More Spring Break Pics

The weather was beautiful for Spring Break. One night we hooked up the sprinkler to water the yard, before we knew it the girls had found a way to get wet. I bought them each a towel to keep warm.

Victoria wanted to go rollerskating. She's gotten much better, but still needs a little help. Bella was the tag-a-long chanting "Wait for me!"

Bella is still learning how to skate. Her idea of skating is walking and falling.

Welcome our newest member of the family- Goldie! He's actually survived a month, so I felt I could mention him. There were days I thought he might not survive his bowl, the water, or the kids... but alas... life is good for Goldie our pet Beta.

Spring Break

Well, we're nearing the home stretch- Spring Break is coming to a close. Ahhhh. It has been jam packed full of fun and stress. We've visited the doctor- Bella had yet another ear infection; gone to numerous parks- Tuscany Meadows, J.R. Grant, Carpenter, Little Elm Park, Frisco Commons; seen many friends and relatives- Darcy, Dan, Kate, Abby, Jolyn, Zack, Tyler, Jenni, Preston, Ally, Maria, Zack, Jenna, Jennifer, Emma, Zane, Chris, Chuck, Nico, Marlee, Patti, Grayson, Heidi, Quinn, Tanner, Tessa, Jay, Julie, Braylen, both sets of Grandparents; and just played, played, played! (While Momma has cleaned, cleaned, cleaned.) I did get some much needed time to myself though- on Thursday I met my dear friend Anne for Italian food at Addison square and then Saturday night I went to my friend Jenni's house for the movie debut of Twilight. We dressed in vampire black, drank some daiquiris, ate some yummy foods, and relived our high school days. I'm glad today's Sunday and even more glad tomorrow's Monday and is a school day:)

This was just one of many messes from the week.
Group photo of Thursday playgroup.

Jenni and Dasha made the coolest party favors for the Twilight party!

Zoo Trip

We went to the Dallas Zoo for Nico's Birthday this weekend. Talk about fun! The weather was beautiful!!! (75 degrees and overcast.) The kids enjoyed running around the giant place and seeing the animals. I honestly think they liked the statues more than the actual critters.

We were allowed to go into the bird tent and feed the birds using a Popsicle stick with bird seed on it. Both girls were apprehensive about this, but enjoyed it. (They were scared of a bird landing on their heads.)

In the children section of the zoo, they had sculptures, slides, and a little creek that you could take your shoes off and splash around. Bella was my "wild banshee" for the day; the wind loved her hair.

We had so much fun! Thank you Chris and Chuck! Happy Birthday Nico!

Victoria, the Photographer

Tonight I let Victoria shot some pictures on the camera. I'm pretty impressed- granted most were of her feet, or the flower vases, or the carpet... but she took some pretty good ones of the family.

OK, so she cropped my face out, but Bella looks good.

I like this picture of me. Maybe I should use it as my Facebook profile. I look content, which I am. I hope this is how she sees me.

I wish Jer was smiling more in this picture, but it was the only one of all of us that she took that wasn't upside down or our heads cut off. Victoria even posed us. "Sit on the floor, right here. Hold this dolly. Daddy sit here... Bella sit here... now SMILE!"

I just love this picture. I'll call it Victoria's Still Life. Love that texture and color!

Besides being a photographer, Victoria is currently expressing herself as a cook (she makes a mean peanut butter toast), a singer (look out American Idol), a teacher (yes, she loves playing "school" with her sister Bella as the pupil) and a hair stylist (last night she cut a 1/2 inch of real hair off of Bella while daddy was "watching them" although thank goodness, it's hardly recognizable)-it's all good.

Happy Valentines Day!

What a fun Valentine's Day! We got up and lounged around drinking coffee, until unexpectantly Dan, Kate, and Abby came by to give us a valentine. As they were here, Julie and Braelyn came by to borrow some milk and we let the kids play, hence the really great picture- what pretty Valentine colors everyone is wearing! Then later, we took the girls to Target to pick out a $10 toy, which they both picked out My Little Ponies, go figure. Jer had given me flowers and chocolates, but I also picked out a herb garden (my second, ruined the first from IKEA by watering it too much and accidentally leaving it outside to dry overnight) and new toilet seats that are plush for Jer's Valentine present:) (Don't let that fool you; I do care- I spent 2 hours yesterday making Cinnamon rolls for him as well.) After the girls' naps, Grandma Carol, Grandpa Dick, Josh, Renae, Caleb, Chloe and Kierra came by for a Valentine feast from Dickies BBQ. We talked and laughed and watched an episode of our favorite sitcom of the moment Arrested Development (goggle it right now at Hulu.com). Great day; great times! Hope yours was happy too!

Bella's Monday

On Monday's I drop Victoria off at school and usually make a grocery run with Bella, then get to have some fun one on one time with her to do some art or a Mommy and Me music video. Today Marlee and Chris got to come over for lunch. It is really interesting seeing Bella develop her own personality and play with other children besides Victoria. They were laughing and hiding under blankets and pillows. The living room furniture became their playground. I love seeing their minds work- how can we use this in a different way. Yesterday Bella took a marker and drew a long vertical line on every one of her fingers and across her knuckles, then tells me, "Look Mommy! I drew a rainbow!" It really did look like a rainbow. Although I should also note that she drew a mural on my living room carpet with that same marker- not so fun.

Victoria is surprising me with the things she's learning. I think in the last month something has clicked. Yesterday I was helping her fill out Valentines for her class. After helping her write her name twice, she says, "No I want to write it myself." She did it all by herself!!! Granted most of the letters are upside down or inverted. But I could make it out. I'm amazed. She is also starting to figure out the whole alphabet thing. Yesterday I quizzed her to see how many she knew- she knew half the alphabet; last month she knew just 6 letters. She's also starting to get really detailed about her stories that she tells. Yesterday she was on a kick telling me about her upcoming birthday party (not for 3 months). She's decided that it's going to be a princess one and that the boys can dress as Spiderman or princes. We'll be playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but it'll be a princess. We'll have pink balloons, but a couple of purple ones "would be fine too." They'll be a princess pinata... the games will be... the people invited... we'll have this game over here... and... did I mention the pink cupcakes? This morning she woke up and asked if it was her birthday yet? It's going to be a long 3 months.

On this Valentine I helped her with the "ia"; the rest she did herself.

Another cute Victoria story. Last night Jay came over for supper and Victoria was describing her birthday to him. He asked how old she was- 3, how old she'll be- 4, and how old an adult is- 18- she replies. Then she says, "I'll be 4 in a little while, and 18 after that, and then I die." We all laughed- apparently once you hit adulthood, you're old and you die. (I did explain it to her correctly though.)

Going Out

Last night Jer and I got to have a night out on the town. My parents came over and took the girls to a park and then had hot dogs, while we went to my favorite Thai place Samui. Afterward we went to the Far Point Cellars to do a flight of reds; it was okay, but I prefer Pinot Noirs. We were craving something sweat, so I remembered that Pichugo had opened up beside IKEA. I had some kind of yummy every favor of chocolate ice cream- delicious. Then we came home and talked to my parents. We actually got home just as the girls were getting into bed, so they heard us and wanted to stay up for a while. It was a good night.