Birthday Party #1...

Leslie was super spoiled this year with birthday parties. Uncle Willy, Alison and Jordan were all in town Easter weekend, so party #1 was Saturday before Easter. Uncle Willy got her a pretty awesome Dora Hopscotch foam tiles game...


He also got her a pink velcro baseball glove and ball that she really enjoyed...

Calla's checking this bag and making sure all the toys are for Leslie... they were...

Ali and Jordan got her a Dino Play-doh set. As you can see, everyone had a lot of fun with it, even Calla...

It was a fun birthday for her. It was so great to be surrounded by all her family that loves her and us simply spending time loving on her.

Tamed Hair...

Calla's hair has gotten alot longer, especially in the back where she has pretty curls. The top is a little crazy. It's not quite long enough to pull up, but it sure is fun to laugh at in the mornings. She sleeps with her head up against the bumper pads, so it never fails to impress. Don't worry, she is now completely off the bottle, but this picture best showed her hair in its full glory...



One evening, I turned on a Dora for Calla to watch so she would let me mess with her hair. I managed to get two little pig tails out of the back of it...

I couldn't get her to smile at me... stupid TV... but this was the best picture I got from the front. Her little blondish hair didn't show up against the carpet!

They didn't last for long. The middle fell out of them pretty quick, but it at least gives me hope that she won't be a little mop head forever. In the mean time, she has gotten better about keeping bow clips in. She likes them and thinks she's super cute, but once a few minutes pass and she forgets what exactly is on her head, she pulls it out to look at it... only to turn irate when she can't stick it back in herself. Maybe I should put more mirrors at baby level:)

Around the Pond...

Our friend, Ethan, called and invited the girls to the duck pond. It was one of the the first nice days we had, so of course, the ducks were well fed. We couldn't even get the fish or turtles to eat our bread! We still strolled around the lake and enjoyed the weather and time together with friends. I know this picture doesn't show it, but the kids really did have a great time...


We weren't prepared for a memory to happen with the camera ready. This picture was really cute right before Calla pulled her hand away. Calla actually did let Leslie hold her hand for a while, and we all walked together. Melted my heart...

Calla really enjoyed getting out of the stroller, but did not especially enjoy having to hold my hand and/or stay on the sidewalk...

Much to her enjoyment, we got to walk closer to the water (notice the vice grip I have on her hand)...

Cute Leslie...

Leslie, too, liked playing especially close to the waterline which is a pretty deep drop off. So, I held her hand tight and let her walk on the wild side some, too...

Fun time with friends and family. Hopefully, we have many more of these to come...

Fun Moments...

Baby Calla wanted Mama to hold her while she took her milk. I'll enjoy it while it lasts...

Here is Leslie reading Brown Bear and Calla watching. Leslie has every book we own memorized, so I can ask her to go read Calla book, and she almost always joyfully does!

Daddy with his two finger-biters, I mean, little girls...

Here is Calla tickling Leslie. It's pretty cute how Calla will go up to people and wiggle her fingers saying, "tick-a tick-a" to tickle them...

Play time...

Calla's a climber. She is always getting herself into trouble trying to climb in and out of things. The other day, both girls were playing in Calla's room when all of a sudden Leslie's come running to find me and tells me Calla is stuck in her dresser. Sure enough, she had opened the bottom drawer and climbed in, but got stuck by the top drawer she forgot to push closed first. Luckily, she hasn't started trying to climb up much. I'm sure that will come when she's a bit taller. Here she is climbing in the little laundry basket which is always a balancing challenge...

Although she gets contorted in all sorts of funky ways, and usually gets a foot stuck, when she finally gets in, she's as happy as a child on Christmas morning....

Here's my girls loving on each other. The past couple weeks they've started hugging each other when I pick Leslie up from school or after church on Sunday. Too cute for words...

My little leprechaun playing the drums. Barry says she's actually very good:)

And repeat...

Family Fun...

My cousin, Sarah, and her family came to visit us again a couple weekends ago. Ava LOVED our dog. She followed her around and pet her literally the entire time. For some reason, she refused to learn her name or even acknowledge she was not a he! Belle loved it either way...


Ava and Austin also loved Barry's drums... until one accidentally hit the other in the head and the other hit back etc... But it was fun while it lasted!

It was such a cold and windy day outside, we couldn't play outside, so we packed up and went to the Children's Museum. Here all the kiddos are "shopping..."

I think Calla would have watched the fish tank in the lobby the entire time if we would have let her...

Here's baby Emma. She's such a good baby! She just sat in the stroller and chilled the entire trip. We never heard a peep!

Here the kiddos are cooking in the mini-kitchen...

This was our best attempt to get all the kids in a picture together. Calla is not in the picture because she is still looking at the first fish tank and not willing to try another...

Sarah got this great picture of Calla! Big ol' toothy laugh....

If I would have been thinking, this car would have gone away for the day. The only reprieve Belle got was when Ava wanted the car. They all played in it/fought over it all day long! It's hard entertaining everyone inside!

Although we were stuck inside, it was still a great day. They have not moved out of state, and I have no idea when I'll get to see them again:( I'm so glad we got to see each other twice in their short stay in Texas! Poor Leslie woke up Saturday morning asking to play with her friend, Ava. I tried telling her that she'd moved away and it wasn't possible, but she just doesn't get it. Love you and miss you all!

Panties and more...

Barry and I always wait to sort laundry until after the girls are in bed, and inevitably, their laundry gets thrown in a pile against the wall to sort tomorrow (or the next day... or the next...)

So, Calla was down to her diaper helping me pick out clothes for her to wear, when she came across some of Leslie's panties. She was SO SUPER HAPPY! She knew exactly what they were!

She smiled really big, picked them up, then started putting on her belly... like they were going to magically wrap around her little body and stick...

She wouldn't let me have her pair, but I got a different pair and let her try them on. She was absolutely giddy! And the funniest thing was that they fit perfectly! (over the diaper of course)

So despite the cold, she walked around for quite a while strutting her big girl panties...

Now if only I can get her to wear them without the diaper underneath!!

On a related note... Barry and I can not figure out why Calla's breath and diapers have smelt like Spaghetti O's the last week. We thought it might be the beef and tomato ravioli's she's eaten lately, but I haven't given her any in several days... and still... Spaghetti O's...