A Bug's Life

We got the girls a bug jar and a butterfly net, which has kept them pretty busy for the last few days.  The bugs  and slugs have totally enthralled them and they don't seem even remotely grossed out by looking at them through the magnifying or touching them.  Lee has also been collecting some interesting bugs for them at night and they eagerly look forward to checking the jar in the morning to see what he has found for them.

A horse fly, their first capture.

Totally fascinated.

Looking for worms and slugs with Daddy.

A jar filled with slugs and worms (gross!).

Finally - the Pool!

The girls - especially Elizabeth - have been gazing longingly at Peter & Lisa's pool since they opened it a few weeks ago.  The weather has not cooperated, so until a few days, they haven't had the chance to go in.  The other day, we finally had a few rays of sun, and they jumped into their bathing suits and into the pool as soon as we gave them the "okay."  The water was freezing, but it didn't seem to bother them at all.

Elizabeth was thrilled to finally be in the pool!

Emily spent most of her time hanging out on the ladder.

Lee and Emily.

Horsing around with Daddy.

Elizabeth was literally blue - teeth chattering and all - by the time we made her get out of the pool.

Dinosaurs on Father's Day

Because the weather was not great on Father's Day, we spent the afternoon at the Peabody Museum in New Haven, checking out the dinosaurs and a bunch of other neat exhibits.  It was an interesting place that we enjoyed as much as the girls, if not more, as it might have been a bit over their head.  Their favorite part was definitely the live ant exhibit, which completely freaked me out.  More pictures from our afternoon here.

You can see how intrigued the girls were.

This was the ant exhibit - they seem thrilled.

A Father's Day moment.

Hanging with Daddy

Emily has always been a great cuddler, but battling a stomach bug the last few days has made her extra snuggly.  Here are a few shots of her with Lee.

Tinker-Mel

Last weekend, my good friend (Miss) Melissa paid us a visit.  Because it was raining, she couldn't really play outside with the girls so we did the next best thing - made popcorn and watched Tinker Bell, the movie that she had just got Emily for her birthday!  The girls loved the treat of popcorn in the middle of the day, a movie in the middle of the day AND being allowed to eat in the living room.  It was almost too much for them to handle!

All eyes on the popcorn popper.

Watching Tinker Bell while eating popcorn - what a great thing to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon...

Chalk it Up

Near the end of last week, one day when it wasn't raining (!), the girls seized the opportunity to break out their chalk and decorate the driveway.  Their chalking technique is evolving - they used to just get as much color on as many surfaces as possible, but now they use chalk more like crayons, drawing small pictures in various places on the driveway.  The chalk they used the other day is 3-D chalk (courtesy of Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Barry), and when you put on the 3-D glasses, the drawings really pop!

Elizabeth chalks with precision.

3-D glasses

Preschool Graduation

Elizabeth's preschool graduation was last week and it was very cute.  The kids all sang songs, listened to a bible story from Pastor and got their diplomas.  Afterwards, they all ran around and played on the church grounds.  It was a really great way to end the year and although it was a bit sad knowing that our little girl is growing up so fast, Emily starts at the same school (in the same classroom) in the fall.

Praying with Pastor

This is the "Kidipillar" that all the kids played in afterwards.  Elizabeth talked about this thing all week, and it was definitely the most exciting part of graduation for her and her friends!
Below is a video of the class singing with Pastor.  After watching it, you will understand why, when asked, Emily describes preschool as "standing, and sitting, and standing and singing and reading with Pastor!"

Elizabeth receives her diploma from Mrs. D and Miss Karen.

