Princess

During lunch today, Mads said that she wished a princess would come over to her house. I inquired what she would do with a princess. Her reply, "Maybe I could teach her how to ride a bike." I bet that most princesses out there have never learned to ride a bike!

Deciduous

Mads is still asking lots of questions about leaves falling off of trees and growing back. This morning on the way to school we were noticing that some trees lose their leaves and others keep them. I figured she's such a sponge, so I told her that trees that lose their leaves are deciduous. Madeline's response, "Know what deciduous means?.....magic"

Gotcha

My good friend Gina recently pointed out that we're picking up each others speech patterns. Evidently we both say, "Gotcha" a lot as an expression of understanding. But you know how once something is brought to your attention, we realize how prevalent it really is. Well I say it ALL THE TIME. Even Mads is saying it. We were talking about how leaves fall of of trees and grow back. I was explaining that the leaves grow back when it gets warmer, in the spring. Madeline's one word response.....GOTCHA.

Peek A Boo

Lola is becoming Miss Personality. During her bath tonight, she hid behind the shower curtain and cried out, "BOO" to Brandi. And then she laughed and laughed and laughed!

Ice Cream

Lola proved today that she can use a spoon when she wants to.

The Dot

Tody mads and I went to target to get some finger paint and other art supplies. As I tried on a super cute outfit, Madeline said she wanted to try on clothes too. This was a first. Unfortunately, the size 4 clothes are still too big and the smaller sizes aren't quite as cute. But then we went to the shoes and found her these adorable bronze moccasins. She loves them! When Jeff commented on how nice they were and asked where they were from, Mads responded, "The Dot."

As a side note....yes, lola was eating the finger paint!

Fun at the Zoo

Today the girls and I went to the zoo. We had an awesome tour of the zoo on the tram and mads got to get wet in the water since she was wearing her nifty rain boots (such a necessity in our desert climate!) Madeline wanted a lollipop and now that Lola's getting older, she insisted on having one as well. It's so fun to watch them grow up!

The Young Dr. Foti

Madeline loves her new docotor's kit. She likes to play doctor and take care of her patients, which have included mom, dad, nanny, lola, jojo, and her rocking horse. She looks pretty smart in these glasses, don't ya think?

Friends at last!

I've been waiting for this moment for over a year. I just couldn't wait until Lola and Madeline started to play together. It's finally happened! Maybe Mads needed Lola to walk to be seen as more of an equal. The other day I was getting their lunch ready and they both headed to Mads' room. I heard squealing and found them laughing hysterically in her tent. Madeline kept swinging her silkies over Lola's face. I thought she was going to hurt her, but Lola LOVED it! They had tons of fun with jody for 5 full days! When jody ws laeving, Madeline told Maria, "I'm gonna miss jojo." I love how she can articulate feelings now!

Messy Eaters

I'm not sure when it changes, but my girls are very messy eaters. It's hard to teach them to use a napkin and not their shirts....and check out Mads jelly face. And Lola has discovered the wonders of ranch dressing. I'd been avoiding the dipping just cause it gets so messy. Lola doesn't have much interest in dipping....rather she scoops ranch in her hand and just eats it without the nugget. Yum!

Walking without hands.....but the arm is flying high!

Lola is officially walking! She walks more than she crawls....although she always raises her left arm up high in the air, as if she's Miss America waving to her fans.

Fishing For Real!

Madeline received a real fishing pole this year and LOVES it. We went to the park with squirmy wormies in hand. Mads actually did a better job hooking the worms than either jeff or I. We didn't catch anything, but had fun trying!

New Bike

For Christmas Mads got a real bike with training wheels, which I though was a great Santa gift. Imagine our surprise on Christmas morning when she wasn't excited at all about her gift. I asked her what santa brought her and all she noticed was the bell she had asked for. I said, "Well, what about that bike over there?" and Madeline responded, "That's a bike for an adult."
She got over it and now loves her new bike. She's even gotten the hang of braking!

Plumber Butt

Unfortunately, my girls have inherited my plumber butt. I've gone so far as the measure my butt crack and compared with a friend (maybe this shouldn't be admitted on a public forum!) to insure I wasn't making up my physical malformation. And look....both of my daughters have the same issue. What's a family to do?

NOTE: I can't make this up...Mads was sitting by me as I was posting this and she asks me...."Mom, where's my plumber butt?"

Naynie's Visit

My mom came in town for New Years and we had a busy weekend. We went to a Fiesta Bowl Parade during the day and Zoo Lights, a fun light filled zoo stroll, at night. Lola doens't have many words yet (or any really for that matter), but she kept pointing at all of the floats and lights and was grunting something that sounded like, "ook" Maybe she was saying look. Who knows? But all that matters is that she had fun. Madeline enjoyed Hanukah this year and lit the candles all by herself. She took this shot of the menorah. I also liked this shot of Madeline's crazy eyes.