Happy, Happy, Merry, Merry

So far, the holidays have been great! The girls had a good Christmas with lots of loot, and now they spend their days trying to steal things from each other. Santa was good to them. We are now preparing for the small one to hit the one year mark. At this time last year, I was hugely pregnant and stuck on bed rest. It's quite amazing what a difference a year can make. Annie is growing like a really big weed, and getting into more of Lily's stuff every day. Here are a few pictures of Christmas morning to tide you over until the birthday pictures are here!

Trick or Treat

It's already mid November, but Halloween and Lily's 3rd birthday have recently passed. Lily had a great birthday party with a Dora theme and lots of little friends. She had a blast, and will hopefully remember parts of it, although I don't know when they start to form actual lasting memories. Halloween was right on the heels of the birthday parties, and both girls had a great time.

Lily is potty training - again. She has finally gotten the hang of at least half of the process. We are still waiting for everything to fall into place - get it?

Here is a photo bomb to share some of the most recent pictures!

Rapunzel without her long hair

Annie and Nana

Lily and Emilia - I love this picture

I'm ready for Winter!

I always knew she was a princess

Annie sporting her Rapunzel wig

Second birthday party with an awesome cake!

Lily and her Daddy with her new bike

Princess Lily - again

Getting ready to wake the sleeping giant on her Dora adventure

Looking for the giant...

Just another Monday night

I had the camera out so I decided to take a few pictures around the house.

Daddy's birthday

Today is Paul's birthday (and my parents' wedding anniversary, and my brother and Michelle's anniversary) so we had a party. We also celebrated Papa's birthday and Uncle Ben's birthday since they were over the summer and we were all so busy. The party was fun, the food was delicious, and the kids had a great time playing in the backyard. Our neighbors, Sue and Amelia, gave Lily and Annie a jungle gym (which Lily calls her Donut). It's huge and she is in love with it. She flips around and does tricks that make her father and I cringe with the anticipation of an ER visit.

Nonna with most of the grandkids

Annie seems to like crackers

Lunch under a tree

Death defying acrobatics - this is an action shot

The birthday boys

I can sit up!

Lily on her scooter

My big sister has no idea how much trouble I'm going to be now!

Family PIctures

We decided to have professional pictures made this summer by Rebecca Bonner Photography, and they turned out so well. Here are a few of my favorites.

Summer Block Party 2011

The 6th annual Bellaire Block party - well our block of Bellaire - was in August and it was great! As usual, our neighbors all came out, everyone cooked, ate, played and danced, and we all had a blast. Lily was big enough to play with the big kids, but not so big that she didn't still want to be around Mommy and Daddy. Annie was passed around and cuddled to within an inch of her life. There was an enormous water slide to celebrate one of the kid's birthdays, so of course, Lily had to get in the action. We are so lucky to live on such a great block with such great neighbors.

Andra loves snuggling Annie!

Lily is the little spot of pink at the top of the slide!

Splash!!

First comes First

Today was the first day of school for little Miss Lily! She was very excited, to say the least. We have been talking about her school since the Spring. Whenever we drive by she is sure to point out the school with the blue door, and she tells me that she wants to go there. I was able to deliver this morning as she marched her little self right up the stairs and...wait, that door was locked so she marched back down the stairs and went in another door which wasn't blue at all. You get the idea. Here are a few pictures of Lily's big, big day!!

Getting ready to go

She looks mad that we're holding her back

Last picture, right?

Yeah, I don't have time. I've gotta get inside!

Work for Change

This summer is about change. One big change, really. It is time to potty train the stubborn, blond, curly-headed child. Paul is out of town for 4 weeks teaching in exotic, far away places, so Lily and I are tackling what may be the most challenging part of parenting so far - the potty. I will admit that this is totally parent driven. This little girl would happily continue relieving her self in her diaper until she could no longer be classified as a little girl. I, on the other hand, am tired of changing, and more importantly, BUYING diapers.

So far we have managed to get some pee in the little musical potty. Of course, in order to accomplish this feat, the orchestral waste collection device was placed in front of a never ending stream of Nick Jr. and Disney movies. She also has a small table, tons of crayons and coloring books, and a never ending supply of apple juice. The reward right now is one silly band per pee. We have had a few accidents. It usually goes like this -

Lily - "Uh-oh"

Me - Do you need to use the potty?"

Lily - "No"

Me - "Are you peeing in your panties right now?"

Lily - "No" (as the pee is running down her leg)

Lily - "I need dry panties"

This may be a long process...

Sum, Sum Summertime

We are now about halfway through the summer, although we really have just about a month of time off left. June brought about the end of the school year for Paul and I and a trip to Dallas for Paul's Orff course at SMU. While he slaved away in the Texas heat, working hard for the money, the rest of us went to the beach. Karen, Luke, Abby and Nana were with us, and it was the first time the girls saw the beach. I do believe that Lily is hooked. Annie was less impressed, but she might just need another trip to win her over. We are all back in Denver now, and settling in for the rest of our time off. Annie is getting bigger all the time - not surprising, and Lily just keeps getting smarter. She regularly reveals to the world just how much Nick Jr. we let her watch by quoting different characters or listing all the shows that she knows. Will that win us any parenting awards?

Lily and Abby playing on a sand bar

Happy 4th of July!

So darn cute

Beach baby!

Ready for her Miss America debut!

The last month has been busy as we have rocketed into Spring. The weather has mostly changed, but we are still getting a few cool days here and there. The girls are growing like crazy and Paul and I are just trying to keep up. Lily continues to improve at just about everything. We have been trying to tackle potty training, but Lily is adamantly opposed to the idea. She is already in almost the biggest size diapers come in, so we may have to switch to Depends soon. Annie is adorable and delicious. Good thing since she's kind of a crank. She definitely has a temper. Which grandfather did that come from? Probably both. She is almost 5 months old and getting cuter by the minute. Here are a bunch of pictures!