Tavio Turns Two!

Last weekend, Jen & Sal's little miracle Tavio turned two.  It hardly seems possible that two years have gone by since Sal knocked on our door and told us that Jen had delivered a tiny little boy who weighed less than two pounds (I remember it so clearly, like it was yesterday).  Today Tavio is a handsome little guy and is as strong as can be.  To celebrate his big day, Jen & Sal through a huge party!  It was a great time and I'm sure that we overstayed our welcome, but we had to much fun!  Happy second birthday Tavio!  We feel so privileged that we have had the chance to watch you grow!!!  Many, many more photos here.

Elizabeth and Victoria on the giant, inflatable slide.

Cathy and Jen, with Devin. 

A pile of TDI dance girls!

Christina and Tricia on the slide. 

Jen, Tavio and Sal watching the pinata festivities - I think that Tavio was a little freaked out!

Madison, Elizabeth and Victoria

The fabulous Diego cake made by Jen's mother. 

The many Diego cupcakes "made" by Jen. :-)

Sal, Tavio and Jen, getting ready to blow out the candles. 

Can I have this cupcake?

Taking a very gentle bite.

Mmmm, mmm good!

Cathy and Tavio (I just love this little snuggle).

Sit and Listen

When the girls were little, they each had a CD player in their room so that they could listen to music while they fell asleep.  When they started sharing a room, we packed the CD players away and pretty much forgot about them.  A few weeks ago, when we were doing some cleaning, Lee came across them and asked the girls if they were interested in having a radio/CD player in their room - of course, they were delighted!  Not only do they listen to the radio and their CDs (Lee was thrilled to get all of the Disney CDs out of his truck!), but they have been listening to audiobooks as well.  We noticed that several of their books contain a CD with an audio version and they really enjoying listening to the stories.  Elizabeth enjoys it so much that I've actually added some audio books to her birthday list - listening to a good story seems to be the one area where she exhibits the most patience, especially when she can follow along in a book.

Elizabeth

 Following along in one of their books with the storyteller.

Getting just a little closer to the CD player.

Mother's Day Tea

Emily's preschool class had a Mother's Day celebration on Tuesday.  The class sang a cute little song and then we had tea and cookies (as soon as I arrived, Emily informed me that she did not want tea, even iced tea, so she had apple juice...).  The two of us had a good time hanging out and I enjoyed watching how Emily behaves when Elizabeth isn't around to influence her every move.

This was a song about a tadpole becoming a frog (I think).

This is the "about mom" paper that Emily made for me - she's pointing to a pancake that she drew because she loves it when I make pancakes.

In case you can't read this, it says "My mom is special because she's old."  According to her teacher, she tried to talk Emily out of that, but Emily was adamant that being old was what made me special...

Playing with her friends on the playground.

In motion - tongue out.

Mommy's little girl.

Birthday Bonanza!

Two very special little boys turned two on Sunday and we celebrated their birthdays all weekend long!  Happy 2nd Birthday to Tavio and Devin.  I will post more pictures later, but check out the video below for a glimpse of the fun we had at both parties!!

Turn up the volume for sound; to maximize, click on the four arrows.

The Bug Jar

Last year, we got the girls a bug jar to encourage their curiosity, especially when it comes to bugs.  They continue to search for bugs and other critters in the yard and they know all the good places to look - in moist areas, under rocks or pieces of wood.  They often call out to Lee to join them in their adventures, which, of course, he loves!

The top of the jar is made from magnifying glass, which allows the girls to see all the buggy details up close.

  

Daddy knows all the good hiding places....

While Emily Sleeps

Elizabeth is usually at school while Emily naps, but on the weekends, she alternates between asking when we can wake up Emily and keeping herself completely amused and entertained:

The bubble machine is back in action.

She has so much fun - best investment ever!!

Much like bubbles, chalk never gets old!

  

Back to the bubbles!

Sheer joy!!

What Will They Think of Next?

