The Stein Family Blog

Caitlin's First Day of Jr. Preschool

2011-08-17T00:30:00.002-04:00

Caitlin started her first day of Jr. Preschool today- she was so excited!! I'm knocking on wood as I say this, but I am so grateful that she happily wants to go to school like big sister and did not scream and cry when I dropped her off. It was a little unsettling to leave her in an atmosphere where there were other kids crying huge crocodile tears, but she didn't seem to mind and went right on in and started playing with play-doh. Her teachers, Ms. Linda and Ms. Iheoma, quickly took the kids outside to play on the playground and give them a change of scenery and of course everyone stopped crying immediately.

Since Caitlin was fine with me leaving, I was that mom and followed them out on the playground to get a quick picture of Caitlin's first day of school... I know, I know- I have a serious problem...

Ms. Sharon and Ms. Iheoma have worked together for many years and they are perfect compliments- Ms. Sharon is very calm, she leads a structured and organized classroom and has tons of experience with teaching 2 year olds and Ms. Iheoma is warm, loving and loves to be silly with the kids. They seem to be children whisperers- I am amazed that they can have 8 little 2 year olds sit quietly and pay attention for circle time. When passing their classroom on the way to Ava's, I have never once seen one of their students mis-behaving or throwing a tantrum like so many two year olds do. They are the perfect duo and I am so excited to see how Caitlin will learn and grow from being in their class.

When I picked Caitlin up at carpool, she was speaking so fast that it was hard to understand her. Apparently she has made a few new friends, Alyssa, Shaina, and Jackson and she loooved playing on this fire-truck.

It is so fun watching Caitlin experience "school" for the first time and I am so glad she had such a positive and fun first day!

Ava's First Day of Pre-K

2011-08-14T23:59:00.003-04:00

Ava started her first day of Pre-K today at Open Arms. And though Ava has gone there for day-care as an infant and mother's morning out after I stopped working, this will be a brand new experience for her. Luckily, we are very familiar with her teachers, Ms. Linda and Ms. Debbie- Ms. Linda leads all the classes at chapel on Wednesdays and Ms. Debbie was Ava's teacher for a summer session for mother's morning out when she was three. Both teachers are fabulous and I can't say enough positive things about how energetic, patient and creative they are- when dealing with 4 and 5 year old children these qualities are a must!

Ava's classroom has 18 kids in it, which will be a pretty big adjustment from the 6 or 8 we have had in classes before. She will go on several field trips- like to the fire station, the pumpkin patch, a dairy farm- so she will ride on a bus for the first time! She will also be learning to read and is expected to know about 100 sight words at the end of the year, the pledge of allegiance, how to count by tens, her address and phone number and all sorts of other things that I can't believe she is old enough to learn!

Her closest school friends- Lincoln, Addison and Austin- will all be in her class so she is really excited to start school. I love her enthusiasm and since I was a little bit of a nerd myself, I hope that it will continue through the years :)

I can't wait to see what this year holds!

Rebecca's Appointment

2011-08-14T01:00:00.010-04:00

The American Girl doll store at Northpoint Mall in Alpharetta is amazing! They have a huge cafe where you and your doll can come and eat, they have a TV where you can preview the latest DVD's and they have a full service doll salon. It's part of our Sunday tradition to browse through the store after lunch and a carousel ride to see what's new in their store.

A few Sundays ago, Ava found out that not only can you get your doll's hair done but you can also pierce their ears! To celebrate the beginning of the school year, we made an appointment for Rebecca so that she could get a new look for school.

Ava was so excited that her and Rebecca were going to have matching earrings!

Rebecca did not cry at all when getting them done and she sat perfectly still for the hair stylist...

Ava could not have been happier to get this done and match Rebecca. Poor Caitlin was wondering why everyone else was allowed to get their ears pierced but her! She seemed to handle it ok when I told her you have to be at least 4 to get them pierced (Rebecca is 8), but we'll see how long that will hold her off. It was a fun {and totally indulgent} way to spend our last day of summer... :)

Happy Birthday Lauri!

2011-08-13T02:34:00.014-04:00

As if getting married this year weren't enough, Lauri celebrated another big milestone... her 30th birthday! Her brand- new husband planned a surprise party at Uncle Julio's with all of her closest friends and family.

By the look on her face when she walked in, she was truly surprised!

Even her good friend Julia and her husband Mark flew in from Virginia to be a part of the celebrations!

Papa was teaching Allie the best way to eat cookie cake... the icing dots are the best!

We all had a great evening celebrating 30 years of a wonderful friend, wife, sister, and daughter!

I have known Lauri since we were 5 and we have been best friends for close to 20 years- it has been so much fun sharing all of these special moments in her life and I can't wait to celebrate many, many more.

Happy Birthday Lu!

For the record, the surprise party was all Marc's idea... I definitely told him you do NOT like surprises... hehe... :)

Girls Movie Night

2011-08-12T01:38:00.005-04:00

A fun thing we've started this summer is movie nights- family fun movie nights, just the girls movie nights, Daddy-daughter movie nights... Our first official family fun movie night, started as a way to cheer up two sad little girls who couldn't go to the pool with their Daddy as promised because of rain- but the popcorn with M&M's was such a big hit that they have become regular occurrences and are requested often!

Tonight was our first movie night with the younger neighbor girls. All the girls felt special that they were all allowed to stay up a little later than usual to watch the new Barbie movie.

Abby, Ireland and London all live in our cul-de-sac and we are so grateful to live in a neighborhood with so many young children for Ava and Caitlin to play and make friends with. Tonight gave me a future glimpse of all the sleepovers and fun these girls will have with each other!

1 large bag of M&M's, 3 bags of popcorn and 8 cans of pink lemonade later, their first movie night was a success!

Ava and Caitlin can't wait to host the girls again for the next one :)

Holy, Mole... Guacamole!!

2011-08-05T01:28:00.003-04:00

This baby girl amazes me with her eating habits. Jason and I made some delicious homemade guacamole and Caitlin ate and ate and ate and ate it up! Where she gets such refined taste buds for a two year old, I'll never know...

On a side note, the beer prominently featured in the picture is Jason's, not Caitlin's as so many of you assumed...

I'm glad we got that cleared up :)

White Water with the Neighbors

2011-08-03T15:23:00.007-04:00

Today my neighbors and I decided to break the monotony of going to the pool and took the girls to White Water Park. For all of you Georgia natives, you know that White Water is an exciting adventure as a kid, a right of passage into independence as a tween and a place to pick up boys as a full-fledged teenager. Seeing it through a parents eye is a totally new and terrifying experience- there are tons of life-threatening situations any child can easily get into, not to mention all the germs and scary people that are walking around the park! Looking back, I'm not sure what our parents were thinking letting us girls walk around unsupervised at 12 and 13 years old. I guess we all made it through unscathed... :)

Ava and Caitlin, of course, were blissfully unaware of the turmoil churning in my chest and loved every minute of the day. There were nine girls all together and the older girls ran from one huge slide to the next, taking breaks to come reapply sunscreen, swim in the wave pool and take a ride around the lazy river with the smaller girls.

After our lunch break, Ava begged to go on the big slides with the older girls- but as a novice swimmer and with her just barely reaching the height minimum, I didn't feel comfortable letting her go. Jason or I will both have to come one afternoon and split up so that one can watch Caitlin in the Wiggles World and one can take Ava on the slides- where is my mommy double when I need it?? On the other hand, I love Ava's adventurous spirit- seriously, even though it goes against every over-protective parent grain in my body, I hope she never loses that courage and bravery.

The girls were sweet with each other all day. Ava was a great big sister and showed Caitlin how to go down all the slides and where the coolest places were in Captain Kid's Cove- she even stuck up for Caitlin when another kid tried to cut in line in front of her.

Of course, nothing ends a day at White Water more perfectly than an M&M ice cream sandwich! They have become somewhat of a tradition in our family and as long as bites are shared with me, I am happy to keep it up! :)

Happy Birthday, Christian!

2011-07-31T12:40:00.005-04:00

We had so much fun celebrating Christian's 5th Birthday on Sunday! His party was at his pool and he invited the girls and a bunch of his friends from his school. Ava and Christian usually play together really well and have a ton of fun, but this time Ava was a little miffed when she found out that Christian really wasn't interested in hanging out with her. Ava's face in the picture above says it all! :) He wanted his friend from school to sit next to him instead of Ava and he spent most of his party playing with the boys from his class. If I remember correctly, Kindergarten was the start of "cooties" and "no boys allowed" and the "girls are gross" phase. Ava is going to have a hard time adjusting once she heads to kindergarten next year and realizes all of her boy friends are going to act the same way as Christian! :)

We are so happy to be a part of our godson's life and to be there to support him and share in his life's celebrations. Happy Birthday, Christian! We love you so much!

I love this picture! Boys will be boys... :)

Winnie the Pooh

2011-07-30T00:34:00.006-04:00

When this Saturday provided us with a rare overcast day, Jason and I found the perfect opportunity to take Caitlin to see her first movie in the theater. Winnie the Pooh was only a little over an hour long, so we thought that she would be able to sit the whole way through. When we got into the theater, Caitlin didn't want to sit on either one of our laps, so I had to hold her seat down the entire time so that she didn't fold up like lawn chair! It was only upon exiting the theater after the movie was over, that we saw the booster seats the theater provides for small children... lesson learned.

Ava was an old pro and sat quietly through the entire movie- Caitlin, on the other hand, was very excited to be there and we had to continually remind her to whisper and stop kicking the chair in front of us. Lucky for us, most people in attendance were very understanding or under 4 feet tall :)

The girls' favorite part was the huge, yummy tub of popcorn. Of course, Ava and Caitlin had to hold their own buckets and Caitlin only spilled hers once- thank goodness they were refillable!

After a short walk to show Caitlin that we really could get more popcorn, she was able to sit through the rest of the movie uneventfully.

It was an adorable movie and we all had fun on family movie night~ I would say that Caitlin's first movie experience was a success!

Happy 1st Birthday, Bode!!

2011-07-23T00:02:00.015-04:00

On Saturday, we went to celebrate Bode's first birthday. He was a social butterfly with all of his guests and loved showing off his newly learned walking skills! There was a bounce house and a swing set in the backyard for the bigger kids and even though it was one of the hottest days this summer, that is where Ava and Caitlin could be found for most of the party.

Since Jason and I met Bode on his first day in this world, it is extra special for us to watch him grow and reach each milestone.

Bode loved being the center of attention and was sooo excited about the cake!

With two little kids, it is really hard to get everyone to look at the camera!

This was the best I could do...

The only thing that could get Ava and Isa to come out of the bounce house was the promise of a juice box and... CAKE!!

Bode's party gave us a chance to catch up with friends who live on the other side of town...

... but, we would love to see them more often!

Caitlin went down the slide again, and again, and again, and... again

After playing in the hot sun, her face was almost the same shade as her shirt!

She stopped playing long enough to give a drive by hug and to eat a piece of cake!

After the other guests had left, we stayed to have dinner and spend some one on one time with the birthday boy. With all the pink in our house, I know Jason enjoyed having some guy time :) Is it any wonder why Uncle JJ is a favorite among all the kids?

Happy Birthday sweet Bode Adam~ We are so happy we were able to celebrate with you!

The Best Part about Baking

2011-07-19T16:27:00.007-04:00

With all the blueberries we had on hand from Berry Patch Farms, we have been testing new recipes! We've had blueberry-orange muffins and blueberry pancakes, not to mention just chomping on fresh blueberries with every meal. Today we finished off the remainder of our stock with an ambitious white chocolate blueberry pie- ours did not turn out quite as pretty as the picture on the cover of the Pampered Chef cookbook, but it was definitely delicious!

Besides, with these cutie pies in the kitchen- who cares what the other pie looks like?

Daddy's Mini-Me

2011-07-18T15:26:00.007-04:00

For a little while now, Caitlin has been in a Mommy-phase... and by a little while, I mean over the past year. This is not unusual, since she and I have gotten to spend a lot of quality time together while I'm at home.

However, I think we have turned a corner. This morning, she wanted to go to work with Daddy, she wanted to dress just like Daddy- she even got pretty upset when he had to leave for his meeting and she had to stay at home!

