Hold on Loosely but don't let go......

Silly Karly

2009-11-15T09:40:00.006-05:00

Karly has an infectious spirit. She loves to laugh. In fact I think she smiles and laughs about 98% of the day. No matter what, even when she is mad, she will find laughter in the situation. She is always egged on by other too. If she knows that you are going to laugh or find her silly she will go out of her way to put on a show for you. She found my clown wig and put it on and it was so funny. This was early in the morning just waking up.

A Lot of Catching Up to Do!!

2009-11-15T09:38:00.001-05:00

Wow, I have not blogged since July. Considering it is November I have a lot of catching up to do. I switched computer systems and then just got distracted by life. Since this blog is for my girls, I have to get back on the ball.

Fashion Time

2009-07-22T16:55:00.003-04:00

We were going to the mall to get some new shoes for school. I can't believe school starts again in about a month. I told the girls they could go upstairs and pick whatever they wanted to wear. This is what they came down in. Later on Kylie also acquired a scarf, sunglasses and a gold necklace.

Singing their hearts out

2009-07-22T16:49:00.002-04:00

After swim we went to eat lunch at Subway and a couple songs the girls love (yes, I have turned them into music junkies) came over the Subway stereo system. They sang at the top of their lungs along to the music and I had to shush them a couple of times. I took a quick video because they were being so funny.

Camera Issues

2009-07-22T16:47:00.002-04:00

It has been so hard lately, because I have wanted to blog but since switching computers, I realized I can not find my cable to connect my camera to my computer to download my pictures. I have not had to do this since my other computer just had a memory card slot. I have it stored in my head to get a converter cable but the only time I really think of it is when I am at home thinking darn I should have got that. So hopefully I will remember. I am downloading the couple of pictures from my phone.

New Computers

2009-07-12T19:52:00.002-04:00

I got two new computers - both Macs, I made the switch so I have been waiting for all my data to be imported and finally it is done so I will be back to blogging soon. Here is the first picture that popped up on my new Mac after I got it back after my photo conversion. I miss my babies being babies!!

Summer Do

2009-06-23T19:47:00.003-04:00

Kylie and I have been talking about cutting her hair for a while now. We saw a picture of a girl in a catalog and I said "Kylie, your hair would look so cute like that". Kylie agreed but we had dance. We couldn't cut it till after the recital so we waited and waited and finally the day arrived. We were going to cut it to her shoulders, a much needed cut but she decided on her own in the hair salon that she wanted to go shorter with an angle. So here is her new haircut, it looks so good, just makes my baby seem so much older. She loves it, and is dancing and singing in the mirror taking in her new look.

An Apple for the Teacher

2009-06-21T19:35:00.006-04:00

Now it was Karly's time to shine. She was so excited to be on the stage and her smile just grinned ear to ear. She sang her heart out and did all her moves. At one point she stopped to move up the girl next to her so she would be in her right spot. It was so funny. Here is my baby shining.

Hey Mickey, Your so Fine

2009-06-21T19:33:00.008-04:00

Kylie performed her "Hey Mickey" dance at 2 shows during the recital. It was great to see her have so much energy and nail every move like a pro. She really shines on the stage.

Enchanted from Nakeea

2009-06-21T19:22:00.005-04:00

My friend Nakeea is a photographer (http://www.nakeeajarvis.com/) and her camera blows mine away so she sent me these pictures she captured.

Enchanted Suite

2009-06-21T19:17:00.008-04:00

Kylie's ballet routine at the recital was called Enchanted Suite. It was from the movie "Enchanted" and was breathtaking. The costumes were so pretty and all the girls were amazing. Here are some pictures.

RECITAL TIME!!

2009-06-21T19:12:00.006-04:00

This weekend was a crazy one for us in our household. It was dance recital time. Normally crazy for me and Kylie but this year Karly started dance so it was crazy for all of us. Costumes, accessories, shoes, tights, hairspray and more, it was chaotic at times but so much fun. The girls both shined on stage and it is so amazing the talent that oozes out of them (I am bragging). I am so proud of my little girls. Here are pictures of them together.

End of the School Party

2009-06-21T19:06:00.004-04:00

This year we hosted an end of the year school "bash" for Kylie's friends. 32 kids, a huge water slide we rented, a snow cone machine, food, trampoline, and lots of fun. I was so busy, I didn't take many pictures, but a friend did and here are two from the night. The highlight for most of the kids was when their teacher (Mr. Kehl) came to join in on the fun. It was a lot of fun and a great way to end the school year.

Last Day of School

2009-06-21T19:02:00.004-04:00

Kylie had a great year this year in first grade. Her teacher was so kind and patient and made learning fun. He kept her motivated and enthusiastic all year in school. It is sad that first grade is over already. It seems like just yesterday I was blogging about her going to first grade. On the second to the last day of school her teacher had a little party for the parents and showed a CD he made of all the pictures of the year and the class surprised him with a scrapbook. It was such a fun day. Goodbye 1st grade.

Dougie and Karly

2009-06-05T15:28:00.005-04:00

When soccer season started we went to get pictures and this little boy Dougie was on our team and he said to his mom when Karly said hi to him that he didn't like girls. Well Karly and Dougie turned out to be inseparable throughout the soccer season. They would laugh, high five, and have to hug goodbye after each game. After the last soccer game the coach took the team out to Rita's and Kylie and Karly were fighting and Kylie said that her sister was evil, Dougie came to Karly's defense and told Kylie she was wrong, Karly was not evil. It was too cute for words. As we were leaving she said "I love you Dougie and will see you soon". He said "I love you too Karly".

Karly has a trophy

2009-06-05T15:22:00.001-04:00

Karly has always wanted trophies like her sister has. It is hard to understand for her that Kylie is older and that is why she has more trophies. This past Saturday Karly's soccer season ended and Karly received her 1st trophy. She was so excited she couldn't contain her excitement and carried the trophy around for about 4 days. She keeps moving it in her room to try to find a good spot.

Brownie Award Ceremony

2009-06-05T15:15:00.006-04:00

It seems everything is ending this month. That includes Brownies. Kylie ended the year with an awards and pin ceremony. The kids read a story about flowers and tied it in with what a Brownie should be such as respectful, kind, nurturing, etc. After that each girl got their pin for completion of the year and some more patches and awards for cookie sales. The girls learned that they earned enough money to do an fun activity together in the summer so they were excited about that.

Ultimate Game Day

2009-06-05T15:07:00.005-04:00

Kylie had her Ultimate Game Day at school this week. It is field day for the whole 1st grade. The kids rotate through stations and it is a fun morning for them. Here are some pictures from all the fun.

The National Aquarium

2009-05-26T12:28:00.015-04:00

On our second day in Baltimore we headed over the the Aquarium. It is such a great aquarium. We started the day off seeing the sting rays and little sharks in the big observation area. The girls were disappointed they took away the "touch the stingray" exhibit. After that we saw a 4-D movie about earth that was really neat. They did a good job in a kid friendly way to explain how everything effects the environment. They also featured whales (the kid's other new obsession) so they were ecstatic. After the movie, we headed over to the dolphin show which as always was a blast. We had some lunch and than toured all the exhibits.

