C is for cookie

This girl has such a sweet tooth. We walked by the bakery in the grocery store yesterday and when Kelly saw the baker dipping eclairs in melty chocolate, she started nodding emphatically and flashed me her best smile. We settled on a chocolate chip cookie. (And a bath!)

Raise your hand if you were really excited about turning 3

Shannon was very into her birthday this year. So we decided to have a big old princess pool party to celebrate.

Birthday cakes have become a hobby around here, and this one was really fun to create. Five boxes of cake mix and one trip to the Wilton aisle at Michael's later...

My favorite part was the Cinderella cupcake and her sparkly dress. Shannon's too.

After an afternoon of eating and swimming, we headed back home and opened some presents.

Disney princesses and girly-girl stuff have taken over. Shannon has had a blast playing dress-up,

reading princess books,

and making some important calls on her Cinderella phone. (She also sends emails from her phone, welcome to 2010.)

Happy Birthday, big girl!

Return of the Blog

Hi, remember us? Mama's trying to get back on track with the blog so stay tuned!

Kelly is hi-LAR-ious right now. She has figured out she can make us laugh by being silly and boy, does she make us laugh. She loves dogs and purses and babies and pushing things around. She knows our routines and likes to bring everyone their shoes. She's babbling a ton and I've caught her singing "row your boat" to herself a few times (my clue was the rowing arms and rocking head). She loves to dance and copy Shannon. She's learning body parts and can recognize characters like Elmo and Dora. She moved up to the toddler room at school. She's saying lots of "words" including Philly Phanatic (but refuses to even attempt "mama"). She's also testing boundaries and is fond of using her chompers if she doesn't get her way. Kelly's favorite foods these days are watermelon and bananas.

And then there's...

Shannon is such a sweetie these days. She is so excited about her upcoming birthday and is more than happy to tell just about anyone that she's almost three. We've been taking her to lots of Phillies games. Her favorite player is Shane Victorino and usually gets a laugh from the section because she cheers so loud when he's up. She is obsessed with Disney princess stories (Cinderella is the still the favorite). Our bedtime routine is "2 books and one story from your mouth." She's getting really good at counting and she likes tracing letters. She moved classrooms at school and is very excited that her new room has computers in it. She's doing great with using the potty and has been waking up dry at night more and more. She's got ideas out the wazoo, some which I'm amazed at the connections/logic she's using and others can't even attempt to understand (see below!).

Love you girlies!