I know that it can be tough on Jason to work all day and come home and try to spend some time with Caitlin while I am getting dinner on the table and Caitlin is in her mommy-phase. But, based on today, this era is almost over- and trust me, when we hit the teenage years... Jason's time will come and his payback will be sweet :)

Blueberry Picking at Berry Patch Farms

2011-07-13T16:25:00.006-04:00

Our favorite pumpkin patch, Berry Patch Farms, has a huge blueberry "patch" open to the public each summer where you can go and pick pounds of fresh blueberries. I thought the girls would love to see that you can get fresh produce other places besides Publix :)

Ava was really excited- she said that it felt like a secret garden underneath all the blueberry bushes.

It was a little unnerving at first- you could lose sight of the girls very easily...

Our next door neighbors went with us and they came prepared for the hot July sun in their cute hats! Megan loves blueberry pancakes, so she was determined to pick a lot of blueberries!

Michelle had Abby helping her pick blueberries- they made a good team. They ended up having the most in their bucket!

Caitlin in the background is sampling the blueberries that had fallen on the ground... sigh... At least these are fresh and aren't sprayed with any pesticides, so it's only dirt and bugs I have to worry about her eating :)

We were warned that there was poison ivy throughout the blueberry patch, so we all wore long pants and brought long sleeves to wear, but apparently we were the only ones concerned. Everyone else that was there picking blueberries was in tank tops and shorts!

Caitlin fluttered around helping everyone put blueberries in their bucket, but she had her arms full carrying her baby doll and didn't want to bother with her own bucket!

You can see the green ribbon on this bush- that meant that this bush had been checked and was clear of poison ivy.

The sun was very hot and the girls were over picking blueberries pretty quickly. Luckily, Berry Patch Farms has a great shaded playground for the kids to play on and cool off. Poor little Caitlin's face almost matches this swing! Thank goodness we had packed multiple juice boxes for everyone.

Of course, the tire swing is always fun! The girls begged me to keep spinning them around... and around... and around... and around... and around...

We can't wait for cooler weather and pumpkin season so we can go back and visit again!!

92 Years Young...

2011-07-05T16:05:00.004-04:00

My grandmother turned 92 today! She didn't want anyone to make a fuss over her, and she didn't want anyone to go out of their way to do anything for her birthday, but let's be honest- any birthday over the age of 90 is cause for celebration, right!?! Besides, who's going to turn down cake?

Grandma has had a few health issues this past year, but I am so glad she is well enough to come over to our house to celebrate! She is getting stronger by the day and hopefully we will share many more cakes with her.

We even had a neighborhood fireworks display for her birthday! The July 4th weekend brought nasty weather for Atlanta this year and many firework displays got postponed until the next evening. We went out on the driveway to join our neighbors with sparklers and poppers. I knew they would both be a big hit with the girls, but I had no idea that Grandma would want to play to! :) I love this picture of her throwing the poppers on the driveway... I can only hope that I am as strong and independent as she is at 92.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!!

Lauri & Marc's Magical Wedding Weekend

2011-07-03T23:45:00.027-04:00

This weekend Jason and I headed downtown for Lauri and Marc's wedding. We left Ava and Caitlin home in the capable hands of Nonna and Grandpa Steve while we went and partied all weekend... Even with two nights of more uninterrupted sleep than we are used to, it was an action packed, fun-filled weekend and we came back happily exhausted!

We started the festivities off with the bridesmaids luncheon at the Swan Coach House. The Swan House is the quintessential southern tradition for a bridal luncheon- all we needed was a mint julep to go with our cheese straws :) The luncheon was relaxing and the chicken salad was delicious- it was the perfect way to spend some time with just the girls and to kick off the weekend!

After the luncheon, we headed to check-in to our rooms at The Grand Hyatt and check out the hospitality room. Since there were many guests from out of town and quite a few from as far as England, there was a suite available all weekend dedicated to feeding the wedding guests at the hotel 24/7!

Lauri and her soon-to-be sister-in-law Sara were mingling and entertaining all the family that had flown in from England

Of course, Allie didn't want to miss out and was helping play hostess in the hospitality room...

Then we headed out to the pool to soak up a few more minutes of sun before getting ready for the rehearsal dinner.

Marc and some of his groomsmen were already out there with the same idea...

no nerves or cold feet for this groom!

A quick rehearsal was held in the library before we headed off to dinner. Adhering to tradition, Lauri carried a bouquet during the rehearsal made from all the ribbons and bows from the gifts she received at her wedding shower.

Lauri looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress, but my favorite part was...

... her shoes!

The rehearsal dinner was held at Maggiano's. All of those huge platters of pasta were just torture to all of us having to fit into bridesmaid dresses the next day!

So, instead we just filled up on wine :)

After a tear-jerker of a slide show, came the toasts- some hilarious, some embarrassing, but most sentimental. The one unifying theme, threaded through all of them was that Marc and Lauri are kind, loyal, generous and loving people that are perfect for each other. I hope they took a moment that night to enjoy being completely surrounded by people that loved them.

Of course, I had to include a picture with my honorary dad! Lauri has let me borrow him since our sixth grade spring break in Destin. He and Mrs. Rainbow have given me many typical parental lectures (no talking to boys!), fed me hundreds of meals and sheltered me for tons of sleep-overs. Hopefully both her parents know by now how much those years meant to me!

The almost-new Rainbow-Teitelman family couldn't look happier...

Marc celebrating with two of his groomsmen- Joey and Joe

I'm not sure if it was the sun or the beer that is helping out his color... :)

On the morning of the wedding, we started early with hair and make-up in the bridal suite. Lauri was incredibly calm and the whole atmosphere in the room was relaxed. We had music playing, lots of time to hang out and of course a tray of sweets from the hospitality suite to keep us all happy!

Jennifer, Julia and I were showing off our newly done hair and make-up... all we needed was our bridesmaid dresses and we were ready to go! Seriously, is there anything better than having someone else do your hair and makeup??

Lauri and her mom both looked gorgeous!

Lauri looked stunning to begin with, but then she put on her wedding dress and she was absolutely breathtaking...

Mr. and Mrs. Rainbow both looked fabulous and were such gracious hosts all weekend. Together with Lauri, they put so much effort and thought into every little detail of the wedding and it was obvious! Every aspect was amazing- from the centerpieces, to the lighting, to the place cards, to the menu, to the hospitality bags... I definitely think that if they wanted to make a business out of wedding planning they would be incredibly successful!

It was really fun running into old friends from high school at the wedding...

Abby was often part of our spring break trips to Destin!

My hottie husband looked especially handsome in his tux and he was the perfect dance partner- we had so much fun spinning, swirling and twirling all over the dance floor!

Introducing, Mr. and Mrs. Teitelman!!

After Lauri and Marc danced their first dance, the father-daughter and mother-son dance, the party really got started!! Rupert's Orchestra kept everyone dancing all night long. I didn't even leave the dance floor long enough to get a bite of the wedding cake- and anyone that knows me, knows that I never pass up on cake! :)

I had so much fun celebrating this weekend with these girls!

We stayed long past when the band stopped playing. The hotel staff was beginning to break the ballroom down and essentially kicked us out. And even then, we didn't want the party to stop- so we all headed up to the hospitality room to continue the celebration...

What else could top off an already perfect day? Cookie cake, of course! Lauri and I have a tradition of celebrating everything with cookie cake that goes many, many years back... and I wasn't going to skip out on this one! Jason was so awesome to pick this up, track down Lauri's wedding planner during the wedding to let him hand deliver the cookie cake to Marc and Lauri's room. Sharing the cookie cake almost made up for missing out on the wedding cake... almost...

Congratulations Marc and Lauri!! Jason and I were so honored to be a part of this magical weekend. We could not be happier for you and wish you many, many years of love and laughter... We hope your fairy tale never ends!

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life,

Love gives us a fairy tale...

Daddy's Little Helper

2011-06-30T22:41:00.004-04:00

Caitlin has had a fascination with the lawn mower since she was old enough to realize what Jason was doing outside and she loves to watch him mow the grass through the windows or to run outside and say hi and watch him work. So, for her birthday we bought Caitlin her very own bubble mower to use with Daddy.

She was super excited and kept pointing to her little pink mower and saying "Caitlin's lawn mower?" as if she didn't quite think it was hers to keep.

Caitlin got right out in the yard with Jason and kept pace with him for about a quarter of the lawn and then became more interested in the bubbles than the mowing part.

Caitlin loves to help with cooking dinner, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, taking the dishes out of the dishwasher and now mowing the lawn... I'm starting to feel guilty not giving her an allowance. What's the going rate for a two year old?? :)

The Animals go Marching...

2011-06-28T00:54:00.007-04:00

Every Tuesday, we have been joining our neighbors at story time at the West Cobb library on a somewhat regular basis for the past several months... the girls look forward to it every week! Ms. April, the children's librarian does a phenomenal job picking out books that coincide with the theme that week, leading all the kids in silly dances, choosing an interesting short movie and and putting together a quick craft for all the kids. But, with the recent cuts in library budgets, our story time is taking the summer off and will begin again after school starts in September. :(

On this last Tuesday, each child was supposed to bring their favorite stuffed animal for an animal parade around the library. It felt very naughty walking around the library with loud music and even louder musical instruments, but the kids had a blast!

Ava shook her maracas and Abby played the tambourine...

We did get some very strange looks from the people in the library... but most of them were nice enough to smile and wave at all the kids marching by.

Apparently they weren't given any kind of warning about a very loud and long parade that day- I almost felt bad for the people trying to read or study...almost...

After the parade was over, the girls made their own animal parade!

We love story time and can't wait for it to begin again in September!

The Hot Days of Summer

2011-06-27T00:52:00.006-04:00

This summer we have spent almost every day at the pool, but on those few hot days where we stayed at home, we had to come up with some other things to do around the house. Caitlin got this sand and water table for her birthday and so far it has been a great distraction for the girls.

Of course, the next best thing to the pool is a sprinkler!!

and we definitely tested out all kinds of sprinklers...

With temperatures in the high 90's, and the heat index above 100 degrees, it is almost unbearable to be outside without some kind of water to cool you off! I am already looking forward to fall... :)

Caitlin's Pool Party

2011-06-26T00:43:00.016-04:00

For Caitlin's 2nd birthday, we decided to make it fun and easy. With hot summer days and kids of all ages, a pool party was the obvious choice! There had been hard-hitting storms happening every day for the past week and we were very lucky to have a sunny day to celebrate...

We started out the day with candle-blowing-out practice and sang to Caitlin over a breakfast of coffee cake (her request) and then headed down to the pool to set up and hang out with friends and family.

Ava and Caitlin were so excited to have all of their friends over to their neighborhood pool- I don't think they really knew who to play with first. Caitlin spent most of her time on the steps with Sydney, her friend from school who also happened to be wearing the same swimsuit, and being tossed around in the pool by her Daddy and Uncle Tony. Ava had a blast diving in the water, racing with her friends and doing flips off the side of the pool. But... the thing that everyone enjoyed the most were the water balloons- score one for a last minute purchase at Target's dollar spot! Even the big kids got in on the water balloon action- I'm sure there will be payback for the balloon Jason popped over Uncle Tony's head... :)

Kaitley and her sister Sydney came dressed to impress- we loved their sunglasses!

Caitlin was so excited that her and Sydney were wearing matching swimsuits. She kept pointing to Sydney's swimsuit and giggling...

Hanging out with her two favorite guys...

Bode even woke up for a little while to get in on the action...

Nothing is better on a hot summer day than an ice cream cake!

The practice paid off... Caitlin had no trouble blowing out her candles :)

In fact, she was a little ham and soaked up every minute of being the center of attention.

Her favorite aunt and uncle came to wish her a happy birthday... and thank goodness they were there! Alina was one of the only ones that could figure out how to fill up the water balloons with out breaking the balloons- so we put her to work!

Caitlin held on to her water balloon the whole time- we even had to bring it home with us in a bucket!

After we got home and Caitlin had a much needed nap- we opened all of our gifts. Our friends were so generous- a huge thank you to everyone! Ava picked out this Barney doll for Caitlin, which is a current favorite, and then Tony and Alina spoiled her with this enormous bear!! We love him and have made him a permanent fixture in our living room- everyone that comes over usually ends up cuddling with him at some point.

