Babies

I love babies.  Babies are so sweet, so soft, and so cute......

This past Friday our family grew (no - I'm not expecting).  Friday was the birth of my nephew, Eli.  He was born at 12:55pm in Austin, weighing in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces and was 18.5 inches long.

 

Congratulations to Amanda, Jared, Gillian and Avanly!   I can't wait to meet him!

(It almost makes me want to have more.  But then I remember colic, crying, diapers, night feeding, excessive amounts of laundry.....and I think I will be perfectly happy with a nephew!)

Intelligence?

I can't tell if this is the sign of intelligence.

At least she didn't cover her eyes.....

Easy Bake

As a child I always wanted an easy bake oven (I'm guessing most little girls did).  I now know (or at least think I know) why mom and dad never got us girls one. 

Easy Bake = Big Mess and Time Sucker

Last year for Madison's birthday, my mom (aka Grandma), got one for Shea after I mentioned she would like it.  She loves it.  Charlotte loves it.  Me, not so much..... 

Don't get me wrong, I love watching the girls have fun.  They happily gather the 50 accessories and thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of each mix/frosting combination.  They measure and mix so vigorously. 

But, in a nutshell, the easy bake oven is quite a tedious toy.  It takes 10 minutes to "preheat".  (I use the term preheat lightly - the oven cooks with a light bulb)  Considering it takes 8 minutes to cook and an additional 8 minutes to cool (and only cooks one teeny-tiny pan at a time), it takes us a full hour to complete two small desserts for the girls. 

But, the girls like it, so we indulged in a little Easy Bake activity earlier this week.

Prepping the mix

Licking every last bit from the bowl.

Man - this frosting is good!

Enjoying the final product!

Doesn't quite look like the picture on the box...I can't imagine why!







Homework

Madison, being a 2nd grader, has homework Monday-Thursday.  When we get home we usually get started on it - that way she doesn't dread it all evening.  She didn't fight the homework assignment too much today.  

 It used to be a challenge helping Shea with homework and also trying to keep Charlotte somewhat quiet and happy. 

Until now.

Bug likes homework (odd, I know).  She does her "homework" when Madison does.   It started one day when Charlotte asked where her homework was.  I dug down into the bottom of the coloring books and came out with a kindergarten readiness workbook.  Most of the time she happily does her "homework" the same time Madison does.  Sometimes she works in the book and other times she "does her letters". 

Not too bad for 3yrs old!

I'm sure the excitement of homework will subside for Charlotte and it will be back to the craziness of keeping her quiet and helping Madison.  But, I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts!

Fun Times at the Park

Finally, with cooler temperatures we went to the park! 

It's hard to catch an "in motion" picture on the swing.

Climber fun!

Bug did fall off the climbing wall, but dusted off her woodchips and went right back at it.

Disney

Any family with kids knows how powerful Disney is.  Boy or girl, young or old, Disney is everywhere. And - kids love it.

The Disney channel is the preferred channel in our house.  Hannah Montanna, Wizards of Waverly Place, Phineas and Ferb, etc.  The girls will basically watch whatever is on.  Madison and Charlotte can recognize all the Disney music stars and their songs (Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato).

Madison has also perfected the remote control operation (of course to aid in Disney Channel watching).  She knows all the main functions (pause, play and record).  Charlotte even knows Disney is #250.  On the way home from church (listening to Disney on XM radio), we were treated to this.

Isn't she quite the performer?  I guess that's the typical younger sibling.  Exposed to things "older" than what she should be.  Charlotte would rather sing Selena Gomez instead of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song.

Madison refused to participate in the vocals.  Maybe she knows I would post it.