My Wonderful Little Terror...

I thought, since I was pondering the miracle of my littlest girlie today, that I would just give a quick recount of her recent mischievous actions :) As each day passes, her "I didn't do it" and "I'm cute, but dangerous!" faces are making more frequent appearances. To summarize what I am talking about, this ALL happened yesterday...

the morning begins WITH...

the removal of a #2 filled pull-up (for the millionth time this week) and by removal I unfortunately do not mean by me or with even a shred of my knowledge

and then progresses to...

a quick trip to the bathroom for ME and a sneaky relocation of the kitchen stool, mounting of the kitchen countertop, removal of every spice from the spice rack & pouring and sloshing of expensive olive oil onto the newly cleaned floor for AUTUMN

and finally ends at...

a purposeful "watering" of the bathroom rug in an attempt to "communicate" dissatisfaction of a much needed tubby AND a revengeful "reorganization" of every clothing item from her dresser drawers in an attempt to "communicate" her disapproval of bedtime.

SIGH...good thing she is so darn adorable and I remembered to have my quiet time ( in which I sovereignly listened to http://www.covlife.org/resources/2671419-The_Lord_Is_In_Your_Boat ) that day!! :) Oh Lord, grant all of us mommies with crazy second born children, MUCH grace and patience, AMEN.

Seriously in Love...

Ode to Autumn's Curls...

Oh beautiful ringlets that adorn her head,

I pray you grow, abound and spread.

Never leaving or fading away,

Please remain, yes forever to stay.

A smile to my face you bring,

A song in my heart you tempt me to sing.

A giggle you inspire as you bounce around,

A grace you provide without making a sound.

One day I am sure my daughter will say,

"Oh these curls they just get in my way!".

And so I'll assure my sweet baby girl,

"Your curls are more rare than a fresh water pearl!"

I love them I love them and love them some more,

I love these curly cues like never before.

I gawk, I stare, I squint and I strain,

To etch their image into my brain.

Oh beautiful ringlets that adorn her head,

I pray you grow, abound and spread.

Never leaving or fading away,

Please remain, yes forever to stay.

Father's Day 2010...

It is widely known amongst our family that Brian and the girls have a very special and unique relationship. On a daily basis, the girls adore taunting and teasing their daddy (aaand vise versa on Brian's end). It amazes me how one moment they are screaming "NO DADDY, GO AWAY!" and the next they are grasping his legs and proclaiming "Oh Daddy, I love you so much!" :) Time has gone by so quickly and I know that Brian will always dotingly remember this stage in our lives. Autumn helped make breakfast in the morning and then the girls presented Brian with their "Daddy and Me" collages. We went to Outback for a late lunch (Brian HAD to have the crab legs) and just relaxed at the pool for the remainder of the day. All in all, it was a successful expression of how much we three ladies love and appreciate our man ;) xoxox

Her awesome shirt says "I get my good looks from my Dad"

I forgot to mention that we got Brian the Avatar DVD...the girls made their own wrapping paper!

Autumn's collage above...

Phia's collage below...

In other news...

During the months of May, June and July we also had Autumn's 2nd birthday, Father's Day, our 6 year anniversary and the 4th of July (which included a visit from my sister)...

I'll start with Autumn's 2nd birthday, mainly because I can't believe my baby is TWO!! We decided to surprise the girls with bikes to celebrate the occasion. Yes, I know it was Autumn's birthday BUT when you have two kids so close in age it's hard to give milestone presents in quantities of 1 :) So both girls were blessed with their FIRST BIKES!! My mom came with us to "test drive" them and pick out the perfect fit for each girlie. They were delighted when we brought them home but unfortunately it was raining so they had to ride inside.

Dear Friends...

The second VERY noteworthy event that recently occurred was the visit of our beloved friends, the Whites :) Words cannot express how much their short weekend trip to see us meant to me. I can feel the tears welling up as I type (granted I am horribly overtired) but for both these reasons I will post a few snapshots and simply say:

Tiff, I love you and am so honored to call you my friend. Thank you Bryant for sacrificing your time and sanity to drive your family to see us. Boys (and little incubating girls), you are incredible little people and I love having the privilege of watching you grow...even if mostly from afar :)

I wish I had taken more pictures but catching up seemed more important. I was so happy to be with you all that I just kept forgetting my camera!!

Phia loves her "Tiffnee"

Big boy Jack...

And smiley boy Aaron :)

Special Moments...

SUMMER IS HERE!! As usual, it has taken me far longer than anticipated to update my lovely blog. So here I am finally doing it (even if it IS almost midnight). Life has gone on as expected over the past few months (basically typical, mundane, daily activity) but there were a few special events worth mentioning. First to report is that we successfully had our annual summer vacation...woohoo!! In May, we were blessed to visit my in-laws at their home in Florida and Brian and I were able to take a whole 4 day cruise to the Bahamas, celebrating an early anniversary! During our two week stay, the girls were treated to a day at Disney World (among other things) which was strategically planned to ease the guilt we felt for leaving them behind on our open sea voyage. Brian will say we took them in honor of Autumn's 2nd birthday but for whatever reason(s) it was, they had the time of their lives :) All of the pictures from our trips are duly posted on my Facebook page so I won't bore any of you "loyal" readers with those again (since if your read my blog than you are clearly a friend of mine via Facebook). I will, however, give you a brief synopsis of each family member's highlights...

According to Autumn, the best part of the vacation was (and I quote) "ducks". In the best possible way a toddler knows how to explain herself, she will tell you that both feeding the ducks at Nana and Papa's AND watching Donald Duck in the Magic Kingdom 3-D movie theater were truly spectacular. In reality, that's my translation of what she mumbles and mimes about "the ducks" but I am MOM so I certainly have literary license :)

If you ask Sophia about her trip, she will tell you (plain and clear) that the beach and Daisy Duck were the best parts of all. Actually, when my mom asked her WHY Daisy Duck in particular she responded as follows : "Cause Meme, Daisy shoes and Daisy dress match! I showed her my Dora earrings! She was REALLY nice." She also noted that Nana and Papa's house was pretty and the sand at the beach was "ouchy" (aka ithcy) in her bathing suit. I mean honestly, if Sophia isn't the definition of a "girlie girl" than I don't know what is.

For Brian and I, it's pretty obvious that the cruise makes the top of the list. Before that first morning aboard the Monarch of the Seas, I could not even remember what it felt like to eat a meal (or even have a cup of coffee) without little utterances and little grabby hands all up in my business haha Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of those sweet voices and the sight of those tiny fingers....BUT there comes a time when a break is unequivocally needed. It was so nice to have quiet time. It was also VERY nice to just spend time as a couple. No distractions, no agendas, no cell phones ringing or e-mails waiting. It was truly a God ordained voyage and we were positively refreshed to say the least. Running a close second was seeing the faces of our little girls as we entered the "most magical place on earth". Priceless :) I know they will definitely enjoy it MUCH more as they get older, but the first time was surprisingly memorable. At times, Brian seemed to be having the most fun of all, but if you know Brian than that comes with little surprise.

In short, thank you Lord for the opportunity and provision for yet another annual family vacation AND thank you Mike and Nelida for your hospitality, generosity and love :)