Kylie's favorite exhibit was seeing the octopus. She was very proud of herself because it was hiding in the cave but she spotted it out when no one else could. Karly loved seeing the stingrays and tiger sharks. She was mad that she could not touch them and when she grows up she is going to swim with the dolphins like at the show. Who knows someday maybe we will be visiting her at the aquarium.

Baltimore

2009-05-26T12:09:00.016-04:00

We took a trip to Baltimore over the long Memorial Day holiday. The girls lately have been obsessed with sea stuff. Whales, octopuses, sharks, stingrays, etc. They must ask me at least 50 questions a day about them and different stuff. I feel like I am taking a zoology class because I have no clue and have to look up the stuff on the computer. You Tube is also Kylie's favorite new thing to look at (although she often tears up if an animal gets eaten). So with all the enthusiasm in tow we headed to Baltimore.

Inner Harbor is so much fun. There is so much to do and see and it is all in a relaxed environment that is very kid friendly.

After checking into the hotel which the girls loved because of the rotating circle door that they would keep going around and around, we headed over to the Port Discovery Museum which is a great interactive kid's museum. They had a great time.

Karly after making her masquerade mask

Enjoying the horse corral exhibit

a little soccer action

working at the diner

creating a human bubble

Frontier Days Dress Up

Lasso Ladies

After the museum we had a nice dinner on the waterfront and went for a swim in the pool.

Nobody ever picks him

2009-05-20T20:10:00.004-04:00

Every night when I put Kylie to bed, we lay there and talk about her day. Usually it is the latest drama in the realm of 1st grade girls. Who sat next to who at lunch and what happened at recess. Tonight she was talking about her job this week at schol and she gets to do the morning song. She promptly stood up and did the song and than said that each day she gets to pick a friend to do the song with her. She told me tomorrow she is going to pick this certain boy. It is very out of character for her so I asked her why (I am a nosy mom). She proceeded to tell me how all year he has never been picked by anyone because he gets made fun of a lot because he needs a lot of extra help with things and she doesn't think it is nice to make fun of someone because he gets answers wrong. She said he must be so sad that he never gets picked so tomorrow she is going to pick him. I was so amazed at the compassion of my 7 year old. Everyone should think like her and the world would be a better place. It is funny how kids can see things so clearly. I told her I was proud of her decision. She told me her friends will laugh but she didn't care. I hope she always has this compassion in her heart.

Sleeping Bags

2009-05-18T22:09:00.004-04:00

A while ago while at Target the girls used their gift cards to buy sleeping bags. I don't really know why because we never use them. In fact I had washed them and put them in a closet. Tonight Karly asked me if we are ever going to use the sleeping bags. Since the girls have off school tomorrow because of an election day, I thought why not tonight. I set them up in the family room and put on tv and they snuggled in. Of course it was not without the complaints to each other that one could not see, they switched positions, etc. It is going to be a long night because the sleeping bag seems to get them more wired then sleepy, but hey you are only young once.

Dan Hall Concert

2009-05-18T22:05:00.003-04:00

Tonight at Kylie's school they hosted a concert where each grade sang a song that they wrote with Dan Hall (a children's artist). It was so great, Kylie sung her little heart out on stage. These pictures didn't turn out that grade, Karly had knocked my camera setting out of whack.

Kylie getting ready to sing

First Grade singing - Great job!!

1st Place Twice

2009-05-18T21:55:00.005-04:00

This past weekend was Kylie's last dance competition of the year. The team and Kylie worked so hard all year and they ended the year with a double win. They won Platinum with their dance score (which is 1st place, the highest) and than their routine came in 1st place, beating out the others. I have become such a dance mom now. The girls were so excited along with all of the parents, it was such a fun day and a great way to end the season.

Winning the 1st place trophy in their category

All the competition teams and their trophies

The Apprentice Team and their great coach Erica celebrating the win

Showing off the ribbons of success

Best Friends!!

Kylie's parent observation

2009-05-18T21:49:00.008-04:00

Kylie had her parent observation the other day just like Karly. Since Kylie dances on the competition team she dances for 2 hours. One hour straight ballet and one hour jazz. It is quite the workout. She enjoys every moment and gives her all. I am so proud of her drive and determination at her young age.

Karly's dance

2009-05-18T21:35:00.009-04:00

The other day at dance was a parent observation day for Karly. She was so excited that I was going to be in the class watching her. She did a great job the whole class. They performed their routine for the upcoming recital dance and did great. The thing I notice looking back on all these pictures is her smile. She is always giggling and smiling no matter what she is doing. She just loves life. Dance on Karly!

Giving our Mother's Day Pots

2009-05-11T05:16:00.005-04:00

Preschool Celebration

2009-05-11T05:08:00.004-04:00

Karly's preschool had a Mother's Day celebration and she had made a vase for me. She was so proud of her vase and flowers. We had snacks, we listened to a story (which Karly did not want to sit with me for) and we went around the school as she showed me her favorite things to do there. It was really cute.

Welcome to Karly's tea party

2009-05-11T05:04:00.004-04:00

The other day, I had deceided to do a closet overhaul. I spent a majority of the day doing this despite Karly's constant pleas to play with her. Finally she comes to me and says, "Mom, I am all dressed up, can you please come to my tea party?" Mom guilt set in. She had changed into a dress and had set up a whole tea party for us. I left my clothes project and sat down for a great tea party.

Making Mother's Day Pots

2009-05-11T05:00:00.005-04:00

This year for Mother's Day the girls wanted to make flower pots for their mom-mom and

grandmom. They painted terra cotta pots for them. They turned out very cute and they were very proud of their work.

Goodbye Goldie

2009-05-01T21:01:00.005-04:00

Tonight, Kylie had a fun fair at her school. One of the games was throw a ball and if it lands in the fish ball you get a goldfish. For most of the night I tried to steer her away from this game, I did not want fish to take home. She went off with some friends and comes bouncing back with 2 fish. My stomach dropped. She was so happy. She had got 2 fish, one for her and one for Karly. She had them named and was so excited this was her first pet.

On the way home we called a friend (thanks Shelley) to get some fish food since I did not feel like stopping at a store to get some. I held the bag for Kylie and noticed that "Goldie" was not moving one bit, just floating around. Compared to Nemo (the other one), he didn't look so good. I showed Shelley and she confirmed that he kicked the bucket and was in fish heaven. The second Kylie heard that she burst into full on tears and sobbing. Her fish was dead, she loved him and he couldn't be dead, what was she going to do. This lasted all the way home, into the house. She just sat with the bag in her lap crying her eyes out. I told her to come over so we could put the other fish in a vase and we would take care of Goldie (i.e. flush him down the toilet). Well she freaked out as Goldie lay there on the counter. She wanted to keep him and would not let me take him from her. I explained to her that Goldie needed to be flushed down the toilet and it was just his body, his soul was already in heaven with all the other goldfish. This seemed to offer her some comfort, but she wanted to be the one to put him in the toilet. So with my soup spoon, she scooped up Goldie and we put him in toilet and watched him twirl into the great toilet grave.