Thank you to everyone for making Caitlin's birthday such a special day and a fun party! I have a feeling that there will be many, many more pool parties for Caitlin in her future :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Caitlin

2011-06-26T00:42:00.033-04:00

June 26, 2010

June 26, 2011

Dear Caitlin,

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! You turned two today and it is hard for me to believe that another year has flown by! I was looking back over the months of pictures and it makes me a little sad to see how much you have grown up and changed over such a short time.

You are officially a full-fledged toddler and you fight for your independence daily! You tell me "No, I do it" anytime you feel like you are getting short-changed out of doing something for yourself. You like to put on your shoes by yourself, open granola bars and fruit snacks yourself, put the lids on your sippy cups yourself (this one can get messy), brush your teeth by yourself, and on and on and on... if it's something that you just physically can't master yet or it is something that is too dangerous for you and I won't let you try, you can blow into a pretty impressive tantrum. These are the moments that remind me that we are entering the two's! :)

You love exploring- your curiosity is so fun to watch. You love going out on our front porch and looking for little snails or ants- you were amazed the other day by a lizard that ran across our driveway. You love to ask "what's that?" and "what doing?" when Daddy or I are doing anything of interest. You want us to stop and explain to you what we're doing and then you usually ask to help or want to join in. While sometimes it can take twice as long for us to finish what we are doing, I love watching your brain work and absorb all of the new things you are learning about. I hope that you never lose that natural curiosity and love of learning- it will carry you so far in this world!

You love to dress up and your sense of style is pretty creative. Even at two, you know what you want to wear and exactly what you don't want to wear. Recently, you have been on a leotard kick, but when I can convince you to wear something (anything else), you usually pick out your favorite tea pot shirt. I think it is because we have so much fun singing "I'm a little tea pot" through out the day, but whatever the reason is, it is going to be a sad day when you grow out of it. I can't wait to see how your fashion sense develops... I have to be honest, I am kind of hoping that you choose a cute and preppy style, but, I will love you no matter what you choose to wear- promise.

I don't know if you know this yet, but you have the best Daddy in the whole wide world. He loves you and Ava so much. He works hard all day and then nothing makes him happier than coming home to your hugs and kisses. He plays chase with you, spins you around constantly, takes you to the pool and he even likes going shoe shopping! Seriously, you are so lucky.

When you are a teenager and Daddy is being annoying or totally unfair about boys, just remember, he only has your best interests at heart.

You and Ava are two peas in a pod. You wake up in the morning and the first question out of your mouth is "Where's Aba?" Your whole face lights up when she comes downstairs and you jump up to give her hugs. You love to be where she is and play whatever game she is playing. Your Daddy and I call you guys Monkey See and Monkey Do because you copy her every move. If Ava is singing, you are singing- if Ava is twirling and dancing, you are twirling and dancing- if Ava is pushing the shopping cart, than you want to push the shopping cart, too. I love seeing the two of you together, it brings me so much joy to see the friendship you are building.

Of course, you both have your ways of annoying each other and getting on each others nerves- you love to take the toy or doll out of Ava's hands without asking or she wants to hug you or mess with you right after you've woken up from your nap and you definitely take a little while to wake up... but, for the most part you and Ava share an amazing bond and I hope that it will only grow and get stronger over time.

You love to move and shake it! You jump, spin, dance and twirl all day long at any given opportunity. We have frequent dance parties where you, Ava and I turn the music up and dance around the living room without a care in the world. Your face lights up when the music comes on and you like to hold my hand and spin around the room. These are some of our best times together- the ones that I will remember forever.

When there is no music playing, you love to play Ring around the Rosie, or London Bridge, or just spin around until you are too dizzy to stand. Usually you can recruit Ava to play with you, but you are happiest when Daddy and Mommy play, too.

Because you love to move and you were too young to start dance classes, you started gymnastics. You ask to go to 'nastics' every day- I hate telling you that it is still several days away! At the beginning, you and I took a class together where I could help you learn some of the basic skills. But once summer started, you moved up to a class all by yourself. After two weeks, your teacher Ms. Jennifer told me that you were above the skill level of all the other kids in the class and suggested that we move you up a level. So, you started in the 30-36 month class and it seems to be a perfect fit for you!

You are so flexible and focused for your age- many parents comment on it when you are in class. It makes me SO proud to watch you doing something that you truly enjoy and of course as your parents we will always think that you are amazing at anything you try to do, but it helps to hear that other parents think you are great, too! :)

Let me tell you baby girl... you inherited my sweet tooth! You could eat ice cream for breakfast, cookies for lunch and cake for dinner and you would be totally and blissfully content.

In your Easter basket this year from Uncle Tony and Aunt Alina, they brought you and your sister each, among other things, a huge chocolate bunny. No one thought anything of it as you and Ava were pulling out bubbles and sidewalk chalk and all kinds of fun things. A little while later, we realized that we had not heard from you in a few minutes and I went searching to find where you were hiding. I found you in the play room in the corner chowing down on that chocolate bunny! It had only been a few minutes, but you had already made it through both ears and most of the head!! No one even knew you had taken the bunny out of your basket! You made me and Daddy laugh for quite a while that day... :)

And speaking of food, you are not a normal toddler when it comes to eating. Most kids your age love hot dogs, macaroni and cheese and chicken tenders- but not you. You have a very grown up food palette- you like chips and salsa, guacamole, steak and spicy szechuan stir fry. I can't wait to share many meals with you of chips and salsa, queso and eventually (in many, many years) margaritas! :)

The one thing you are not a big fan of is riding in your car seat. I'm not sure if you get bored, or feel uncomfortable or get car sick- but you do not like riding back there. It takes a lot of preparation and planning if we are going anywhere over 15 minutes. I have to pack snacks, games, books, juice... anything I can think of that will keep you occupied and it goes in the bag!

You are definitely Mommy's Little Helper. You help take the dishes out of the dishwasher, you help make dinner, bake cookies, unpack groceries and lately you will just pull up a chair from the kitchen table to hang out with me at the bar. You love to spray Windex on all of our glass doors, mirrors and glass coffee tables and you are also a huge fan of vacuuming. Now, if only I can figure out a way for you to help with the mopping, we'd be all set! :)

My sweet girl, nothing makes me happier than being your mommy. Sometimes when I think about you and Ava, it feels like my heart might burst right out of my chest- even as I am writing these words, I am tearing up. And while that sounds really sentimental and will probably be embarrassing to you in a few short years- I hope you never have reason to doubt how much I love you. I know Daddy and I tell you that everyday, but I hope that you truly hear it and feel it and grow to fully understand the depth of our love for you.

Caitlin, I LOVE being your mommy. You are so special and you bring so much joy to our family. I can't wait to watch you grow and blossom this year!

Love you Caitlin-boo,

Mommy

Time Flies...

2011-06-19T23:00:00.008-04:00

7 years together and only a lifetime to go! What an amazing year it's been- many more ups than downs, many more kisses than fights and many more days spent laughing than crying. What more can we ask out of life?

Thank you for being such a loving and supportive husband and such a caring and involved father to our girls- and thank you especially for loving all of us with all your heart.

Happy Anniversary, love! I can't wait to spend the next 70 years by your side...

All My Heart xoxo

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T02:00:00.001-04:00

For Father's Day this year, I put together a photo book for Jason of some of my favorite pictures of him and the girls. I took the poem I wrote last year and tweaked it a little and added it to the book along with the pictures. It turned out really cute... enjoy!

My Daddy and I have the greatest of fun

We go to the pool and play in the sun

And nothing can top the milkshakes he makes

Except maybe his pancakes or yummy flank steaks!

We like to cheer on the Braves and go run the bases

We like to laugh and play games and make silly faces!

And always we're happy just being together

No matter the season, no matter the weather

Daddy's the best at buying our shoes and our dresses

And he's such a good sport to play prince to our princesses

And we love to ride on his shoulders so high

When we pick out our pumpkin or watch fireworks in the sky

We like to build castles at the beach in the sand

And getting thrown in the air is always in demand

We go to our church that is so far away

And then to the mall where we could ride the carousel all day!

Our Daddy is the best and we just wanted to say

We love you so much...

Happy Father's Day!

The Father's Day that wasn't so Happy...

2011-06-19T01:52:00.129-04:00

If you would have asked me how I would have liked to spend Father's Day, I would have said with Jason sleeping in, then going to a really cool restaurant for brunch and then him playing a round of golf or just relaxing, topped off with a really yummy home-cooked meal. However, it was not my day and Jason said that he honestly wanted to get up and go to church and then just grill out- he wanted an easy, relaxing day with the girls. So... we last minute decided to hang out with the Bishops at their pool and grill out hamburgers and hot dogs while the kids enjoyed the water. Well, I'm sure like most couples, in our parenting world, Daddy is the fun one at the pool and Mommy is... not so much. I don't take it personally, we all have our strengths. But I feel bad, because what should have been a relaxing day for Jason started with rushing around trying to throw all of our pool stuff together and still make it to church on time, and then when we got to the pool, all the kids wanted to play with their Daddy's. So, Jason and Ben spent most of the afternoon lifting and throwing heavy toddlers around the pool- and then, they even grilled our lunch for us!

Later that evening, on top of all that, I ended up having horrible stomach pains (which ended up being a ruptured ovarian cyst) and I could barely even stand- so Jason ended up handling the girls and getting them into bed while I was incapacitated.

On a day when he could have rightfully been selfish- he was selfless. On a day that he could have been tired and complaining- he was supportive and kind. On a day that he could have been unhappy- he was smiling...all day. He was a father, in every sense of the word. And we are so, so lucky that this amazing man, who normally gets little to no credit, is in our world.

Happy Father's Day- hopefully next year will be a little "happier" for you :) Thank you, for all that you do...

Love you,

Your Girls

Happy Birthday Megan!

2011-06-16T01:49:00.018-04:00

Happy 10th Birthday to our next door neighbor Megan! All the girls had so much fun sneaking over through the basement and creeping up the stairs to surprise her on her birthday just hours after they came back home from a vacation in Colorado.

We are so lucky to have such sweet and thoughtful neighbors and I can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays and make many more memories with them...

The Leotard Obsession

2011-06-14T01:38:00.006-04:00

Some kids are attached to their snugglies or lovies, some kids can't sleep without their blankies, some kids love their stuffed animals- Caitlin has recently gotten attached to her... gymnastics leotard. That's right, her leotard. I'm not sure how the attachment started, but it has moved into a full blown obsession. Caitlin must be wearing, holding or at the very least be within sight of her leotard.

A few weeks ago, Caitlin was so excited that it was gymnastics day that she wanted to put on her leotard in the morning and there was no talking her out of it. But then, she wanted to wear it all day the next day and the next day and the day after that!

Since Caitlin has never been attached to anything, I'm not sure how long this obsession will last. I guess as far as attachments go, this one is pretty harmless.

Now, I have to sneak into her room after she is asleep and steal her leotard from her bed and return it before the morning in order to wash it! :)

Caitlin's leotard even joins us at the table for meals!

And she normally keeps it in her clutches as she eats...

Caitlin~ this is just one more reason that you put a smile on my face! I love, love, love laughing with you and learning all of your adorable quirks and I can't wait to see what you will come up with next!

Our BIG Girl!

2011-06-11T13:13:00.016-04:00

Along with being on swim team, having sleep-overs and owning American Girl dolls, Ava has been asking to get her ears pierced! Every time I turn around, Ava looks and acts older- where is the pause button??

I have always said that Ava could get her ears pierced when she wants to get them done- little did I know it would be when she was so young... my words have come back to haunt me. I wonder how many times this will happen with the girls in the future? :)

I was 5 when I got my ears pierced, so I guess 4 isn't that far off. Jason and I wanted it to be a surprise for Ava, so after attending a birthday party, I told Ava we were going to meet Daddy and Caitlin at the mall to do some shopping and have dinner. We met them right in front of Claire's and then told Ava the real reason we were there.

She was so excited... and not nervous at all!! I was WAY more nervous about how she would react once those piercing guns got near her ears. However, we warned her that the sound would be loud and it wouldn't hurt any more than getting a shot at the doctor's office, and it seemed to work. She didn't flinch or cry at all! What a BIG girl!

This was taken right after they did it... you can tell by the look on her face that she wasn't quite sure how to react. Then as soon as we told her how beautiful her new earrings looked and what a big girl she was, she started smiling and showing off her ears.

