house full of girls

 Last week it was SO nice to have my mom come visit with my two 17 year old nieces, Emily and Sydney. They had a jam packed agenda and I had a blast spending time with them!

 

And my mom is probably going to kill me for posting this morning pic of her, but my favorite part about having her here was that each morning Audrie and Annie would crawl in bed with her (my mom slept on the air mattress in the living room). It was nice to get a few more minutes of sleep while my mom kept the girls distracted! :)

 It was Emily and Sydney's first visit to NYC and being the 17 year old fashionistas that they are- we got to do A LOT of shopping. Whoo hoo!! These two girls are so precious to me. I have loved watching them grow up and can't wait to see where life takes them. So talented, smart, and pretty!

 I got to go with them to see Wicked! I had been looking forward to it for months and once again it did not disappoint. Such an inspiring show!

 I didn't do great about taking photos while they were here, but Emily and Sydney posted tons of great pics on their Facebook and Instagram so I'll have to steal their photos.

I was sad to see my mom go, but I'll manage since I call her pretty much every day on my walk home from school (I always call to see if she has time for my daily "therapy" session).

I had mentioned to someone that I was homesick and they asked what it was that I am homesick for. I had to fight back the tears, because the first image that popped in my head was me laying on my mom's couch, with my head in her lap, and her telling me everything is going to be ok.

It's kind of funny to me that, even at 33, I'm like Audrie- I still need my mom to kiss my boo-boos. I hope when my girls are 33 they will still need me too!

Thank you, Mom, Sydney, and Emily, for coming to see us! Come back SOON!!!!

accidentally on purpose

 The other day Annie woke up from her nap before Audrie so she had some 'quiet' time to herself. I found her sitting on our bed watching cartoons. She looked like such a little princess perched up there that I had to snap a photo. (She still loves her blankies!)

 Yesterday I was straightening up the living room and before I went to put my camera away I snapped these two quick photos of Audrie.

 Of course, if I was actually trying to get a photo of her it never would have worked, right?? But I love how sometimes the accidental photos turn out to be my favorites.

I bought the girls matching Easter dresses and am going to TRY next week to get a photo of them together. smiling. at the same time. We'll see what happens...!

happy birthday daddy

 For Jamie's birthday last week the girls and I made Jamie a special birthday dessert.

 The girls LOVE to cook with me in the kitchen (and any excuse to wear their cute aprons).

 Of course they usually eat half the batter before we get it in the oven.

 I've always wanted to try making these cupcakes inside an ice cream cone (I put a hershy's kiss in the bottom of each one before I poured the batter in.) Yum!

 The girls helped me ice them and we brought them out to Jamie to sing Happy Birthday for him.

 He made a wish and blew out his candles.

The girls had picked out some presents for him to open. My gift to him was I took the day off work the next day so he could have a "day off", too. (oh and we also bought a washer/dryer combo for our apartment... which is actually a really big deal for us after 8 months of dragging all our clothes and sheets to the laundry mat!!). Happy Birthday, Jamie!! :)

don't come between annie and her iphone

We knew it was only a matter of time before Annie was addicted to our phones. She mastered it pretty fast and is at the point now where you just hand her the phone and she turns it on, finds her favorite apps and plays until you make her stop. So crazy!

The irony of this next picture is that she is sitting next to a large pile of books... (not reading them). ha!

 

 But I will say that I have been impressed with her skills and honestly some of the apps she plays are really educational. Her favorite is one called Tozzle. She puts together puzzles and they gradually get harder. She's really great at it!

Her other favorites are anything in the Toca Boca line of games. But she also loves to get on youtube and usually she stays on the Baby Einstein videos, but you know how fast youtube links can lead to terribleness so I have to stay pretty close to her (I wish iPhone would let you put a password lock on only the youtube app).

Anyways, I actually am glad Annie finally figured out the iPhone- it really helps on long subway rides!

trip to long island beach

Last month I had a week off from school and it was a gorgeous day out, so we decided to rent a car and drive to the beach with the girls. And, wow, am I so glad we did! The day turned out to be just as fun as we hoped it would be (and you know with two toddlers that is saying a lot).

 

It felt SOOOOOO amazing to put the girls in their carseats and just drive (like REAL people). I don't even know if I can explain what it feels like to never drive anywhere. To not own a car. It's SO weird. This little day trip was JUST what we needed to get a little taste of 'normal'.

 We got McDonald's for breakfast and headed out for the day with Jamie at the wheel. (Honestly, we were all grinning ear to ear just from the sad fact that we were heading out somewhere IN A CAR.)

