The House is Finally Empty (181/365)

Now to get it back in order! Hope you made it home safe, Mike and
that Rach gets to see her midnight movie. :)

Miss you.

Matt's a Sucker (180/365)

Guess who is going to be the cutest one year old at the wedding on
Saturday, Isabel!

Thanks for the idea, Grandma! And thanks for not having appropriate
dress socks, Meijer!

And Good Times Were Had By All (179/365)

And the pie was fabulous, by the way. Miss you all already.

Last Full Day (178/365)

The chicken is in the fridge ready for frying and the pies are in the
oven. All that's missing is the rest of the fam who are coming for
dinner. Tomorrow will be the end of a great few days spent with
family, but we sure are going out with a bang by having chicken and
dumplings and peach custard pie!

Wish you all could be here.

Long Day Recap (177/365)

- We witnessed humanity at it's finest at the movie theatre this
morning -- a first-day-on-the-job manager made the day of several
autistic children and their families.

- Tori and I bawled our little eyes out over Toy Story 3. Seriously.

- It's amazing how much a pair of child sized 3D glasses improved
Alice's movie viewing experience. She kept them on the entire time,
and you better believe I saved them for next time!

- We bought Matt some clothes that actually fit him, or at least I
assume they do. He hasn't tried them on yet.

- The girls and I finally have everything (well, almost. Iz needs
dress socks) we need for the wedding next weekend. Ahh, next weekend!!!

- Alice and Grandma ate it pretty hard at The Disney Store. Alice is
fine, Grandma is banged up.

- Izzy is my daredevil water baby. She was jumping into my arms into
the pool!

- Matt treated Fred to a bachelor party at Dave & Busters, and he's
still not home.

It Was a Long Day (176/365)

Even though we didn't get moving until 11am. The girls, Grandma,
Auntie Annie and I swam our little hearts out at the pool. We came
back to the house for lunch, naps, and a movie or two. Pancakes and
popcorn for dinner made for a great end to a great day.

Tomorrow: Toy Story 3, shopping for the wedding, and more swimming. Oh
and Matt is going to Freddy's bachelor party - he's getting married in
a week!!

She Stood In Line for Eight Hours (175/365)

And she's got the blisters to proove it. Hope your new iPhone was
worth it!

What Walks Down Stairs (174/365)

Climbs up in her chair,
Who tells her Mother yes and no?
Who's great for a laugh,
And gives great kisses back?
It's Izzy, Izzy, Izzy!

Look at my big girls! Izzy is so much more physically inclined than
Alice ever was at this age. I have a feeling in going to be finding
this one climbing on tabletops and scaling bookshelves!

Looks Crazy? (173/365)

So tonight I was filling out the paperwork for Alice's preschool and one of the requirements is that I send in a photo of her. I scrounged through our pics from the past 6 months, and this was the only one of her that looked decent enough. Matt says that I'll be taking some pics of her tomorrow, which I may end up doing, but he seems to think it's because she looks crazy in this pic. Is he right? I think she looks freaking cute and not crazy in the slightest.

So who's right? Do I send it in, or reshoot? Anybody?

Well I Had a Great Video...(172/365)

Of Alice typing (and dictating) letters on the computer to all of her buddies, but there were some technical difficulties. Please enjoy this little gem that I recorded a month or so ago of Alice making out with Alice. I don't think I've posted it already, but if I have enjoy it again because I'm not changing it.

And I Rode a Pony Named Star... (171/365)

and she loved every

minute

of it.

My First Oreo (170/365)

I think she liked it.

On Our Way Home (169/365)

This was the good part of our trip (and yes, my daughter is related to
Al Bundy).

I Blame Matt (168/365)

We went out driving tonight knowing that we'd probably stop for dinner
somewhere on the way home. Our usual place was about 15-20+ minutes
away with traffic, so we opted to go to Outback instead.

