Slipped Away...

School preparation always starts way too early!  This was such a fun summer, I am sad to see it go.  We packed in a lot though!  The last few weeks were spent pretty quietly at home.  Love.

Crafting

Science experiments!

Toe Painting

Quirkle

On our last day home together, we ventured out to the Dallas zoo.  We left at 8:30 and were home by 12.  We were VERY sweaty.  Later on we got all dressed up (just like last year) and went out to eat fancy cupcakes.  A good, bittersweet day.

My fave pic of the day!

Some guy gave us free tickets to the Carousel.
They were so excited!

Phone Girls

I have to savor this moment, however fleeting it may be.

Yesterday was rough.  After I picked the girls up from daycare we had to go to the grocery store.  Since I only needed 2 things, I told the girls we were just going to walk through the store and that we didn't need a cart.  For some reason, this set Elia off and she started fussing and whining very loudly that we needed a cart, and I threatened time out to her.  She continued to fuss, so I put her in time out, in the store.  As soon as I put her in time out, she started one of those awful toddler tantrums that you hope your child will never have in public.  It was awful- she threw herself on the floor, kicking and screaming.  So I just picked her up and took her straight to the car and straight home.  After she was settled down she was fine, but I was not about to go back into that store.
At dinner, I literally had to force feed her pizza becasue she didn't want to eat.  Seriously, who in their life has ever force fed a child pizza?  So that was a battle tha I barely won.  Then, I took the girls to the library for the evening storytime at our library.  It is such a great program- they do songs and lots of books and even a craft.  We look forward to it every week since we used to go during the week when I was home with them.  I warned Elia with threats of time out, going home, etc. to be a good girl while we were there.  Which she was, until it was time to go.  I was checking out books and I asked her to sit on the floor and look at her books while I checked out.  She started screaming the floor is too dirty mama!  And you know that even a speaking voice at the library is heard all over, and she was screaming so it was even worse.  I pleaded with Gianna to help her sister read her book quietly.  Elia quieted down immediately and so I finished checking out in peace.  When I finished I found them like this:

  

All of my anger and exhaustion melted away at that minute.  How sweet is that?  Fleeting though- we had another battle this very moring about washing her hands.  I think this might be the terrible twos!

Doctor Visits!

Today the girls had their 2 and 4 year old doctor appointments. Gianna is at the highest weight percentile of her short life- 27%. Elia is still hanging in there at the top at the 93% for weight and 97% for height. G weighs 1 pound more than Elia! Makes me giggle.

The doctor appointment went swimmingly, until the shots came out. Poor Gianna had to get 4! I have teared up almost every time one of my kiddos gets shots, but this time I actually shed quite a few tears. Before the nurse came into the room, Gianna was being ridiculously sweet, reading quietly and including her sister. When I put her up on the table, she still didn't know what was happening and she was chatting with the nurse and telling her that she might get to go swimming later. Then the nurse told her she was about to get some shots and her whole body tensed up and I felt like I had lied to her as she was screaming "mommy, nooooooo." And the fact that it was 4 shots was just horrible, it seemed to go on forever.

Then it was Elia's turn, who had sort of sat quietly in a chair holding her baby doll while her sister was tortured on the other side of the room. She was laughing as I laid her down and had no idea what was about to happen, but thank goodness it was just one shot. Gianna kept telling her things like Elia, its just going to hurt a little bit, its ok, I love you, etc. Elia didn't cry during the shot itself but whined about it for a few minutes after that.

We all went to McDonald's after that and all the torture was forgotten. Phew.

Monday Gianna had her first dentist appointment. She was drama about getting into the chair, so the dentist had me get in the chair and hold her on my lap. That was fun with a 2 year old running free. But eventually Gianna got over her fear and sat in the chair herself. She did great! Her adult teeth are really coming in, and the doc says within the next year she might be losing her bottom teeth. I can't believe that might be happening!

Getting ready for an xray as Boom looks on.

Opening wide for the dentist. She wouldn't unclench the first 5 minutes, but was so good toward the end!

Happy Birthday Giannna!