Kylie is still sobbing as I am typing this. She already drew a picture of him so she will have it forever. Poor sensitive Kylie. She has such a bleeding heart. RIP Goldie.

Mom, he has loved me for 3 days.

2009-04-28T22:50:00.003-04:00

I am driving in the car today and Kylie is in the back talking about who in her class likes who and who has a crush (her new word she uses all the time) on who. So I said Kylie who do you like and she giggles and turns red. She says Luke. I said really, Luke. She then goes on to say that 3 days ago Luke told her on the bus he really loves her. She said to me, "Mom, he has loved me for 3 days, that is forever". It took all I had to not burst out laughing. My little 1st grader has a crush. I love the innocence of little kids (although, I must admit I am shocked about all the crushing going on in 1st grade). I hope she holds onto the simple innocence of her youth for a long time to come.

Mom, we love this tree

2009-04-27T20:52:00.004-04:00

After we parked for the Academy of Natural Sciences, we had a little bit of a walk and for some reason out of the blue, the girls started saying they liked this tree. They stood a bit and danced around it and finally said, "Mom, take a picture, we love this tree". I don't know why they loved the tree, it was just an ordinary tree but to them it was special.

Academy of Natural Sciences

2009-04-27T15:40:00.015-04:00

We are having a heat wave in April, so we decided that instead of sweltering outside as we had originally planned with a long bike ride we would do something fun indoors. We went into the city and went to the Academy of Natural Sciences. Kylie and Karly both like dinosaurs and wanted to see dinosaur bones. It is a great museum. They also had a butterfly exhibit and we didn't realize that one had hitched a ride on Kylie's back when we left the exhibit for a while until we saw it and let someone know and than it flew up into the ceiling. Kylie thought that was so funny. After the museum we walked around Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the fountain and than went home.

the escaped butterfly is on Kylie's back

GOAL

2009-04-25T15:51:00.003-04:00

Here is a soccer update, Karly had her second game today and scored a GOAL. It was the other team's goal, but who cares, she was so excited jumping around and hi-fiving everyone, it was so great.

Practice makes perfect

2009-04-25T15:43:00.012-04:00

Kylie went outside to practice with her soccer ball while she was waiting to go to her soccer practice. Right behind her was Karly, wanting to play with Kylie. After a while of Kylie making all the goals, Karly moved on to the scooter. Just a beautiful night outside.

I am playing soccer - YEAH!

2009-04-25T15:34:00.008-04:00

Karly has been so excited to be able to be old enough to start doing organized sports. She woke up the morning of her first soccer game at 6am, declaring that she was ready to play soccer (her game was not until 11:30). She picked her jersey number (she wanted 7 because Kylie is 7) and she was ready to go. Karly has never played soccer before so for her age they divide the game up for the 1st half hour to be practice and the 2nd half hour is the game. The whole time she was practicing you could not wipe the smile off her face. She was laughing and smiling as she raced back and forth down the field. At one point she got a little frustrated because she was not getting the ball but she got a kick in and she raised her hands in the air and screamed "YES". It was so funny. She had a great time and I think she is happy that finally she has something that Kylie can watch her do.

First Place

2009-04-25T15:30:00.002-04:00

Kylie had her second competition dance in Lancaster. At this competition they had to be ready to dance at 7am, which means we had to get up at 5:40am to start getting ready. Kylie is not a morning person but she was a trooper. They went on around 7:45 am and danced their hearts out. They ended up winning first place in their category and they were so excited.

An Amish Buggy Ride

2009-04-20T21:02:00.008-04:00

After Kylie's competition we decided to make it a special day with just the two of us and head into the heart of Amish country and go on a buggy ride. Kylie's friend Sarah joined us for the ride. The ride took us down some rodes and talked about Amish culture. Kylie could not believe that they do not use the telephone or have tv's. She kept saying "Really?".

After the ride we went and had lunch at an Amish restaurant and Kylie loved the apple butter. At first she wouldn't try it because it was brown but once she had it she couldn't stop eating it. We went into a replica of an Amish house and walked around and finished the day with watching a film about the Amish. It was nice just to spend time with her alone and talk.

Kylie's artwork

2009-04-20T21:01:00.006-04:00

Tonight we went to Kylie's school to see the little art show that they put on every year. This year Kylie had two things on display. She was proud to have them on the wall.

Easter Basket Hunt

2009-04-13T10:44:00.007-04:00

Each year the Easter Bunny leaves a bunch of clues and the girls have to find their basket. One clue gives another location for them to look for the next clue. This year it was rhyming clues. It is so much fun and they really work together to find their basket.

Another Egg Hunt

2009-04-13T10:40:00.007-04:00

Our neighborhood hosted another egg hunt so off we went with baskets in tow. They each could only get 10 eggs and than got to empty the eggs and keep the prizes.

The Flowers are awake

2009-04-07T09:38:00.007-04:00

Last fall we got a bunch of bulbs from Lowe's and one night planted bulbs. They are scattered all over and it makes me laugh that we didn't coordinate them better. We planted daffodils and tulips. The girls get so excited to see them come through the ground and this year even more since they planted them and decided where they would go. The daffodils finally bloomed and every day we have to look at them and smell them. I grabbed my camera and was laughing how excited they get. Karly was shouting, "The flowers are awake, Yeah". Now it is really going to get excited when the tulips wake up.

Easter Egg Fun

2009-04-07T09:26:00.014-04:00

Every year our church hosts a HUGE Easter egg hunt and fun. This year was no exception. They had egg hunts every 15 minutes, games, food, moon bounce, cotton candy, popcorn and face painting. They even had a little petting zoo for the kids. We brought along our friends Sarah and Paige. Even though it was such a cold windy day, the kids had so much fun.

Karly's haircut

2009-04-02T09:49:00.011-04:00

Karly does not like her hair combed, brushed, or anything. Karly screams and cries when I put her hair in a ponytail or anything. She will literally sit around for a half hour with her shoulders scrunched up and scream to me "it is killing me". Well all the drama was killing me so we decided to get her hair cut. The problem was Karly was having no parts of going to the hair dresser, she does not like the hair dresser. (I swear she is my child)

Karly idolizes Kylie so I had to start the hair cut process with pulling out old pictures of Kylie with a bob and show them to Kylie and keep saying, "Wow, Kylie, I loved your hair like that". After a few times Karly was receptive to the idea. I also told her if her hair cut, no more ponytails. Well we made the appointment and off we went to get her hair cut.

The girl asked Karly if she wanted her hair washed in the bowl. She screamed no and started stomping around. Kylie said "Yes, yes, I want my hair washed, I love it". Karly than said "No, it is my haircut Kylie and you are not going to the bowl, I am". I think the only reason Karly got into the chair was to make Kylie mad. So she got her hair washed and loved it. Kylie was pouting around that she wanted her hair washed (we can't cut it until dance is over for the ponytail factor). So they washed her hair too. After her haircut she looked awesome. It is such a good look on her and all is well.

