All Still Alive

Just finding it harder and harder to blog these days.

Coming Around

"Remember when I said leaving was my favorite part of school? Now it's lunch." -Abigail

Of All The Ridiculous Things

"Mom, can you go to the bathroom for me?" -Abigail

That's A Lot

"I want that toy (puppy in my pocket) so bad, it makes my eyes hurt!" -Amelia

The Big 6

You've grown, but you haven't changed.
Six years ago you made your entrance.
You still have that same sparkle in your eye you had that day.

You know how to read now.
And your sense of humor is a bit more developed.
School has shown you how to meet new friends.
And how they can hurt your feelings.

But your soul is the same.
Your thoughtfulness and love.
Your smile and your glow.

Happy birthday to the best six year old in the world! -Love Mom and Dad

Ugh

The girls were both still sick this morning, a week since their coughs started. Abigail woke up in the middle of the night last night complaining of an ear ache. I decided to take them both to the pediatrician this morning.

The diagnosis....double ear infections for both girls and Amelia has asthma. Ugh.

We have company coming this weekend. Here's hoping they will be better by then. I'm breaking out the Lysol right now.

Another One Bites The Dust

I was sooo hoping that Abigail wasn't going to get the same thing Amelia had. She's already had a cough for a week, and now she's got the fever.

Odd that both girls ran the same exact temperature...

Homemade Valentines

This is the second year in a row that we've made these adorable mouseValentines, an idea we got from Aunt Robin.

They are totally cute, easy to make and always a big hit!

Favorite Friday Photo (Sick Edition)

February 12, 2010
Amelia. Home sick with a fever.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's sleeting. In Florida. Right now!!!

The pictures aren't great. I grabbed my camera, grabbed Abigail out of bed, ran out and ran back in as quickly as I could. It's cold out! But, you can sorta see the ice on the railing.

Button, Button, Whose Got The Button?

The girls were being especially wild tonight, running around the house playing a game of tag. I suggested they play a quieter game. They asked me what to play and the first thing that popped into my head was a game I used to play with my sisters when I was little called button, button, whose got the button (I'm not sure where this game came from). We'd all sit on the bottom step of the stairs in my parents house. One sister would be "it". They'd hold a button in one of their hands and we'd have to guess which one it was in. If we got it right, we'd move up a stair, working our way to the top step. Whoever made it to the top first was the winner!

The girls mastered the object of the game quickly. Abigail was a bit competitive at first (there may have been some pushing involved). Dad stepped in to "help" while I sat back, took pictures and reminisced about the fun times I had playing this game with my sisters!

A Whole In The Wall

Remember when you were a kid. You wanted a place of your own. A place nobody else could go. It came down to a choice. Treehouse or secret room.

Abigail and I have been discussing the pros and cons of the two for a few weeks now. Treehouses are fun, but they're not very big and everybody has them. Secret rooms are few and far between and she can pick wallpaper and wall colors (as seen in photos). And so I decided to "finish" a small area in the attic as the girls' "secret room." (Note: It is insulated and cooled.)

Behind what appears to be an air intake lies the Secret Room. (Hereafter capitalized.) Bob helped with the electrical so I wouldn't burn down the house in case any of you were worried. It has lights and power, bead board walls, and a huge area for dry erase markers.

Abigail has plans for expansion, but I'm not sure if a fourth story is in the cards. Needless to say, the girls have spent a ton of time putting stuff in and taking stuff out. As their friends come to visit, they get to see the Secret Room. Just remember, No Boys Allowed (except me)!

Cupid Shuffle

Ok..... It was their first school dance..... and they were awestruck..... so was I.

They greeted their friends as we arrived, a few minutes fashionably late. There were ballons, cookies, punch, hearts and pink everywhere, flashing lights lit the room, shapes, and colors. It was organized chaos and the girls loved it.

They were no wallflowers, jumping right into the first order of the night. They were here to dance, and dance they would..... for two hours straight!

