Gas Pumpin' & Pedal Pumpin'

Ah, Leia's latest fascinations. She wants to pump gas every single time we fill up, . . . and we're still not sure why (perhaps the feeling of being grown-up?), but she gets SUCH a thrill out of it. And then there is Leia's desire to learn how to bikeride. Well, not a desire to "learn" per-se, . . . just a desire to be able to do it. Ha! Today we went to a little church on the corner that has a small downhill slope and, I swear, Leia Rose rode by herself for about five seconds each time! However, when she figured out she was doing it, she suddenly got flustered and forget to steer and balance. It is such a different experience for Leia than when I learned to ride. I remember the exact PLACE in the driveway when I finally "got it" and never lost it. It's just not the same for Leia Rose. I wasn't expecting her to ride off by herself for five seconds and then plow into a grassy tuffet or two. LOL! But that didn't deter Annie from wanting to be like her big sister. : )

Annie's Party Planning

Annie has been hoping for a long time to have a "berry" Strawberry Shortcake birthday party. So here we are making the invitations (including Annie's own fingerprints as strawberry seeds on the invitation). By the way, this is the smile you get if you ASK Annie to smile these days. Ha! Annie made sure to wear her special birthday crown (sent by Oma) while we made apple chips to serve as snacks at the party.

Mountain Kite-Flying, Sound-of-Music Style

"The hills are alive with the sound of music!" Those were the musical words on our lips today as we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway to the soundtrack of my favorite movie of all time: The Sound of Music. (And a great way to continue introducing the movie to the two of them, by the way.) Today Mamma noticed it was windy and had a really fun idea: instead of going kite-flying in a valley, . . . go kite-flying on top of a mountain! I can't even relate how much fun this was. The kites were swirling around in circles so fast because of the erratic (and strong) wind that we were laughing the entire time! We even lost one. Our response? Laughter. Ha! My Facebook status update today said it all: "Noelle Therese went kite-flying on top of a mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway today! I felt very Maria-Von-Trapp-ish. : )" It was truly a dream to be up there in the mountains with my girls having such fun. Leia's comment on the way home as we were belting out "So Long Farewell"? "This was the best day EVER!" ; )

A Special Gardening Project

This afternoon, Leia Rose was hard at work in the garden. She made a beautiful sign to show what was planted there. I continue to be amazed that Leia Rose thinks up these phenomenal projects all by herself, . . . and always finds some way to include her little sister, too. : )

Another Annie Pastime

Whenever Annie finds herself alone in her room, this is what she is doing: looking at books, . . . and often reciting the stories out loud. There is nothing sweeter than to hear your almost-three-year-old reading books to herself and loving the way YOU read them so much that she mimics your own intonations. What a joy!

Logan's Birthday Party

I think that the only birthday parties more important to Leia Rose than her own are Annie's and Logan's. As Leia Rose truly considers Logan her "boyfriend," she made a point to enjoy this party to its fullest. Held at Inflation Station, Leia loved the cool glow-in-the-dark miniature golf room the most. Her only beef was that she couldn't sit next to Logan at the birthday table and that Andrew kept accusing her of only having Barbies at home. : ) Thanks to a tip from Logan's mom, Leia and Annie got Logan some really cool "Bionicle" robots. They were a big hit!

Annie's Sand Cakes

Always a very tactile child, Annie has really gotten into using our neat sand molds to make "sand cakes" with me in the sandbox these days. We spend hours doing this and find such joy in each other! : ) (And for some reason, Annie always makes this "lickable" face when she's concentrating on cutting her creations. : )

Annie's Poopie & Potty Pupcake Party

Well, Annie has finally learned to poop in the potty chair (a week or so before she turns three)! I promised her, when that happened, she could have a "Poop & Potty Pupcake Party" to celebrate! So here we are, . . . complete with lemon yellow cupcakes representing yellow potty and chocolate brown cupcakes representing brown poopie. : ) The honored guest was Annie's friend Aubrey, . . . and Annie colored the invitations herself. Annie baked the cupcakes while Leia, who really wanted to be a part of this as well, got to frost and sprinkle them. (Leia Rose was also inspired to create her own invite and party for her doll Flora.) : ) When we arrived home from taking Leia to school, the first stop was the rocking horse in the basement before it was up for the cupcakes! Next was something very special. Since Annie has become incredibly beholden to our singing goat puppet, . . . but she had never seen the actual puppet show featuring the same song from The Sound of Music, I thought today would be a perfect day to introduce it as part of the party. The girls LOVED the puppet show!!! Aubrey brought a wonderful Potty Princess Crown Craft for the girls to do, . . . and then it was time for a sing-along with Mamma's guitar. Finally came the panty presents: a perfect gift for my potty-trained princess! And what a better way to end the party than with Annie's favorite Library Storytime!

Annie Poops in the Potty Chair

"Mamma! Look at my cool Star Wars scene!"

Early Bow Birthday Gift

While the computer has been broken, I've been staying up late to do some at-home projects, long overdue. One of them was making bows for Leia Rose out of uniform material! Stayed up until 3 AM making them tonight, . . . but now she has a nice collection! I thought it would be fun to surprise her with them this morning as an early birthday gift. So here she is sporting her first one! : )

Painting in the Evening

Daddy needed to stay late at work tonight, so Mamma thought up a fun idea: let's do some fun painting this evening! Leia Rose painted a picture of a heart family (us) and Annie painted a picture of "goats by a river with ducks." The girls are laughing because, for some reason, I kept singing "Blue Skies" while making up my own words, . . . like "You can paint a rose or you little pink toes, . . . but whatever you do, don't paint Perri's nose!" They thought it was a riot!