Daddy/Daughter Dance

Yesterday was the annual Butterfly Kisses Daddy/Daughter Ball. Lulu looks forward to it all year long.  Teddy helped get Lulu all dressed and ready to go.

My new favorite picture of my babies:

Real Life:

 

We haven't mastered the fine art of video blogging, but Lulu always asks anyway.  Maybe someday Teddy will sit still and the video won't be quite so crazy. A girl can dream...

My Lulu starts school...

Lulu turns FOUR!

My Lu on her 4th birthday:

Sliding with Ted

So, last week, Lee was in Texas for work so we sneaked to Aunt Katie's for a couple of days. The night we got there she treated is to a bounce place. Teddy loved it. The poor kid knows no fear. He loves to be wrestled, thrown, or manhandled. I think his love language is touch.

Thank you, Ethan!

Who is Ethan, you may ask...

The other day I was dropping Lee off at his quarterly LAN party (that is a story for another day...).  As we were pulling away I saw a garage sale (actually the whole neighborhood was one big garage sale).  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a green anywhere chair from PBKids.

I have been wanting an anywhere chair for Lulu for a couple years.  When my in-laws asked what to get Lulu for Christmas 2010 and Christmas 2011, I responded "an anywhere chair."  We got a babydoll and a polkadot bean bag  (Why even ask? I digress).

I walked up, looked it over to make sure it wasn't disgusting and saw that it was in perfect condition except, it has "Ethan" embroidered on it.  No biggie!

I walked up to the card table to pay for my purchase, and the lady says, "oh...do you have a little Ethan at home?"

"Nope, but I do have a seam ripper and a Pottery Barn catalog.  One of those will work."

She had no response. 

Thanks, Ethan.

Everyone in our house likes the chair.  Lulu and Teddy have been fighting over it.  Gandalf likes it too.

Hey Gandalf, point to "Ethan."  Such a smart kitty.

Good News

Teddy fits in the dolly stroller.

hey, hey, hey updated blogger.

What I see most days when I open the van door:  Lulu likes to sit on Teddy's lap.  He seems to like (aka tolerate) it for a couple of seconds.

Our favorite springtime spot.  Feeding the ducks at Brucemore.

My favorite girl and I.  She insisted on being twins in matching pink turtlenecks.

Lulu's other new favorite activity:  Getting in Teddy's crib first thing in the morning to give him his sippy cup of milk.  And yes, she is in full on princess gear before 8am.

We posed with Lee's car.  He bought it before we got married.  We have had it for more than seven years, one cross-country honeymoon trip, two homes, two kids, and three minor collisions (I hit it twice and Lee smushed it against the garage once).  I may have shed a few tears.  I tend to get attached to things.  I get attached to the sentimental value of them.

On the way to Easter Eve at Nanny's.  Sadly, this is the best shot I got of the two if them that day.

Cousin Sammy and Ted sharing toys at Nanny's.  (Who is that dapper uncle lounging in the background?)

Family picture at Nanny's.

Eggs

Papa was helping Teddy find eggs.

Getting ready for the Bunny hop

Easter morning

Whole family on Easter morning

Who could resist that round face?

Trying our best to keep the babies entertained at Easter lunch.  Lee's grandma picked a not so kid friendly place and invited other family members who were 40 minutes late.  All of this added up to taking turns walking the kids around outside while the other one ate.  I'm glad it is over.

He is risen.

Tebowing?

absence

I know it will be a shock, but I might not blog in the next week. Lee won a trip at work and we will be here.

Don't miss me too much.

sniff, sniff...

http://thecripplegate.com/an-open-letter-to-my-daughter/

This is a link to a really sweet letter from a dad to his teenage daughter. Get out the Kleenexes...

A Birthday!

Yesterday was Teddy's first birthday! I decided to document his day.

Good morning, Birthday Boy! Teddy usually sleeps about 13-14 hours per night (I know we are spoiled).

We started our day at BK (we are Saturday morning regulars). Teddy loves the potatoes "things" (that is what Lulu calls them).

Lulu always gets the mini blueberry muffins.

Next we stopped by PetCo to pet the cats and watch some dogs get their hair done. I forgot to take a picture when we were inside. We then went to Lowe's (I forgot to take a picture) to do some home improvement shopping. We are in the midst of a major kitchen remodel and we regularly frequent Lowe's and HomeDepot.

