7.31.2009

Double the trouble, Double the fun, Double the rambling

My two little monkeys have been keeping me on my toes this week! I LOVE this age!! I will say, in all honesty, that it is extremely challenging to have two two year olds; but, it is also the MOST entertaining and MOST fulfilling because their little personalities are shining through like never before!
So much is going on with them right now that it is really hard to describe in words...but I am going to try, because I know I won't remember this later! This summer, when I have our (wonderful) babysitter one morning a week I have been taking one child with me on my errands. I have really enjoyed the one on one time with them. Even though we don't usually do anything exciting- in fact, usually it is a big grocery trip to Wal Mart, them seem to enjoy it too. They are so well behaved when it is just one! (OR maybe I didn't realize how easy it was with one when I just had one??!)
The choppy sentences they have been making are now turning into full fledged paragraphs. I was taking a bath earlier tonight and Lila was next to me chatting and I swear she talked a full five minutes without taking a breath. I am not exactly sure of everything she said, but I think she was basically recapping our trip to Nashville....so funny. Her favorite phrase of late: "that's sick!". I NEED to get her on video saying it, because it makes me laugh so hard every time. We've had a few poo-poo in the bath incidents lately (OF COURSE- Bennett...boys are so gross!) and I think that is when it started. I guess I need to monitor myself a little more closely, but I have to admit it is pretty funny to have a two year old that walks around calling smashed bugs, dirty hands, or whatever it is at the moment "sick".
She is still very mothering and compassionate, but she also has the sneaky side that will steal a toy from her brother or sister (for NO reason) while they are playing quietly. She loves to dance and perform and just LOVES attention. She also LOVES to lavish attention on others and gives the BEST greetings and celebrations when people come to visit! Her excitement is contagious and refreshing! Her other phrase of the moment is, "wook Mommy" (look Mommy), and this is usually followed by some demonstration of a jump, twirl, or run around the room! I am seeing the artistic side and love for drawing and coloring coming out in her as well. I am so glad that she and Elise will share that interest with me...and who knows, maybe Bennett too...just at this point he is still more interested in throwing crayons than coloring with them! Anyway, sweet, smart, spunky Lila definitely provides a lot of the laughs around here...



Bennett is never without a train or car in his hands. He carries them everywhere...even to bed. He is quite the chatterbox as well, although I wouldn't say he talks quite as much as Lila. But, I will say, where she is much better with her colors than he is, he is great with counting. He loves to count the steps as he walks up...His catch phrase at the moment is, "I fine...." He finds many reasons to say this...if you ask him if he needs a diaper, he responds, "I fine..." if he falls down, "I fine Mommy"...etc....adorable. He is quiet, sweet, and can occupy himself with trains for a long time...but, watch out if you cross him because he has QUITE the temper. He usually has to hit something (we are working on this) to get his frustration out. But, he is also the one who will just come up to me, out of the blue, ask to be held, and then give me the tightest squeeziest (I know, I made that word up) hug ever while placing his head on my shoulder. Melts my heart every time.



Of course, with all of the toys they have, their favorite "toys" of the moment are these two boxes we have in our den. They are supposed to be stacked at the side of the couch as a make-shift (baby-proof) end table, but more often they either each have a child inside of them or they are filled with toys or shoes, or whatever else they choose to fill them up with!


I also had to include this picture of Lila because I can't BELIEVE how grown up she looks in it. She has changed so much, just this summer...I guess it is because her hair is finally starting to grow and she is losing some of the baby fat...I don't know..she just looks so much older to me! For fun, I put Elise, at the same age as Lila, next to her....





We are all very happy because we have had two bunny sightings in the past two days...so at least we know that "Foxy" didn't eat up all of our rabbits! Yippee! Big news and a big celebration in the Parnell house when someone spots a critter in the backyard! We've had a low key week recovering from the trip and I've just been enjoying (for the most part- haha) the kiddos and our time together....David has a terrible sinus infection and is not feeling well so we are all hoping he will feel better soon. Bennett doesn't understand why he can't tackle his Daddy like usual!






For all of you feeling sorry for Elise and her lack of "face-time" on this post...no worries...her time will come...Our big 4 year old also gives me lots of "material"...






Goodnight!



Nicole



* by the way, they were in a double time out in the above pics.....oh yes....












7.27.2009

adventures in nashville

We had a GREAT time on our trip to Nashville!!! Mo was such a good hostess...she had everything all ready for us! It was a jammed packed 4 days and we loved every minutes of it (ok, not EVERY minute of it)...We spent lots of time at parks, made a trip to the zoo, had a delicious bbq at Phillips' house, hit the flea market (I could have spent two full days there!), squeezed in a quick trip to the outlet mall....we did it ALL! Here are some of my favorite pics from our trip:
















*Notice that the meerkat in the above picture bears a striking resemblance to Mo's dog, Howie!


I had to include the pic of the GIANT anteater, because he provided the basis for one of Elise's best one-liners of the trip. According to Mo, when she saw him, she said, "Mo, we could really use one of those. We've been having a lot of ants lately."



















