Take Me Out To The Ball Game

In honor of the Phillies...

Boo

Is it almost Halloween?

Lemonade For Sale!

On Monday, as I was putting groceries away, Lilly announced, "I want to have a lemonade stand." I told her I didn't think we had any sort of table to use. I then proceeded to search the garage and basement to see what I could find but came up empty-handed.

Lilly said, "Yes we do Mommy!" and went on the deck and returned with a small table and two tiny chairs. She is so with it. Always has been. I told her we didn't have cups we could give away and she said, "Yes we do Mommy! In the basement!" and again, she returned from the basement with clear, disposable cups.

The lemonade stand was born. Her very first one. I have no idea where she came up with the idea unless she remembers sitting with Stephy and her friends two years ago. She carried everything to the curb by herself. She arranged her table and made a sign. I helped her spell lemonade, she drew a lemon, and she was open for business.

She was adorable. We sat outside for two hours. Everyone that passed by stopped. She was on the curb waving. More than one person said, "How could I not stop with her standing there looking so adorable?!" She will always win people over with her charm. When the first person came over (a neighbor), they asked her how much the lemonade cost. She looked at me and said, "It costs Mommy?" She had no idea she was going to make money! She ended up charging a quarter.

3 pitchers and $12 later, I finally had to close her stand down. Ella woke up and I had to tutor so the fun was over. Lilly crashed on the couch to watch a movie after all of her hard work. Her money is still sitting in the cup on the coffee table. I wonder what she'll buy...

Angst

This is the face of a worried Redskins fan living near Philadelphia.

This is the good luck mug of hot chocolate drank by the mother of the aforementioned worried fan.

Four years ago Andy and I were at tonight's game in Washington. I was 6 months pregnant with Lilly. And we won! It was a great night. I'm hoping for a repeat tonight.

Pumpkin Pickin'

We finally made it to the farm to go on a pumpkin pickin' hayride! We usually don't wait so long to go but since our front porch is being built I wasn't as eager to decorate for fall/Halloween since there is no porch.

It was very windy and cool. Ella was very excited and held on tight while riding out to the pumpkin patch.

Lilly and Daddy searching for the perfect pumpkins.

Lilly found a pumpkin for herself and one for Ella. I love this picture. Between the wind and the weight of the pumpkin Lilly almost fell over. She's such a peanut.

Yay! The girls and their pumpkins. Lilly picked mostly green pumpkins. She always goes against the grain. I like that about her.

Ella liked this huge pumpkin.

She was so happy waiting on our hayride to return to the barn.

Lilly waiting on the hayride.

We returned to the barn and ordered half of a dozen apple cider donuts and ate them all up. I love fall and I love pumpkin pickin'!

For the Love of Sandy

Dear Sweet, Darling, Loving, Husband-of-Mine,

I am sorry. Who would have thought my mom's broccoli and cheese casserole would land you in this position? I surely didn't. I know my cooking may be less than par but I try. I enjoyed the meal as did the girls. I believe where you went wrong was when you were trying so hard to prove to me that the rice was uncooked you actually chomped it over and over to show me. That was a bad idea.

I had no idea your tooth would crumble and you'd need an emergency root canal. I couldn't have planned that if I tried. Really.

I love you. Thank you for taking the pain for Sandy. She would love you for it. And next time, I promise to put the rice in first and then cover in butter. I guess the stray rice that was hanging out on top didn't have a chance to cook. Oops.

I love you,
Kristin

Sick Day

It's hard to stay in the house all day when Lilly's sick. She's 3 so she can be sick and still want to run and play. Yesterday I finally took them both out of their pajamas and got them dressed to go somewhere (we never made it out). While they were playing I tried to get a cute picture. I seriously don't think I have a single cute picture of the two of them together; both looking at the camera!!!

Failed 1st attempt. Thank you Ella for looking at me.

Almost got it but the cough got in the way. At least she used her elbow like we practiced!

Ayeyaiyai Lilly. Just.look.at.the.camera.please.for.once.in.your.life.

Ella had enough. I think this was when I started flipping out and threatening... hence Lilly semi-cooperating and Ella getting upset at my freakout. Mean Mommy.

