Can't Be Trusted

Matt and I have been playing with the idea of upgrading our home - and *perhaps* expanding our brood in the near future. It seems like houses in our price range are selling pretty quickly, so we (read: Matt) have been working like crazy to get this house fixed up purdy and ready to sell. We listed the house yesterday and today we had our first showing...we weren't expecting it to happen that quickly. So we cleaned like mad to put the finishing touches on it and I was charged to take the girls out for the afternoon. Recalling Ally's excitement at seeing ducks on our way to church this morning, I thought it would be a great idea to take them to Shovelers Sink to feed the ducks. Well, it's not a great place for duck feeding...there's no place close to park, but we parked anyway and made the hike down to the "Sink" with our loaf of bread in hand. About 3 or 4 yards away from the edge of the water, the trail abruptly ended and we were wading through shoulder high reeds...not bad for me, but difficult for Ally and especially Lily to maneuver. But warriors, we persevered! We made it to the water's edge and began throwing our bread pieces into water. Not to the ducks, mind you. Our barrage through the reeds had already scared them away. It was then that Lily tripped and took a plunge into the marsh. She landed in water about up to her mid-calf, but the momentum of her trip propelled her forward enough that the ended up on her hands and knees. And the water was COLD. And green. Gross. Undeterred, we drove the car around to the other side of Shovelers Sink where it looked like we might be able to get closer to the ducks. This time, about half way down to the water, Ally informed me that she had to go to the bathroom. Bad. I suggested that under the cover of all these tall reeds, she should just pull down her pants and go. Bless her heart, she tried, but still managed to get it all over herself. So when Matt called to say that we could come home, I asked him to please have a change of clothes for both girls ready. He says I can't be trusted. These are not the ducks we saw today (we didn't get that close) but this was taken at Shovelers Sink:

Butterflies

It was a paint your face like a butterfly kind of day.

Once there was a Snowman...

Our version of the melted Snowman cookies:


One that Ally made:

Lily approved:

Valentine's Day

The double chocolate raspberry pavlova I made for my valentine:


My masked valentines - so sneaky!

Logorrhoea

I think that Lily wakes up in the morning and just starts spouting off all the words she knows...Matt likes to knock on her door when he hears her awake and she'll call, "Come in!" Followed by, "Hi Daddy!. Shirt. Pants. Ally. Lily. Mommy?" My least favorite thing she's started to say is, "Don't want to."

Nathan reminded me the other day that Ally used to like to talk to herself at night when we'd put her to bed. We'd tell her it was time for bed and "no more talking." To which she'd respond, "How 'bout talk 5 minutes?" "Okay, you can talk for 5 minutes."

Today we played in the snow - an event I never thought this girl would be bragging about, but I built my first snowman ever (that I can remember) and took the girls sledding. It ended a little abruptly when another sled collided with an unsuspecting Lily, who then face-planted into a pile of snow. She came up face and mouth full of snow - but it took a few seconds for her to actually start crying - I think her face was too frozen.

Then it was off to take Ally to her big surprise - Beauty and the Beast. She loved it and got to meet Belle and Gaston and Mrs. Potts at the end.

As I'm writing this, I can hear Matt putting the girls to bed and reminding them there's to be, "no talking", but I think the girls should have plenty to talk to each other about tonight :)

Time Out

Lily is, um, learning, how to be gentle with Jimmer. It's a slow learning process. She just loves to pick him up, give him choke holds, squeeze him till he squeals...poor Jimmer.

Today Lily was holding him, and I try to praise when she's holding him well, so I told her she was doing a good job. Then he started to squirm. "Oh, Lily dear...if he wants to go play, let him." Followed by, "Lily, if he wants to go, let him go." And a more forceful, "Lily, let him GO!" At which point she did drop him, pointed in his direction as he darted off, "Go! Go! Time Out!!"

Hmm...I'm not sure if she was putting Jimmer in timeout or if she was preemptively putting herself in timeout...

Jimmer

This year, Santa brought the girls a kitty. Ally insisted that it was a girl kitty, but no amount of arguing can change that, and we were finally able to convince her otherwise. She wanted to name the kitty Lola, but we suggested that might offend his manhood. I mean, we are going to remove his manhood shortly, the least we can do is give him a manly name. The Uncles suggested Jimmer, and she eagerly agreed. Meet Jimmer, the newest addition to our clan:



I video-taped the girls opening up the kitty present, but it was not at all what I expected. We brought the box in last and told them Santa had left the present in the wrong room. I expected they would squeal and shriek, but they were more-so mesmerized by this cute little creature. Not a word, just silent, content concentration as they took turns picking him up.

Little Lily elf.

Grandma and Grandpa gave the girls cowgirl hats, an instant hit:


And mom (me) made the girls capes - because the best gifts are made by mom with love:

Here is Lily hugging her cape

Ally showing off her cape.

Yeehaw!