To me, Ava looks like she could be 8 years old in this picture... I would love for time to SLOW down! I don't want my little girl to grow up too fast. But... at the same time, I am SO proud of Ava and what a strong and confident person she is becoming.

Now with all the attention Ava is getting over her ears, Caitlin is asking to get her ears pierced too!

No way, babe- you have to wait until you're at least 4 :)

Swim Team

2011-06-07T13:07:00.009-04:00

Ava has been asking to be on the swim team for the past few weeks. She first got the idea from the big girls in our neighborhood- they are all on the West Hampton swim team together and they talk about practice or their swim meets all the time. When I was growing up, I was on my neighborhood's swim team from kindergarten until some time in high school- I loved it! So of course, I would love for Ava to have the same experience as I did. However, we looked into the rules and you actually have to be 5 by the time the season starts to be eligible to swim. Since we have to wait until next year, we thought it would be fun to go and watch our friends in a swim meet so that Ava could see what it was all about.

Our friends, Lexi and Kyle were swimming in a meet in the neighborhood next to ours, so it was the perfect time to check it out. Kyle is on Ava's list of boyfriends- he rotates at the top with Lincoln depending on the day. I think they look pretty cute together! :)

Ava adores Lexi, too!

Lexi was showing off her newest lost tooth...

Caitlin was not as excited about sitting on Kyle's lap as he was! I'm sure when they are older, this picture will induce all sorts of dirty captions...

We watched Kyle and Lexi swim their backstroke events. Ava was cheering so loud for both of them. It was so much fun being a part of the swim team action again- I hope Ava doesn't change her mind before next year... maybe I should have gotten her a second pixie stick to seal the deal! :)

Pool Fun with Friends

2011-06-04T13:01:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, we went over to play in Echo Mill's pool with the Malcoms. Ava and Isa always have a fun time together and Caitlin loves to chase after them! Echo Mill has these fun water fountains and a water slide that the girls loved playing in even more than the pool.

It was all fun and games until Caitlin slipped and fell and scraped her knees on the concrete :( you can see her bright red knees in this picture- she recovered quickly and was up and running again in no time. I guess there is no better healer than thinking that you are going to miss out on the fun!

Of course, the girls discovered how fun it was to fill up the backs of their bathing suits with water. It was pretty funny watching them toddle around with huge swollen backsides!

The water slide was a huge hit- I wish we had one at our pool! I can't count how many times Ava went down this one... at the end of the afternoon, she got brave and went face first and then on her back- White Water here we come!

Daddy is their favorite pool toy! :)

Bode decided that he had had enough of all the girls and went to sleep. He spent most of the afternoon napping- the concrete must be more comfortable than we thought!

Nothing says summer more than BBQ ribs and sweet silver corn on the cob! Yummy!

Bode was enjoying his first taste of BBQ ribs too! Check out the smile on his face :)

Another happy customer :)

I can't get enough of these fun and sun-filled summer days!

Our Tiny Dancer

2011-06-02T19:38:00.006-04:00

Ava's first ballet recital was a huge success! Just as I thought, Ava loved being a part of this big production of over a hundred dancers, she loved watching everyone getting ready and practicing back stage, especially the older girls, and she loved performing for an audience! Instead of shying away and getting nervous from the chaos of back stage, she flourished in it and got really excited to dance.

We definitely went a little heavier on the makeup for the recital and to make things even more special, we brought spray glitter! Everything is better with a little glitter, right? It turned out to be a huge hit and I had a line 10 girls deep of dancers that wanted spray glitter on their hair and arms, too! Ava thought she was pretty cool having some of the older girls asking to borrow some of her glitter :)

I tried to take a video of the performance, but we were sitting too far back- with it being dark in the auditorium, you could barely see the girls on stage, much less make out which one is Ava. She danced beautifully... and by beautifully, I mean in the cutest 4 year old way imaginable. One of the little girls in her class froze on stage and then started crying and their teacher had to run out and carry her off. Most of the little dancers were distracted by the audience, so in comparison, the dress rehearsal ran much smoother and they were much more in sync the day before- but they did get the loudest cheers and a standing ovation from the audience :)

Of course, all of our favorite people came to watch Ava's big stage debut! Ava loved being the center of attention and she especially loved receiving flowers. If not for the fun costumes, I think she would stick with ballet just to receive more bouquets of flowers!

I didn't expect to have tears in my eyes watching Ava dance, but both Jason and I were choked up. I'm not sure if it was watching her be so brave and smile and dance in front of hundreds of people, or if it was just experiencing another big milestone with Ava and realizing that she is growing up SO fast. It was an amazing moment and one that I hope to remember for a long time.

My tiny dancer, I could not be more proud of you and can not wait to see you dance again. Your face beamed and your huge smile sparkled all the way to the back of the auditorium- no matter what, you will always be a star to me!

Ava's Ballet Dress Rehearsal

2011-06-01T19:41:00.008-04:00

This was our little rock star getting ready to go into her first dress rehearsal on a big stage! The recital was held at Kennesaw Mountain High School which is a fairly new school- their auditorium is state of the art and very nice. Ava was a little intimidated at first, but she quickly warmed up to the idea of dancing on such a big stage. Since pictures and video-taping aren't allowed during the real performance, I took full advantage of the dress rehearsal.

Ava loved wearing her ballet costume- it was a Cinderella costume, so what little girl wouldn't love it? It's a good thing it was a little itchy, otherwise I don't think I would have ever gotten her to take it off! We put on make-up and sprayed her hair back into a bun for the first time- I didn't want to over do it and go crazy (with visions of Toddlers and Tiaras flashing through my head) but I quickly learned that Ava looked like she was wearing no make-up at all compared to some of the other girls! Some moms came loaded up with huge caboodles (you know you used to have one!) and piled on the stage make-up- so tomorrow maybe I will be a bit more heavy handed.

Ava was pretty quiet and reserved while we were there- I think she was just trying to observe some of the older girls and take it all in. She wanted to stay after her practice and watch all the other classes perform- she was pretty star-struck watching the company girls warm-up.

When it was their turn to practice, I was so proud! Ava walked right onto the stage like she owned it... but, she was concentrating on her dance so hard that she wasn't smiling at all! Afterwards when I asked her why she didn't smile, she said that no one had told her too- I forgot that some of the most elementary things still have to be taught :) We'll see how the smiling goes tomorrow in front of a couple hundred people...

Her class ran through their dance twice, and then practiced walking out onto the stage in the dark and finding their spots... Ava will be leading the second row!

Kylie is one of the company dancers that helps out with their class. She'll be dancing with the girls on stage tomorrow and will be there just in case. Most of the girls watch her for their cues and what moves to do next and I also think it helps their nerves that she will be out there with them. I am so excited for Ava to have this experience tomorrow! I can't wait to see how she likes performing on stage in front of an audience... Hopefully, I will have a few before and after photos and maybe an i-phone video- we'll see how brave I can be about breaking the rules :)

Break a leg, Ava!!

Good-Bye Mrs. Carmen!

2011-05-27T17:52:00.002-04:00

This Friday we attended a retirement party for Ava's favorite teacher, Mrs. Carmen. All of her past and present students were invited to come. After a slow start, Ava has had a fantastic year with Mrs. Carmen and we are so sad to see her go! She has promised to come back and substitute teach, so hopefully we will still be able to see her around school.

Ava has learned so much from Mrs. Carmen- writing all of her letters and numbers, letter sounds, how to write her first and last name, all her colors, numbers and days of the weeks in Spanish... She has given Ava so much confidence when it comes to learning, which is a priceless gift! We were happy to be there to honor Mrs. Carmen on her last day- I only selfishly wish she would have stayed two more years so that Caitlin could experience her as a teacher!

mmm... Publix cake! :)

Anthony is one of Ava's friends from her class

Ava and some of her boy friends from Mrs. Carmen's class- Danny, Anthony and Cameron

The kids patiently waited for cake! I was pretty proud, they waited almost an hour until it was cut... Caitlin on the other hand kept trying to sneak a finger in the icing (she gets that from me!!)

Good-Bye Mrs. Carmen, we will miss you! Enjoy a relaxing summer :)

Caitlin is 23 months!

2011-05-26T01:12:00.006-04:00

Caitlin is 23 months old and about to be a big 2 year old!! While I am nervous about hitting the two's and all the terrible things they are supposed to bring, I am excited to get to know Caitlin even better and all of her opinions and likes and dis-likes. This month, her vocabulary has exploded and she is getting really confident in asking (or demanding) what she wants or doesn't want. She has started to put together short sentences and majority of them start with "I"... I drink, I have it, I sip, I want... the other ones usually center around the rest of the family- Mommy's jeans, Daddy's shoes, My House, Ava's boo-boo, Heidi's ball. She will repeat anything you tell her to and we have been working really hard on her manners lately. A please still has to be prompted most of the time, but she has gotten really consistent with saying thank you. In fact, I have to laugh because she's learned to say "No, thank you, I'm fine" if she doesn't want or want to do something. If I'll ask her to put on her shoes to go outside, she says "no, thank you, I'm fine", if I ask her to help clean up her play room, she says "no, thank you, I'm fine." I'm sure I lose all credibility because it makes me laugh! It's hard to be a stern parent when you are laughing :)

Caitlin has gotten so much more affectionate. She gives unprompted hugs and kisses to everyone in the family- but in the same token she has gotten more opinionated and stubborn, too. She is very loud about wanting the same toy that Ava has and will take it out of Ava's hands. Just yesterday, we were in Publix and Caitlin wanted to carry her own basket. Then she wanted to carry the ice cream in her basket and then pitched a fit because she couldn't pick up the heavy basket and my offering to help only made her scream louder! I can already tell these next few months are going to be fun ones filled with two year old drama :)

Ms. Independent sleeps really well- she wakes up happy and babbling for a few minutes before she starts calling "Mommy, where are you?" If I don't get to her fast enough, she moves on to "Daddy, where are you?" she has even occasionally gotten to "Sissy...?"

She still loves carrying around her dolls, but is not attached to any particular one- it changes from Mickey Mouse to lamb to Elmo. However, if she falls and hurts herself, she only wants snuggly and then she asks for "ice pack... ice pack!" Apparently, Ariel ice packs make everything better!

My sweet girl loves to dance and sing just like her sister- her current favorite is "If your Happy and you Know it" and a song called "Tractor, Tractor." She dances around the house singing both of these songs, doing the hand motions and as soon as the car is started we flip back and forth between CD's to hear both of the songs. That is my favorite time with Caitlin- when she is dancing and singing and jumping and squealing with laughter at something her sister did. When I hear Ava and Caitlin giggling or chasing each other, it takes my breath away at how fortunate I am to have two happy and healthy beautiful girls.

Caitlin~ your good moments FAR outweigh your bad ones and I love each and every part of you. You are my Sunshine! Love, Mommy

Lauri's Bridal Shower

2011-05-22T00:01:00.012-04:00

All of us bridesmaids threw a gorgeous shower for Lauri this Sunday and it was a big success. We had such a fun time celebrating Lauri and Marc's upcoming wedding!! Everyone had a wonderful time, Lauri truly enjoyed herself and received some amazing gifts and it was a great way to meet some of Lauri and Marc's friends and family before the wedding. Only 6 more weeks to go until her big day- I can't wait!

After knowing Lauri for over 20 years, it is going to take me a while to get used to her new last name! :)

The cake was gorgeous and delicious...

We had enough food to feed all 40 people and their neighbors... but next time we will know to just order a double order of the chicken salad from Zoe's Kitchen!

Me, Lauri, Kelly and Julia

Lauri and the Mother of the Bride or the Matron of Honor

Lauri's sister-in-law Jennifer and her sister and sister-in-law...

Did you get all that??

Lauri, her mom and her mother-in-law to be!

Can you tell which two are related? :)

All the hostesses with the mostest-es...

The future Mr. and Mrs. Teitelman!

Marc showed up right at the end of the shower... you could tell he did not like being the center of 40 people's attention, but everyone was happy he came. I can't wait to celebrate on the big day!

Lauri's Bachelorette Surprise!