When we got there I said to Matt, "does Nicole still work here? I
can't remember." I don't know why, but we couldn't remember! We
ordered, ate bread, and when our meal came out who do you think
delivered it to us? Nicole! It was a freak thing that she was the
one who brought it out, and boy was she shocked to see us there!

For one, she knows I'm not a huge fan of the place, and two we went
there and didn't request her! I felt, SO bad. We got to chat a bit,
and she took the girls over to see some of the neat wall flair. As
usual, Izzy didn't want her to leave and she cried for her when Nicole
had to get back to her tables.

Turns out, it was probably a good thing we didn't have her because
Matt realized on the way home that he miscalculated the tip and
totally short changed the waitress. Oops! See, our brains are fried
today!!

A Little Slice of Heaven (167/365)

There's almost nothing I love more than spending an afternoon poolside
with my two girls. I'm so glad summer is here!

Helpy Helperton (166/365)

Izzy knocked over all of the books the other day and I was pretty glad I had the camera out because I was more than amazed at what happened next. I can't believe she's already getting the concept of cleaning up and helping out. Pretty good for a nearly 14 month old!

Now if I could just get Alice to clean up with such ease.

Preparing for Uncle Mike's Visit (165/365)

I'm sure he had shopping cart races once or twice back in the day.
Care to challenge the girls to a race when you're here?

My money is on Izzy.

Fun in the Sun (164/365)

Well, rain, if you want to get technical.

We spent our first Sunday at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the first time in what seems like ages due to the fact that they have been on vacation. Today we got to see a real ladybug (first one I've seen in ages) and Alice was hysterical with it. The kid HATES bugs, but is crazy about ladybugs so she really wanted to hold it. She was smily and giggly, but as soon as it tickled her or opened its wings she'd freak and scream. I really wish I had that on video. Grandma also had a new sandbox and the world's best bubbles (Amazing Bubbles from Target) to play with, which Izzy throughly enjoyed. The kid even amazed us with her sand scooping and dumping coordination. And that's not a poop joke, boys.

I attempted to take some nice shots with my beast, but apparantly it needs to make an emergency trip to Canon to get fixed - I can't take any pics with it right now as it appears my mirror is all funky. Hopefully it will be back in my hands for Fred and Kathy's wedding next month! I'm not entirely surprised as it's been making a noise for months (in fact it was making this noise the last time I sent it in and they were never able to duplicate it so they didn't find out what was wrong), but the timing is absolutely terrible.

Also, I went out for another drive today and didn't break down, woo hoo! I'm very proud of myself, to be quite honest.

All Tuckered Out (163/365)

Yesterday Alice was so tuckered out from the night before (Izzy was up
for no reason SEVERAL times) that she fell asleep on me when we were
reading James and the Giant Peach. Since she never does this (even as
a baby she rarely fell asleep on someone, Izzy's the same way) and I
of course loved it, so I didn't dare move her.

Once Izzy woke and I laid Alice back down to relax and wake up (what
can I say, she wakes up like a Rice) she was so zonked she fell back
asleep until dinner.

And yes her eyes are half open in one of those pics. That is also a
Rice thing.

Baby You and Me (162/365)

I'm a Big Kid Now (161/365)

Lately Izzy has been all about showing me how big she's getting.
Currently she loves to:

• try to put her shoes on
• puts her arms and legs in pant and shirt holes
• tries desperately to drink out of a big cup and eat with utensils
• today she helped me with the laundry by handing me an item, then
waiting for me to fold it before getting me a new one (she nearly
plopped head first into the basket because she was trying to get all
of sister's undies)
• you already know she loves to cook
• now that she's walking everywhere she seems all the more grown up

Where'd my baby go?!

Dear Mommy (160/365)

I hope you feel better
because you were scared
and I hope you're not scared.
Love -
Alice

We went out driving tonight and let's just say I underestimated how
anxious it could make me. During one of (yes, ONE of) my breakdowns
Alice asked me why I was sad. I told her Mommy wasn't sad, just really
scared. She responded, "well maybe we should get something like a
present to make you not scared." Needless to say she made me feel
better just by wanting to cheer me up, but I felt even better after we
got home and she made this for me.

