May is the birthday month!

Both girls have birthdays this month!

Sophia will turn FIVE on Saturday, May 14 and Lilly will be THREE on Friday, May 27th! It really is unreal that they are growing up so fast.

I've got their birthday parties lined up.

Sophia's party is going to be on her actual birthday - from 1-3 at the library (in the meeting room). She wanted to have an art party and invite ALL of her friends. If everyone shows up there will be 16 girls (including Sophia and Lilly) enjoying the activities. We're having a butterfly themed party. We'll be doing 3 or 4 butterfly crafts - including decorating butterfly shaped cookies and painting butterfly suncatcher windchimes. I also found a pull string butterly pinata and plastic butterfly rings to place on top of each cupcake. We'll play pin the butterfly on the flower and a few other games.

Lilly is going to have her party a week later (a few days before her actual birthday because her b'day falls on Friday of Memorial Day weekend). Lilly's party is going to be at 10:30 on the 21st. We're going to do a repeat of Sophia's 3rd b'day party. It's going to be at a strawberry patch and we're going to have a Strawberry Shortcake theme...and Lilly LOVES Strawberry Shortcake. The Easter bunny actually brought her a Strawberry Shortcake movie in her basket this year. We'll be inviting all of Lilly's classmates and a few of her other friends. All the kids will get a basket to pick as many strawberries as they can. Lilly has the cutest blue dress with big red strawberries all over it. I can't wait to see her in it.

Ladybug Whisperer

Let's just call Sophia the Ladybug Whisperer!

While we were at the beach this morning Sophia found 5 or 6 ladybugs as soon as we arrived at the playground. She was able to pick one up and it crawled around her arm for a long time before it flew away. When we left the playground and headed for our spot on the sand she found another one and was able to pick it up too.

THEN....when we got home I saw her out on the deck trying to pick something up. Pretty soon she came into the house with another ladybug! We put it in her plastic bug catcher toy and she gave it a stick and a leaf from our backyard tree. We named it Sunshine and she coddled it all afternoon. Eventually she lost it - inside the house. Maybe we'll find it. Maybe we won't, but at least it's only a ladybug.

A day at the beach

I decided it would be fun to go to the beach today, so we threw on our bathing suits, packed a lunch and headed out to Sandbridge for some fun in the sun. I didn't realize until we got there that it was only about 68 degrees and extremely windy!

The girls played on the playground for a while before we walked all of our gear down to the water for our picnic lunch.

Sophia loves to ride the swings. Trust me, she could do it for hours! Even though she has finally learned how to swing by herself, she still prefers to be pushed. Lilly tried the slides a few times and ran around chasing Will alot.

As soon as we hit the sand Sophia ran for the waves and jumped right in. Lilly cuddled up in a beach towel and began munching on whatever she could get her hands on.

The water was really cold, but once I got used to it, it wasn't too bad. I don't understand how Sophia can stand it, but I guess she doesn't notice the cold because she's having so much fun. She didn't want to leave when it was time to go. I have a feeling that we'll be spending lots of time at the beach this summer.

Slides

Easter Sunday

Sophia woke up extra early and searched for her Easter basket for a while before I secretly sent her in the right direction. It was hidden behind a chair and I swear she looked EVERYWHERE except there. She even looked under the pillows ON the chair.

Lilly couldn't find her basket even though it was in plain sight so, of course, Sophia helped her and then proceeded to rifle through it for her too. I kept reminding Sophia that it was Lilly's Easter basket and not hers.


I took the girls to Sunday school and church. We plucked a few flowers from the yard to stick on the cross. Lilly didn't want to get in the photo, but doesn't Sophia simply look adorable?

After church and lunch Will and I took the girls to Hunt Club Farm (1/2 a mile down the road) for their Easter egg hunt, petting zoo, playgrounds, bounce houses and hay ride. Lilly loved petting the goats and sheep while Sophia would have preferred to play in the bounce houses all day. Elmo made an appearance and while the girls insisted that we go and see him, they both immediately became shy when Will approached him.


Take a look at the great time we had

Last 2 days of spring break

After spending a low key day at home on Friday to rest up from our trip to Busch Gardens, we found a free family Art Palooza to attend on Saturday afternoon. It was held at our new performance art center at Town Center. The girls and I spent two hours exploring our creative sides. We made face masks, lunch sack hand puppets, crowns and spoon instruments; decorated miniature cupcakes; played some instruments; and then stood in line (for a long time) to get their faces painted and to request a few balloon animals. Sophia turned herself into a dog. Lilly got flowers painted on her arm and then immediately tried to wipe them off so they smeared quite a bit, but they were really pretty while they lasted.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon! I love this picture of Lilly.

Busch Gardens

We took the girls to Busch Gardens on Thursday (day 6 of spring break)! They absolutely loved it. We couldn't have asked for better weather - it was in the high 60s all day. We arrived at 10 am - exactly when the park opened and didn't leave until 7. Her's a picture of the girls right before we entered the park.