2011-05-21T00:37:00.008-04:00

Yes, that's right... Lauri's bachelorette party was a complete surprise! Lauri had told all of us that she didn't want any kind of a bachelorette party and her mom decided to throw one for her anyway! It was pretty fun watching Lauri squirm and send dirty looks to her mom throughout the night :) Lauri and her mom and sister-in-law went to get their nails done and then in walks all of us! It was a great idea to meet at the nail salon and relax and chat with all of the girls... I felt bad for the other patrons of the nail salon who definitely picked the wrong time to get their nails done- we were monopolizing all of the manicurists time and attention :)

I bought this "Soon to be Mrs. Teitelman" sash as a gag gift for Lauri. I was very surprised that she wore it most of the night! Ok, her matron of honor forced her too, but... Lauri was a good sport!

After mani's and pedi's, we went to Pappasitos for margaritas- yummy!

And then on to the strip clubs!

Just kidding... not that kind of night :)

I loved having some good girl time and even though Lauri may not admit it, I know she loved the evening too, surprise and all...

Does it get any better that mani's and margaritas??

Caitlin's Gymanstics Awards Ceremony

2011-05-20T00:58:00.005-04:00

This morning was Caitlin's last class in gymnastics. We have truly had fun in the mom and me class with Ms. Jennifer. I have really enjoyed having this special time each week with Caitlin. She started in January and has really improved in 5 short months. When we started, she never wanted to stay on whatever apparatus we were working on, she always made a bee-line straight for the trampoline. Now, she only gets distracted by the trampoline every once in a while- I don't blame her- the trampoline is my favorite too! This summer she will be moving up into the two year old class all by herself... sniff, sniff...

Caitlin knew exactly what to do when she got her medal... hands in the air and TaDa!!

Giving a big hug to Ms. Jennifer

Caitlin loved being clapped for... so she kept her hands in the air... so everyone kept clapping

This is her best friend at gymnastics, Berkley. Her mom, Katie and I are hoping to keep the girls in the same class in the summer. And yes... their hands are still in the air :)

I am so proud of my sweet little girl... she is definitely a natural!

TaDa!!

Pumpkin Carving!

2010-10-24T01:22:00.004-04:00

This was the first year that we actually carved our pumpkin from the pumpkin patch! In years past, we thought Ava was too little or we ran out of time... but this year we bought the kit from Target and dove right in!

Ava was pretty grossed out by the "guts" of the pumpkin! She only helped pull out a few handfuls and then she decided she had done her part.

Much to our surprise, Caitlin loved the pumpkin slime! She would have played in that bowl of seeds for an hour if we had let her.

Notice Ava in the background watching Spookily, the Square Pumpkin... pumpkin carving was way too boring for her!

She tasted the pumpkin, threw the pumpkin, drew pictures on the table with it... yes, I know it is not particularly 'safe' to let Caitlin sit on our kitchen table :)

Note for next year: pumpkin slime does not come off with just wipes...

Kitchen sink bath may be needed!

Our final product turned out so cute!

Ava was so proud of our pumpkin, even though Daddy did most of the work :)

Halloween is almost here!

A Visit to the Farm

2010-10-23T02:12:00.009-04:00

It was an absolutely perfect Saturday in October and Jason and I took the girls up to Ellijay to visit some family friends on their farm. Mr. and Mrs. Donath had given us an open invitation to come and visit and we were happy to finally take them up on their offer! We had a great time feeding and petting all the animals, taking a walk around their land to take in all the gorgeous scenery and rocking on the front porch and enjoying the breeze. We finished off our visit with a wonderful meal.

To the Donaths~ thank you for being so hospitable and opening up your home and farm to us! We hope that it won't be another 2 years before we come see you again!

Caitlin has just recently learned most of the farm animals and the noises they make. "E-I-E-I-O" gets sung a lot around our house. Caitlin was a little nervous around the animals at first, but once she warmed up, she was so excited! It was truly a great moment watching Caitlin realize these animals were real and she could actually touch them!

Dolly the goat wanted to get some crackers too!

Ava thought that it was so cool to touch a "real" egg straight from the chickens' pen! She held onto that egg for most of the day and then even took it to school for show and tell on Monday.

The Donaths sent us home with a dozen fresh eggs- they were delicious!!

Stopping for a picture with Daddy...

... and then they are off again! Notice Ava is still holding on to that egg!

Ava loved feeding crackers to the momma goats-

this momma goat got her horns stuck in the wire fence!

Onto feeding Gilbert the donkey!

He loves Krispy Kreme doughnuts, too :)

Bosco

Peaches was Ava's favorite cow... she was so pretty!

Caitlin was enamored by the cows... we stood by this fence for quite a while!

There is nothing like enjoying the fresh air and the sunshine!

Such a big girl in the rocking chair all by herself!

I love this one!

Stopping to smell the roses... or geraniums!

Finally, the ducks!

Love this sweet smile

Picking what looks like the very last batch of apples from the tree

What an amazing day! We can't wait to go back!

Pumpkin Patch Picture Comparison

2010-10-19T01:15:00.007-04:00

I love watching how we all change from year to year! Since the Pumpkin Patch is an annual thing, it was easy to look back at pictures from previous years. Enjoy!

The Family Pic

2007

2008

2009

2010

The girls and their Daddy

2007

2008

2009

2010

Me and my Little Pumpkins

2007

2008

2010

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T15:15:00.005-04:00

Aaaah...the pumpkin patch- one my favorite annual fall things to do! This was the 3rd time we have gone to Berry Patch Farms with the Malcoms and I look forward to it every year. I love buying matching shirts for the girls, going on a hayride, finding the perfect pumpkin and taking gorgeous fall family pictures where one will hopefully be good enough to make it onto the Christmas card...

Ha! And then my fantasy stops and reality sets in!! I'm not sure why I build this experience up in my mind every year but this pumpkin patch visit definitely did not go according to plan :)

First of all, it was HOT! No seriously- it was really, really hot! It felt like July in the middle of October! We were all pretty miserable in our jeans, and the kids had on long sleeves. When we went to pick out our pumpkin, we felt like we were baking out in the pumpkin patch in the scorching sun with no shade in sight.

Then, we as parents made an excellent decision and thought that the kids could make it through church and going out to eat and then on to the Pumpkin Patch with a little tiny nap. Smart, right?

Once we got there, Ava wanted her face painted... and instead of choosing a cute little pumpkin, she chose a big scary ghost that took up the whole side of her face dashing all my hopes and dreams of a pretty Christmas card picture.

Exhibit A: The Scary Ghost!

Ava looks like she could fall asleep in the chair if she has to sit there much longer!

Caitlin loved wearing her sunglasses!

Peer pressure is the best... Isa wanted a ghost after Ava got one. Sorry Jen and Jeremy! :)

Caitlin and Daddy

Daddy and Ava enjoying the hayride! At least it was shaded :)

Isa and Mommy

Caitlin wanted to check out and pick up every single pumpkin!

This is the best I could get of all three girls- they wouldn't sit still long enough to get closer together and smile!

Ditto, for this one

This picture makes me laugh because it is really the best one of the bunch

The Malcoms actually got a decent picture~

Welcome baby Bode to our annual pumpkin patch adventure!

So much for pictures with Mommy and her girls...

At least Caitlin is somewhat in the frame :)

After I just let go of all the expectations I had of the Pumpkin Patch, I just had to laugh... it really was funny and one of those priceless parent experiences that everyone has been through. These pictures show a slice of time in our lives where everything is not picture perfect and definitely a lot more realistic than a perfectly posed Christmas card shot... maybe I will end up putting one of these on our Christmas card after all! :)

There's always next year...right guys?

The Best Birthday Ever

2010-10-10T15:21:00.011-04:00

I have to give credit, where credit is due... my husband is the best!

He planned the perfect 30th birthday surprise for me- and I was actually surprised! Probably the first time ever that something was completely a surprise- I'm pretty good at picking up on clues and figuring things out. Jason is still mad to this day that I got my nails done and bought a new dress for a dinner that turned into our engagement dinner :)

While we were giving our babysitter last minute instructions, an Escalade with a driver pulled into our driveway! Then instead of heading to the Melting Pot, which I had originally thought was our plan, our driver went to pick up Tony and Alina, my brother and sister-in-law. Then to top things off, the driver headed to Marietta and picked up my best friend Lauri and her boyfriend Marc. No one would tell me where we were headed, but we started on our way towards Atlanta.

We took the most twisted and backwards way to Buckhead and our driver ended up dropping us off in front of The St. Regis for drinks. We had a few delicious cocktails and then walked over to Chops for an even more delicious dinner.

Jason and I have gone to a lot of swanky and cool restaurants in Atlanta. In fact, one of our favorite things to do together is to go try out new restaurants and we try to go to a new one every chance we get. But for our anniversary, we always come back to Chops- it is always and consistently a great meal and a good time. Their spinach salad is the best salad I have ever had. EVER. I love it and have always said I would rather skip the steak and have two portions of their salad!! Yum!

Sitting with two of my favorite boys at the St. Regis

What a hottie... of course, I mean Jason!

The lovely ladies

Family Fun Night...

nothing brings you closer than drinking together :)

Sharing an amazing bottle of wine, creme brulee, SPINACH SALAD, being surrounded by my favorite people that I love the most... what more could I ask for? What a great way to spend the first night of my 30's... I can already tell this will be the best decade of my life yet!

Georgia Tech Homecoming- Go Jackets!!

2010-10-08T00:00:00.005-04:00

What is one of my favorite things about the fall?? College football!!

Ok, ok... I'll be honest- I get way more excited about the tailgating part of football than the game itself. But... I have always loved game day and the excitement and fun of tens of thousands of people on campus. My favorite game of the Tech season is Homecoming and I loved sharing this experience with the girls. The fraternity and sorority houses are pomped and decorated, the Wreck Parade is always fun to watch (even though we haven't made it to this in several years- it starts way too early in the morning!!) and there are always good friends coming in town that we haven't seen in years! I LOVE it! I hope that we will be able to continue this tradition each year and I can't wait until next year when hopefully Caitlin will be able to sit through a game and Tech will have a winning season... Go Jackets!

The girls had so much fun playing in the sand with their friends, and our godsons, Christian and Collin~ hopefully, we are looking at the future generation of yellow jackets!

Watching them play together, it's easy to imagine them partying at the Pi Kapp beach party together in about 15 years :)

Tuckered out after a long day in the hot sun... good thing Uncle Tony was there to give Ava a ride through campus!

Caitlin is 15 months!

2010-09-26T23:58:00.011-04:00

The months are moving faster and faster and I can hardly keep up with these monthly updates! Caitlin is continuing to grow and learn and laugh and play and run ALL over the place. She does not sit still and I am having trouble taking any pictures, much less any that truly capture Caitlin and her fun personality. Maybe I should switch to video for the next few months... :)

Still no teeth yet, but she does love brushing her non-existent ones! She thinks she is such a big girl standing on her stool in the bathroom and copying mommy and daddy... either that or she just loves the taste of her bubblegum flavored toothpaste :) Every month, we think that this will be the month that we will start weaning Caitlin off of her paci- but then every month without teeth, I think that it is cruel to take it away and not give her comfort if her gums are hurting!

Caitlin is so curious... about everything! Her favorite question is still "what's that?" She loves touching things she's not supposed to, opening any cabinet that she can get into, pulling drawers open, and "tasting" all types of things- sand, lotions, bubbles, dirt, leaves, any toys that look interesting... I have not officially seen her put a bug in her mouth, but I have seen her spit something out that looked suspiciously bug-ish- YUCK!

As much as Caitlin is moving, there are times where she will take a step back from whatever is going on and just watch. You can see her observing and taking it all in and soaking it all up like a little sponge. I am so looking forward to the day when she can tell me what she's thinking about!

As usual, Caitlin is running! Come and get me, Daddy!

My fearless little girl loves being thrown in the air, swung in the air, twirled around, spun round and round until she falls down dizzy. She has just learned ring around the rosies and loves getting the whole family to do it with her... over and over... and over :)

Daddy is hands down the best twirler, swinger, spinner... Mommy just can't compete!

While Caitlin is well on her way to toddlerhood, there are still a few glimpses of the cuddly, snuggly baby that she was just a short time ago. My favorite time of the day with her is right when she wakes up in the morning- we go downstairs and get some juice and cuddle on the couch for about a half hour while we both take our time gearing up for the day ahead.