My Girls Are Getting Big - and Some Randomness (159/365)

Alice

- Since I let her do it one day last month, 9 times out of 10 Alice
makes herself lunch. Sometimes I help a bit, but for the most part
she's pretty self sufficient.

- She hasn't worn a pull-up to bed since Saturday after she had a
small accident. We bought some Hello Kitty panties to celebrate what a
big girl she is now!

- Not related to her being a big girl, but I thought it was worth
mentioning her current obsession, The Care Bears. It's made for some
good rainy day viewing, but I'm afraid I have one of the bloody songs
stuck in my head.

Izzy

- She's finally walking most of the time! After months of walking a
few steps before dropping to her knees to take the easy way out, it's
nice to see her toddling around like a big girl.

- She's getting the hang of the sippy cup finally. Next step, no more
formula or bottles! For some reason I'm finding it harder to get her
off these things than I did with Alice. Maybe being so careful with
het for 8+ months has something to do with it?

- Speaking of such things, you would be surprised at how non-existant
her scar is. She can thank her momma for the fair skin she inherited
for that one. It seriously looks like little more than a bad cat
scratch, it's unreal!

Aren't I Just the Luckiest Mommy Ever? (158/365)

Man I love my job.

Birthdays and Good-byes (157/365)

Tori was here this weekend and apparantly Izzy had lots of fun with
her because she didn't want her Auntie to go. She started saying bye-
bye to me and she cried when Tori passed her over to me. BTW, Tori,
that wrapping paper ended up in the trash. You would not believe the
amount of glitter that I have to clean up tomorrow!

Amanda turned seven today. Seven, I can't believe it! That kid is
growing up so fast. Her party was great, especially the cake, and
Alice and Izzy had such a blast! I have a feeling the girls are going
to sleep well tonight!

Something for Grandpa and Something for My Aunties (156/365)

Iz can finally fit into her outfit from Aunt Rosie and Aunt Ginny.
It's 6-9 month, but fits her perfectly and just screams summertime.
Thanks, Aunties!

This first pic was also Izzy being super cute, putting her purse on,
and going bye bye. Man I have cute kids. :)

And the second one is clearly for Grandpa Charlie who bought these
adorable jammies for Iz for her bday. I have to say, the first time
she wore them I told Alice what it said and she got all offended and
said, "But why does it say that? She's not Gwampa's gurl, I am!" It
was pretty damn cute.

Dress Up Fun (155/365)

Auntie Tori is coming for a visit, so the girls got all prettied up for her! Thanks Aunt Jessica for the jewelry!

She Still Won't Go On the Slide Though (154/365)

Well night two went well! Alice, and her bed, stayed dry all night.
Now if I could just get Izzy to stay asleep when Alice gets up at 6am
to pee. It's really been hard on her sleep wise as she has been in
need of a nap as soon as she wakes.

Today we went exploring and wound up at the new playground on the
other side of the pond. It's much nicer than the park we typically go
to, and both girls throughly enjoyed themselves. I think we're going
to make this our go-to park from now on.

Look at my leggy Izzy! She loved the swing, but she loved it even
more when Matt pushed the empty swing while holding her for some
reason. Crazy girl.

Night Two (153/365)

Of operation Alice wears panties (Sorry, underwear. Happy, Ann?) to bed is underway . Night one didn't go so well as she came out of her room right as Matt and I were heading to bed saying that she had peed a little (thank goodness for The Ultimate Crib Sheet that we used for Izzy as it makes a great sheet saver for Alice). Tonight she's made three trips to the bathroom since she went to bed (the last one woke her sister up, poor thing was inconsolable for a while) so hopefully tonight will be a better night. She's still waking up dry when she wears a pull-up and she's been staying dry while wearing panties for naps, so I'm hopeful that she'll be night trained very soon! I still can't believe that she's at this stage already. Three and a half years has really flown by in an instant.

Fun in the Sun (152/365)