After our errands we met Nana and Papa at Applebee's.

Teddy got his very own birthday sundae.

After a good nap, he was ready for more fun.

Nanny needed some help getting a new cell phone so we accompanied her to the store and entertained/annoyed the employees.

After we got Nanny a new phone, we were off to Chuck E Cheese to end our day. Teddy kept trying to bite the balloon and then would throw it and laugh his head off.

I had to get one self-portrait with my birthday boy.

Lulu and Teddy liked driving the Barney car.

Lee showed Teddy how big boys play.

I can't believe Teddy is already one. He has been a more challenging baby (eating, sleeping, contentment, etc), but he is smiley and funny. He loves to laugh and to make people laugh. He loves to shake his head no and point to whatever he wants and grunt/yell at it. We are so thankful that he has had a healthy (no doctor's visits) and uneventful first year. Our one year check up in next week so we will fill you in on his girth.

I realize that I stink at blogging, so thanks for checking in with us.

Walking Practice

I fully realize that I have all but given up on blogging, but poor Teddy needed a little face time with all of his adoring fans. He is not quite one year old (I promise to do a real blog post about the poor kid). Sorry it is a little dark, but my living room is a little dark as well. Please try not to focus on the 3 year old in a princess dress, the 80 pound dog walking around or the abundance of toys. Please do notice the half-naked walking baby and his strange purring/growling/talking as he walks.

He has been practicing for awhile and is starting to get the hang of it.

Blog-leeching

Here's what we've been doing.

Cali Cali

The past couple of days I have been spoiled. Lee won a trip to a resort in Southern California. It has been relaxing. Today we had a leisurely breakfast (picture #1) overlooking the ocean. This afternoon we lounged by the pool. This evening we went to the Beachcomber Cafe and had dinner and watched the sunset. It was beautiful. I am feeling blessed.

Raspberry Picking

This morning we did our annual raspberry picking with Nana LuEllyn. Lulu ate way more than she picked (as evidenced by her face and jeans). Teddy hung out. He ate his first raspberry but could not be convinced to eat a second one.

On the way out, the nice lady told us there were kittens. That was all Lulu needed to hear. It added an extra half an hour to our excursion.

She kept trying to hold them both.

Mama Karoline has always had a special place in her heart for calicos.

PS My husband is a sucker and I do not doubt that we will have a cat in our house sooner than later. I love them but it is kind of nice not finding hair stuck to everything.

Whose kid is this?

The child I swore I would never have...My little rugrat, Lulu.

I always used to judge people with the unkempt kids. You know the ones with snot, food, koolaid, mismatched clothes, etc. Now I have one. My Lulu is...how do you say...strong-willed. I prefer to say feisty (I have also heard people call her spicy, decisive, and naughty just to name a few). My mom calls her EmmaJean (As in a Herdsman from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever).

In this picture, she is wearing an undershirt with chocolate stains and Hello Kitty rain boots. Her hair is a tangle of the finest, most easily breakable, nothing-colored hair with her bow cast aside hours before. She is doing a "statue" pose on the driveway.

I love every bit of her and have chosen to pick my battles (and if you've met her, you know this is not a major one). sigh. Maybe Teddy will be my "perfect" child...

I would like to publicly apologize to all of the moms I have have judged, looked down my nose at, and KNEW I would never be like.

New and Exciting

So...I am blogging from my phone...in bed...in my sister's basement...who knew?

This guy fell asleep sitting up.

This cute girl is snuggled next to me.

Good night.

MiniLee

The other day we were outside playing (yes, Lulu is still in Ariel pajamas. yes, she is wearing hello kitty rain boots. Let it go.). She had a stick and was popping bubbles and so Lee grabbed a stick and they started sword fighting. I, in my most maternal voice, said, "Daddy, we never play with sticks."

So being the ornery 10 year old boy trapped in a 30 year old's body, Lee hid the stick behind his back and pretended to look innocent. Guess what MiniLee (aka Lulu) did? Yup, this is my two mischievous kids pretending they don't have a stick behind their back, nor were they being naughty. I caught them.

She said she wanted her picture taken, so I obliged. I think she has been watching too much ANTM.