A Look Back: 2010

January

Can you believe that this is how we started our year?

Look at how tiny my little darling was!

February
We turned a corner this month and life started getting a lot of easier.

March
Nothing but good memories.

April
I'm going to miss this time in my life.

May
My babies were growing up right in front of my eyes.

June

Life as a family of 5 is amazing!

July

We said good-bye to Daddy and headed to Illinois so the girls could welcome two new cousins into the world!!

August
Madelynn was growing by the second and time was going by too fast.

September
Daddy joined us in Illinois before we all went home to California.

October
Life with 2 three year olds and a one year old was getting the best of me. We now turned another corner...to chaos and craziness.

Halloween was a blast!

November
I am in awe of my daughters.

December
I am sad to see yet another year go by so quickly, but excited to see what the future holds.

Wow, 2010 was an amazing year!!

Johnathon has duty today so the girls and I will be drinking sparkling cider and making brownies. Nothing too special.

I hope you all have a safe and fabulous night.

I will see you all next year!!

T'was the Night Before Christmas

I found this cute twist on T'was the Night Before Christmas and just had to share it. It made me laugh because I have felt this way too many times to count! :)

It was the night before Christmas, when all thru the abode
Only one creature was stirring, and she was cleaning the commode.
The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds,
While visions of Nintendo 64 and Barbie, flipped through their heads.
The dad was snoring in front of the TV,
With a half-constructed bicycle on his knee.
So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter,
Which made her sigh, "Now what's the matter?"

With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand,
She descended the stairs, and saw the old man.
He was covered with ashes and soot, which fell with a shrug.
"Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug."

"Ho-ho-ho!" cried Santa, "I'm glad you're awake."
"Your gift was especially difficult to make."
"Thanks, Santa, but all I want is some time alone."
"Exactly!" he chuckled, "I've made you a clone."

"A clone?" she asked, "What good is that?
Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit-chat."
The mother's twin. Same hair, same eyes,
Same double chin.

"She'll cook, she'll dust," She'll mop every mess.
You'll relax, take it easy, Watch One Life To Live."

"Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream come true!
"I'll shop. I'll read., I'll sleep a whole night through! "

From the room above, the youngest began to fret.
"Mommy?! I scared... and I am wet."
The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart."
"Hey," the mom smiled, "She knows her part."

The clone changed the small one, and hummed a tune,
as she bundled the child, in a blanket cocoon.
"You the best mommy ever. " I really love you."
The clone smiled and sighed, "I love you, too."

The mom frowned and said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal. "
That's my child's love, she's trying to steal."
Smiling wisely Santa said, "To me it is clear, "
Only one loving mother, is needed here."

The mom kissed her child, and tucked her into bed.
"Thank you, Santa, for clearing my head.
I sometimes forget, it won't be very long,
When they'll be too old, for my cradle-song."

The clock on the mantle began to chime.
Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time."
With the clone by his side Santa said, "Goodnight. Merry Christmas, Mom, You'll be all right."

Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours!

The 3rd Birthday Bash

Happy Birthday, Alyssa & Allison!!

The girls woke up this morning around 8:30 and were each given a present...a new bike helmet. They begged to put them on and walk down the stairs...this is what they saw.

Their new bikes.

{courtesy of Grandpa & Grandma Stone}

They were THRILLED!

The looks on their faces were priceless and adorable.

We were planning on letting them open 1 gift at a time throughout the day {daddy's idea}, but caved and let them open them all, right then and there.

Here are the girls posing with the aftermath. It looked as if a pink/purple bomb went off inside our home!! There was no doubt about it, we were celebrating the birthday of two 3 year old little girls! :)

That last picture sums them up perfectly!! Alyssa is a 'what you see is what you get' kind of girl. She is ornery, sassy and very adventurous. Allison on the other hand appears to be the sweeter of the two. Very delicate and quiet...WRONG! Turn your back for even a millisecond and the whole house will be destroyed. She is sneaky. :)

Alyssa was more than ready to ride her bike!!

{Yes, I adjusted the strap to her helmet before she took off.}

Here is their Daddy trying to teach them to push the pedals.

It wasn't long before Allison fell over...even with the training wheels.

She was devastated!

Alyssa did a fantastic job. She was steering AND starting to push the pedals!

Daddy finally talked Allison into getting back on her bike!

Their Disney Princess cakes.

Allison had Sleeping beauty & Alyssa had Cinderella.

I thought they were just going to be cupcakes with lots of icing...nope! They were 3 layer cakes!! Delicious!

We had previously planned on waiting until 6:02 and 6:03 to sing to them and eat cake, but what fun is that?? Again, we caved, like with the presents, and did it around noon! :)

Here they are right before we sang to them. I opted not to take pictures during, instead I wanted to be active in this moment. It's more important that I am there and in the moment than to capture a picture for everyone else. There are just some moments I am selfish about!! :)

Allison was enjoying her cake. She kept enjoying it ALL night long!

Alyssa enjoyed the cake also...more so the icing!

Overall, we had a great day. There were no melt downs and we had a blast. We made lots of memories and the girls enjoyed every second of being spoiled.

Mommy loves you, girls!