I can't believe I have a 4 year old. Chris and I are constantly asking ourselves where she comes up with all of her sayings and ideas. Its been raining a lot lately and every time it does, she puts out bowls and cups all over the house in case the ceiling leaks. She absolutely loves Elia, but sometimes too much. Last week while at the grocery store, I caught her trying to give Elia an Indian Burn (ya know, when you grab an arm with both hands and twist). I asked her why she was doing that to her sister and she said mom, I just wanted to squeeze all the softness out of her. Sigh.

But back to the big day! We started her birthday out with a pancake party, to carry on the tradition of last year. I changed it up a bit by having different colored pancakes. The girls helped prepare the batter the night before.

Then she opened a few presents and we went about our day. Princess boots that light up when you walk:

She looks so old here!

I called her birthday girl all day and she thought that was the coolest. Once dad got home we opened more presents, went out to dinner to her fave, Fuzzys, and hid in the closet from tornadoes for a while. Her best present I think was her new bike.

We are going to put the training wheels on tomorrow and hopefully get out and ride! She was a very happy girl, and she is getting so excited for the party this weekend!

Here are some pics from the year. You can see the previous 3 years here.

Just turned 3!

Eating Stromboli at her cooking class. 3 yrs, 3 mos.

Licking the batter for our xmas cookies! 3 yrs, 6 mos

Building a snow man after the freak snow storm in Feb. 3 yrs, 9 mos.

4 years old!

Happy Birthday to my sweetie!

A Rough 2 Weeks

There has been a certain element of stress going on here, and I am pretty hopeful its over now. 2 weeks ago was the taks test, and that was quite the beat down. Tuesday and Wednesday were the testing days and it was seriously no fun. The whole school doesn't get specials, (music, art, pe) and the kids that are testing don't get recess. All the while, students aren't allowed to talk to each other, for fear that they would talk about the test to each other. Total. beat. down. Then school this week was much better, things are a tad more relaxed and I get to teach my absolute favorite- the solar system. It was also teacher appreciation week, more on that later though. This week for the girls was pretty hard. My sitter can only babysit for me on Tuesdays in May so they started a new daycare Wednesday. It was hard to leave them somewhere else, and this was Elia's first time in a daycare altogether. It turned out fine, but then Thursday we had to do it all over again at another new daycare (one that is able to drive G to preschool on Thursdays) and this was also hard on Elia.

I think she is starting to enter into the terrible 2s, and on top of it this newness just isn't sitting well with her. Ive been trying to give her extra love and attention, but it also seems like she is going in timeout more often. Thankfully both daycares are in home, so Gianna and Elia are together instead of in separate classes. I think that makes Elia feel safer.

So what got me through this week was the fact that it was Teacher Appreciation week. It was amazing. Monday I had off, Tuesday each student wrote me a note. Wednesday each student brought me a flower (seriously, I have 3 huge bouquets in my house right now). Also, a few parent volunteers covered each grade level's lunch and recess so that each grade level could go off campus for lunch. We went to Cristina's, it was AWESOME. Thursday all my students wore the color blue because they know it is my favorite color. And then Friday, almost every student brought me a bag of M&Ms because they know it is my favorite. I got 18 bags total, can you believe it?

Even though it was a 4 day (plus I took a half day Thursday) week for me, it seemed like a really long week. Glad its over.

Gianna's Mirror Sister

You know that fish in the movie Finding Nemo that thinks she has a sister but really its just a reflection of herself in the tank? Well Gianna now has one. Chris propped up a mirror on the floor of the playroom so the girls would have something to see how gorgeous they are when they play dress-up. The other day I overheard Gianna saying to herself "my sister is annoying me!" I started to get really huffy about being rude to herr sister when I realized Elia wan't even in the same room with G! I asked her who she was talking to and she said my sister in the mirror.

This morning she was at it again, and she got Elia in on it. She told Elia to tell her sister that she is naughty and to go in time out. Hilarious.