Caitlin, we love you more and more each day!!

Happy Birthday Kaitley!

2010-09-26T15:47:00.003-04:00

The day after we got back from the beach, we went to the Gymnastics Academy of Atlanta to celebrate Kaitley's 3rd birthday. Ava loves gymnastics and since we are taking a gymnastics hiatus in favor of ballet, Ava was super excited to put on her hot pink leotard and go to the gym!

I loved Kaitley's cake- so cute and colorful!

Ava loving every minute of the party

Caitlin had fun at the party too-

we couldn't keep her off of the trampoline...

or out of the pit! :)

Our future gymnast in the making...

Happy Birthday, Kaitley!! We hope your 3rd year is filled with much love and laughter!

Hilton Head 2010

2010-09-25T22:17:00.006-04:00

We took our second family vacation this year to Hilton Head, South Carolina for some relaxing days in the sun, building castles in the sand and many, many competitive games of Sequence at night! Since we had not been there in years, our vacation buddies- Kim and Len, showed us the way around the island.

I was happily surprised that what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, actually was... a relaxing vacation. With a 4 year old, 3 year old and a 16 month year old, you just never know how it will turn out- what if it rains everyday? What if the girls hate the water? What if we get sunburned the first day there and are miserable the rest of the trip? (I know this one from first hand experience- not fun!) Of course, none of my "what-if" worrying came to pass. The weather was gorgeous every single day, all of the girls swam like little fish, and no one got sunburned.

Our condo was perfect and right on the beach- the picture above is the view from our porch! There were 3 bedrooms which meant one for Kim and Len, one for Jason and I with Caitlin in her pack n play and Emmie and Ava shared a room. This was the first time that Ava slept in a big girl bed and luckily we had no falls! There was only one day when the girls got on each others nerves and there was some crying and some separating of Emmie and Ava (ya' know- typical girl stuff) but the rest of the time was a breeze.

The first morning there, the girls were excited and woke up early. We were all fed, dressed, sunscreen lathered and out on the beach by 9:30, which is way too early when you are on beach time :)

My sweet family- aren't I a lucky girl?

Caitlin was a bathing beauty- she loved the sand and even seemed to like the taste of it :)

Our Little Mermaid

We all had fun creating Ava's tail. Once it was completed, she stayed this way only long enough for a picture and then she was off!

The daddies are hard at work building some pretty awesome princess castles for the girls- they came complete with their own connecting moats... the only problem is, where are the princesses??

Caitlin proclaimed this one for herself- she earned the nickname of monster after she tore through, sat on, and smashed the castles

Emmie loved being an honorary big sister... I'm just saying! :)

Vogue and Elle- here she comes!

Posing in their bikinis- I see many Spring Break pictures looking exactly like this in their future!

One of the only times I made it in some pictures with the girls... I had to post it to actually prove I was on the trip! :) One of the pitfalls from having the camera attached to your face all the time!

My sweet girls- Caitlin is ready to get down and head to the beach!

I loved this cute bathing suit. It was Ava's- I am so happy we were able to use it again!

Enjoying some girl time

While we were at the beach, we spent some time at the pool everyday. Ava really improved her swimming skills and swam across the length of the pool all by herself. I was so impressed! She has come such a long way since the beginning of the summer...

The Lindros family enjoying some pool time together!

Ava loves hanging out with her Daddy in the pool- as you can tell, he is so much fun!

Making wishes in the fountain after eating yummy gelato!!

We wish for more gelato...

I tried to get a cute picture of the two girls together (I was thinking Christmas card photos), but this was the best I could get. On to plan B... :)

Kickboard fun!

Posing... and asking for some fruit snacks, I think :)

Midway through the week, the daddies went to play golf. When they got back, the girls wanted to play too! It was probably not the best idea to go right before dinner- it took forever to play through 18 holes and everyone was getting hungry. Ava could not understand why she wasn't supposed to just pick up her ball and walk it to the hole- it took her a while to catch on to the game. I will say, she did actually hit a legitimate hole in one (beginner's luck!!) only she thought that it was called a "homerun!" She has a lot of fun telling anyone that will ask about her homerun in golf!

Caitlin just had fun walking around on the greens and stealing the pretty balls:) Jason and Len won't be able to take their scores too seriously on this round!

Emmie was sitting pretty...

Again with the big sister thing... hint, hint you guys! :)

Taking a walk up to the general store for ice cream- you gotta love the beach where it is perfectly acceptable to eat ice cream several times a day, every day... when can we go back??

Taking a snack break

Emmie and Ava love

Caitlin was a daddy's girl walking on the beach

Kim and Len

Miss Independence

It's not a true beach trip until you chase a football into the water with your clothes on-

I don't think the sky looks real in this picture

This must be why she's a daddy's girl

Too tuckered out to smile!

On one of our last mornings there, we ventured out to Sunset Cafe to eat with the locals. The place was packed and we had to wait outside until our table was ready- Ava did not appreciate having her picture taken of the outfit she so proudly put together. Polka dots and giraffe prints... maybe she will start a new trend??

You have to pick your battles, folks... this is one I chose not to fight :)

Last day out on the beach together- Ava was brave enough to finally touch a sand dollar!

"bye, bye beach"

What an amazing week and memorable trip- we can't wait to go back next year!

Caitlin's First Date

2010-09-12T03:19:00.012-04:00

Logan Haunson came over for a dinner date with Caitlin today. Caitlin was so excited to see him that she shared her favorite riding toy with no problems. They scandously swapped drool over some shared toys and then sat down to a lovely appetizer of yogurt melts.

Caitlin was so glad to play with such a handsome younger man :)

Caitlin was showing Logan around the house

What a cutie pie! Jason and I totally approve of this relationship

Since most of our playdates are with Ava's friends, Caitlin was ecstatic to have someone close to her age to play with!

Of course, Jason and I were also happy to see and visit with Melissa! Since Melissa and her husband Trey moved to Florida, we don't get to see them as often as we would like... but we will take playdates whenever we can get them! Caitlin is already counting down to the next one...

Ava's First Sleepover

2010-09-03T02:32:00.009-04:00

For the past few weeks, Ava has been asking to spend the night with Alina at Gigi's house. I'm not sure how or when she got this idea in her head, but she kept bringing it up every few days. Alina was so sweet to play along and we finally came up with a date that would work for everyone's busy schedule!

Gigi picked Ava up and all of her bags on Friday afternoon. Ava packed her sleeping bag and pillow, several snugglies, her DVD player, 3 movies, snacks, games, princess dresses, several changes of clothes and pajamas. She was ready for anything!

Ava was so excited to go spend the night, I was not worried at all that she would want to come home- plus Alina, the best aunt ever, was there to keep her occupied. I have her to thank for all the pictures she took :)

Picking flowers for Mommy with Gigi :)

Telling late night ghost stories- spooky!

I am so impressed- Ava even got a bath!

Popcorn and the Twelve Dancing Princesses- two of Ava's favorite things!

Snuggling with her favorite aunt

Getting sleepy...

Bright eyed and ready to play Saturday morning!

Girls Night Out

2010-08-31T02:07:00.002-04:00

My best friend Lauri and I go on girls night outs every couple of months and every time I leave, Ava begs to go with us. Finally, we planned a girls night out for Ava. Ava picked the restaurant and what she wanted to do. We went to Johnny's pizza and Coldstone for dessert! At dinner we talked about school and boys and her girl friends at school- I think Ava really enjoyed being the center of attention and hanging out with the big girls. After ice cream, we walked around the Avenues and shopped. Ava loved Charming Charlie's- one of the new accessory stores at the Avenues. She picked out the boots below and tried them on for us- if they had them in her size we would have bought them :)

Ava is already working on a shoe obsession- aren't they cute??

I can't wait to spend many more Girls Nights Out with Ava!

Now we just need Caitlin to get a little older so she can join us :)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Princess Isa!

2010-08-28T02:26:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, we went over to the Malcom's to celebrate Isa's 3rd birthday with a princess party! Ava spent most of the time outside with Isa and the rest of the kids in the bounce house and Caitlin had fun playing inside with Lillian, a little girl who's only a few months older. After most of the guests had left, Ava and Isa put on their princess dresses and played with all of Isa's new toys. I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture above, but those are purple and turquoise extensions in their hair! They looked gorgeous :)

Ava has my sweet tooth and gets really excited when the cake time comes at any party- this picture made me laugh because you see Ava licking her lips at that huge princess cake! Yum!

Caitlin loved playing with all of Isa's toys- peekaboo!

Rob and Colleen- still cute together!! I'm not sure if they will appreciate their picture on the post, but I love that I captured such a sweet moment.

The girls were so sweet playing together- Caitlin followed Lillian around for most of the party. Lillian was my cake icing buddy- I was sitting on the floor eating cake and she kept walking up to me and signing "please" for another bite of icing. What a sweetheart!

Caitlin didn't have a princess dress, but she was sporting her princess-in-training t-shirt!

TRAIN at Chastain!

2010-08-27T02:24:00.004-04:00

Chastain is one of our favorite concert venues and we love Train! We were able to get tickets at the last minute and all the pieces fell into place for Jason and I to enjoy a date night out. We were both laughing on the way down to Buckhead that this was the first time in over 3 years that we had been in the car together with no kids and no car seats! It was strange looking in the backseat~ it felt like something was missing.

Following our Chastain tradition, we stopped at OK Cafe to pick up some food for dinner to accompany the chocolate covered strawberries and wine that we brought with us- yum! Train put on one of the best concerts I've seen since Billy Joel and Elton John. Maybe it was the wine, but we were both standing on our seats singing at the top of our lungs with everyone else in the audience. What an amazing concert and a fun night out!

Thanks honey for being the designated driver :)

Caitlin is 14 months old!

2010-08-26T00:49:00.001-04:00

Caitlin continues to amaze me at how much she can learn and change in just a few days. Several times this month, I have gone into her room to get her in the morning and I swear she has grown overnight! She loves hugging and kissing her baby dolls and her little Mickey Mouse. She carries them around from room to room and they usually ride in the car with us. She is into everything she can get into- drawers that are not tot-locked, the pantry, the refrigerator- and pulling out or re-arranging the contents. She keeps us on our toes!

She loves spending time outside swinging, coloring with chalk or just taking Heidi for walks in her little red wagon. Often, she is running around after Ava trying to join in all the big girl things that Ava and our neighbors are doing. She loves giving high-fives to anyone that will indulge her and she is becoming so expressive with her hands when she "talks".

Caitlin continues to be a great sleeper. She is into a solid routine of an hour nap in the morning and an hour nap in the afternoon, going to bed at 8 and waking up at 7am. Several times this month, I tried to stretch her out in the morning and skip the morning nap, hoping for a longer afternoon nap, but to no avail. Once she fell asleep in her high chair during lunch and the other time she only slept for an hour and then was super cranky for the rest of the afternoon. I guess she is pretty set in her routine for now...

Eating is a constant adventure. She refuses to be fed by anyone but herself and wants to eat like a big girl like Ava. We have some very messy meals around here! She is getting good about poking her food with her fork and scooping with a spoon.

She babbles and talks and screeches all the time! She is getting good at mimicking words and expressions and loves to walk around "talking" on my cell phone. Some of her favorite words are "Hi!" and "Daddy" and she says "What's that?" and points to the item.

Sitting in the refrigerator is one of her favorite things to do. She takes the juice and milk out of the door and re-arranges them over and over until I get worried about the other food going bad. I keep a bowl of washed grapes in the fruit drawer and she will go into the drawer and pick the grapes off of the vine herself.

As each month flies by, I am hoping to find a way to slow time down. Every day is different and crazy but so much fun. I am so grateful that I am able to spend everyday with this sweet little girl~ I love you Caitlin!!

Happy Shower Lauren!

2010-08-21T03:02:00.001-04:00

My friend Lauren is expecting a sweet little girl this October. I had so much fun attending a shower for her and baby Isabel. Lauren is quite the fashionista, so she was inundated with adorable and stylish clothes- Isabel will definitely win best dressed!

Some of the other moms that were attending the shower and I had fun sharing little bits of parenting advice with Lauren at the shower. There were quite a few grandmothers at the shower and they were amazed at all the modern "gadgets" we use today :)

I can't wait for little Isabel Marie to arrive!

Our Little Dancer...!

