Baby Einstein Magic

Lola's been sick and has been crying a lot lately. Today I couldn't seem to calm her down. So I resorted to good ol' Baby Einstein. Amazing how she immediately chilled out.

Yogis At Practice

This morning Mads joined Jeff in morning yoga.

We Love New Shoes

I guess it's in the genes. I went crazy today at Last Chance (Nordtrom's Seconds Store) and got shoes for the whole family. Lola, even at the tender age of 1, is showing an affection for new shoes. She was trying on Madeline's shoes OVER her own shoes!

Snotty Lola

It's that time of year again...and Lola's got a cold. She breaks my heart when she cries since she does it so rarely. Hopefully we'll be getting better soon!

Chapstick

Don't you love this shade of chapstick?

"Burkle Bugs"

SO I think that Mads is going to be an entomologist. She absolutely loves bugs. On our walk today, aside from collecting her usual "treasures" she caught 2 "burkle bugs." Note the gummy worm keeping the collected bugs company.

Take Me For A Walk

Madeline wanted to walk Brandi around the house. When she wouldn't cooperate, Mads changed her mind and wanted ME to walk HER.

Where's Mads?

This is how I found Madeline this afternoon....fast asleep.

Sleep Problems Revisited

It seemed that Madeline had FINALLY returned to normal sleep habits, after close to a year of issues. However, she's been waking up to pee the last couple of nights. No big deal- in fact, I'd even say great....except that she has been throwing a FIT when we try to put her back to bed. So last night, after 10 minutes of struggling, and lots of tears, Jeff comes back to bed. She's still crying and calling out for me. I was going to ingnore her, but I was thinking that she might have thrown up because she was so upset. SO I go in to check to make sure everything is OK. As soon as she sees me, she asks if she can still have treats in the morning. (The deal was if she stays in bed ALL night long, then she can have treats.) Was she kidding me?

Shaving Cream Finger Painting

So Lola has never really finger painted, but she's let me know that she's interested by smearing her food all over her highchair tray. Since we don't have any fingerpaints right now, I got out some shaving cream and let her have fun. Mads wanted in on the excitement...and even copied Lola in EATING the shaving cream. YUM!?!?!

Just Like Mama

Last night I overheard Madeline tell Maria, “When I grow up, I want to be just like my mama.” Maria asked in what way and she replied, “I want to cook a lot.” So nice to be appreciated!

Mother of the Year

I should get the, “Mother of the Year” award. Today, I was attempting to get the perfect holiday picture of the girls. Mads was sitting on one of the little lights that lights up our path to the front door. The first few shots were of Mads sitting there with Lola sitting in front of her. Then I have this great idea to have Lola stand up in between Madeline’s legs with Madeline holding on to support her since Lola can’t stand on her own yet. Well, Madeline lost her balance, fell butt first on the rocks and then kerplunk….there goes Lola…head first in the rocks. OUCH.

Because I love you

Tonight Jeff was putting together a new chair for Madeline’s table. After helping him with the drill and the screws, Madeline gives Jeff a gigantic hug and kiss. Jeff asked, “What was that for?” Mads replies, “Because I love you.”

I'm not tired"

“I’m not tired.” Madeline at 2:03 p.m. At 2:23 her Madeline alarm clock is blasting in
her ear as she is fast asleep…..

Lola's Story

Lola has been kneeling, hands in the air, with a big smile. Then, as if she’s praying to the rain god, she falls down, laughing, only to return back up with her hands in the air. Lola has also decided that Mads is the funniest person in the world. Yesterday Mads was swinging a metal tape measure around, making lots of noise on the tile. When I heard what I thought was screaming (read upset) from Lola, I assumed Mads was hitting her with the tape measure. However, Lola was simply belly laughing at Madeline’s antics. Another fuuny thing about Lola is her sensitivity to noise. It generally is not funny, but this time, I ran to a screaming Lola in the other room, assuming that she had fallen down or hurt herself. Instead she was holding the reindeer toy that plays, “Grandma got run over by a reindeer.” She was terrified that an inanimate object was suddenly making music.

Butterfly Catcher

Madeline loves to chase butterflies. Now that the weather has cooled off, and after a fun butterfly experience in Rocky Point, Mads has such a fun time hanging out in the front yard, searching for these flying creatures. She’s super into bugs as it is, and watching her entranced by these butterflies reminds me of a cat, ready to pounce.