this week

this week has been "normal". i am amazed how quickly the weeks go, and yet i can't seem to recall anything "BIG" that has happened. i am trying to enjoy my little girls more, which means being less concerned with a dirty house or laundrythat has piled up. with kate, we are working on having self-control. as i talk with her about what self-control is and what it looks like, i am convicted that it is something that, i too, need to work on. i am proud of her-this week she got 10 stickers for using self-control and we got to go to ice cream. it was fun for her and made me proud of how she is changing. it has also convinced me that i need a sticker chart too-maybe that would help me to remember to keep my mouth closed! we also got to go to cousin penelope's ballerina birthday party. kate had a blast and loved doing one of her favorite things-dressing up!

toilet paper fun

so i realized this morning why we don't have any pets. all we need is little amelia to tear apart the toilet paper and it seems like we have a little animal in our house. it's a little weird how similar a one year old and a small animal really are-they have nasty poops, make a mess while eating, need to go for walks, need to have "play" time, make loud, ear-piercing noises, and are sweet, cuddly, and fun! next time kate says she wants a dog, i will remind her of the fact that we already have amelia:)

valentine's weekend

we had a really fun and long weekend. my parents had a long weekend (friday and monday off) so they were able to come up to our house and play. they took our girls on a "date night" (to macdonalds-kate's fave!) so that tim & i could go out for valentine's day. we had a lovely dinner at il foranaio, then dessert at "the creamery"-our favorite ice cream parlor. on valentin'es day we celebrated with lots of food! we made a big breakfast and did our little gifts. in the evening i made dinner, then did chocolate fondue for dessert. kate thought this was the best ever! on saturday the guys (including tim's dad) did crown molding in the kitchen and on monday finished in the master bedroom/office. it looks great and is another big thing crossed off the never-ending "to do" list. we had so much fun, and the girls absolutely adore their grammie and boppa. by the way, my dad loves "guitar hero" and thinks he is the next american idol. sorry dad, but you KNOW it's true:)

date with kate

last night tim took kate on their first daddy/daughter date. they went to the old spaghetti factory. kate was so excited all week long, and asked me several times each day if it was the day of the date. we made the decision to start a regular date night since tim is now gone long hours with work. he commutes 3-4 hours a day in the car on the days that he is not traveling (which he is doing more of these days). it's been hard, but we are trying to make more of the time we have together. is was also fun that i had an hour or so alone with amelia. it reminded me of the time when we only had kate. i'm thankful that my girls have such a sweet & thoughtful daddy. the other picture is of kate playing "Cinderella". she was getting ready for bed, but wanted to squeeze in one more dress-up opportunity. it seems to be a favorite these days.

last week...

was kinda quiet. we didn't have much planned, which turned out to be a good thing. amelia got sick with a fever (who knows if it's related to teeth or actual illness), so we just stayed close to home. we went to the park a bunch, dressed up (not me, but the girls:), and just hung out. it was nice to just have fun, and not have anywhere to be. for me, this is a constant challenge-planning enough to stayed busy and the kids entertained, but not so busy that we're always late somewhere. here are a few random pictures including shower time (now a favorite for BOTH girls-they must be tim's) and amelia's first dress-up experience.

also, i wanted to comment on amelia. our brilliant little child is now signing "all done, drink, & please". she also has ferocious temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way. she must be mine!

traveling girl

today tim left for a business trip, and amelia decided she wanted to go with him. too bad he couldn't take her with him. (by the way, i know we should always put her in pink since she looks like a boy in yellow).