Happy Father's Day

My dad is an amazing father and an all around special guy.  It wasn't that long ago that I would have described him as the best dad on earth, the measuring stick by which I judged all others.  While there is no doubt that my dad is great, he now stands a close second to the man I truly believe is the most amazing dad - Lee.  As most of you know, for the better part of five years, Lee's primary job has been being a dad - a Stay At Home Dad to our two daughters, a job that he handles with grace, dignity and unbelievable patience - and without so much as a backwards glance at the mothers that insinuate that he can't take care of his kids as well as they take care of theirs or the fathers that imply that he's less of a man because he puts on his daughters' dance shoes as easily as his own hockey skates.  Lee once described himself as follows:

"I am a stay-at-home dad. I didn't get fired, let go, or down-sized from my job, I quit my job and chose to stay home with my daughters. In my free time I enjoy playing ice hockey and lifting weights. Oh yeah, I also do laundry, grocery shop, wash dishes, make dinner, give baths, wipe noses, go to playgroups, change diapers, kill spiders, dress barbies, unplug toilets, etc. However, despite the fact that I have been home for more than four years, I am still unable to braid or put my daughters' hair in a pony tail."

This "job description" received rave reviews from close friends and minor acquaintances alike and provides just a little glimpse of what my husband is made of.  It is one of the reasons he is such a great dad.  Happy Father's Day to the one I love.

Get on Your Feet

Lest any of you think that I've forgotten, below are the last of the dance recital videos.  These are from acrobatics, which Elizabeth and Emily did together.  This is the performance where Emily really came out of her shell.....

These are from the dress rehearsal - believe it or not, they (Emily especially) were far funnier at the actual recital!

Haircut

I love long hair on little girls, but lately, Elizabeth's hair has been a little too much to handle.  Lee really pushed for short hair for the summer and when Lisa (our friend and my hairstylist) agreed with him, I finally relented and let her cut Elizabeth's hair - A LOT.  And while Lee grinned from ear to ear during the cut, I will admit to shedding a few tears....She looks so grown up now and really seems to love her hair - and the reactions that she has been getting from everyone.

No salon visit needed - this all took place in our backyard.

Emily was Lisa's little helper.

In this picture, you can get a sense of just how much hair Lisa cut off.

And there you have it....

Photo of the Week

Nose picker....

Celebrating Emily's Birthday

On Saturday afternoon, we celebrated Emily's birthday with presents and cake.  She loved opening all of her gifts and she really loved her cake (she asked for it ALL day), which was chocolate with pink frosting and little Cinderellas on top (home made by Mommy and Elizabeth).  She had a great afternoon, but Elizabeth is quite relieved that Emily's birthday is finally over and that hers is next!  More pictures here .

Presents from Miss Melissa and Mr. Mark - the wrapping paper alone was a huge hit!

My inability to capture Emily's expression on her second birthday is what prompted me to get the camera that I have now - I'm happy to say that we were pretty much able to get the full essence of her excitement. 

She blew out the candles on the first try...

...and immediately tried out the frosting.

Taylor and Elizabeth

Yummy cake

This was Elizabeth's present to Emily - which, by the way, was Emily's favorite gift.  The kicker?  All of these things belonged to Emily before Elizabeth gave them to her.  Elizabeth simply wrapped them up and Emily seemed to be incredibly grateful!!

A Day at the Children's Museum

Right around Elizabeth's first birthday, Lee and I decided that, rather than have a party, we would always do something special as a family for our kids' birthdays.  Every year on Elizabeth's and Emily's birthdays, we take the day off from work and go someplace special, just the four of us, and then go out to eat.  Last Tuesday, the weather foiled our plans to go to the zoo or the aquarium, so we spent a few hours at The Children's Museum.  It is a pretty neat place and the girls had a great time.  They loved looking at the snakes, spiders and turtles (clearly, Lee's influence) and playing at all of the different exhibits.  After a few hours, we left to have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which they really loved.  For dessert, we ordered the special lava cake and about ten members of the waitstaff sang to Emily, which she thought was great!  We had a great day celebrating Emily's birthday.  More pictures from our day here.

Looking at snakes with Daddy.

What is it about kids and water?

Emily was so thrilled with the singing...and the cake!