Once we finally got into the park and got our bearings, Sophia and Will rode a roller coaster together while Lilly and I explored the jungle gym a few times in the Sesame Street area of the park.

Speaking of Sesame Street, we took a break and ate lunch with Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, Bert and Cookie Monster and watched their indoor show. Neither of the girls wanted the characters to get anywhere near them! At the end of lunch when the red Elmo cupcakes and the blue Cookie Monster cupcakes appeared, Sophia let Cookie Monster give her a high five. Elmo walked by our table at one point and picked up Sophia's empty drink and pretended to take a sip, but other than that, we didn't have any interaction with the characters.

The girls rode almost all of the rides that were appropriate for their age. They really enjoyed the boat ride because the boats were actually floating. Sophia rode the swings two times in a row. Will went on the dragon egg Ferris wheel with them and we all rode on the carousel and train together. I really liked watching the girls ride the bumper cars. We also saw a great show of "pet shenanigans". We topped the day off with an overnight stay at a hotel in Williamsburg. All day long, Sophia kept asking when we would leave the park and go to the hotel because she wanted to see her "bedroom". When we arrived at the hotel that night, they jumped on the bed and shrieked that they wanted to live in the hotel. We woke up early and drove home on Friday morning and had a low key day at home.

Take a look at a few of their favorite rides:

Spring Break - Day 5

Today we went to the Botanical Garden again, but with different friends. Kate (dark hair & age 6) and Caroline (blonde & 4) are Sophia and Lilly's friends from church and I'm really good friends with their mom, Jen. Will even gets along great with their dad, Jeff.

On Wednesday mornings the Garden has storytime for kids at 10. The four girls sat through all the stories and then played in the water and in the play houses until 1:30. We packed it up for the day and on our way out stopped to take a peek at the bald eagle that lives in one of the tall trees. It has eaglets. I'm not sure how many. We didn't see the eaglets or their nest through the telescope, but we did see an enormous eagle. She turned his head in the direction of the telescope and Sophia was convinced that the eagle was looking at her.

It was 88 degrees out today. Another perfect day to spend time outside. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Day 4 - Spring Break

Tuesday: Botanical Gardens with Haley and Carlie! The sprinklers are officially open for the season so we enjoyed another day outside! Addie and another one of Sophia's girl friends, Tommy, showed up too. A fun time was had by all.

Lilly ran her little heart out today. She was running full speed through the sprinklers all day. Sophia led us on a few fun adventures through the park so we could explore and hunt for animals.

And...they both fell asleep in the car on the way home. TWO DAYS IN A ROW!!!!

Day 3 - Spring Break

BEACH BEACH BEACH ! ! !

I took the girls to the beach for the wonderful day in the sunshine. The weather was beautiful. The water was pretty cold, but Sophia didn't care. She jumped and splashed in the ocean for hours. She even made a couple of new friends...and built some sandcastles and a splash pool. She even ran into one of her classmates and got to play with her for a while too.

Lilly hung out with me while I lounged on a towel and watched Sophia playing. Lilly ate all of the snacks and then enjoyed taking some pictures (including this one of me). About a half hour before we left Lilly started to enjoy the sand and began digging and filling her bucket. I think I'll take them back to the beach on Friday.

They both fell asleep in the car on the way home!

See how much fun they had:

Spring Break - Day 2

Sunday: Palm Sunday...Sophia sang in the cherub choir at both services AND the annual Easter egg hunt took place after the 2nd service so we were there ALL morning.

Here's a picture of Lilly and Avery (a boy in her Sunday school class) practicing their walk down the center aisle of church for the palm procession at the beginning of the 11:00 service. When the real moment came, Lilly was so cute. She waved her palm high in the air and smiled the entire time. It was precious.

The girls were separated into two different corrals at church for the Easter egg hunt. Will was with Lilly and I was with Sophia. They only found a few eggs each, but traded them in for a few pieces of candy. After the hunt Will took a few pictures of us. I wish I could morph the last two photos together.

Saturday

We had a super busy Saturday. I ran an Easter egg decorating fundraiser at church from 10 - 12. When I host these events I leave the house at 7:30 to set up and decorate and Will brings the girls to the event when it begins. All the kids had a great time. They each received an Easter basket to carry home their loot. They decorated Easter eggs, played games and made a few crafts.

The girls stayed with me after the event to clean up and then we rushed home, ate lunch and headed out to Addie's church for their Easter party. We've gone for the past three years and each year we bring home as much candy as we usually get at Halloween! It's insane. They girls loved the egg hunt and Lilly especially loved decorating the edibles (cupcakes, cookies and rice crispy treats).

Haley and Carlie went to both events too so the funky foursome (Sophia, Haley, Carlie and Lilly) basically had an all-day play date with each other. Even though they were in sugar overload mode they were really tired at the end of the day.

This day marked the beginning of 9-day off from school break for the girls and there is something for them to look forward to each day....fun fun!