Fuhgettaboutit. I gave up and they started clapping. Hmph.

And So It Begins...

Last night Lilly began coughing. And coughing, and coughing, and coughing in her sleep. Before I pull out the big guns I always take her warm apple juice first. When I went in her room and put my hand on her to give her the apple juice I noticed (and felt) vomit everywhere. I turned on the light to find our sweet girl sleeping in her own vomit. I assume she coughed so hard she threw up. It was the first time in her life that she threw up. I quickly woke Andy (in my state of vomit panic) and he set into action stripping her bed while I cleaned her up. Poor baby.

This morning she felt fine other than the cough but we kept her home from school and started nebulizer treatments.

And so begins our winter of not being able to fight colds, constant nebulizer treatments, asthma, and germs in general. Ack.

11 Months

Wow.

My sweet, darling, lovable, peaceful, patient, nose-scrunching baby girl. I cannot believe you are 11 months old today.

You are such a lovely little girl. You are charming. You are sweet. You are strong. You are gentle. You are starting to walk. You like to eat your food in whole pieces and not broken up. You giggle at and adore your wonderful big sister. You like to squeal. You are curious yet indifferent. You are a sleeper. You love to nurse. You're happy. You love your Momma and Daddy. You are a love.

We love you so much baby girl. Thank goodness you are here.

First Steps!

Last night Ella took her first steps while Andy and I watched. It was exciting since she's been on the brink for some time. I captured this on my cell phone today. She would have kept walking but her sweet, older sister was overcome with excitement and intercepted her.

Woe is Me

Does anyone know when my front teeth are going to come in?

I can't take the drool. Mommy puts me in ugly bibs that ruin my outfits. My neck is always wet and it feels yucky. My gums are swollen and they hurt. Mommy told me a month ago that they would be in "any minute." I've had about all I can handle.

Being a baby ain't easy you know.

Tuckered Out

This is what 2.5 hours of preschool and gym class immediately after preschool does to a 3 year old.

Hangin' Out

This weekend while Daddy worked on our new front yard project, Lilly decided to spend some time rollerskating. She's a wild woman on and off skates. She even got her pads out of the garage and put them on herself.

I guess the pads inspired her to drop to her knees every 20 seconds. Ella thought she was really falling. Check out the look on Ella's face.

Another "fall."

Ella couldn't keep up with Lilly so she focused on the cat. She says, "Cccc" for "cat" and it's really cute. And yes, she stayed in pajamas all day. I love the face she's making.

Fall #247. Good thing she lined the pads up correctly.

The Ella face! So excited to see "Ccccc."

My crazy, crazy girl.

Lilly did eventually practice and she did very well. She's very competitive and hard on herself.

Fall weather makes me soo happy. I'm loving the cool mornings and nights and mild days. It's so wonderful spending time outdoors together.

Sweat, Blood, and Tears

There's something going on around here...

Faces of Ella

Lilly has always been a struggle to photograph. It's a shame because I know I could get some gorgeous pictures of her if she'd allow me to. Ella is sweet. But Ella sees the camera and she gets goofy on me! Here's one of the best I've gotten and it isn't great! She was mid-crawl to get the camera.

This is what she usually does to me. It's her own unique face. The Ella face. Or the 'turtle face' according to my friend Kristen who love, love, loves this face.

Profile shot of the nose scrunch. She's usually excited when she makes the scrunch. I love this kid.

This is Ella's 'I'm watchin' my back' face. I wonder who she's worried about?
I adore her cheeks. Ella has a great personality just like her sister. They're very different but they both crack me up and make me smile.

Patience

Lilly loves to play games on my laptop. She's gotten very good at maneuvering the mouse. She used to play in peace. It was her thing.

Now, she has some company. And I must say, she handles it very well. Ella likes to creep up next to Lilly and bang on the keyboard. Lilly is very patient.

Every time Lilly removes Ella, Ella comes back for more.

Lilly eventually gives up and gives Ella a turn.

But Ella doesn't understand turns. So the removal process begins all over again.

And Lilly gets to enjoy a few brief moments to herself.

And that makes Lilly very happy.