{indoor fun}

What do you do when it's cold outside?  You find a fun place to play inside.  The girls had a blast.

 

 

 

 

{b.i.f. nineteen}

Olivia is such a little cuddle-bug. I love that she happily cuddles up with her sisters. It makes my heart smile.  

{celebrating olivia}

Thankfully, this girl is pretty easy to please.  I asked her what kind of cake she wanted.  She responded with some babbling of sorts.  I'm pretty sure she said something along the lines of "Mom, I know you spend a lot of time around here doing all kinds of things.  How about you not spend a whole lot of time doing anything to my birthday cake.  I'm guessing that I'll ask for something extremely time consuming in the future, so why don't you do a simple cake this year with just my name and the number two?"  

I thought that sounded like an excellent idea. :)

She was completely mesmerized by her candles.  And she actually blew them out, although it took several tries.  

{winter memories}

Totally playing "catch up" with this post!  Even though it's officially spring, we're still in snowish weather.  Therefore, I feel completely justified in posting this snowy pic from January. :)

The girls had such a fun winter.  I'm pretty sure they played outside almost every time it snowed.  And they were so good about taking Olivia out with them.  

After her first trip out, it was borderline disastrous if she didn't get to go out with them each time.  Thankfully, they willingly took her often.  She loved it!!

{pyramids and piers}

Amelia loves to craft with Do A Dot Markers.  They come out about once a week.  This morning, she and Claire were working on a picture, and Amelia was directing the project.

She kept telling Claire to draw a pyramid.  So, Claire would draw one.  Amelia would get upset and tell her time and time again, "Claire!  That is not what a pyramid looks like!"  Claire would insist that it was correct, and I even looked at it and found it to be sufficient.

A few moments later, we again go through the whole pyramid ordeal.  Finally, Amelia says out of frustration, "That is NOT what a pyramid looks like!!  You know, a pyramid!  Like what Claire runs on and jumps into the lake...at Grandma and Grandpa's lake cottage!"

Me: Oh, you mean a pier?!

Amelia: Yeah.

Amelia then looks at Claire and says in a low voice {as not to embarrass her for getting it wrong}, "It's okay, Claire."

Claire and I laughed out loud!

{happy birthday olivia}

Friday was Olivia's 2nd birthday.  

Josh left for work at 6:30.  Claire set her alarm for 6:30 so that she and Meredith could wake up early and decorate the house for "Queen Olivia's" birthday.  

We woke up to this loveliness:

They had the balloons hid under their beds.  The sign was rolled up in the laundry room.  I have no idea about the yarn. :)

They had been awfully sneaky about me not looking under the bed for the last couple of months.  Yes, you read that right...the last couple of months.  Those balloons held up pretty well for two months under their beds!  

And, let's just say that a balloon may have slipped out from under the bed a time or two.  I may have known a surprise was coming. :)  

The girls wanted to make Olivia's birthday super special.  It really was heart-warming, and Olivia squealed and babbled on and on and on over the decorations.  They made her cards and gifts, and they taught her to say "two" when asked how old she is.  It actually sounds like "doo" but super cute nonetheless.  

Olivia: age 2

If this girl loves anything, it's books.  Each and every day, you can find her looking through books.  Books, books, books.  And she absolutely loves books with animals.  

What a sweetie.

 

Here she's sitting in our beanbag, but typically you can find her sitting in her bed with a bin full of books.  Love it.

She loves...

spending time with her sisters.

taking baths.

practicing "no Mommy" on an hourly basis, even if she's talking to herself.

eating bites of everyone else's desserts.

playing with the faucet as I brush my teeth.

touching my computer.

scribbling.

She learned how to climb out of her bed, so I put her railing down.  Even so, she rarely climbs out of her bed.  She typically just talks or fusses until someone gets her up.  She loves to get into the pantry, the dishwasher, and my lazy susan.  She's obsessed with bottles of soap.  

Livi Lu,

You are such a piece of sunshine in our lives.  You bring us smiles and laughs on a daily basis.  We love your cheesy smiles and your squeezy hugs.  They are the best!  We love you so much!

{no joke}

Meredith loves to make up jokes.  She probably tries at least 4-5 per week.  Some of them are pretty good, and they always make sense.

Amelia {who loves to be the center of attention} likes to get in on the action as well, but it doesn't quite pan out the way that she'd like.  She often embarrasses Claire in the process.

