Blessed

Sugar and spice and everything nice...

that's what little girls are made of.

 

Well, very true in this house!

 

 

 

I just can't begin to tell you how much I love to see their relationship blossom.  Lucy and Annie are starting to really bond in a sweet way.  It's taken some time, I think Lucy really wanted (or thought she would have) a sister to play with from the time Annie was born.  Well, it didn't work out that way - Annie was a bit too tiny.  Now that she's a lot more mobile, they are starting to actually do things together and play.  But as a mom, I can surely see their different personalities coming out.  They are both so sweet and dear to my heart. I love them both in such an amazing way and unique way. 

 

 But, of course, nothing is perfect!  Lucy loves to claim what is hers and likes to tell Annie no often while taking things from her.  To which, Annie strongly will share her opinion.  But Lucy is a very good big sister.  Lucy is just such a lovey girl in general.  She loves everyone!  She is so full of life.  Right now she is very into anything to do with art.  She is always crafting, drawing, and painting.  She loves playing Daddy's itouch and playing video games with Daddy on Fridays.  She is in her 2nd year of preschool and really enjoys it.  We cannot believe that she is already 5!  I'm not looking forward to all-day Kindergarten next year!  Lucy is always dressing up in costumes and will definitely expect you to play the part as well.  She is a TALKER!  There is never a quiet ride in the car anywhere!  She talks about and questions everything - she loves anything to the do with the weather.  She loves to read and is an amazing reader.  There are those quiet moments when I will find her in her room with a stack of books.  Lucy is also in her second year of ballet and she loves it.   

We are super proud of this sweet gal!

 Oh Miss Annabelle Kate!  This girl is such a cuddler and a sweetheart.  She loves to give kisses.  Annie is constantly on the move now.  She has been in PT for about 2 months for not pulling up.  She is crawling all over the place now.  She is also pulling up on furniture but only up on her knees.  She is bouncing up and down and reaching for things up high.  She loves baby dolls and takes very good care of them - she will give them kisses and a blanket and put them "night night."  She loves anything that is sissy's!  Forget about baby toys for her - she wants the big girl stuff.  Just like her big sister, she has her favorite Gicker (blanket).  But she has started to call hers "Guck Guck."  Annie is a good, little sleeper, but those naps!  Not as long as Lucy's were - we used to get a good 2-3 hours out of her.  Annie will occasionlly make it to 2 hours!  That's a good day!  :)  But thankfully she is a good night sleeper.  I can't say enough of how amazing it is to have these gals go to bed by 7:30 and have time for just us.  Annie had some rough times - then we discovered a molar coming in - she has so many teeth already.  Annie just has this sweetness about her - she will just look over at us and just smile.  Such a way to brighten the day!

 

 

You'd think Lucy dressed up Annabelle, but she didn't!  Annie grabbed all the stuff nearby and just started putting it on!

 

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from Him.

Then & Now.......

Posting pictures of our recent beach trip to Rehoboth reminded me of our trip back in 2009.

 

Here is Lucy on the boardwalk - age: 18 months.

 

 

 

Here she is now: 4 1/2 yrs.old

 

 

I'm starting to get that "remember those days" feeling!

But enjoying her in our lives NOW as well.

 

Sum, Sum, Summertime!

Oh wow!  It's been so hot here!  Our van registered 111 degrees today - not all that accurate, but close!  Hopefully my east coast and MI friends are staying a little cooler. 

We've been busy here with playdates and a little traveling.  We're about to get a bunch of visitors for the rest of July, so that is a ton of fun.  June was so much fun as well as my friend Kathy came with her kids - more on that later.  So this month we are looking forward to Grandma & Grandpa visiting from Panama, Nanny and Pappy coming from PA, and Cousin Olivia coming in from MD.  The rest of our month is jam packed with visitors and we are so excited!!!

Here are some pictures of our sweet girls:

 Annie's first bath in the sink.  We never did this with Lucy - and Annie just had so much fun!

 Someone's tired!!!  Yes, she has found her thumb and that makes this Mommy so happy!  So adorable!

