Belleview Park

It was a beautiful day today so we decided to go with Granny and Auntie Barbie and Porter to the petting zoo and train at Belleview Park. All the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Lissie found her favorite goat, Amelia.

Daddy and Lissie looking at the piggy and the sheep.

While sitting with Granny, they put out new food and the pig ran right over to eat. I don't think Lissie's ever been so scared in her little life. This picture is before that happened.

Abby loved every animal and got to pet them all.

Porter had a great time too, although he would only touch the animals with one finger.

We also got to ride the train. The girls favorite part is going through the little tunnel.

Lets get physical, physical....

These outfits remind me of the eighties aerobics craze.

Please note the Hello Kitty socks and bright green shoes!

Its Official!!!

Little Lissie is officially TWO! Its hard to believe since she's been behaving like a two year old for months already! We are so blessed to have this little girl in our lives. She keeps us on our toes every day. Her vocabulary is awesome and she comes up with the cutest things to say. She is a super snuggly little one who enjoys waking up from a nap and cuddling with Mommy while watching tv. She has a mind of her own and has no problem letting us know how she feels.....Mt. Lissie can sometimes erupt! Despite that though, she is extremely good about things that most little ones would fight...she keeps her patch on without complaint and always wears her glasses. Lissie is a very independent little girl. She has to find and pick up her baby. I'm no longer allowed to buckle her in the carseat. She even pulls the backing off of her patch and puts it on herself. Lissie likes her routines and right now that includes being a Lissie burrito when she goes to bed. We have to put her tootsies under the covers and then get baby and her arms all wrapped up as well. She loves to sing and when she walks, sometimes she moves like she's flying or dancing. Lissie won't drink milk unless its chocolate but other than that, she's a fairly good eater. Her favorite treat right now is a "pocicle" which is actually a frozen gogurt. She often tells me how she ate all her dinner and now its time for a pocicle. She often plays peek-a-boo in the car by covering her face and then dropping the blankie and saying "here my am." She has the cutest, naughtiest smile and she knows when she's being naughty. All in all, we are beyond blessed with this little girl. Happy Birthday Lissie!!!

Brush, Brush, Brush your teeth

Lissie LOVES her new toothbrush that she got for her birthday. She brushes at least three times a day!

What can I say?

Lissie loves all of her new toys ...

so much so that she didn't even notice the food in her hair.

Our family

Happy Birthday Lissie!!!

Today we celebrated Lissie's 2nd birthday. I kept myself really busy so I wouldn't notice that my BABY is growing up so fast!

Here is the birthday girl the morning of her party. She was so excited to see all of the decorations and balloons we put up after she went to bed the night before.

Auntie Barbie made this beautiful banner for Lissie's lollipop themed party. Isn't she talented?!

A row of lollipops.

I forgot to take pictures once all of the food was laid out but you can get the general idea here. We had mini quiche, blueberry stuffed french toast, fruit and strawberry cream dip, meat and cheese skewers, chocolate dipped marshmallows and cake pops. To drink we had coffee and since its a celebration, mimosas...virgin, of course!

We were so fortunate to have our wonderful family and our very dear friends be able to celebrate with Lissie. Isn't Porter adorable?

The weather today was perfect and the kids took advantage of it playing on the trampoline. Here is Lissie with her favorite boy friend, Eli.

Very good cousins....Sam and Joe played so sweetly with the little ones.

Lissie even got Mommy to jump too!

My beautiful birthday girl.

Here is a close-up of the cake balls.

And the marshmallows.

I also made sugar cookie lollipops as favors.

As we were putting the final touches on the party, the birthday girl decided to start opening her presents! Here she is on the bed with "a tea party a me" from her Aunt Heather. She was so excited and happy that I couldn't be upset with her. Look at that face!

Abby kept asking when it would be her birthday. I wonder why...look at all those presents!!

Lissie's lollipop cake. She got ahold of it before the party but we were able to salvage it.

Yummy!!!

My girl knows how to get dirty.

PRESENTS!!!

You can't open presents without a little help.

Lissie was spoiled rotten.

Look at that intensity!

My beautiful Abby.

Lollipop, lollipop

Lissie really enjoyed all the different "lollilops" at her party especially since she got to eat them all.

Here she is after the party still in her party hat playing with her new toys.

Mac was worn out!

Checking her temp with her new thermometer.

It was such a wonderful day. I can't believe my baby is now in her twos.

Aaaah.....relaxing

The girls LOVE the new deck. They play on it every day pushing shopping carts, strollers and just relaxing. Aren't they cute?

And I didn't even cry!

This is Abby's official first day of school. We had to drop her off and leave her there. I was not thrilled. She, of course, was fine.

Here's my big girl putting away her backpack all by herself. I wasn't allowed to help. Then she went to wash her hands and was off into her class. She looks a little nervous but she did fine.

Abby had a good first day of school. The only negative was that the boys wouldn't share the cars with her. Tell me their names and Mommy will take care of it!

Talk about Flexibility

Birthday Party Preparation

Preschool Orientation Day!!!

For me this was Abby's first day of school even though I was able to stay with her for the day. Needless to say, watching my tiny baby grow up and become a preschooler is both exciting and heartbreaking. She is such a big girl but I still want to be with her all the time and be there to protect her and laugh with her. I'm going to really miss her while she's in school. Her school is great though and her teacher seems very nurturing and sweet.

Here we are getting ready for our big day. Abby requested a breakfast of waffles, sausage and banana. She barely ate any of it. That look on her face should give you a clue as to how little she likes it when I do her hair!

When we got to school, Abby got to put a sticker on her bin and hang up her backpack. She then made herself a nametag and had to draw a picture of a person. Please note the cup of crayons, full with a few of each color.....

Abby colored with every crayon in order and then organized them all neatly on the table. All the yellows together, followed by the orange, then the red and so on.

My beautiful girl in her first day of school outfit. I think she's really going to LOVE school!