Abigail found a partner from her class for the dance competition. He was looking quite dapper in the three piece. Dad approved. I am convinced they would have won the contest hands down if the judges could have seen them below the bigger kids.

Amelia was thoroughly impressed with the decorations and excitement.

It was the most dancing I've seen since Soul Train. Getting up and getting down!

A Wee Bit Like Her Dad

Driving home from school today, I pointed out a plane coming in for a landing (we drive by a small airport everyday). The girls started to have a discussion about it. Amelia told Abigail that it wasn't a plane, but a "helicopter plane". Abigail then told Amelia it wasn't a helicopter plane, going into great detail as to what a helicopter plane is (the Osprey) and then said, "Amelia, you know I'm right, I know everything."

BitterSweet

Amelia has always called Abigail "Aa-igail", leaving out the "b". Just last week, out of nowhere, she started saying it right and hasn't said it wrong once since. It's so sweet that she says it right now, but a little sad because she sounds so grown up. :(

Where Did January Go?

This month has just flown by. School keeps us really busy, leaving little time for blogging. Everyone is well though. The girls are doing great in school. Abigail has moved up again in reading and is now at a third grade level!! She's been reading two books a night and testing 100's consistently for AR. Amelia has also been reading a bunch, breezing through the beginner reading books we have at home! Abigail has also started to show interest in math. Her teacher has been sending her home with some first grade worksheets as homework and Will has been working with her, teaching her symmetry, grouping and number placement. (We plan on skipping grades 1-12 and having her go straight to college next year.)

It's been unusually cold all month, so we've spent what little downtime we have cooped up inside. We had one day a few weeks ago where it was finally above 4o and we all went down to the beach.

It was warm enough to play in the sand, but not warm enough to play in the water. (Though there was only little boy there who thought so. He was probably from Maine)

Last week we actually went to Washington DC. Will promises to write all about it soon. ;)

"Aggressive Love"

It's what we call affection from Amelia. Anyone who knows Amelia, knows what I'm talking about.... she can give some seriously aggressive hugs and kisses. She's pretty strong for such a pipsqueak. Last night when I told her she could have an extra big piece of my birthday cake (for being a very good listener all day) she said "I'm so happy I want to hug your face."

Oops

In all the craziness of the Holidays and getting ready for school to start back up, I forgot to mention that WE BOUGHT OUR HOUSE!!!

When we told the girls the house was ours now (not just renting), Abigail was very happy that "we don't have to move our stuff and nobody else can buy it." Amelia just said " I miss our old house with the red curtains."

Our Evening Events And Events For The Future

We took the girls out shopping tonight at Destin Commons to spend a bit of their Christmas money (thanks again Nanny and Grampa). Abigail also had money from the Tooth Fairy!! Abigail has been wanting some fun shaped rubber bracelets (all the rage with the little girls right now) so we went to the Learning Express first. She picked out a package of animal shapes, with a bunny, of course. Amelia picked the same pack. We then headed to Build-a-Bear for a few things. After that we had dinner at Panera. The girls were both pretty happy with their choices, but Abigail said maybe she wanted to do some jobs to buy the Princess pack of bracelets next. They both still had plenty of money left, I'm just trying to teach them that they don't have to spend it all at one time and to save up for something they really want. For the last few weeks, I've given Abigail the job of feeding the dog so I told her if she kept doing that I could give her an allowance. Amelia said she wanted a job too, and when she got more money she was going to buy a hamster (she really wants a real one). We told her maybe she could save up for another toy one and have a real one when she was big, like when she's married big. The conversation spiraled from there and Abigail told us she already knew who she was going to marry, Ian (the boy who sits next to her in school). She then said "there's only one little problem, he might not like the names I picked out for my kids."

Favorite Friday Photo

New Years Eve sleepover with a friend. Though there wasn't much sleeping.
They stayed up till 11!