Ok so maybe Jamie wasn't smiling, but he has to keep up his image as Cool Dad, right?

 And alright, Annie did get car sick and throw up all over herself, but dang it I was still smiling.

We waved bye to the island of Manhattan and crossed over the bridge into Long Island.

 We had to stop and pick up 46 trumpets at a band instrument resale shop (yes, 46 trumpets) and then one more stop in an adorable fishing town for some tasty seafood. But then finally we arrived at Long Beach...!

 We unleashed the girls and just let them RUNNNNNNNNNN on the deserted beach. (Obviously no one else in their right mind was at the beach in February. Ha!) But we enjoyed the much needed solitude and open space.

 The sun felt great on my face. We brought a blanket to stretch out on, but we ended up doing more running than relaxing. But that was ok, too.

 I brought some toys for the girls to dig in the sand with. Annie kept stomping on Audrie's sandcastles though. Little stinker.

 It was around 60 degrees that day, but a little windy so we kept our jackets on.

 The wind kept blowing sand in poor Annie's face.

 Thanks to Jamie to snapping these photos!

 There was a nice pile of rocks that kept the girls entertained, too.

 Though this next picture of Audrie cracks me up... little pin-up model pose. ha!

 These two had the best time playing together on the beach.

 As you can imagine the water was pretty cold, but Audrie got brave a few times and ran in.

 Annie had fun running full speed towards Jamie...

 and he'd scoop her up...

 and toss her in the air. She loved it!

 I don't think Annie stopped smiling the whole time we were there.

And of course Audrie had to sing a few bars of "Part of Your World" at the top of her lungs...

 Such a fun day!

not the baby

(Sorry this blog is kind of wordy, but I wanted to get some Annie stories preserved on here.)

 Jamie and I were talking tonight about how much Annie is changing every day and how we are so in love with this girl. It's so crazy how between 18 months and now it seems that she has become a whole new person. She is certainly not a baby anymore. Though she does still cling tight to her blankies when she's tired.

 We just can't get over how much love she gives out every day. Hugs, kisses, snuggles, and even at 22 months she seems to genuinely be concerned when anyone is sad and will run over to pat your back and offer some soothing babble that sounds just like "it's going to be ok".

 Annie is talking more every day. I love this stage where almost every day you hear a new word that she has added to her repertoire. Her latest adorable word is how she clearly (and enthusiastically) says "OK!" to anything you ask her. She says it like whatever you asked is the best idea ever.

"Annie will you go get me some cheesecake and a glass of wine?".

"OK!!!" and she runs off down the hall. Like I almost expect her to come back with it because she says it so confidently. But then she comes back with a huge smile and hands you a baby doll and a half eaten banana she found under her bed.

But, honestly, you can ask her anything and she will cheerfully say "OK!!" (I need to try to catch it on video.)

 And she throws the cutest fits. Audrie at this age was much more dramatic and committed to her tantrums. But with Annie it's more like she plops herself down in the floor and thinks- "Ok, I think this is how the fit-throwing is supposed to go... am I doing it right?". Then she does that thing where if you are not looking at her then she will get up, walk closer to you, and throw a new fit closer to you. It's hard not to laugh at her.

 Some of my other favorite words she says are: she says "scuse, scuse" for excuse me, she says thank you a million times a day (every time you hand her anything),  she says "I don't know" a lot too, but all run together like one word "idohno". Several times a day she throws up one hand, raises her eyebrows and says "where did it go?!". 

When we put her to bed at night she gets out of bed, stands at her door knocking, and yells "PLEEEEEEEEASE?!" at the top of her lungs over and over until you go in there to see what she wants. All she ever wants is one more hug.

 Recently she has developed a fixation with pretending to go potty. I let her do it as much as she wants, hoping to lead up to some successful potty-training this summer. She just sits there buck naked and smiles. Never does anything. But then she hops off and gives me a high-five. Crazy girl!

 I have to admit I was a little nervous that because she stays home with Jamie that she would develop an "I love daddy better" stage. (Audrie went through that phase about this age.) But so far Annie hasn't done that. I mean, she does adore Jamie, of course, but she shares the love with me. :)

 Annie still frightens the other mothers at the park because she climbs up everything, teeters on the edges, and runs like a wild banshee about to wipe out at any minute. Occasionally Jamie and I will feign some concern for the sake of the other parents at the park. But honestly there is no stopping this little monkey.

 And she is an Audrie groupie. Follows her around like an adoring fan. I can only imagine what trouble these two will get into in their lives. :)

Annie is quickly approaching her 2nd birthday and sadly I'm having trouble remembering her baby stage. Where did the time go??