to get the girls to stay in bed a little longer after they wake up in the morning.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

I Just Don't See the Resemblance....


Guess What?

Mallory: Guess what?
Me: What?
Mallory: Guess What?
Me: What?
Mallory: Guess What?
Me: What?...

...so on and so forth...

Mallory heard Connor ask, "Guess what?" at dinner tonight and she hasn't stopped asking it herself since...but she doesn't get it. She just keeps asking, "Guess what?" over and over and over. So cute.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

On the Mend

Mallory and I both went to the doctor today. We're each taking lots of medicine now, so hopefully we'll be feeling much better very soon.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

We're Still Here!

I've taken tons of pictures recently and have lots of stories to tell, but we've each been suffering with allergies and colds in one form or another for more than a week now; the end of the school year is simply exhausting with lots of projects to be completed; and I'm having to get up earlier these days to get myself ready for work since the girls are waking up {and getting out of bed} around 6:30.

I.am.tired.


I don't want to sound too whiny, so here's a little something to make us all smile ~

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Sneezy and Grumpy

Who is whom? {Ugh! I've lost sleep over that "m." Now is not a good time to be making grammatical errors!}

They've been taking turns.

Scratchy throats + runny noses + a lot of sneezing = not a lot of smiles today {as you can see above}.