Sunday, December 14, 2008

Here are the birthday girls.








Look at this beautiful cake! Three tiers, made by Aunt Trish.

I think the pictures mostly speak for themselves. The girls both got a t-shirt that says "Birthday Party at the YMCA" that were so big they could probably wear them at their high school graduation. :)
So everyone enjoyed swimming and the Moon Bounce. We then had cake and ice cream and played in the ball pit. I've posted videos and You Tube for your enjoyment.
Here are videos of the little family party we had for her on her actual birthday. Yes, that is Lloyd howling. :)
Here she is opening her dollhouse. "oh my gosh!"
While you're looking at youtube videos, you can actually see all the videos I've posted thus far.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Dyslexic child?




Alex was spelling out words on the fridge with magnetic letters. She said "look Mommy, I can spell the name of a girl in my class." I noticed it was backwards so I decided to have her spell other words she knows...which is limited to her own name and sisters name. When she writes her name, she writes it correctly. I'm not sure if this is a four year old thing or if she's dyslexic.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Diamond Castle Music Video

The girls decided to make a "music video" from Barbie and the Diamond Castle. As Alex says it, it's the "newest, newest princess movie!" Alex and Sam dressed up just like the two girls in the movie and danced around and sang the song. Notice the similarities...lol. Alex (with dark hair) is dressed in the same colored dress as the dark haired girl and Sam (blondie) is dressed in the same colored dress as the blonde girl. It's pretty cute, anyway. There are two other videos but I didn't post the links. You can look at the different videos I have on my "channel."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqNjw2ZH5QM

Here's a music video of the actual Diamond Castle Barbie Movie. No need to watch the entire thing, but the first minute or so is pretty cute and shows exactly what Alex is so intriged with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLvRkdFVO6Q

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Ladybug

The girls found a ladybug while digging around in the neighbor's rock area. I was sure it was dead, but it surprised me when it started moving, despite the fact that Sam had it in her little hand. They then placed him/her in a sippy cup with rocks, coins, stars and a seashell or two. Surprisingly, the ladybug was still alive the next day.
For some reason I'm having problems embedding the videos, so you'll have to click on the links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLbz8HZxU1s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z32mMQk7a5k

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The girls and their new "puppies"

Today Grandma Jane and Grandpa stopped by our house to drop off some goodies they got in Alaska. The girls each recieved an animal in a carrier. Alex's is an Alaskan Husky named Rose Pedal, no, Molly, no Lilly....well....we're not sure what it's named it's been changed so much. Samantha's animal is a polar bear, but sometimes pretends it's a puppy. She named hers Sparkle (much like the little polar bear in the Barbie Pegusus movie).
Those girls have not let their pets out of sight since they got them a couple of days ago. They love carrying them everywhere in their little bags.
Here's a short video of them dancing with their pets. Notice Alex's style versus Sam's style of dancing. Sam seems to be more of a rock star...lol.
Sorry my voice is so loud. I forget that the microphone is right next to me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRSxS8iiUoQ



Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Packing for Grandma's house and Potty Language






Today I gave the girls their bags and told them to pack for Grandma's house, thinking it would keep them busy for a good half hour while George and I made supper. Well, I was wrong. A minute or two later I see Sam walking toward the back door with her bag slung over he shoulder, almost too heavy for her to carry. A minute later, Alex and Sam have lined up the shoes they are going to take: 12 pairs in all.
Later investigation of their bags revealed some insight into what they had planned on taking to Grandma's house. Sam had 11 shirts, 6 pairs of shorts, 7 dresses, a lamb, a princess crown and a sea shell. And her blankie of course. She had packed two bags in all. Alex had 3 pairs of shorts, 4 skirts, 6 shirts, 11 pairs of panties, a princess crown and her pooh bear.


Later on, there was much hype and discussion following a comment (made by George) about Sam's undies. I figured that I may as well have some decent blackmail material in case the girls ever have a high school graduation ceremony...


Warning: this short film involves potty talk... a lot of it. If you are somehow offended by potty talk, shield your ears. Yes folks, Alex is that charming in real life.

Alex asked me at dinner, "Did you know that Curious George was made possible by viewers like you?" I've come to realize that PBS has entered my child's brain...and possibly warped it.


Friday, August 29, 2008

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Alex was watching me do dishes and talk on the phone with my friend Missy. Suddenly the line broke up and we lost connection. Being so, I broke into song, singing "Breaking up is hard to do.." Alex started singing it too, adding her own verse "Breaking up is hard to do, but I do it with my eczema."