From Amelia:
What did the dishwasher say to the fish washer?

Play me a song on the fiddle!

Claire {whispers}: It's only funny because it doesn't make any sense.

{DIY doll bunkbeds}

Meredith absolutely loves playing dolls with Amelia.  They play almost daily and have an entire doll world forming back in their bedroom.  They have an entire story line that involves a queen and horses and all kinds of fun stuff.  

So, I told Josh that bunk beds for her dolls would be a great birthday gift.  I found this post on Pinterest, and I knew that my hubby could get this gift moving in the right direction.  

Needless to say, Josh won Father-of-the-Year.  

I whipped up some mattresses and pillows, and Claire sewed the blankets.  They're not completely coordinated since I just used fabric that I had on hand, but I think they turned out pretty cute!

We made them reversible so that she could have a pretty side or a fun side, and she could make them the same or different.  They were a huge hit!!

 

{happy birthday meredith}

Meredith celebrated her 8th birthday on February 16.  She requested a "Chirp" cake from Peep and the Big Wide World.  Chirp doesn't seem too difficult on the surface, but believe me, trying to turn frosting that color of red isn't the easiest thing to do.  Wilton color paste is my new best friend.  Other than that...pretty easy cake.

Meredith chose to invite the H family over for cake and ice cream.  It was an absolutely lovely time.  Poor little Edison looks like he wasn't welcome in the same group picture as the girls.  He was a real trooper. :)  

Ellie is the little girl who is sitting right next to Olivia...they have the exact same birthday!  How fun is that?!  They used to look even more alike than they do now, so their sisters all call them "the twins".  We love these friends! 

At 8 years old, Meredith...

-loves to draw {currently whales}

-is learning how to sew

-loves to read

-wears her hair in a pony tail each and every day

-refuses to wear jeans or anything constricting

-makes her own lunch everyday 

-loves babies {complete understatement}

-saves all her money

-enjoys playing dolls with Amelia almost daily

This year for her birthday, she asked Grandma/Grandpa and Aunt Jill/Uncle Andrew for gymnastics lessons.  She starts tomorrow and couldn't be more excited about them.  I reminded her that she wouldn't get as many presents as usual.  She replied, "Well, that's okay because I just can't think of anything that I need."  Is she 8 or 38?!  Seriously, sometimes she's wise beyond her years!

Meredith,

We love you.  We continue to love your creativity and loving spirit.  You have a great imagination, and I absolutely love the way you go on and on and on when you talk to yourself in the mirror. :)  {I suppose in a house with 6 people, that girl in the mirror pays the best attention to you without interrupting!}  You're a really great kiddo and our favorite Meredith in the whole wide world!  

{practice what you preach}

Stay tuned to this blog.  I realized it's been almost an entire month since I've blogged, but trust me, I'm going to be catching up in the very near future.  You may feel like you're drowning in blog posts.

Yesterday, I started teaching a middle school/high school class at our homeschool co-op, so I've been working diligently on that.  I can't remember giving anything up for Lent in the past, but this year I decided to join the bandwagon and sacrifice.  And I guess I followed the "Go big or go home" mindset. I pretty much gave up facebook {although, I've had to go on for a few things here and there}.  The absence of fb in my life has been lovely, and I truly have had more time to work on my to-dos.  

The second half of my Lent pledge was to give up desserts.  This has not been lovely and has truly been a challenge.  I was drooling over the chocolate chip cookie bars I made last Friday for some company, and when I put the extras in the freezer, it was all I could do to not devour the crumbs that were calling my name from the pan.  

Anyway, all this to say that we've been super busy, and I'm in borderline despair over the lack sweetness in my life.  

So, I leave you with a little conversation between Amelia and me this morning...

Background info:  Amelia is a huge exaggerator.  I'm constantly correcting her words to be more appropriate to her situation.  She says things like, "But that's going to take 14 years!!" Really, it's a week.  

Claire and Meredith were reading "Goodnight Moon" to Olivia, and I was working in the kitchen and reciting it along with them.  

Meredith:  Wow, Mom...have you read this book before?!

Me: I read it like a million times to both of you when you were Olivia's age.

Amelia {said in the most perfect "mom" tone}: Several times, Mom.  Say "several times".  I don't think you've read it a million times...and you always say that to me.  

Being put in your place by your 4 year old is one of the most humbling experiences. :)