Before the haircut

Gotta love the face - not sure about the shampoo bowl

Hey mom, you are right, this feels good

Goodbye stringy hair

Kylie had to have her hair washed too - so happy

The final touches

So cute

Ta Da

A Preview of Ballet

2009-03-27T15:37:00.002-04:00

I know I have been posting a lot of stuff about Kylie's dance but my friend Nakeea sent this picture of Kylie and I couldn't help but post it. Her class got her ballet costumes yesterday and they are so pretty.

Mulch Tea Party for 4

2009-03-25T19:45:00.006-04:00

Today as I tackled my never ending task of cleaning out the garage, Karly decided to get her stuffed animals and have a mulch tea party. She took her shovel and got mulch and put it in a bucket, got out the plates and served up mulch with pretend tea to her stuffed friends. It was so cute to listen to her talk to them and have a little party.

Kylie's Piano Recital

2009-03-22T19:32:00.007-04:00

Kylie has been taking piano lessons for a little over 3 months so when it came time for the first recital, I was hesitant to let her be in it, not sure if she was ready. Well try telling Kylie that. She had a song and she worked her little butt off learning the song. She even learned it to the point where she didn't want the music. She would do it 10-15 times a day till she got it right. When she got up to go to the piano, she did wonderful. She hit every note with a smile on her face.

Hey Mickey

2009-03-22T19:30:00.007-04:00

Kylie had her full dress rehearsal for her dance competition. Her dance is to the song "Hey Mickey". It is a very cute dance and she does awesome. She was so excited to go to the dress rehearsal. Next weekend is her first competition.

All the dance teams had their practice and I sat there and watched them. I was sitting next to a mom whose daughter is a senior in high school and her daughter was going off to college. She asked me who my daughter was and I pointed Kylie out and she said to me to enjoy every moment it goes so fast. As her daughter danced I got tears in my eyes, thinking some day that is going to be Kylie, getting ready to go off to college and I really need to enjoy all the craziness of life more. As Kylie got up to dance I watched her in amazement that she has the amazing gift of dance. Her confidence poured out and her smile was radiant. The dance owner came up to me and said that a mom came up to her asking who the little blond was and said she really stood out.

Here are some pictures of my shining dancer!!

Lost

2009-03-17T21:53:00.004-04:00

It is official, Kylie lost her 1st tooth. After her birthday party she went to sleep over at Mark's house. I got a phone call that she had some exciting news to tell me but I didn't get to call her back till the next morning. When I called her she was screaming into the phone it fell out, she was so excited. When I talked to Mark he said there was not a lot of blood and no pain. Her other tooth is already growing in it's place. She told Mark that she wanted to save it so the tooth fairy could come when I was here, she didn't want me to be sad to miss it (that is my sweet Kylie). She wrote a note to the tooth fairy asking her to leave the tooth, so mommy could save it, since I like saving things. She came into my room about 2am to proclaim the tooth fairy left her money and left her tooth. She was very excited and brought it into school as well. She kept saying how little her tooth was.

Enjoying the Weather

2009-03-17T21:49:00.009-04:00

We have been having some great weather so the girls got out after school today and took advantage of it. They played for over 2 hours and just enjoying fresh air and sunshine.

New Additions to our House

2009-03-17T21:46:00.003-04:00

We just got new additions to our house. No, not pets, a trampoline and swingset. We love to go to the park and play but sometimes it is nice just being able to stay home and play too.e

Kylie's 7th Birthday Party

2009-03-17T21:16:00.010-04:00

For Kylie's 7th birthday party she wanted to have a Hip-Hop Birthday party. She came up with this theme because she wanted to invite boys to her party. It was such a blast. The kids learned a routine, they played freeze dance, they had a boys vs girls dance off, got tattoos and make up and danced some more. It was a great way to celebrate her turning 7.

Happy Birthday Kylie

2009-03-17T20:34:00.016-04:00

Kylie turned 7 when we were in Disney. I am just getting to write about it now. 7 seems so old to me, like the turning of a page. That is my baby, growing up right in front of my eyes. Kylie was a surprise, a blessed wonderful surprise. I was only 23 when I got pregnant with Kylie and I think I was just a baby myself. I remember loving her from the moment I knew she was inside me.

Kylie came into this world on March 6th. I had went to a routine checkup and my blood pressure skyrocketed and my fluids were dropping. They rushed me to the operating room and I had her. Everything was a whirlwind and I remember the first time I held her in my arms, I knew I loved her more than life itself. She was my world. She was an easy baby, always smiling, always taking everything in. She was very happy go lucky and would look at me with her big blue eyes and my heart would melt.

As Kylie turned into a toddler, she was still easy go lucky. She was always sensitive to others, upset if those she loved were upset. She was always the caregiver, with her stuffed animals, her dolls and me. When Karly came into this world, she took the big sister role seriously. She was her protector. She is still that sweet, sensitive, bundle of love today. She always wants to make you happy. Even on my worst day she tells me she loves me and how beautiful I am. She always thinks of others and is my little bleeding heart.

Happy Birthday Kylie, I love you more than life itself. You are a wonderful person and have the biggest heart. You will always be my baby!

**My scanner is broken, so I can only go back and show pictures from when Kylie was 3.

Three Years Old

Four Years Old

Five Years Old

Six Years Old

Seven Years Old

A Typical Day in Timeout

2009-03-17T11:36:00.007-04:00

So, here is a common scenario in our house. Kylie wants to practice her piano. Since we don't have a piano, we have a keyboard that I keep by the fireplace so she practices. Kylie goes about practicing and out of the corner comes Karly to pound on some keys or just annoy her in general. Kylie responds by yelling at Karly and burst into tears because Karly never leaves her alone. Karly gets put in timeout where she makes such a commotion that it in the end distracts Kylie even more. Kylie than proceeds to the timeout to rub Karly's back or make her stop crying because she feels bad. Sometimes she does go to make it worse for Karly. Such a vicious cycle. I had my camera out the other day so here is the scenario played out in pictures.

Dance with Prince Charming

2009-03-14T08:31:00.013-04:00

On our last night in Disney we had dinner at the Grand Floridian with Cinderella, Prince Charming, her Stepmother and Stepsisters. It was a really great dinner. They came around to each table and did a little skit. The Stepmother was hilarious. She kept up her mean demeanor and Karly was actually a little afraid of her. Karly had brought her Polly Pocket Cinderella and mouse and the Stepmother picked up the mouse and put it on her hand and said to Karly "Why did you bring this", Karly took her seriously and had the most nervous smile on ever. Later in the night when she saw her again, she actually hid the Cinderella and mouse so the stepmother wouldn't see. Karly wanted to leave when she would see her. It was funny. As we were leaving Prince Charming asked Karly to dance so they did a little dance and he twirled her around. That is all she talks about. If you ask her about her Disney trip, she will say "I danced with Prince Charming". It was so sweet.

their faces as they were listening to the Stepmother - too funny

Hollywood Studios

2009-03-14T08:11:00.015-04:00

We went to Hollywood Studios to spend the day. It was a great time. It is all about movies and such, so the girls loved all the studio displays and just exploring around. During the Little Mermaid show the girls were selected to announce the show, so they were so excited about that.