A Love Letter to My GIrls

Sooooo Valentines is all about romantic love, but I thought I would write a little note to my girls. Yes, I love Chris, but my love letter to him will remain private. I got him Call of Duty Black Ops because I love him. (because Lord knows I do not love video games.) So here goes, a love letter to the other loves of my life. Grandmas, Aunt Shanny, Aunt Jenny, Aunt Colleen and Uncle Bobby get a hanky! (cuz I mean seriously, who else reads my blog? haha)

Dear Gianna,

I LOVE your imagination. Your stories never cease to amaze me. From taking a train or plane toSerap or California, all the way to worrying about lava and sharks on the ground and we have to be on the couch or chairs to stay out of harm's way. I love how you keep telling me (it seems like daily) that I need to get pregnant so I can have a son for Daddy. I love how entranced you are with babies, and would rather play with one than any cool toy. I love how sweet you are with Elia. Helping her take her coat and shoes off when we get home, giving her hugs when she is sad, and not letting me give you a treat unless Elia can have one too. I love that you are constantly coloring pictures for me, Daddy, Elia, and your friends. I love that you would rather help me make dinner than watch tv. I love you so much G!

Dear Elia,

I love your cute ponytail. Without it, your hair is a constant, hot mess. I love that when you wake up at 5am (or 3am or 4am) and I bring you into bed with us and Daddy tries to snuggle with you, you say "No, Mama!" (as in, get away from me dad, this is mommy and me time) But on the contrary when Chris opens the door every night coming home from work, I love that you stop everything you are doing, usually throwing whatever it is you have in your hands on the ground and yell DADDDDDDDYYYYY and run to go give him a hug. I love that every time I pick you up from the Kids Klub at the gym, you run as hard as you can to come and greet me. I love that whenever the music moves you, the only way you know how to dance is to run around and around (and around and around) in a circle until you fall down, but still keep going by crawling around in a circle on the ground. I love the way you say Gianna and do whatever she asks of you. I love that when I ask you to say please, you won't, but when Gianna asks you to say please, you say it right away. I love you so much Elia!

Without you girls, my life would not be full. I love you girls!

Ice Day Part 2

So the past two days were great- Chris' office was closed Tuesday and Wednesday- yippee! Sadly, this morning he only had time to enjoy a quick tea party with his girls and then had to be at the office by 10. I was determined to take the girls out, even for a little bit. We ended up "painting" the snow with some food dye and water.

It isn't even snow- our street is a freaking sheet of ice.

I'm glad Chris is going to and from work during non-rush hour times of the day. It is treacherous. So treacherous, that we could only really walk on the grass without falling.

Poor Elia. I was about to take a pic of the ice and boom, she fell. For the 20th time.

The girls have been really sweet with each other lately. The 3 of us literally haven't gone anywhere since the gym on Monday morning, and we have not driven each other crazy! Last night Chris and I overheard Gianna say to Elia "Elia, you are my sister AND my friend." Whenever Gianna got some m&ms, she made sure that Elia got some too. Here they are sharing some hot cocoa after our paint session outside today.

PS 6 comments? Thats awesome. I think its a first. Thats what I get for posting on facebook. Thanks for the love!

Weekend

Today marked a milestone in our little renovation. I was able to use my bathroom for the first time in 2ish months! Chris installed the toilet (after a huge scrub-job) and caulked it. He also fixed the leak in the shower so the bathroom is completely functional! And can I just give Chris a shout out- on his ONLY day off this week he did 1 million honey-dos around the house! The baseboard is installed in both rooms, and caulked in the bathroom. The tile is caulked around the toilet and shower. He also fixed our Honda door, which has been broken for a month or so. It was pretty obnoxious dealing with that- I had to twist around in my seat to unbuckle Gianna, and then she would have to get down and open the door for me so I could get Elia out. Just another "obstacle" among many when trying to get 2 kids in and out of the car. So that was pretty exciting. My big project for the weekend was painting the inside and organizing the linen cabinet in our bathroom. I don't have any before pictures, but this is what it looks like now:

Pretty great, right?

Chris did have to work on Saturday, but he got home around 4 so we were able to take advantage of the absolutely gorgeous weather. We put the girls in our hiking backpacks and walked to the duck pond. Its been a while, and it felt great getting out!

Besides that, the weekend was pretty laid back.

G insisted on making her own sandwich this morning. So grown up!