We took the kids to a cupcake bakery as a treat for being so good at the zoo. They each got to pick their own cupcake and carry in the special box home to eat...Elise was sooooo excited...





It was such a fun trip!!! We SOO appreciate Mo's hospitality, and the fact that she let us (especially Lila---oh, do I have stories!) take over her house for 4 whole days. I am also thankful to my Mom for all of her help. Especially couldn't have survived the 8 hour car ride without her! I am so glad we were able to give the kids these experiences....we probably did more exploring in four days than I have been able to do with them all summer. They had such a blast. Seeing their expressions at the zoo and at the different parks was just so fulfilling and SOO much fun! It is also so important to me that they get to spend as much quality time with their Aunt (and other Aunt and Uncle) as possible and so it means a lot that Mo was ready and willing to use vacation days to spend time with them. They are so lucky!!
Now it is time to rest, recover, and reboot for our upcoming beach trip!
Happy Summer!!


















7.21.2009

Summer Days

As my new header (courtesy of the talented Aunt Mo) says, we are enjoying the summer! It is actually flying right on by...Yesterday we had a great day at home recovering from the weekend...It was actually somewhat bearable to be outside, and so we took advantage of that for pretty much the whole day! Of course, we did take at least two popsicle breaks and eventually turned on the sprinkler...


Elise insisted on wearing her safety vest to play in the sprinkler and ride her tricycle...whatever floats your boat, girlie.


I could NOT resist these retro shades I found on clearance at Gap for Bennett...is that not the funniest thing ever??? They have mirrored lenses and all....Can't wait for the beach pics! We gave the twins these trikes for their birthday and more than trying to ride them they LOVE to push them around....whatever makes them happy, and at least it still wears them out!

They dynamic duo....our driveway is a pretty big slope, and it didn't take Bennett long to figure out that he can push his bike up to the top, then get on the bike and FLY down to the bottom...that is when I had to start mandating the helmets!!! He was having a BLAST though!

He decided to leave the helmet on for some added protection during his first sprinkler run...

Girls on a mission....

Today Elise and I planted the leftover seeds from her party favors...She is so serious about them...We are really hoping David remembers to water them while we are gone so we can have a few sprouts soon.....One of the benefits of not having drapes on the windows in the breakfast room (see the positive spin I put on that?) is that I think the pots will get enough sun lined up like this on our breakfast table....and it makes a cute centerpiece (until Bennett dumps one of them out....I am waiting.....)


I used these tiny little pots at her birthday party to hold the candy dipped pretzels we made. It is nice to see them be "recycled" and used for their intended purpose. I am hoping, if this goes well, that we can try a different type of seed each planting season...Elise seems really into it...Let's just pray we get some sprouts!

If you look REALLY closely in the below pic, in between the two trees, you may be able to see our newest resident, Foxy. (You can click on the pic and it will enlarge) Elise and I were working on thank you notes yesterday and I had my back to the backyard. She suddenly said, "Mom, there is a fox in our backyard!". I couldn't believe she recognized what it was, but she was totally right. He was sunbathing away like he owned the place! By the time I could get my camera, and memory card out of the computer, he had worked his way back into the clearing and was really hard to see....
Sadly, I realized we haven't seen Peter or Peter (our bunnies- E likes to stick with one name) since Shelley and Gray were here...and I am really hoping Foxy didn't eat them for dinner!!!


I better get back to packing and getting the car ready for our trip...I wanted to make sure I had lots of memory on my camera because I plan on taking lots of pics of our adventures with Aunt Mo! Let's just pray we start off with a peaceful car ride tomorrow....
Night, Night!
Nicole

7.20.2009

And again...

Yesterday, the birthday princess started off her day with a blueberry muffin breakfast with us and the Boerners. The girls had a great time playing with all of the new toys and just spending some time together before we headed off to church and they headed back to Brookhaven. At one point, Lila was "playing" with Tyndale..crawling on the ground with him and getting him to chase her. It was very cute. That little one is going to be walking in no time!!
After church we headed straight to the Brister's house to celebrate Jacob's 1st birthday with him! It was an adorable party, and it was obvious that Su spent many hours in front of the sewing machine in order to make it an extra special day for her little man. He is SUCH a cutie, and I can't believe he is already 1!
After 2 parties in less than 24 hours, and a sleepover with Quinn, this is how I found David and Elise about 5 minutes after they put Sleeping Beauty into the DVD player. Wiped out. I should have joined them.
After naps, we headed to a local Mexican restaurant for a casual birthday dinner. YUM. Then we headed over to Mimi and Grandpa's to celebrate with them. Unfortunately, my Grandfather is not doing all that well, and so it would have been too much for them to try to come to Elise's party, or over to our house to celebrate. SO, we decided to bring the party to them!



