BLISS: January 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

V is for Violin

Today Ella began violin lessons at school. Now, I know it is ridiculous, but it just makes my heart happy because she loves musical instruments. And let me assure you, I would never seek out violin lessons at 2 years 8 months, but since they offer it at her school I thought it would be fun for her, and hey why not?

According to Ryan, E was talking about the violin and making music all morning.

Her teacher said she did a lot of watching today, just soaking it all in due to the fact that it was in the big kids' room. Apparently next week she needs a binder and ruler. The binder is to keep her music organized and I have no clue what the ruler would be used for. Her teacher is also making little box practice instruments so they can play/ practice at home.

Funny thing is, I have not a musical bone in my body, but maybe, just maybe, Ella is a savant. (j/k!)

Snow!!!

Coming from the east coast I remember tons and tons of snow. Granted, my memory sucks, but I firmly remember days off of school, enough snow to warrant snowmen, snow angels, and good ol' fashioned fun followed by hot chocolate with fluff.

Things are just a little bit different here.

Occasionally we are lucky to get a flurry here and there and we live at roughly 1,000 feet while the rest of the city is in the valley.

It snowed earlier this month, as you can see. We had snow and it warranted a 2-hour delay for Ella and Abby's school. Of course, my school in the valley had nada. Then again, there was not snow to be seen on campus. It sucked. Obviously I wanted to be making memories with my little one, playing in the snow, and living life. Instead daddy snapped these precious photos for me.

And although I am bitter about not having a snow day or delay, I am glad it snowed. At least now I can justify the Columbia snowsuit and the Nike snow boots. E was prepared with her $60 worth of snow gear, even if she just played outside for 15 minutes...

Friday, January 27, 2012

Rag-A- Muffin

There are many bonuses of having daughters including the A-DOR-A-BLE clothes which is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to budgets. As a result, the girls' closets are filled to the brim with precious clothes from Gap, Hannah Anderson, Boden, department stores and generous gifts from family and friends. I am not going to lie, I wish I had a wardrobe like theirs.

I still select their clothes each morning because Ryan prefers not to and it is fun for me.

But, I know those days are numbered. Often E comes home from school with an entirely different outfit on and not because she had an accident or romped around in the mud (although this happens quite often), but more than likely she decided to redress herself while at school, using clothes from her cubby or someone else's.

See for yourself:

Now, I can assure you that I did not style those patterns together!

And although she may look like a Rag- A - Muffin, I can assure you, my daughter has STYLE!!!!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

EIGHT Months

Abby turned EIGHT months old on the 19th. It still shocks me that time is flying by at warp speed.

~ She has 5 teeth... 3 on the bottom and 2 on top

~ Already she is wearing 12/ 18 month clothing, but 12 months are quickly becoming too small

~ She is really loving solid food

~ Mostly she sleeps through the night from 6:30 to 6:30

~ Crawling is just around the corner.

~ She prefers not to roll over.

~ Her big sister makes her laugh. A lot.

~ She enjoys the TV and will do anything to turn herself around so she can watch.

~ Unlike her sister, she is a complete and total cuddle bug.

A is for ABBY

Sisters.
Ella totally digs her cozy robe.

Eight months old...

And in case you wanted to see Ella's eighth month, click HERE. I really think the girls look SO much alike.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Grampy

Grampy flew in for Abby's Baptism this past month. It was his first time meeting Abby. We managed to take a few pictures but they were oddly similar to his January 2010 visit.

Observations:

1. Notice the blue top. Apparently my father likes blue tops.

2. In all three pictures he is sitting on the same spot on the couch. Apparently it is his spot.

3. Grampy's hairstyle is the same, except just a *few* more grey hairs.... ha, ha.

Grampy and Ella
January 2010

Grampy and Abby
January 2012

Out of curiosity, do you think the girls look alike?
I do, especially when I see Abs sporting all of Ella's clothes. Takes me back....

Friday, January 13, 2012

Abby's Baptism

Following in her sister's footsteps (look HERE), Abby was baptized on January 8, the day of the Baptism of Our Lord. This time we did not worry about Abby being tired, the perfect party, or what to dress her in (ok, that is TOTALLY untrue), but in all honesty, the focus was more about enjoying her special day. And we did. It was a sweet ceremony and very joyous. Friends and family joined us at church and we celebrated with a simple luncheon.

Now that we are experienced parents we opted to actually have her baptized at a church that we WILL attend, rather than the beautiful, huge, and impractical cathedral downtown. We always intended to get to church, but when it takes you longer to prepare to get to church, commute, and search for parking than the entire service takes, it hardly seems worth it. Besides, we could not master that with one child, what makes us think we could handle it with two?!

So, we went shopping for a church. And luckily we found one we like in our backyard, a mere 10 minutes away. It is small and sweet and prefect. Ella loves "Church School." She plays dot-dot, receives lots of attention, and has learned that "Mommy always comes back." Abby is adored by the congregation, constantly receives attention for being so well-behaved, and Ryan and I feel good for attending. In fact, going to church makes me feel like a grown -up, especially since no one is forcing me to go. One would think that I would feel grown up being the mother of two children, not SO much. They keep me young... and tired.

Anyways, Abby was an angel on her day. Look for yourself...

Proud Papa

Proud Mama

Pretty Girl

Not even a peep

Happy blessed family

And yes, that dress should look familiar. Ella wore it too!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

December Wrap Up

In December we added a new member to our family. Winston. Winston comes directly to us from the North Pole. He is a friendly scout elf who reports back to Santa on a nightly basis.

Each night after returning from the North Pole he repositioned himself within the house. Ella enjoyed locating him every morning often waking up and saying, "Where is Winston? Let's go find him."

One morning we found him swinging from the chandelier. He must have had a wild night with his elf friends. Too much egg nog, perhaps.

I spy Winston.

Cozy Abby

Ella and mommy made a gingerbread house. This was great fun and Ella was naive to the fact that she could actually EAT the candy until about 10 minutes into our project. Once this discovery was made, it was all down hill.

Cozy sisters. (Notice the clean floor.)

Christmas Morning Loot

I heard from the grapevine that Santa bought his roll of wrapping paper from Costco (yes, even Santa shops at Costco) and with all that loot he still did not finish the roll. Every single present was wrapped with it (it is reversible). Seriously. Santa LOVES Costco.

Ella's stocking was jam packed with girlie- girl goodies including bracelets, a necklace, headbands, and big girls.

Getting glitzed

Abby is happy with the old golf club from Target.

Daddy opening his stocking. More barbeque gadgets.

Fancy pants.

Ella and Abby posing for the camera. Ella is not so cooperative when it comes to posing for pictures these days. Occasionally she wants to take a picture holding Abby and that usually means choking her out while I try to locate the camera. This was a much better option, especially for Abby.