- "When I hear a song I like on the radio, I record it with my brain and then I play it back later when there's no radio around."  Followed, a few hours later by.....
- "When I see Madison and Victoria, I make a video of them with my brain.  Then later, when I miss them, I play it back with the recording of 'Party in the USA' in the background."  That's just the way Elizabeth thinks.
- "NaaNaa is aweome!"  After all, she did give Emily the new toothbrush that she brought home from school.
- (Sigh) "Emily, you get what you get and you don't get upset."  Elizabeth, repeating a line from one of her favorite books after Emily complained about the utensils that Elizabeth used to set the table.  What doesn't come through, obviously, was her tone - she sound like, um, how shall I put this....me!
 - "If we run out of envelopes, do we still have to go to church?" Yes, Elizabeth, unfortunately we do.
- "I smart."  Yes you are, little Emily.
- "Mommy, when can I start learning to drive?"  5 going on 15.
- "Jesus shouldn't have worn sandals - I bet his feet are cold!"  Emily was mad because that we wouldn't let her wear sandals to church because it was cold and rainy, so apparently, she thought that Jesus should get in trouble too.
- "I just want to eat.  And everyone else wants to play and learn."  Emily, explaining why she didn't want to go to school one day.
- "I wish, I wish with all my heart that NaaNaa gets a hermit crab for her birthday.  So I can play with it."

Sunday Mornings

We have a pretty solid family-oriented routine on Sundays at our house.  After Lee makes us a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, english muffins and juice/milk/coffee (something different for each of us), we settle in for game time.  We usually do at least one or two giant puzzles and then play a few rounds of Bingo, Chutes and Ladders, Memory and/or Candy Land.  Lee and I rarely win any of these games - and it's not as if we are nice parents that let our kids win.  Nope, we're pretty competitive - but I can honestly say, I've never won a game of Candy Land - in fact, Emily usually dominates; Elizabeth is very good at Memory (which should not be surprising to those of you that know her!).  While we play, there is always music playing in the background - an iTunes shuffle that ranges from Miley Cyrus, to Neal Young, to Pearl Jam, to Ozzy Ozbourne, to Matt Kearney to Anika Rose.  Sunday mornings are almost the only break we get from our fast-paced life and all four of us really enjoy it.

Working on a puzzle.

Bingo!

Calling "princess bingo"

Setting up a new train track with Lee.

Dance time!

The Princess and the Frog is a HUGE hit in our house!!

Do You Know Your Vowels?

Elizabeth does.  This is painfully long (2 minutes), so if you are not a grandparent, you'll probably want to skip it!

Old and New

Usually, we get the bulk of our house projects done over the summer but this year, we had a very productive winter.  We had our long-suffering kitchen ceiling redone, finally banishing the cracks and peeling - the guys that did the work were great and we are really pleased with the results.

One of the many cracks and peeling paint spots on the ceiling.

A work in progress.

The finished product.

We also redid the girls' room, and the transformation was dramatic.

The old blue room.

   

The end result.

We turned our hall closet from a non-functioning bureau-behind-a-door to a totally functional and much used hall closet.

I don't have a photo from when the drawers were still in the lower half of the closet, but you can kind of get the picture.  Who puts a bureau in a closet?

Lee replaced the door handles on every door in our house.  This change was prompted after Aunt Denise got locked in the guest room when she visited last October and Lee had to crawl through the upstairs window and take the door off its hinges to get it open.  Although we were sad to see our beautiful old crystal knobs go, the new knobs all work and look nice.

We also replaced the baker's rack in the kitchen (which I inherited from friends when I was in law school) with a more functional bench (that opens for shoe storage) and coat hook.

Most importantly, we replaced our front door.  Of all the changes we made, this was by far the most necessary.  The front door was original to the house (more than 60 years old) and for the last two summers, it has stuck completely, making it virtually unopenable from the inside of the house during the summer months.  For more than three years, the door handle has been broken, meaning that if one were to turn it from the inside, the door would stick and then it could only be opened from the outside.  And as if those reasons weren't important enough, the cold air virtually pours in around the door in the winter.  This was a long time coming and we are more than pleased with the change.

The old door.

We love our new door (and storm/screen door, below).

Finally, Lee built a compost bin for us.  For more than thirty years, my dad has shared his gardening secrets with me and year-round composting is one of them.  We are fanatics about composting but because we live so close to the river, we often find our yard covered with seagulls in the winter, looking for a meal.  Lee built a bin so that we could continue to compost, but keep the scraps covered up and out of reach of neighborhood animals and birds.