Friday, July 25, 2008

Swimming and Playing at the Park

Saturday we went to a birthday party in Moundridge (a good friend of Nate's, Shawn and Leah Hust, their baby Casey turned 1). We had dinner, played at the park and went swimming. While at the park the kids played hard, as you can tell by their red faces. Also, Alex has a special affection for her cousin Jacob. She pretty much follows him around all the time, picks him up and plays and loves on him. Here they are sitting together, Jacob surrounded by cousins as usual.
Tricia's camera can take pictures under water, which is pretty cool. Here are pictures of Nate and Lolo at the Moundridge Pool.





Alex the Swimmer



Alex learned to swim under water for the first time on Wednesday. She figured out that she can hold her breath under water, and she just decided to take off. She could right away swim about 5-7 feet under water to me from the steps of the pool. The pool we were using is a salt water pool, which helps with the stinging in the eyes and the burning of your nostrils when water gets up there. It also has buoyancy benefits. The pool is a lap pool so it's about 4 feet deep and 6 feet wide. Also, a major plus, it helps with her eczema! We went again last night as a family and really had a blast. I hope Kim and Jeff don't mind us intruding on them!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Backyard Watering Hole





Yesterday I bought the girls a little pool. They enjoy playing with the raft, as well as jumping off their "rocks" and being mermaids.
I conveniently set it next to our garden, so when we're ready to take a break or change the water we can use the water in our garden. :)

Friday, July 4, 2008

Rolling Hills Zoo and Soapy Hair, Part II








We went to the zoo yesterday. The girls and I, plus the Shugart Clan (Suze, Brent, Ashlynn and Lazarus) and Suze's mother Syliva Wolcott. We had fun looking at all the animals, but mostly the girls were the most entertaining for the adults. Every stop we made was like a chinese fire drill, because no one could sit or stand on the stroller for long. At some points there was no one in the stroller, but that's to be expected.
In one picture, notice Sylvia in the background reading about the camels. She noted that when camels get excited, they inflate a gland (or something) in their mouth which protrudes from the side of the mouth resembling a red balloon. Suze then challenged Sylvia to "excite the camel."
Moving on the giraffe feeding station, Alex and Suze had fun feeding the giraffes. Suze said it was "like, whoa" standing under them because they're so tall.
Alex also had fun picking up Ashlynn and carrying her much like she does to baby Jacob. I thought it was particularly hilarious when Alex told Ashlynn to get on her back, but couldn't support her weight and toppled backwards. The girls didn't really get hurt, but I was probably the only one that thought it was funny.
After the zoo, we all went to Carlos O'Kelly's. I then got some shopping done in Salina, and went home to nap. We were then invited over to Uncle Royal's and Aunt Kimber's house to watch things blow up (oohh....ahhhh). We then got home really really late.
This morning George and I slept in later than the girls, which poses a slight risk. When we got downstairs, we discovered the girls (probably just Samantha) had evidence in their room of naughtiness. #1: lotion bottle. #2: conditioner bottle. #3 *shocker* handsoap!!
They also both had on a couple of their nicest dresses. I took line-up photos showing her front and back. Note the white goop her her hair.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Just say "No!"

I am now speaking directly to the Samantha of the future. Just say "No!".... to hand soap. You came upstairs to see Mommy while Mommy was reading the Bible (which happens to be your favorite time to get into things). "Look Mommy, I've got soap in my hair!" words I just love to hear. So I went downstairs and saw the pretty blue all over the bathroom sink with my expensive Stampin' Up marker and hand soap spread every where like paint.

Just a few minutes ago, around 11:45 p.m. I heard you downstairs. I went to check on you. You had MORE hand soap in your hair, and all over your sheets, and in your stuffed animals' hair. Yippee.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Mascara, freeze dried brine shrip, and soggy graham crackers





It amazes me how talented my two year old is at making messes. I know something is wrong when I don't hear anything from the girls for more than a couple of minutes. I was upstairs reading my devotional and had the feeling that I better check on the girls. Alex was playing placidly and Sam was....not. I discovered her in the bathroom with a wring of black around one eye and mascara carefully (with talent, I might add) painted on her blonde eyelashes. With the tube and applicator in hand, there was little doubt as to what had happened. I wiped most of it off with face lotion and toilet paper.
It wasn't too long after that when Alex came and got me. "Look, look Mama. Come look what Samantha did!" I followed her into their room and saw Samantha standing in a drawer feeding the fish. I didn't notice that the bottle (previously full) was almost half empty. While I don't think too much actually got into the tank, most of it was on the carpet. Man, nothing like the smell of freeze dried brine shrimp.
For snack, the girls had graham crackers and milk. I was busy talking to Trish and doing some other things so I didn't notice what exactly Sam was doing at the moment. The girls both got down from eating and, low and behold, a mountain of soggy graham cracker! Amazing Samantha, you are a masterpiece.