Our resort

2009-03-14T07:40:00.011-04:00

We got to stay at the Disney Yacht and Beach Club which was so much fun. It was a great resort. They had beaches, a huge pool that wrapped all around the resort with sand in the bottom, a huge pirate water slide and another little slide. They had a bunch of stuff to do at the resort. It was really pretty. From our resort you took a boat to Epcot (you could walk too, but we took the boat) and you took the boat to Hollywood. It was so pretty and picturesque. Here are some pictures of the girls at the resort.

Dining with the Princesses

2009-03-14T07:21:00.014-04:00

The most anticipated night for the girls was dining with the princesses. We went to Norway in Epcot and ate at a replica of a castle and all the princesses were there. Imagine being a little kid and seeing these princesses in person. My girls were so excited. I don't think Karly's smile could get any bigger or it was going to burst and Kylie was shaking with excitement.

This night really was Kylie's birthday. Happy 7th birthday Kylie!!

We spent the rest of the night in Epcot. We rode rides and the girls made masks and then collected charms in all the countries.

Animal Kingdom

2009-03-11T22:09:00.008-04:00

Our next stop was Animal Kingdom. It was a lot of fun there as well. We had another breakfast with characters. They wanted to see Daisy really bad and this was the only one we could get into with Daisy. After that we rode a safari which was great and got to see animals up close. The girls loved this. We rode the water rapid ride (I being the only one that got wet). We saw a show and had a great time at this park as well.

Chef Mickey's

2009-03-11T21:56:00.011-04:00

On our second night we ate dinner at Chef Mickey's. I can remember eating here as a kid, and as always it was fun. The girls were really into getting the autographs and singing and dancing around. They were still decked out in their makeover stuff from earlier. Of course Kylie got another cupcake. It was a fun dinner.

After dinner we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for some more fun and rides and to see the fireworks again. Kylie really wanted to ride Space Mountain, along the way we ran into Pinnochhio.

Bibbidi Bobbodi Boutique

2009-03-11T15:31:00.024-04:00

One of the things we did for the girls was go to the Bibbidi Bobbodi Boutique. It is a place that little girls go to and they are transformed into princesses. When you get there you check in at the registration desk and they say "Welcome, Princess Kylie and Karly". From there you go and pick out your dress of who you want to be. Karly chose Belle, so she got a Belle dress, Belle shoes, Belle crown and want. Next you go in a chair and two ladies wait on you, one does your nails and one does your makeup. After that, you pick your hair style choice and get your hair done and get magic fairy dust and are transformed into a princess. Kylie, did at first want to be Jasmine, but the whole stomach was out and she saw my face and instead chose Hannah Montana which was cute because the whole outfit she can wear normally (in fact she wore to school yesterday). It was such a great experience for them. After they were made up, they were in their own little pretend world singing and dancing around.

After the salon we had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe which the girls loved, they loved the fish and all the animals in the trees. Once again, Kylie had a birthday celebration.

Magic Kingdom

2009-03-11T15:07:00.022-04:00

We went to the Magic Kingdom on our 1st full day in Disney. I was excited to see their faces as they saw the castle in person. There is nothing like actually seeing it, pictures do it no justice. As we got into the park, and started walking down the main street, they both screamed, there it is, there is Cinderella's castle. As we were walking there was a show going on with all the princesses and they were mesmerized.

My mom lifting Karly up to see the castle - she was beaming

Kylie was so excited to see the castle in person

Magic Kingdom is awesome. Even now as an adult, I still got excited to ride things and see things. It was fun to see it again through their eyes. Everything was amazing to them. My kids love all rides and attractions and went on everything and anything we could get on. We rode the Runaway Train roller coaster and we came out and there was a boy about 8 or 9 deciding if he should go on the roller coaster and his mom pointed to Karly who was skipping off the road saying "Awesome" and "Again Please" and said she was not afraid to which Karly said "I am going again". They just bounced from ride to ride.

We ate dinner that night at the Crystal Palace and it was a character dinner with Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet. Even though my girls are a little bit old for them, they were so excited. They had their autograph books in hand and couldn't wait for them to sign their books.

It was Kylie's birthday when we were there (not this night) but they still brought her out a birthday card and cupcake and everyone sang to her.

After dinner we spent the rest of the night riding rides and we watched the fireworks show at the castle. It was a great first day at Disney.

First Time on an Airplane

2009-03-11T13:10:00.010-04:00

I was excited to take the girls with my mom to Disney but to be honest I was not excited about the plane. The girls had never been on an airplane and I could envision all of these horrible scenarios with them (well Karly - who has a mind of her own). To make matters worse, Karly had an ear infection and a chest infection earlier in the week and I had some stuff going on, so we both needed to take Sudafed in addition to our other medications to open up so our ears wouldn't burst (talk about pressure).

A car service picked us up and the girls were very excited. We got through security and everything was fine. It was so cute to see them looking out the big window watching the airplanes take off and land. They didn't know what to expect. Our plane ended up being delayed which got a couple "I am tired of waiting" and "How much longer" responses. Once we boarded though, the girls were fine. They were so excited. When we took off and the planes starts going fast, they both were screaming with delight.

On the plane they were perfect. They played their DS's, colored, Kylie wrote about the trip and Karly even fell asleep. When it was over, I thought this wasn't that bad. They couldn't believe we had just flown above the clouds to another state.

Kylie made it through security, ready to get ready for the plane

Karly made it through security, although she touched the sides so had to do it twice :)

watching planes in amazement

getting ready for take off - not sure what to expect

as we are taking off - Karly was so excited, says it is like a big ride

This is awesome - Kylie was so excited

Karly pulled out the airline magazine and was looking through it for a while - too funny

arts and crafts kept us quiet and busy

Too much excitement for Karly to handle.

Father/Daughter Dance

2009-03-11T13:06:00.013-04:00

Kylie had her first Father/Daughter dance with Brownies. She could not wait to dress up and go to the dance. She is such a girly girl. We picked out a dress and curled her hair and she was so excited. She even got to wear lip gloss which she thought was so exciting. Mark brought her a corsage of flowers to wear on her wrist but it was too big and heavy and kept twisting around so she didn't end up wearing it. She had such a good time. Karly was sad that she didn't get to go and I kept telling her that when she is in girl scouts she can go to. It didn't help much. Kylie had a great time and ended up dancing with her friends all night not her dad.

Karly was very upset she was not going with Kylie

Her mood changed when Kylie told her to go get a dress out of her room to wear

The wrist corsage from daddy

Daddy and Kylie

Karly felt much better after she had her own dress on

A little fun before the dance

Daddy don't leave without me

Kylie after the dance showing off her dancing skills

Reward Charts

2009-02-25T12:50:00.006-05:00

I have done reward charts in the past but usually I am not consistent. I thought this time, I need a way to make it fun and rewarding at the same time. I need to start teaching the girls that being able to do so much is a privilege and not to be expected. I also need to start having them help me more around the house. The biggest challenge with them is cleaning up after themselves without being a 3 hour process and the way they have been talking (or should I say yelling) at each other.