2010-08-20T02:52:00.004-04:00

...started ballet today!

And she is sooo excited about it! I'm not sure if it is the influence of Angelina Ballerina or The Twelve Dancing Princesses, but Ava has been asking for a while to take ballet classes. She was finally old enough to start this year, so we signed her up! We took a trip to Center Stage on the square to get professional dance wear and get her fitted for ballet slippers. She thought it was so cool to be at Center Stage and see all the older girls that were there getting fitted for toe shoes. Ava was too excited to sit still for any pictures, but hopefully I'll get some good ones to post later on.

I was always in gymnastics growing up, so this is a totally new world for me. I will have to learn how to put Ava's hair up in a proper bun and I am nervous about just dropping her off to go into a class behind closed doors. I have to wait until November to be able to watch a class! Ava will dance in her first recital next year in May and I am so excited to see what she has learned. At the very least, maybe ballet will teach my sweet clumsy girl to have a little more grace :)

So excited... she was rocking back and forth in her new ballet slippers waiting for the doors to open!

Happy 4th Birthday Christian!

2010-08-15T02:47:00.010-04:00

On Sunday, we got to join Christian in celebrating his 4th birthday at the Stars Soccer Club in Alpharetta. It happened to be one of the hottest days so far in August, but none of the kids seemed to mind. They would stop long enough to drink a juice box and then go back to running after the soccer ball. Ava had a blast, she was so excited to wear her soccer socks! Maybe she will be a future soccer player, who knows?

Happy Birthday Christian! We Love You!

Christian and Ava in action

Caitlin loved the soccer ball- she wouldn't let it out of her hands

This was the best I could do for a picture of the two of them together- they wouldn't stop long enough to get a decent picture!

After eating cake, most of the guests went home. Ava wanted to stay and help Christian open his gifts, she was the official toy tester. Notice their poor little red faces :)

I had to get a pic of Caitlin's sweaty faux-hawk- I loved her new do!

Finding Nemo with Friends

2010-08-13T02:24:00.004-04:00

On Friday night, Ava and I met with Lincoln and his Dad for another chaperoned date night. This time it was for a showing of Finding Nemo at Lincoln's church. Lincoln also invited another couple from their school, Addison and Luke. Addison has been one of Ava and Lincoln's friends since she was an infant. It was such a fun night of shared popcorn and fruit snacks!

Luke didn't make it past the first 30 minutes of the movie- he finished his bag of popcorn and told his mom that he wanted to go home. So, for the rest of the show, Ava, Addison and Lincoln played musical chairs and talked and laughed. Thank goodness there were only other little kids in attendance so no one seemed to mind the extra soundtrack.
We tried to get a few pictures of all three of the kids after the movie was over, but Lincoln was either too tired or tired of being the third wheel to these giggling little girls- he refused to get in the picture. Check out his pose in the picture below! I'm sure when he is older he will realize his mistake- not to have gotten picture proof that he went on a date with two pretty girls :)

Camping Day

2010-08-10T02:03:00.006-04:00

This summer, Ava has had an amazing pre-school teacher! Ms. Debbie has created all sorts of new and fun activities and themes in her classroom. The first two weeks was Under the Sea and she actually built an aquarium that the kids could go into and then they had an ice cream week where she built an ice cream truck that the kids on Friday got to "sell" ice cream and popsicles to all of the other kids at school. Ms. Debbie has such a tremendous passion for teaching these kids in a fun and exciting environment!

This week is camping week and yes, their classroom is decked in floor to ceiling pine trees complete with a campfire and even a play Coleman grill to cook on! I wish that I had thought to take my camera to school so you can see Ms. Debbie's set design :) On Friday, the kids are asked to bring in their sleeping bags and pillows so that they can roast marshmallows and tell stories around the campfire.

Of course, Ava wanted a sleeping bag for camping day and of course it had to be princess! She was so excited that we even got her a little purple battery operated lantern to take with her. The pictures I took don't really do the story any justice. Ava has slept in her sleeping bag instead of her bed the past few nights, she has napped in it, and now she just wants to lay around in it when she watches TV. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't think about using it to slide down the stairs like I did when I was her age :)

You can see the little purple lantern at the bottom of this picture- it has to follow the sleeping bag wherever it goes and it is on day or night!

Family Pizza Night

2010-08-06T04:52:00.003-04:00

For a long time now, Friday nights have been designated Pizza Night. I'm not sure how or why we started having pizza every Friday night, but Ava really looks forward to it and Caitlin can eat two pieces by herself! We usually end up ordering Papa Johns, but this week Jason bought some fresh pizza dough from Publix to try something different.

Jason has a secret talent of pizza dough tossing- doesn't he look like a professional?

If his other job doesn't work out, at least we have a back-up... :)

Ava is always a huge helper in the kitchen-

here she is crushing some pretzels for the dessert like a pro

Decorating the pizza was Ava's favorite part! She loved sprinkling the cheese and spreading the pepperoni, olives and mushrooms.

Caitlin wanted in on the cooking action- however, she was more interested in the pot holders as leg warmers than in the pizza

Tada!

Our final product turned out delicious and the crust was surprisingly crispy. It was such a nice change to our Friday night pizza tradition and hopefully we will attempt it again. Yum!

Best Friends

2010-08-05T23:47:00.006-04:00

Today Ava told me that Caitlin was her best friend... How did we get so lucky to have such sweet little girls?? It's on days like today that it feels like all is right in the world...

Mommy's Big Helper

2010-08-01T04:44:00.000-04:00

Is it a wonder that I get anything done around here? :)

You should see how she 'helps' with the laundry!

Happy 1st Birthday, Sydney!

2010-07-30T04:18:00.002-04:00

This Saturday, we were double booked with birthday parties so Jason and I split up and took the girls their own separate ways. Caitlin and I went to celebrate her friend Sydney's first birthday. Caitlin had a blast- there was a bucket full of bubbles and bubble wands, sprinklers, and lots of water toys. It was so much fun to watch these newly walking girls toddle around and play with all their friends. Happy Birthday Sweet Sydney!

Caitlin and Sydney have been friends since the very beginning :) Her mommy, Megan and I had many playdates at Monkey Joes while we were both on maternity leave!

Sydney and her mommy, Megan

Eating lunch at the table like a big girl

The birthday girl right before she started digging into that smash cake :)

Lucky 13

2010-07-26T23:50:00.015-04:00

Another month- totally flying by and Caitlin seems to change just as quickly! She is picking up new skills daily and really growing in confidence and personality. She doesn't say very many words yet, but she can definitely communicate what she wants! or better yet what she doesn't want. We read several stories before nap times and bed time. If I choose a book she doesn't want to read, she shakes her head "no" and pushes the book away, if she is done with her meal she has been known to push her plate and the rest of her food off of her high chair! She is completely opinionated... I wonder who she gets that from?? :)

She has taken several steps, but is still pretty wobbly. She is getting bumps and bruises all over from her falls- I have forgotten how scary it is to watch your child try to walk!! At first, I thought that Caitlin was just more of a klutz than Ava was since I couldn't remember Ava having such dramatic falls as Caitlin and then I remembered that we used to hover like helicopters over her to catch her before she fell. Poor little second child... :)

Caitlin is down to one bottle at night, I am anxiously waiting for the first night that I don't have to wash any more bottles, but I know that it will be bitter sweet since that is a major part of her turning into a toddler and no longer being a baby. She still has no teeth and I adore her toothless grin!

She loves to blow kisses, even though she won't perform that trick on command. And, my favorite thing is that Caitlin adores Ava and wants to be doing whatever Ava is doing. She follows her around the house and wants to play with every toy that Ava has- even the one in Ava's hand! We are still working with Caitlin on not grabbing toys and we are having to explain to Ava that it's actually a compliment that Caitlin keeps taking her toys- Ava doesn't quite believe that explanation yet...

Another month gone in a blink of an eye and I am loving every minute of it. I am so grateful that I am able to be at home to watch Caitlin grow and change. What a joy she is to us and I am so blessed to be her mommy. Love you sweet girl!!

Where have we been?

2010-07-25T01:33:00.009-04:00

It all started on a dark and stormy night, the rain was pouring down in sheets, the wind was howling, lightning was flashing in the sky... and then our power went out. The next day when I went to check my email, I realized that our home computer got fried! What, no surge protector you ask? Rest assured, we have one. Every other electronic device in our office is plugged into it except for our PC... I promise both Jason and I graduated from Tech :)

As I'm writing this, it's actually Ocober 1st and that computer is still not fixed, but I have gotten over using Jason's business laptop. I normally don't feel comfortable using his laptop for personal things, but we just got back from an amazing week at the beach and I'm dying to post the pictures! I will try to skim through the last two months as quickly as possible so I can get onto the good stuff. To my faithful readers, you two know who you are, thanks for your patience :)

Just a little teaser...

Hannah and Maggie's Visit

2010-07-24T23:18:00.013-04:00

On July 12, cousin Hannah and her friend Maggie came all the way from Iowa to stay with us. That's right people, we had 2 teenagers in our house for 12 days... How were we going to entertain 2 teenagers while entertaining 2 toddlers at the same time? We hit the bigger malls, the laser show, the Aquarium, White Water, Six Flags, Wild Wings (yum!), Fellini's (double yum!), the movies, hung out at the pool... it was a two week whirlwind and I have to be honest, I am pretty exhausted! I wish I could sleep in until noon just once... :)

Ava loved having them here- every morning at 8 am she wanted to wake the girls up to play with her, it was all I could do to convince her to let them sleep in! She loved it when they braided her hair or let her hang out in their room like one of the big girls. She was so sad to see them leave today- she's already asking to go spend the night with them at her house. I'm not sure she realizes just how far of a trip it is :)

We hope you had fun, Hannah and Maggie! Thanks for coming to visit us!

Hannah and Ava

Maggie and Caitlin

The Aquarium was so busy we only stayed for an hour before heading to Fellini's (yum!) for lunch- where did all those people come from? Doesn't anyone work anymore?? :)

Ava thought she was so cool...

Caitlin was having fun too!

On their way to the airport,

Ava didn't want them to be sad so she shared her snugglies with them

Welcome Baby Bode!

2010-07-24T01:16:00.003-04:00

BODE ADAM MALCOM
July 23, 2010
2:57 p.m.
7 lbs, 9 oz
20 inches long

Congratulations to Jen, Jeremy and big sister Isa on the arrival of their new baby boy!

Proud (and tired!) Papa

I am like a kid in a candy store :)

There is nothing sweeter than a newborn!

I know Uncle JJ is so excited to have a little boy to play in the dirt with and teach how to play left handed ball.

Completely Obsessed

2010-07-20T00:35:00.018-04:00

My name is Allison Stein and I am a photo-aholic.

There. I said it and now I feel better... I'm addicted to taking pictures- or in this case, getting pictures taken, especially of the girls. This latest round was taken by our favorite local photographer Jason Pendley www.jasonpendley.com and I love how they turned out! Originally, I wanted to take some photos to put in Caitlin's thank you notes from her birthday (shame on me, I still have to write them!) and I also wanted to have some pictures of the girls together at this age. For Ava's birthday pictures we have always gone to Portrait Innovations, but all of our photos recently have all had the same background and they are all starting to look the same. So, for these we went for the creative, less posed approach.

For those of you that actually read the blogs and not just glance at the pictures, YES- this is the same turquoise dress that Ava wore in the last photo session and YES- I did try to talk her out of wearing it again and NO- obviously, it didn't work. Oh well... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she will love a different outfit for her 4 year old pictures! :)

I think these are amazing and here are some of my favorites:

BIG and lil'

2010-07-14T23:33:00.004-04:00

Yes, this is Ava's medusa-esque bed head first thing when she wakes up in the morning. Kind of scary, isn't it? :)

I am usually not into matchy-matchy clothes... in fact, this pair of pajamas and maybe one other outfit are the only thing that I've bought for the two of them, but these pajamas were too cute to resist. Ava loooves when the two of them wear these pajamas- she is such a proud big sis! Caitlin usually spills breakfast on her pj's and we usually have to take them off after that, so I tried to snap a picture on the rare occasion that they are both clean (the pj's) and they are both wearing them at the same time!

Caitlin loves hearing Ava on the monitor and going into her room and crawling up on the bed with her... I hope they don't grow out of this stage anytime soon!