Other than cleaning up after Sam, I ended up taking her to the doctor. She had puss running out of her ear. Turns out that means something. And it's really smelly.
So the P.A. said she's got swimmer's ear.
Amazingly, her weight registered her on the chart. She fell off the chart at 3 months and 1 week old, and returned today. She weighed in at a hefty 23 lbs. and some odd ounces. She's two and a half now. Yeah! I guess that means something.
What's really funny was the nurse's reaction. After she was weighed, I asked the nurse where that would put her on the chart. The nurse charted her weight and looked at me with concern, "She's barely on the chart." I was excited, "She's on the chart? No way!" So she flipped back on the previous chart and then understood why I was excited.

It was a good day, complete with a brief visit from Dad and Jane. I needed Dad to come over and pick out some pictures of the girls that I had not handed out yet. I guess I finally realized I didn't need 12 wallets of Samantha when she was a baby and several other assorted sizes and poses of both girls. I guess pictures are basically useless if they're kept in an envelope.
Jane, Dad and I were talking about what happened to Jane's ankle (a vicious weed eater attack) when I was about to tell about my mishap with a Cutter Bug Repellent Wipes container. I was going to top your story, but for some reason got interrupted and couldn't finish. Well, what happened was... I got my finger stuck. I had just finished reading the warning label about how you're not supposed to stick your finger in the hole where the wipes come out of. Well, come on, the wipe was pulled too far out for the lid to close properly. So I tried to help it. I didn't know it would bite my finger and not let go until George finally got a pair of scissors that would cut worth a darn (several pairs later). We showed that lid who's boss. All I have to say is that it is important to read and abide by such labels. I liken it to a child sticking his finger into the hole where the straw goes on a fast food cup lid, but this container had so much more bite to it. Thankfully, that particular lid will not feast on any more unsuspecting people. So Jane, does that make you feel any better about your weed eater?

I had Bible study tonight, and George said he had a really good time with his girls. I guess they caught fireflies. I don't really feel like I got too much done, considered all I was able to do was basic upkeep. Oh, well. Such is life.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Working through the house

I've started a program. It's called The House That Cleans Itself. I read the book, and you should too if you're housecleaning defunct like I am (was). I've been working through each room. My back room is pretty well done. I worked a while in the girls' room today also. I'm definitely starting to feel like I've got the hang of it. If I'd known all along that all I have to do to keep my house clean is to get rid of junk, then I would have done that a long time ago. Better yet, I would have skipped all those garage sales. And I could have saved the $9 I spent on the book!! Although it's fun to garage sale, I wound up with waaay too much junk! Someday maybe I'll post the before and after pictures, when I get done and when I'm feeling brave.

Today we had playgroup at the church. It was a ton of fun watching kids run around the gymnasium chasing each other and kicking balls. Who knew they could do so much with so little. That's the theme of the week. Less is more.

It turns out that the girls love vacuuming with my new cordless vacuum: the shark. They fight over it, in fact. I also had the girls slide under their bunk beds and get every last thing out from under it so we could vacuum. I counted to 100 and told them they could keep the change they found so they would stay motivated to work. It was pretty funny watching them wiggle into such a tight space. It worked though! Not a single mouse poop, toy, or candy wrapper under the bed now. Yeah! One small step for Annie, one giant leap for, well, never mind.

I got a call from Mom today while I was cooking dinner. She said Tony is in the hospital again having seizures. I prayed for him to not have any lasting damage, and that the Lord would calm he and Mom down. I also have been praying for him to know the Lord.

George and I got to go on a date. The coolest thing happened today! I got a phone call from my friend Kim Snyder and she said that she had paid a teenage babysitter, Ingrid, (name has been changed to protect identity) to babysit or clean for us. She also brought a friend with her, which turns out that I was neighbors with her mom when I was kid. Who knew. But we were able to go to Wal-Mart alone. Strangely, it seemed like it went faster than normal having him there. George and I always try to estimate how much our total with tax will be. He guessed $99 and I guessed $106. It was actually $104 something, so I won!!! Yes!! We also went to Braum's to get milk and sundaes. When we got home the girls were in bed (not sleeping) and no chores had been done. The babysitters were watching a movie when we came in. I figured two girls are better then one, and could get stuff done. I was wrong. Oh well. At least the girls are in one piece. I really can't complain because it wasn't me that paid them.

George just now fell asleep while I was reading the Bible out loud. He said he wanted me to read to him, so I asked him what he'd like to read about. I like to use Biblegateway.com, because it's so easy. I just did a subject search for Anger, and started reading. I then asked him, what else? He said he wanted to read about sleep. Then he fell asleep.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

My First Blog

Seeing as how I have two young children, I wish I would have started writing earlier. There are probably hundreds of things they've said or done that were cute, but are now forgotten. So my purpose here is to record my observations and share them with friends and family. Hopefully, there are things I will write about that the girls will cherish when they grow older (plus some things to be embarrassed about).