 These sisters have fun together.  Look @ Annabelle pushing up like that - but don't let her fool you!  This girl is still not interested in crawling at all!  Lucy is such a smiler!

Just getting cool in the back yard

Fun in the Sun

Annie is loving spending time in her new swing.
Lucy loves every part of this new swing set!

Thanks Nanny and Pappy for the swing set! We've been outside now every nice day that we have. I love that the girls have this outside now - it reminds me so much of my own childhood. I've been showing Lucy all the different things I used to do when I was a child - flipping over the bars, swinging on my belly. It took Lu just 2 days to learn how to pump her legs and swing like a champ!

And you know Lucy has to swing while fancy as well!

Sweet Girls

Lucy, 4, is such a performer. She loves to sing, dance, and perform for anyone. She's so into princesses and dresses - anything that sparkles and is frilly. But she does love to run around and play baseball with Daddy. She's excited about getting back into ballet again. Lucy loves preschool and is doing so well. Her personality is definitely coming through - as well as some spunkiness. But she is a huge joy and definitely keeps me going all day long.
Annabelle, now 7months, is such a sweetie. This pic shows her first time in a restaurant high chair. She is rolling over and sitting up on her own. Still hates her belly though, but tolerates it a lot more now. Annie is hardly ever fussy unless she is very tired - very go-with-the-flow. She is a watcher - she loves to watch us do things and definitely is a great audience for Lucy!

Thank you, Lord, for these two sweet, amazing gifts that we have been given on this side of heaven.

I Spy With My Little Eye.....

.....Daddy and daughters having a good time after dinner.
This is how the girls spend time before bed with Daddy.

I love seeing it!

Enjoying one of my all-time favorite treat as a kid - strawberries dipped in powdered sugar.
This is what happens when you accidentally sneeze into a bowl of powdered sugar!

Showing off her new hair band

Annabelle adores this Rapunzle doll

I came downstairs to see this! Annie was "looking" at her book while Lucy was reading her sister "Brown Bear, Brown Bear."

here we go again! Croup - round 3! Poor kid - we just don't know why she keeps ending up with this. Thankfully our pediatrician called in some steroids a few hours after she woke up coughing. She had stridor at rest - so we needed the steroids. At first she wanted us to go to the ER, but we wanted to try the meds first. Today she is fever free and still has a rough cough. But she wanted to go to preschool. She's a trooper and on the mend!
Miss Annabelle allowed me to keep her on her belly for some time this day. About 2 min. before she started freaking out. :)

Check out this hair! It looks like this every single day. We cannot get the little tuft of hair to stay down. I don't know what we'll do when it actually does stay down -she won't look like herself!

Priceless

Mom took this of Lucy while she was sleeping after her long day in Disney World meeting the princesses. There's nothing more precious that sleeping children!

Happy Birthday, Lucy Mae!

So what are you going to do for your birthday?!
I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

So Thankful!

First Preschool Field Trip

Apparently, Annabelle doesn't like kisses as much as Lucy does.

This is a rarity these days! Most days she is taking 10 min. naps, then is so tired she is scratching my neck and chest while screaming. Her witching hour began last week right at that lovely 6 wk. mark. Anywhere between 5-6 pm Matt and I just watch and wait. She's got some lungs! That stage will pass......ug.....in about 8 more wks. maybe??? But for now, this pic shows her peaceful side. She's pretty adorable, huh?

Sleepover Party

Since we've had some limited mommy/daughter time, I thought it was a good idea to have a sleepover party in the basement. We got out the blowup bed by request (even though we have a perfectly good futon, popped some popcorn and put in a movie. Veggie Tales Christmas video - St. Nicholas. Another of Lucy's requests. We had some fun girl time! And since we were sleeping together, I got to go bed @ 8 pm! (bonus!)

First Day of Preschool!

Being Silly!

She headed straight for the art area - of course! :)

After I picked her up today - her teacher said it's like she's been there her whole life. She's so comfortable - she ran up to me today and gave me very big hugs!

Sisters!