When I was in my second home (Target), I found these wipe board reward charts and I thought PERFECT, now they can write on them and it has magnet stars. As soon as I showed them, they were so excited. Of course because it was new but hey whatever works. Together we came up with some chores and/or rules they must follow everyday. It was funny to hear some of them they came up with but overall here are the ones that stuck.

Brush Teeth * Make Bed * Clean Playroom * No Yelling * Be Nice * Listen

The rewards that they deceided on were for 40 stars they can rent a movie, for 60 stars we can eat out, and for 100 stars they can do a special activity.

As soon as I started getting out the magnet stars, Karly ran into the playroom and picked everything up in 5 minutes. This was amazing, because Karly NEVER picks up and usually leaves Kylie to clean it all herself. She usually gets in trouble on purpose and ends up in timeout. We hung them in their rooms. This morning when Kylie came downstairs, she had already made her bed and brushed her teeth. Upon hearing of this Karly ran upstairs and made her bed. I think it is great. I hope it lasts.

If I tell you I cut my hair are you going to be mad?

2009-02-25T12:44:00.004-05:00

Me - Karly did you cut your hair?

Karly - NO!!!

Me - Why is some of your hair missing?

Karly - I don't know - NO!! I DIDN'T DO IT!!

Me - Karly, tell me the truth, I see your hair is missing.

Karly - If I tell you I cut my hair are you going to be mad?

Me - I will be mad if you are lying to me.

Karly - If I tell you I cut my hair are you going to be mad?

This is how the conversation goes with Karly and her obsession with cutting hair. This is the 4th time she had cut her own hair along with hair of Barbie's, stuffed animals, etc. I had enough, so I finally told her that if she cuts her hair again it will be cut short like some of her friends that are boys. This seems to be working for the moment. We shall see.
She won't let me get close to take a good picture, but she cut a chunk on the side and a big chunk into her bangs, thank goodness she did it in the corner so you can't tell that much. She is too much.

Kylie's First Loose Tooth

2009-02-25T12:34:00.004-05:00

The day I dreaded is finally here. Kylie got her first loose tooth. This means she is no longer a little girl. No more beautiful pictures for a while of her beautiful all tooth smile. The thing is that Kylie has been waiting for this forever. Her friends started loosing their teeth in kindergarten and Kylie has not even had a budge of a tooth. She came home from school literally bouncing off the bus. She said to me that she felt something behind her tooth with her tongue. She asked her teacher what it was and he told her an adult tooth was coming in. She than started wiggling the tooth in front of it. Teeth stuff makes me very skirmish and as much as I try, I can't watch her wiggle it, and break out in sweat over it coming out with blood gushing. Well Kylie started wiggling away. Every two minutes she was wiggling and wiggling. It has not come out yet but she keeps on wiggling. Karly now has started saying she wants her teeth to fall out too.

Sweet Notes

2009-02-25T12:31:00.002-05:00

I went into the playroom the other day to look for the scissors (which left unattended with Karly means hair will be cut). I looked on the table and saw these sweet notes that Kylie had written. She planned on giving them for Valentine's Day. Kylie is such a kind old soul. She is always writing and leaving me little notes. She will sneak up into my room and make my bed and leave me a note on it. She will leave me a note in on my vanity so I will see it when I am getting ready. She is so sweet and kind, I hope the notes never end.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T17:08:00.003-05:00

As with every holiday, I love to have traditions with the girls. On Valentine's I get a small basket and fill it up with goodies and make them a card. They love it. I can't wait till I see them in a bit. I set up the baskets on the table. This year they got some lip stuff, nail polish, a webkinz, some notepads, a clipboard and an apron for when the play restaurant that I tied around the basket. Happy Valentine's Day!

A very old firetruck

2009-02-14T17:02:00.005-05:00

Last year when we were cleaning out my grandpop's house after moving him to a nursing home, in the attic of his house was a box marked for me. It was filled with a bunch of stuff and toys that belonged to me as a kid. A lot of it was vintage :) but I saved the toys. Karly found this box and started playing with my old trucks. On the bottom of the truck, it says my name and 1978. It was kind of neat to think that I played with the same truck when I was one. I bet my grandmom and grandpop are smiling down from heaven.

Valentine's Day Crunch

2009-02-12T07:22:00.006-05:00

Who knew Valentine's Day would be so time consuming. Well getting ready for school is. We got a late start doing our Valentine cards this year. Karly attends two preschools so she needed to do two sets. This year since she can write on her own now, I had her write out all her Valentine's herself. She wrote who the Valentine was going to and her name. She did an awesome job and even wrote out Happy Valentine's Day on the Teacher pictures she made. She amazes me that she just turned 4 and writes. She picked it all up on her own too.

Kylie did her Valentine's too, she wanted Camp Rock valentines so the boys would feel included. I saw in a magazine this I-pod Valentine, so we made those too and attached them to the Camp Rock Valentine and gave each kid a free ice cream coupon from Friendly's as well. The i-pod Valentine turned into a 3 hour project since we had to cut each strip of paper to put over the box of candy hearts and than each circle and rectangle, do the writing, and tape it all together. It was supposed to have string and hershey kisses for the earphones, but they were getting all tangled so we just did that for the teachers.

On top of that I agreed to make cupcakes for both of the girls parties. I wanted to go very creative but of course waited till the last minute and made them at 11pm at night so I lost my tube of glitter gel and had to compromise.

I hope the girls have a blast at their school parties. Valentine's Day rocks.

Flower or Flour

2009-02-12T07:20:00.002-05:00

They must have done a unit in school on words that sound the same but are spelled different. I am sure there is some fancy word on what that is called, but Kylie has been OBSESSED with it. Every second of every day she is coming up with new things. She has to immediately write them down and she is now keeping a log of all her words. It is funny, I had to take a picture of her.

I am a Dancer like Kylie

2009-02-12T07:14:00.003-05:00

I was on the computer today (shocker) and Karly came in. She found Kylie's recital outfit from 2 years ago and was twirling all around the foyer. She kept singing, "I am a dancer", "I am Kylie" over and over again. It was cute. I asked her what she was doing and she said "I am being a dancer just like Kylie, and soon my hair is going to turn blonde". Lately that is all Karly wants is to have blonde hair like Kylie, she wants to be just like Kylie. Each time she says that I say, you are beautiful the way you are. You have beautiful hair. I know she is young, but I want to instill that in her now. She is beautiful. My beautiful dancer Kylie (I had to call her that the rest of the day).

Kylie's Birthday Invitation

2009-02-05T14:21:00.003-05:00

I thought Kylie's birthday invitation turned out really cute this year. She started out with a spa party but then deceided she wanted to invite boys this year so she changed it up to a Hip Hop party.

Snow Delay Fun

2009-02-04T17:51:00.007-05:00

Today we had a 2 hour snow delay which for me means no work, Karly means no school and Kylie gets to go in 2 hours later which is perfect for my non morning child. Kylie said mom can you do my hair curly today, so I got out the curling iron and hairspray and went to town. To my shock Karly wanted me to curl her hair too, which is a huge deal since half the time she won't even let me comb her hair. Here are the pictures I snapped. Yes a snow delay but my kids like to dress like it is summer :)

Kylie's Hip Hop look

2009-02-02T15:35:00.006-05:00

For Kylie's upcoming 7th birthday party, she is having a hip hop birthday party. I found a website that does invitations so I was trying to get a photo of her doing her best hip hop pose. I let her dress with what she wanted so she got her High School Musical nightgown, my red scarf, her pink hat, my sunglasses and a fish net glove left over from her last birthday party. Here are the outtakes for the picture.