SuSu and G met us over there and gave the kids their presents. They had wisely saved the twins birthday gifts for them to open with Elise...definitely helped cut down on the drama. Emmy and Pop also brought little gifts for them, which was very nice (by the way, the Calico Critters bear family and accessories have been a HUGE hit!) . In a way, I think they need to just learn that it is not always their turn (or "term" as they say), but maybe we can try that next year. Age 2 is challenging enough! So, below you can see Elise in her robe and slippers (L and B each got one two) and Bennett playing with the sand scoopers they got for our trip to the beach in August....



Mimi and Grandpa gave Elise this very special ballet plate for her bookcase. She insisted on eating her birthday cake off of it, which we decided was ok this once...



Lila was patiently waiting for her cake....(we all need sugar detox after this weekend- BIGTIME!)



Our big 4 year old!





Mimi and Grandpa also gave Lila her own special plate, which she was thrilled to show off...Bennett got an adorable antique bank...I'll have to take a pic, it is so unique!



After cake, Grandpa read the kids some stories...



And Bennett made him laugh alot...

Raymond and Bennett Raymond...


Whew!!!!!!!!!! We had a great weekend filled with family and friends and we are all thankful and exhausted!! The kids are so excited about our trip to visit Aunt Mo this week, and I am now pumping myself up for the packing that I am about to undertake (and for the 8 hour car ride with the kids!)!!
Happy Monday!
Nicole








7.19.2009

A daisy of a day

Elise had a daisy of a day yesterday kicking off the celebration of her 4th birthday! Because her party was yesterday evening instead of today (her actual birthday), David and I decided to let her open her gifts yesterday morning before the excess began...Lila got her some cute pj's with an owl that say "night owl" (some future chi o's in the house?) and Bennett got her an adorable shirt from tadpole creations also with an owl appliqued on it. David and I got her the Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbell DVD's...as these are her current favorites...and also a pair of silver Saltwater Sandals (the best, most indestructible shoes ever), which she needed anyway as she is growing out of and Lila is growing into her pink pair..and she was THRILLED!!



That afternoon Elise was soo excited because both Emmy & Pop and the Boerner clan were coming to hang out before the party! We were so sad we had to miss Quinn's 4th birthday party in March and Elise was just so thankful and thrilled that it worked out they were able to come into town. We decided to save her birthday crown for today and so we just gave her an extra fancy birthday-girl hairstyle to go with the daisy theme of the day...





"Look Mommy, I'm four!!"




I found these adorable, edible, fondant daisies on etsy and I used them to decorate the cake and the turtles you see below..YUM! (Notice all of the fun daisy gear in my etsy favorites to the right)

As thank you favors, Elise gave all of her guests a pack of daisy seeds as well as a daisy lollipop! Aunt Mo designed the cute invitation and coordinating favor tags (and hopefully will be working on some thank you notes as well....are you reading this MO?)...



Elise and I together worked on the candy dipped pretzels that you can see in front of the kids on the table...I must say, they were a hit - especially with the "younger" crowd! I think Bennett, Lila, and Myrt finished off a batch between the three of them!!!



Lila got into the spirit with her white and yellow polka dot outfit and matching daisy hairclip! I know it is cheesy, but I always coordinate us all for birthday parties! I like that unified family look and I think it is just another way to make the birthday boy/girl feel special...that the whole family is celebrating to the max!

I must say, the indoor playground that we rented for the party ended up being the perfect place for a party with the age range we had. There were several of Elise's school friends, ballet friends, church friends, and neighborhood friends there, as well as our family friends...so we had babies from 8 months up to 6 year olds, and everyone was happy (AND in the a/c!!)
Bubble time is always a highlight at the playground...


Elise was very shy when it came to blowing out her candles...I finally had to step in and help her...I think she was a little in awe of all of the faces staring at her...This was her first real birthday party by herself...Obviously she can't remember her 1st party, her 2nd birthday the twins were 6 weeks old and....well, I think that says it all...and then last year she and Ella had a joint party at the park...so, this was a big deal for her and she was so, so, excited! I heard my Mom ask her what she loved about the party and she said..."I LOVE IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and then she added..."Did you look over there???" and nodded towards the big stack of gifts at the gift table...
I think we may work on giving and receiving this week...am hoping to work with her on choosing some toys to donate so that we can make room for all of the exciting new things she received...
Elise and Quinn had a great time playing in the balls...after their initial 20-30 minutes of warm-up time they get right back into the swing of things and had a great time!

Kate has extremely good taste in kids' clothes...as you can see below (haha!)...Myrt was Lila's other "twin" for the day. They looked adorable...This is one of my favorite outfits ever. When Lila is too big for bloomer sets it is going to be a sad day for me....


The party turned out really well and it seemed like all of the kids had a great time! We were so thankful to all of our family and friends who came to celebrate with her. She is such a blessing in our lives and it meant so much to us to see her feel so special for the night! Although, I think she is planning on dragging it out as long as she can...we are going to celebrate again tonight with Mimi and Grandpa, and then we head to Nashville on Wednesday to see Mo...

More pics to come!
Love, Nicole