And so I wait...

2010-07-10T01:32:00.014-04:00

As we sat in the waiting room, a storm raged outside the veterinarian's office... the lights blinked and then the power went out. I looked at Jason and thought is this really happening? and then asked out loud "Is this a sign? Maybe this is a sign..." My heart leaped- maybe we won't actually have to go through with this, maybe they can't perform any procedures without power. And just as I thought that, the power came back on. And so we waited... we waited longer than anyone should have to in our situation. Luke was nervous and shaking- he hates going to the vet and the thunder and lightning wasn't helping. The tech called us back to the room,walking with her head down. In an eerily calm voice she explained to us exactly what would happen and what decisions we would need to make about afterwards. She told us she was sorry and that the doctor would be in shortly and to take as much time as we needed. And so we pet Luke and tried to calm him down even though both of our hearts were beating wildly out of control. And then we waited...

Yesterday, we put Luke down. I hate the phrase "putting an animal down". It does nothing to convey the hurt and anguish and sorrow that accompanies the situation. Luke, our dog for over 10 years, our faithful little buddy, sleep companion, couch sitting friend, under the kitchen table floor cleaner, big protector, bark at nothing, lovable dachshund. I already miss hearing his nails click across the hardwood floors...

For those that don't know Luke's story, I will give the abridged version- I was working at Van Michael's Salon during college and one of the colorists, Obi (yes, Luke really was named after Star Wars, one of the schnauzers was named Vader) was talking about his 3 dogs. He had two schnauzers and one dachshund. Obi told me that his dachshund barked a lot and the other two dogs didn't really get a long with him. He was going to take him back to the Humane Society, if he could not find a home for him. So I offered to take him and within a few days, I was bringing Luke back to a house that I shared with 5 other people while I was going to Tech. I don't really remember if I even asked if anyone minded having a dog in the house, all I remember is that I couldn't let this poor little guy go back to the Humane Society. And so was our beginning together, we bonded right away. It is true what people say, rescue dogs always know they have been rescued and they are forever grateful.

Luke began to have back problems, as most dachshunds do, several years ago. He would jump off the bed or couch and pinch a nerve or a disc in his back. We have always been able to rest his back and give him a round of steroids and pain killers and he would act good as new. However, this last time, he seemed as though he was in more pain than ever before, he was walking differently than before and the slightest movement the wrong way would send his muscles into spasms. Our vet sent us to a specialist to have x-rays ran to see what our options were. Luke's x-rays came back showing 2 bulging discs- one is his neck and one in his back. The surgeon said that even with Luke's age, he was an excellent candidate for surgery, however, they would only be able to address one of the discs at a time. Hopefully, taking care of one disc would relieve the pressure on the other disc, but the surgeon could not guarantee that in several months we would not be back in the same position with the other disc and Luke would need another surgery. The recovery from back surgery is pretty intense for the patient and the parent involving a weeks stay at the hospital, physical therapy several times a day, on-going pain medication, bi-weekly trips to the surgeons office and total crating for a minimum of 6 weeks. This was not something we were willing to put Luke through. He hated going to the vet- the office made him nervous. He spit out his pain medicine unless we were very creative in the food we hid it in and he would have absolutely been miserable having to stay in his crate for 6 weeks.

Would our decision have been different if we had all the money in the world or didn't have two toddlers in the house or had Luke been several years younger... possibly...probably? I guess I will never know for sure. Everyone, everyone that we have talked to has said that we are doing the right thing, the merciful thing. However, having to choose the day and the hour of a living creatures last breath does not feel merciful. It feels self-righteous and like playing god- things that I am absolutely not comfortable with. I have been told that I will eventually feel at peace that we have done the right thing and in my mind I believe that we did, but my heart... still has a gigantic dachshund size hole in it.

And so I wait...

Miss you buddy

Ava's Prince Charming

2010-07-07T23:50:00.013-04:00

Ava had a play date today with Lincoln, her first serious boyfriend. If I call Lincoln her boyfriend, she is usually quick to correct me and say, "No, Lincoln is my Prince"... geez, mom. We were supposed to meet at the pool, but unfortunately the pool was closed for cleaning, hence Ava wearing her bathing suit for most of the morning. So we headed back to our house to let the kids play. Lincoln, was a typical boy who wanted to play chase and jump in the ball pit, and Ava was a typical girl who wanted Lincoln to play house with her and dress up. Right before they had lunch, they snuggled up on the couch together and I was able to snap a few photos of the two of them looking like an old married couple, watching a Care Bears movie, of course.

Their love affair started when they were only 6 months old and fate brought them together in the same class at Open Arms. They got to know each other in the cozy corner and shared puffs in their bumbo seats. It was rumored that Ava even tried to share her pacifier with Lincoln, but that was never confirmed. It wasn't until the big Halloween Parade that they went public with their relationship.

Their relationship hasn't been one free of scandal. There were reports that Lincoln was seen holding hands with another girl on the playground last year and just last month Ava was chasing another boy- there was even a biting incident once, but no one brings that up anymore. All was forgiven between the two and we are happy to report that Lincoln has asked Ava's daddy to marry Ava. Ava has been promised to Lincoln as long as they are both 35 and Lincoln promises to live next door, cheer for the yellow jackets and vote Republican :)

We are happy that these two have worked things out and are now planning their lavish fairy-tale wedding in which Ava plans to wear her Cinderella princess wedding gown designed by Disney and for Lincoln to wear his "prince-suit". We hope that they enjoy a long life together and live happily ever after! You saw it here first! Their first official kiss on camera...

91 Years Young

2010-07-05T01:41:00.006-04:00

Happy 91st Birthday Grandma!

My sweet grandma turned 91 today and we were able to cook her dinner at our house to celebrate. Grandma, who never wants anyone to cook her anything special or do anything for her, specifically requested a pineapple upside down cake for her birthday.

Growing up, we were only able to see Grandma two or three times a year, since we lived 9 or 10 hours away (depending on who was driving), but now, she lives a mere 20 minutes away and I feel so lucky that Ava and Caitlin get to see her every few weeks. Ava adores her and loves to hold her soft hands (Grandma has the softest hands in the world- she says it is from washing dishes all those years) and now Caitlin is getting to know her namesake, too. I love the pictures that we were able to get of the two of them together on her birthday! I hope that they will be able to hear all of Grandma's stories about when she was a little girl and all the trouble that she and her other 11 brothers and sisters got into.

I can only hope that I look as good as she does on my 91st birthday.

We Love You!! Here's to many more pineapple upside down cakes! :)

4th of July Twinkies

2010-07-04T01:45:00.010-04:00

We had such a relaxing 4th of July! It was the first one I have spent at home in 5 years. It is a holiday that I have always had to work- what a treat to have everyone at home together. We spent the morning at the pool and then came home for some naps for the girls. While they were sleeping, I finished making my obligatory strawberry pretzel salad (yum!), buffalo chicken dip, and Jason made some amazing wings! We packed up the girls and the food and headed over the Malcoms' house.

Ava and Isa had on the same dress! No pre-planning on anyone's parts, I promise. Ava and Isa loved the fact that they were dressed alike and giggled about it for the rest of the evening. The girls played with sparklers and poppers after dinner and had a blast. The best part about it was that no one's hair caught on fire :)

What a nice and relaxing holiday- Happy 4th everyone!

The Twinkies

They loved playing with sparklers- at first they were standing next to each other, but we quickly realized that sparks were flying way too close to the girls' ponytails, and we had to separate them.

The daddies were in charge of the fun

Sweet girl

Isa was writing her name and drawing shapes

Caitlin was hanging out with Aunt Jen and had a nice seat on soon-to-come Baby Bode

Jason was explaining the dangers of fire mixed with hair to the girls

And Finally... The After Picture!

2010-07-03T00:04:00.002-04:00

After over 2 years in our house, the "craft room" can now legitimately be called a craft room! There is a lovely shade of turquoise paint on the walls, an amazing elfa shelf storage unit in place, the random shelf on the wall has been taken down, old wrapping paper has been thrown out and random bags of stuff have been sorted. This was a task that I figured would be put off indefinitely, so it feels like a major accomplishment to have it finished. Of course, "finished" is only a relative term- I would still like to add curtains and artwork and a new desk in here, but the main dirty work is done and I will take the rest one step at a time.

So.... drum roll, please....

BEFORE

... and AFTER

BEFORE
... and AFTER

I love this elfa shelving unit- it is one of the only positive things that came out of the Swoozie's liquidation sale! :)

And just so you can see that I didn't just throw things out of bags and boxes into the shelves, here is my ribbon drawer- organized by color, of course!

I am in love with my new greeting card organizer

I know, I know... organizing is a sickness and I can't help it!!

Maybe there is a group I can join??

Some of my new favorite pictures of the girls, all ready to be hung, as soon as I am 100% positive that I'm going to keep this layout of the room

I am soo excited to actually use this room for more than just storage... on to tackle the laundry room next! :)

Ava's 4th Annual 4th of July Parade

2010-07-02T23:38:00.006-04:00

It is hard to believe that this is Ava's 4th, 4th of July Parade at Open Arms. It is always fun to see all the hats and decorations that the teachers and kids create. This year the weather did not cooperate and it started raining right before the parade was supposed to start. So, the patriotic music blasted inside the lobby and the kids marched up and down the hallways instead of around the parking lot.

Ava proudly waves her flag!

An action shot

Ava was too busy enjoying marching in the parade to stop and take a picture!

Daddy and Caitlin came to cheer Ava on!

Ava was especially happy that her boyfriend Lincoln (or as he is otherwise known, her prince) was there- they haven't seen each other much over the summer and she has missed him!

Photo Shoot with Kelley :)

2010-07-01T16:42:00.021-04:00

As the girls are growing older and Caitlin is now more mobile, it has been harder than ever to capture some pictures of them together. My friend from Swoozie's, Kelley McIntosh, has an amazing camera and she takes beautiful pictures! With us being unemployed at the moment and having a little extra time on our hands, she offered to take some pictures of the girls.

Kelley has way more patience than I do and she was so sweet to spend several hours with us! We brought several wardrobe changes, but as you will see, once Ava was in her turquoise dress- she would not change. No bribery's of Chick-fil-A milkshakes would change her mind. Ava is normally my sweet, easy-going child, but apparently she woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. She didn't really want to look at the camera, much less smile. Caitlin followed her sister's lead and didn't want to sit in the same place for more than a second, didn't want to look up, didn't want Ava touching her in the slightest... seriously, I was ready to call it quits after the first 30 minutes, but luckily Kelley trudged on.

After taking a few pictures in her grandmother's backyard by the lake, we finally ended in downtown Dallas at an old train depot that has these amazing turquoise doors. They are old and rustic and gorgeous. Caitlin took a nap on the drive over and woke up in a better mood and Ava even smiled for a few pictures. I have all the respect in the world for photographers who deal with this day in and day out and still manage to get that perfect shot!
Thank you Kelley for all your patience in the hot sun with the girls and introducing us to the beautiful turquoise doors! Despite all odds, we got some great pictures and I love them :)

With the one above, these are some of my favorites:

And some of the out- takes :)

If looks could kill...

Fine, I'll touch the stupid purple flower...

Hmmm... how can I get out of this photo shoot??

Should I fake a stomach ache?

No caption needed... this one just made me laugh!

Gotta love this face!

It was touch and go for a while, but luckily no one ended up in the fountain!

Pool Playdate

2010-06-30T02:18:00.010-04:00

It is a rare occasion when all the stars align and everyone's schedule is open for the kids to get together and play, and so it was particularly nice on this Wednesday that we could join Emmie and Kim, Lexi, Kyle and Lauren, at Maddy, Dylan and Jen's neighborhood pool for a playdate. We packed a lunch and enjoyed a fun afternoon swimming and splashing around. Hopefully we'll get a chance to do it one more time before the kids have to go back to school.

The girls in their wobble goggles

Posing for a few pictures after lunch

Dylan and Ava
Two cute little blondies

"Dylan, I said, stop grabbing my hiney!"

Caitlin and I were enjoying the baby pool until the big kids decided it looked like fun

Lexi and Kyle came a little later since they had to eat lunch with their grandparents

I thought Ava was looking particularly cute with her suntan after the pool, but I'm biased :)