Snow, enough to play in

2009-01-20T09:47:00.008-05:00

So after the little bit of snow earlier, we saw it really started coming down. The girls were peeled to the window. We decided to throw on our snow gear and have some fun. It was a blast and if Karly's cheeks weren't the brightest red ever and her gloves would stay on we would have stayed outside longer. We all can't wait till it snows again.

A little bit of snow

2009-01-20T09:43:00.005-05:00

The girls love snow. So do I, I can't help it. As much as it is a pain to get dressed up to go play, the gloves falling off, the snow down the back of the neck, shoveling and all that, there is still something so fun about snow. When I was growing up, when it snowed, you were snowed in for days. We don't get those kind of snows anymore, so when it snows you have to take advantage of the opportunity. Yesterday when we got back from going to the doctor it had started to snow. The girls were so excited they started to run around outside catching snowflakes and just happy to be in the snow.

Karly's Party

2009-01-20T08:22:00.017-05:00

We had Karly's 4th birthday party over the weekend at a local dance studio. All the kids got to dress up and dance and play games. The girls were fairy princesses and the boys were pirates, although no boys ended up dressing up, or they dressed up and than took it off right away. Karly was in heaven.

Desks from Sue

2009-01-19T14:08:00.008-05:00

One of my coworkers Sue, asked me if I would be interested in desks for the girls. She had been using them but now her kids had gotten new stuff. They even came with chairs. I said yes, and when Kylie got home from school, Karly and I surprised her with the desk and she went CRAZY with excitement. Kylie is all about pretending and now she had a desk just like school and she immediately started taping names on the desk and rearranging them around the playroom. Now she keeps stuff in her desk and if Karly even goes near it, it is like WWIII breaks out. They are so great and the girls love them. Thank you Sue!!

E-A-G-L-E-S

2009-01-19T09:57:00.005-05:00

The girls caught the Eagles fever yesterday with the playoff game. We all dressed in our Eagles shirts and watched the game. Kylie was funny, when they would score a touchdown and show the replay 3 or 4 times, she would say, they scored another touchdown and go into a dance, but I tried to explain to her that it was a replay. They were very sad that all their cheering did not lead the Eagles to victory.

Kylie's Parent Observation @ Dance

2009-01-19T08:45:00.012-05:00

Every year at dance they let the parent's come in twice a year to observe what is being done and show you what they have learned so far and you get to see the routine up to what they know. This year both girls are in dance with both girls being in the recital. My camera battery died so I was not able to get Karly's (but will get more in the spring) but here is what I got from Kylie's. Kylie dances for 2 hours straight and it is intense. She does an hour of straight ballet and just from watching I see how much work she puts into it and how intense it can be. After the ballet is over she does an hour of jazz. She is on the competition team for the dance studio and this is the competition jazz class. Again, an hour of intense work. I was tired just watching her.

warming up

working on the bar

doing her jumps

doing her routine

Kylie and Kennedi

warming up for the jazz class

jazz leg lifts (I don't know all the proper terminology)

Rehearsing her routine to "Hey Mickey"

Kyile and Sarah waiting to get something to eat after dance (dancing makes them VERY hungry)

Karly's DS

2009-01-19T08:33:00.008-05:00

Ever since Kylie got a DS for her birthday last year, Karly has been obsessed, even though she had just turned 3 at the time, she couldn't wait for Kylie to go to school or let her play the DS. It usually would cause a fight if Kylie was around and wouldn't let her have a turn. So all she wanted was a DS. I know she is only 4, but she has this ability to master the games on it and she really loves it, so here is what happened on her birthday when she got one, you could not wipe the smile off her face.
So excited, she kept saying a DS, a DS, I got a DS

Kylie's gift to her, she picked out a Dora Snow Princess game for Karly

Getting ready to go to Friendly's - Karly's choice of cuisine for her birthday

She heard the birthday claps coming.. getting ready for them to sing to her

She was so excited as they were singing to her

Yum, what a great birthday

My Baby is 4!!!!

2009-01-11T09:30:00.023-05:00

Karly is four today.

At 7:58 a.m. she came into this world four years ago and it hasn't been the same since. It is amazing how fast time really goes. When I found out I was pregnant with Karly she was a surprise baby. I remember when I was pregnant with her I kept thinking to myself am I ever going to love her as much as I love Kylie. I almost felt bad at the time for disrupting Kylie's world. I was scheduled for a c-section but around 11pm the night before my c-section, my water had broken. We went to the hospital that night and they monitored the situation. The next morning they performed the c-section and out came Karly. The first remarks were (not even kidding) "look at her beautiful strawberry blond hair". She didn't cry, didn't fuss, just 8 pounds, 15 ounces, 21 inches of perfection. I remember how alert she was when I held her in my arms and just staring at her for hours. There was no question that my heart grew that day and I loved her as much as Kylie. That is a weird feeling as a parent how much love you contain for your children.

Karly was always ahead of schedule. Eating, holding her head up, standing on your lap because she just could not just sit, sitting up, crawling, walking at 9 1/2 months. She was always ready to go. Naps were never consistent (given up totally at 18 months), bedtime was a crazy process but she always had a smile on her face. To this day she always has a smile on her face. Karly beats to her own drum. She does things the way she wants to when she wants to. She lets things slide off her back and has a very easy going personality but has a stubborn streak too. She is very in tune to emotions and it bothers her when people she cares about are sad or hurt. She really is an old soul. Every day I love her more and I am taking this day to reflect back and thank god for bringing Karly into my life.

Last night as I was rubbing her back in bed I said to Karly, "My baby is going to be 4 tomorrow" and she said, "I will still be your baby when I am 4". She said, "I will still be your baby when I am 5,6,7,8, and 9, but not 10". I made a sad face and said, "Not 10, awww". Karly put her arm around me and said, "Ok, ok ok, I will be your baby when I am 10 all the way to 100, I will always be your baby". That is what is true, no matter how old she gets or where her path leads her, she will always be my little baby.

Happy Birthday Baby!!

Always wanting to be with Kylie and do what she was doing, never wanted to be in her crib but if she was in Kylie's bed she was happy

Always loved to be outdoors, still does. She was almost 6 months here and she would love to swing. The higher the better, she would get mad if you didn't push her higher, other mom's would look at me like I was crazy, but she would just scream in delight.

Always would stand, she would stand in the bathtub all the time, never would sit.

As, I look back at all Karly's pictures, she always has a HUGE smile on her face

She still has a lollipop obsession, Kylie got her started :)

Birthday Parties

First Birthday Party

Karly had a blast, we had a music man come and she danced the whole time. The cake she wasn't sure of and didn't dive into but just took her time with the icing.

