Dressed to Impress

Ah, Easter Sunday: a time of reverence and appreciation, a time of reflection and peace.

And let's not forget that it's also a time of impromptu photo shoots in new Easter outfits with little to no cooperation on the part of the children. The girls posed for some quick after-church pictures in their usual holiday style: eating candy, squinting, looking away, and asking when we going to be done.

I suppose that next year some good-behavior bribes will be in order. 

Feeling Blah

I feel like there is something in the air that's making me feel...unmotivated. I have so much to catch up on here, and I am even on a break from school, which, theoretically, should make for ideal blogging conditions. The number of blog posts bumping around in my brain notwithstanding, I am finding that there is really only one thing that I feel like doing these days: nothing. 

Maybe it's a post-vacation depression, maybe it's the impending doom of the inherently scorching (and painstakingly lengthy) summer months, or maybe I am still sick of living at the computer screen for the entire eight weeks of my first (and overwhelmingly intense) 400-level English class at GCU. Whatever the case, aside from the occasional emptying of the dishwasher and the obligatory school pick-up and drop-off, there isn't too much I'm doing around these parts. It's a full-on funk.

I'm sure I'll shake it; I always do. And when I do, be prepared for the most amaza-zing blog posts to ever debut on this URL. 

Until then, I think I'll go find my book and put my new sweat pants back on.

Helpers

Turns out, some Windex and two rags will keep these girls occupied for quite some time. They gave it their best and sprayed and scrubbed and sprayed and scrubbed the sliding glass door for about an hour a few weeks ago. In the meantime, I got the kitchen sparkling clean with no interruptions. All it cost me was a full bottle of Windex.

And I'd buy an hour of productivity with that any day.

2 Years Old and So Dang Cute

In the midst of all of the craziness that has descended upon our recent life, another miniature baby of ours has gone from tiny squishiness to full-blown toddlerhood. (I wish they would stop doing that. It's like they're ganging up on me on purpose.) Little Lex has been such a sweet baby from the very beginning, and it has been so amazing and yet so heart-breaking to watch her become the little independent person that she was always meant to be.

Amazing: She is a wonder in every way.

Heart-breaking: Her tiny days are fast coming to an end.

Her Royal Squishiness, February 2010. 

Her Royal Toddlerness, Present Day

Her second birthday consisted of a visit to Savanna's dance class,

Presents at home... 

(it's hard to say "cheese" with a Nutter Butter in your mouth...)

(Holding on to her new Dora movie for dear life)

(She loved this princess car and the Nutter Butters 

so much she wouldn't even look up for a picture.)

And a family date to Scooptacular. 

(Ah, the ease of pleasing a two-year-old...)

Recent highlights:

~She has officially graduated from the high chair, per her
own request, and is contemplating giving up the bib as well.

~She is surprisingly easy to reason with, and will usually
compromise with Craig and I or give in to avoid a stint
in time-out. (Although she will scream like a banshee
 if her sisters attempt to cross cross her in any way.)

~She speaks really well, almost always in complete sentences. 

~She can do everything without any help from a grown-up
 (or so she supposes.)

~She remembers details of things that even I forget. At
Target today, she saw a Bop-It and said, "Lincoln have one."
And indeed he does. 

Some of our favorite things about her:

~She calls Savanna "Nanna"

~She calls Dora "D-D-Dora"

~She snuggles like a champ both before nap and before bed. 

(I will not be ready to give this up any time soon.)

~She out-eats both of her sisters most if the time

~She LOVES to read, and can finish the sentences in almost all of her favorite books.

~She lets me do whatever I want to her hair. (This will not last.)

~She is an unconditional lover of every member of her family,

 including cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

We love her so much we could squeeze her all day. The End.

Dream Within a Dream

Guess where I just went?

I will give you some hints:

That's right, folks, I just lived every Mommy's dream of a blissful getaway to beautiful Hawaii. After the initial guilt of abandoning my husband and children for a 6 day, 7 night Hawaiian vacation with my mother-in-law, (who also happened to be very much in need of a break) I buckled down and allowed myself to indulge in the utter joy of it all: beautiful ocean views, delicious food, snorkeling, ziplining, sunset cruising, and general revelry which also included someone making my bed and vacuuming my room every day. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Can't wait to show you the rest of my 391 pictures and tell you all about it!