Monday, June 29, 2009

Addie's Second Birthday Party

On Sunday afternoon we had a birthday party for Addie. We invited 4 families that we are really close to, 3 of which have kids Addie's age, so they would be her "friends". 4 families, 12 kids, 20 people. It was a lot of fun though. And relatively easy to pull together in a weekend of painting.

Addie was napping and no guests had arrived yet so Lily, Lawrence, and I had an Elmo drawing contest on the white board. Lawrence's is on the right, that is who Addie voted for. No one voted for mine. I had to wake Ads up from her nap. I figured it would be a good time for some sleepy photographs, and she didn't wake. So cute. She was all soaked and sweaty when I did get her to wake. My favorite!
Cute and Coy after just waking up to a house full of friends.
This is my version of an Elmo cake. She loved it, I might quit my day job to be a creative baker! Actually Lily helped a lot and did all the sprinkles herself. I was able to find cake mix at the store that was off the shelf milk free. Yay for not having to buy $6 cake mix! It was her first cake on her birthday! YAY!
Blowing out her candle!Very serious about her first juice box
Time to go outside
Playing in the pool. Addie got a noodle for her bday "noo noo" and she wouldn't put it down all day.


Addie and Benjamin

Opening Presents - from our friends Addie got a Little People MiniVan, a Little People Princess Carriage, A cow expandable tunnel, and a learning Fanta Color Pattern Building set. Plus Lily made her a plethera of crafts and thoughtful type garbage, plus a beaded necklace.

Lily was happy with all the new gifts too! Thank you to our friends for a really wonderful day, celbrating our sweet almost 2 year old girl.

Close sitting


We really don't let the kids watch too much TV and even on days when they get too much volume, their range and variety is very limited. Sesame Street, Dora, or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse..that's about it. On Tuesdays and Fridays when I work at home I almost always take advantage of Sesame Street from 9-10, (oh and then Clifford is on, they just found out he isn't only a book!) so I can get an hour of uninterrupted work done. I took this picture because I think it is so cute how close they sit to each other when they watch TV. They have 2 full couches and three small kiddie chairs and yet they sit hip to hip. I love that.
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Belly Laughs in the Morning

In the mornings Lily comes in to tell me it's 7 o'clock. Oh how I love this summer schedule, Katy comes at 8:30 and finishes where ever we are. She gets them dressed, finishes breakfast, does hair, brushes teeth. No rushing around to have them all ready set go before I leave for work.

I'll admit, it's made me a *little* lazy though. So as I was saying, Lily comes in to tell me it's 7 o'clock. Or sometimes is 6:27 and she got "confused" that she saw a seven and thought it was time to come out. She's usually awake in her room singing and clapping and talking much before 7 but doesn't come to talk my ear off until 7. And now that Addie sleeps in until 7, wahoo! Getting out of bed at 7 is glorious. And sometimes I can even give Lily a job for a while or tell her about a craft I have set up and she'll go do it. And sometimes Addie even sleeps in until 8. So stop glaring at me mamas with early risers, I've paid my early morning dues, I've got up for months on end at 4am TO START the day. I have. And I've even done it somewhat recently. But lately, it's been nice, very nice.

I love Katy, I love the energy she brings to our house, I love that the kids love her so much, and I LOVE being a little more lazy in the mornings. My job doesn't "start" at a certain time. It's fine if I get in by 10, better if I get in by 9 so I can get home earlier, but we really make our own hours and get our jobs done. I have a staff of 2 to manage and meetings and a boss, so obviously I can't sleep the day away and roll in when I like, but within reason, I have the flexibility to be lazy some mornings.

This weekend we painted our guest bedroom that will eventually be the bedroom that the girls will share. Our Au Pair, Sabine, will get Lily's old room in August and the baby will get Addie's old room sometime around January or February or later depending on how attachment I'm feeling. (there will be a whole other post on painting, complete with pictures, some day, in it's current state I'm afraid you would judge how "unkid" the color is.) It's brown, very dark beautiful chocolate brown.

Yesterday we had a small birthday party for Addie with 4 families and 12 kids. It was very fun, and very exhausting. I fell asleep at 8pm. But then I woke at 10:30 and couldn't get back to sleep until after 1am! So that brings me to the whole purpose of this 10 line blog I wanted to write. (Jeez, get me writing and I can't stop!???)

Where was I? Oh, yes, 7 am. So Lily comes in this morning.