Lilly @ dance class

I only had my phone with me at dance class this week, so I don't have very good footage, but it was one of the first classes in a long time when Lilly participated completely on her own...without me standing right beside her. She did amazing! She's wearing red. Carlie is wearing dark purple.

Here she is doing Thumper, Thumper, Where did you go?



Here she is doing her ballerina walk (she goes last).



Then we went into Sophia's class and watched her tap dance performance. They are preparing for their recital in June. This is The Bear Went Over the Mountain. (She's wearing red too).

Lilly's Easter party at school

I was invited to Lilly's class Easter party today at 11:15. As usual, I was the first mom to arrive. She was thrilled when I walked into the room. She was sitting with two of her friends -
Sophia and Maddie - waiting for their turn to go up to the snack table.

Including Lilly there are only 8 kids in her class. Ms. Brenda asked the class to recite the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme and I'm proud to admit that Lilly was the only one who spouted it out.

Earlier in the day they had an egg hunt outside...which I'm guessing was the highlight of the day. We have two more egg hunts this weekend too.

This was the last day of school for Lilly before spring break. (Sophia's last day is on Friday and her class is having an egg hunt that day. They dyed eggs today.) Will and I are trying to coordinate an overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge at some point next week as a surprise for the girls.

Taken the same day we saw the "Easter"

Instead of calling him the Easter Bunny, Lilly can't stop calling him just Easter. Too funny. We arrived at the mall to visit him when he was on his carrot break so we had some time to kill and I decided to take a few pictures.

Two more birthday parties

We had a really busy Saturday. The girls went to Haley and Carlie's birthday party on Saturday from 1 - 2:30 and then Sophia had another one from 2:30 - 4:00 for her friend Charlotte. Then we had our neighbors over for dinner at 6.

Haley turns 5 on Tuesday and Carlie turns 3 on Wednesday. They had a joint "Diva/Princess party at the place where Sophia gets her hair cut. All the girls got to wear a costume and have their nails painted and their hair styled in an up-do. Sophia chose a pink princess dress and wanted her nails to be pink. Lilly picked a really puffy gold and white sequenced dress and had her nails painted blue.

Charlotte had a Stars War theme party at her Grandma's house. For the most part it was an outdoor party. They had a mini basketball hoop set up (Sophia didn't feel like shooting any baskets). She also didn't jump in the bounce house (but it was really really small and there were lots of kids in it that she didn't know). She loved the egg hunt and the time spent blowing bubbles.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from both parties.

Bumble Bee

Sophia had her spring concert at school this morning. As you can see, her class was dressed in bumble bee costumes. She looked really cute.

If you have time - watch the videos. They're not very long, but I will warn that it's almost impossible to understand what they are "singing/shouting/speaking". Sophia was one of the loudest (and clearest) ones during her class performance.

Las Vegas

Will and I spent the weekend in Las Vegas celebrating my brother's wedding! Daniel and Meg got married on Friday, April 1 in a charming little chapel called Little Chapel of the Flowers. It was a gorgeous day (91 degrees). They both looked amazing. I can't wait to see all the professional photographs. There should be a lot to review since there were 2 photographers. If you would like to view the ceremony or take a look at all of their photos...here's the link:

We dropped the girls off at Will's parent's house on Wednesday evening. Sophia and Lilly were thrilled to be spending the weekend with Grancy and Big Daddy. Grancy took them to the National Zoo and they saw a blue headed motmot bird, which was the highlight of the day according to Sophia. In fact, it was so awesome, the girls decided to have a blue-headed motmot party and literally emptied every single one of their drawers onto the floor in Lilly's room - creating an enormous mound of clothes - and then they added pillows, puzzles, books, shoes and blankets to the mess! Grancy also took the girls to see the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History. WOW!

Will and I had a whirlwind trip. Because of the tornados in Florida our flight was delayed for over 6 hours and when we finally did catch a flight (a different flight) - it was to San Francisco (2 hours beyond where we needed to go) and then had to backtrack to Vegas. We missed the cirque du soleil show we had tickets for at the Mirage. The casino hotel we called home for the weekend was the Sahara...which is closing at some point this month. We did NOT ride the roller coaster on the top of the hotel, but we did gamble a bit in the casino and ate in the restaurant - which was decked out in Nascar-themed decor.

When the wedding was over we all had a wonderful meal at a Brazilian steak house in the Hard Rock Cafe Building. The wedding cake was delicious! After dinner a few of us went on a walking tour of the Las Vegas strip. It was really fun to people watch. We got to see a water fountain show in front of the Bellagio Hotel and then headed over to check out the dealer/impersonators at a different casino. I found a Wizard of Oz penny slot machine and planted myself down. Will played some electronic poker, but neither of us had any luck! Oh well.

We left on Saturday at 1 so we really didn't have much time to explore before we had to head home. Meg and Daniel went to explore the Grand Canyon on Sunday. I wish we would have been able to make the trek too, but we'll just have to go back one day with the girls. Boy, did I miss them!