Olivia's Hair Cut

The Befores

The Afters

I think this last one says it all! :) Olivia is in love with her new hair-do! She'd been asking for a week to get it cut (and as you can see she was in need!) and kept saying she wanted it short. We didn't quite anticipate it to be this short, but when we got there we found out she had enough to donate to Locks of Love. After explaining to Olivia what this meant, she was so excited to have an even-shorter "do" and to donate her hair to another little girl!

Did she not age like 3 years? Oh my big girl...

San Francisco

Ryan and I were fortunate enough to be able to go on a vacation to San Francisco at the end of April; a few days away was all we needed as a refresher! We enjoyed seeing the sights, being active, eating the yummy food, and just being together... all by ourselves! It was a blast!

Biking the Golden Gate Bridge

And of course a visit to California is never complete without seeing my best roommate ever, Delinda. Delinda, Josh, and Lola drove from Saramento to spend the day with us being tourists.

For me, the best part of vacations is being refreshed with my hubby and being so excited to come back and see the kids!!

Weeks...

Where does time go? I'm always amazed when I find the time to get back to my blog that it's been so long since I've posted.

Things in our lives are busy as always. Ryan and I managed to go on a vacation to San Francisco last week (more later...) which was enjoyable and refreshing. The kids were with Ryan's parents and, of course, had a marvelous time. The week back to reality always exhausts me, lots of work, activities, and appointments...

Aidan and Olivia had dentist appointments yesterday (well, I did too, but you probably don't care about that...). It was Aidan's first appointment and he did fantastic! Olivia went first and after watching her he was saying "No!" But when I got him in the chair he was content and compliant. :) I guess I shouldn't be that proud being that our dentist's office has TV, so they were both happily distracted watching pbs during their appointments. :) Whatever works!!

April has been incredibly busy for us, not only with our usual work stuff, but we have also had swimming lessons for both kids, and Olivia is taking gymnastics classes. All of these things piled on top of Awana, church, and vacation made for a CRAZY month! By next week all of our spring activities will be done and we will treasure a few weeks off!! My goal is to take pictures at gymnastics and swimming next week because I haven't taken any yet!

Happy Easter!

Edit?

My posts are all coming out in one paragraph even though that's not how I'm entering them.... any suggestions?

Welcome to 2.

Hello 2, I'm Aidan. I have now discovered the power of a tantrum. These are nothing like the things my Mom has called "tantrums" for the past year or so... these, MOM, are TANTRUMS. You can no longer distract me with a squirrel outside the window, or the prospect of a new activity. I will always remember what I want. And you know, that is usually candy. I also have discovered the love of biting. Perhaps it's those 2 year molars working their way through my gum-line... or perhaps it's just that I'm 2. But, either way, I want to bite every kid at daycare just to make sure they all know that I'm 2. And I'll probably bite my sister a few times. Oh, and Grandpa too. Don't worry, I won't stay in time-out either. You'll have to put me in my crib. I also won't eat dinner, or lunch or breakfast for that matter. I'll probably cry over whatever you give me, and then ask for candy. I promise Mom, it will all be worth it. Now that I'm 2, I'll also cuddle right in your neck and sing along with "You are my sunshine" when you tuck me into bed. And I'll sleep really good, because you know, TANTRUMS make me tired.

Projects for the Summer

I figure, since I can't find anything motivating to blog about, I will enlist all of you in holding me accountable. I have a lot of projects that I would like to get done this summer. Most of these projects I also wanted to get done last summer. It is time. I'm hoping your accountability will keep me motivated. :) Paint stools and butcher block Organize basement and office area Clean out closets and donate clothes Go through toys Other possibilities: Garage sale? Big boy bed? I know what you are thinking; it's April, she's got 5 months to get all these things done! No problem! Might I remind you once more... these were all going to get done last summer too!!

2011 Family Pictures: Take 2

I fixed the link... A peek into our craziness!

Bye-bye dootie!

My kids have both loved their nukies, or as Aidan affectionately called them, dooties. :) Giving up Olivia's was a chance thing, and she hardly fussed after 10 min. of crying the first night. I figured that since she was so easy, we'd have hell to pay with taking away Aidan's dootie.

My goal was to be done with dooties before he figured out how to climb out of his crib... We didn't need a double whammy. Two weeks ago, at Ryan's parents, Aidan and Olivia proudly came down the stairs about 20 min. after going to bed. Olivia said, "Mom! He just jumped out!". Well, there goes that plan. Luckily (maybe not for him), we went back upstairs and after I put Aidan back in his pack and play, he promptly climbed back out, fell, and bonked his head. He wasn't at all hurt, but it seemed to cure him of the idea. He hasn't tried it since (knock on wood). I figured time was of the essence, so I set a goal of being done with dooties last night.

Aidan set a goal too: when he was all done with his dooties, he got to get a Nerf "shoot gun". They could be his all time favorite thing ever.

So, yesterday morning, we sang the "Bye-bye dootie" song and threw the last nukie in the garbage. I can't lie, it made me a little sad. I mean, he is my baby after all. When it came time for bedtime last night, I was set. I had prepared myself all day (really all week) for the crying that would ensue. Thankfully, it wasn't even needed! He laid down and we didn't hear a peep out of him! Not even one little cry. :) Sweet boy! He did wake up during the night and cry for just a few minutes, but that was it.

Now he's napping today, and again, without any tears. He's growing up...

It's been a long winter...

Alternately titled: Tandem

Alternately titled: We're running away and joining the circus!