L: Mom, it's 7 o'clock
M: Okay, come in and snuggle for a second
L: I hear Addie, can I go get her? (Really she can't get her out of the crib, well she probably could but she doesn't, so it means she goes in and Addie changes from playing happily with bear-bear and books, to frantically letting Lily know it was me that she wanted to come and not Lily. Unless Lily brings milk (rice). Sometimes we make the milk cups up the night before to make it easy for Lily to get them and buy me a few more minutes. Usually Lily comes to announce to me that they aren't made, and since she didn't, I assumed Lawrence had done it before leaving for work)
M: Sure, but go check for milk first
L: Okay, (and she RACES off - RUNS everywhere like her life depends on it)

I hear the plastic of sippy cups banging together and assume milks are ready and I will have a few minutes, then I can get up, then I can pee. No go.

Lily barges in to Addie's room, white noise machine noise fills the hallway, Lily turns off the white noise. Quiet fills the hallway.

Addie says "Milk me!" in a very demanding voice
L: Here you go Addie, the milk wasn't ready
A: MILK ME!!!!!!! NO NO NO LIL LIL MILK ME!!
L: Addie, I did my best to get us something to drink, I'm sorry but the milk wasn't ready so I got us water. Water was the best I could do.
A: No Wa wa Lil lil MILK ME!!
Me: Laugh my head off, a good hard belly laugh is a great way to start the morning.
L: (coming into my room as I'm laughing) Mom, Addie want's milk.
M: No kidding? Okay, let me pee.


The rationalizing "Addie I did my best" was cuter than I can explain. Oh, how I love my little positive thinker and helper, she is a treasure.

And still I did lay in bed about 4 minutes longer than I would have otherwise, and in laying in bed terms, 4 minutes can feel like a lot...

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Beach with my Mom - Day 1



Double click on the picture to view it bigger, there are 17 pics for Day 1 and I needed to shrink it down. Making Sandcastles. Playing in the water.

There was no wind (so unusual for Cannon Beach, but we enjoyed it), it didn't stop us from having fun with the kite.

Me and my girls in front of Haystack Rock

Snack time
I love blurry pictures that give you a taste of the fun they are having. This is Lily showing Addie how to chase a Seagull.

Grandma and Lily got lots of special one on one time while Addie and I were taking a THREE HOUR NAP!
Seagull Tag.
Grandma BURIED me!
Seriously? Nice. Right?
Grams and Lils

On June 8&9 my mom and I loaded up the kids and headed to Cannon Beach for a night.
I had to break it into day one an day two or the amount of photos to go through was unmanageable. AGAIN thanks to my mom's fabulous picture taking! :)

We had a GREAT TIME! I was pretty worn out from a hectic week at work and some stress regarding the days off, but my mom found the PERFECT little beach house and she was so much help with the girls. I was not at my best to say the least. Just under 12 weeks pregnant, stressed out, away with out Lawrence, and oh so tired. I was crabby with her and crabby with the girls, and she just wants to do any and all for me even though I don't deserve her kindness half the time.

Thank you, Mom, for always being nice to me and there for me, even when I'm kind of being a shit to you. And even when there is no kind of about it! :)

Beach Day 2

We walked the mile each way from our beach house to Haystack Rock. The girls ran the whole way. I carried Addie on the way home. Click on the collages to see pics bigger. Only TWO more blogs to go and I'm caught up. Hooray.




getting Addie packed up for the walk back, maybe if she didn't get up at 5am, she wouldn't be ready to sleep on me at 9!
Mom had a tide schedule and planned it out when we could walk to Haystack Rock when there would be lots of tide pools for the girls to explore (and when it wouldn't be covered with water).




Look Mom, I ate sand (shakes head no) I don't like it.

Fun with Grandma Lanie

My mom always gets the best pictures of the girls. She leaves me after at week with 700+ pictures on the card. It puts a major block on my blogging because while I LOVE having such fabulous pictures of my girls, I just don't know where to start. The pictures are too good! She just takes and takes and gets awesome pictures. Here are a few great ones from the time we were not at the beach. The beach ones are a whole other thing to go through...I'm getting there. I'm determined to get everything up before this weekend, and Addie's bday party, so enjoy lots of pictures and less writing!

Lily playing an oldie but goodie game that my mom's friend Marilyn got her, she brought a bunch of old fun games to dinner one night and then they raved at how well behaved my children were. She doesn't have kids, so this is a BIG compliment. If she only knew it was really her gifts that did the trick. :)


Matching Dresses from Gma and color coordinating silly putty. Addie thinks Lily hung the moon, as long as she'll stay out of her FACE!
Addied LOVED her first corn on the cob!
Shirtless is the only way to go!
Addie climbing up on the fence while Lawrence and Lily worked on the new firepit they are building in the lower unused level of our yard (I was at work and never would have allowed this climbing, that is NOT a sturdy fence, but in true my mom fashion, a good pic comes before safety hehe) (Sorry mom, but sorta true!)


Gma Lanie and Addie

More sisterly love. Addie does smile like crazy but apparently not when taking pictures together with here smiling sis!