Second Birthday

Karly's second birthday was at Gymboree. She loved Gymboree and loved the big log you bounce on. We did a cake and cupcakes . As usual she smiled and laughed the whole time.

Third Birthday

Karly's third birthday was at Romp and Roll. It was a gym. Karly loved it. She wanted a princess castle cake and had a blast.

My Four Year Old

Spunky, Fun, Loving Karly, Happy Birthday!

Dance Lessons

2009-01-11T09:17:00.006-05:00

I gave the girls the task of cleaning up the playroom (more on that challenge later), while I came in and used the computer. I thought wow, they must be getting so much work done in there. I took a peek and Kylie and Karly were doing dance studio and giving lessons to their dolls. It was so cute I had to grab my camera.

Crazy Hair Day

2009-01-10T17:48:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Crazy Hair Day at Kylie's school. She had this vision of what she wanted. She wanted a bunch of braids around her hair. So after her shower I sat there at did 14 braids around her head. She went to bed. When she woke up she decided she wanted to put those braids into 2 pigtails. So I complied. Here is her crazy hair day, not that crazy, but crazy to her. She couldn't wait till I dropped her off at school.

Sheequa a.k.a. Karly

2009-01-10T17:14:00.004-05:00

Early last year Karly started this thing where she wanted to be called Sheequa, day and night, that was her name and she was a cat. If you called her Karly she would hiss at you but if you called her Sheequa she would come and pant at you and snuggle with you. It was so funny and just thought it was a cute phase. Well she does it all the time, still. The funny thing is Kylie's friends or Karly's friends know her by that name. Some days she is Karly some days she is Sheequa. It is a testament to Karly's creative imagination.

Hibatchi

2009-01-10T11:42:00.005-05:00

After the great day at the Please Touch, we ended our night with a great Hibatchi dinner. The girls love Hibatchi and always have a great time. The bigger the fire the better. Salmon for Kylie and steak for Karly. They have even started eating their vegtables.

Please Touch - Music Show

2009-01-10T11:32:00.007-05:00

And finally, the music show. We saw a great music show that they loved. We really like any show. It was a great time.

Please Touch - Cut Outs

2009-01-10T11:21:00.005-05:00

We love Cut Outs, where you put your head into the cut out. Usually there is an argument over who is the boy and who is the girl, but after we agree to take two pictures of each so they are each the girl and the boy, problem resolved.

Please Touch - Water Play and Carousel

2009-01-10T11:16:00.008-05:00

The new Please Touch has a Carousel which the girls loved. Both Kylie and Karly are so funny, the run around to find the perfect horse and than the whole ride they spend petting the horse and singing and pretending they are really riding a horse, in their own little world.

Please Touch - Grocery Store and McDonald's

2009-01-10T10:55:00.011-05:00

The highlight of the day for my kids was the Grocery Store and the McDonald's exhibits. The grocery store is a miniature grocery store, complete with carts, cash registers, food, fruit, scales, etc. It is always the most crazy and chaotic, but the kid's favorite. They also have a McDonald's exhibit with a microphone, cash register, aprons, booths, trays, and food to make. We spent a lot of time at these exhibits, the kids loved it.

Please Touch - Science and Crafts

2009-01-10T10:48:00.008-05:00

I have so many pictures to share of the Please Touch, thought I would break them down. This set was from the exploration and craft section.

Please Touch Museum

2009-01-10T10:38:00.004-05:00

During the holiday break from school we took a trip to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. We used to go to the old one a lot and were excited to experience the new one that was built in Fairmont Park. What a great idea it was to go. First it was not crowded which makes all the difference for what kind of day we are going to have. The new building location is so easy to get to and they had parking unlike the other location. It was so much fun. We went through the science exploration, the McDonald's, the water play, the craft center, rode the Carousel, and saw a show. What a great place to be a kid.

New Years Day Cake

2009-01-10T10:29:00.008-05:00

We had been meaning to bake Jesus a birthday cake on Chistmas Eve, but it never happened. So we deceided to celebrate the new year with a cake. Baking with the kids is always an adventure, but our cake came out good. We sang Happy New Year over and over. We also did a craft for the day and just hung out and did really nothing. Sometimes a nice way to spend the day.

Happy New Year

2009-01-10T10:26:00.002-05:00

I found this picture when I was downloading new pictures in my camera and I loved it. It was from Karly's field trip at school. A hidden treasure. Hope you had a wonderful new year.

Chuck E. Cheese

2009-01-10T10:09:00.009-05:00

Kylie and Molly went to preschool together since they were 18 months old all the way till 5. After that they went to different elementary schools and we lost touch a bit. When Becky called to ask us if we wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese we were so excited to say yes. When Kylie saw Molly they hugged and boom they were best friends again. It is really cute how kids are like that. Karly had Molly's brother Josh to play with and it was a great time. Kylie and Molly were acting like they were at the casinos, only playing the games that would give the most tickets. They would to the table with stacks and stacks of tickets. At the end of the night, everyone put all their tickets together and we had 2800 tickets. They deceided to split them all and they each could get a prize. It was a great night and so nice to see old friends.

Great Friends

Josh and Karly

Deal or No Deal - Kylie's fav game - she hit the jackpot a couple times, she is good, here she is coaching Karly

Karly with a big ticket hit, she was running to the ticket muncher to cash them in

Becky and Molly playing a game

Prizes

Christmas Morning

2008-12-25T20:28:00.013-05:00

I love Christmas. I love the sheer joy of children when they wake up, eyes aren't even open and see presents. I know that is not all Christmas is about, but when you have small children, it is part of the fun. I can remember being little and that feeling when you woke up. I get just as excited as my kids. This Christmas, Kylie woke up first, which never happens. She came in the bedroom and said "Mom, oh my gosh, there are SO many presents, EVERYWHERE". Santa even remembered my stocking, it is overflowing, oh my gosh". She was shaking with excitement. I proceeded out of bed to the top of the staircase to see everything. I don't think her smile could get any bigger. We got back in my bed to wait for Karly and Kylie just kept talking and squealing with delight, it was very cute. At one point in the bed she was just bouncing, literally up and down. About a half hour later (which must have seemed like an eternity for Kylie), Karly came running in, "Mom, there are presents, Santa remembered me". It was so cute. This year, Kylie was into everything she got, Karly just would unwrap and toss the box, not even looking inside, just wanted to go to the next. Everything was "Just what I wanted" and "This is awesome". It was a wonderful morning. They were so busy that I usually make them chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, but they just had a donut. They ended up playing the whole day. It was a wonderful Christmas. Here are some pictures of our great day.

so exciting looking down at the presents

their joy was contagiouscomplete craziness

a guitar and it's pink

karly was funny, would just open a present, toss the present and on to the next

new purses

the big gift - an I-pod and Kylie's blonde wig she wanted so bad~her hair is blonde :)

Karly will do your hair with her new hair salon

New American Girl Dolls

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T16:18:00.004-05:00

Here is wishing everyone has a blessed Christmas and enjoys the time with their family. Isn't that feeling of love what Christmas is all about. The spirit of Christmas is in my heart and the hearts of my two angels. Wherever you are, whatever you do, have a very Merry Christmas.