Piano Recital!

I'm finally getting around to sharing the video of Graham performing at his very first piano recital. Better late than never, right?

Happy Easter!

Happy 3rd Gotcha Day!!!

I'm not sure what's up with Amelia's silly grin here, but she was insistent that her new silver shoes be pictured, and this was the only shot to show off her new shoes. :)

Three years ago today, we flew home from Korea with our little little princess. Our world was turned upside down for quite a while as we adjusted to being a family of four, got to know Amelia, and very slowly earned Amelia's trust. Now, when I look back, those challenging days are nothing more than a distant memory. Amelia is one resilient little girl and I am so incredibly lucky to be able to call her my daughter. She's incredibly kind and compassionate and not to mention, she's one of the best shopping partners out there (seriously, she is!) and her love for shoes rivals my own obsession. At three years home, here are some of Amelia's favorites: anything related to ponies, baby dolls, anything princess, any type of art project, books, books, and more books, Graham, napping, meat (no joke-she would live off of protein if we let her), shoes, dresses/skirts rather than pants, hair bows, and nail polish. As you can probably gather from this list, Amelia is about as girly as they come and I'm loving every single minute of it.

We love you forever, and ever, and ever Amelia and are so incredibly thankful and lucky to have you as our daughter! Thank you for being you!!

And because Graham likes reminding Amelia that her 'Gotcha Day' means that his baby sister came home from Korea, I figured I would include a picture of the two of them together.

3 going on 16?

Thankful

Tonight, I am thankful for a March evening warm enough to spend at the park and an ice cream treat to end our day. Slides and ice cream outside at this time of year are unheard of around here...not that we're complaining though!

A snow day at last!!

As a former teacher, there was nothing better than a snow day. But, now as the mother to two kids who I feel are growing up WAY too fast, my feeling on this wintry days was confirmed...there is nothing better than a snow day! The kids have pretty much called the shots today, and it's been great. An extra episode of Dora this morning (while I got to read)...sure! Fresh blueberry muffins (with permission to lick the batter covered spoons) and hot chocolate for breakfast...sure! Baking chocolate chip cookies and really enjoying the dough...sure! Snowmen and sledding outside...absolutely!

The roads are already beginning to clear so I know that tomorrow we'll be back to our usual schedule, but it sure was nice for the day to have nothing, absolutely nothing, that needed to be done!

Can I just say how much I love that Amelia calls her sled a "sleigh"! She likes everything to be fancy in her world!
And yes, he has mittens, just hates them. I choose my battles.

Amelia gets her way....

The bad blogger Mama is back....

I fully admit to pushing the blog waaaaay onto the back burner for the past month. We've been insanely busy (a 5th birthday, a trip to Kauai for Daddy Jeff and I, a trip to Arizona for the kids with Grandma and Grandpa while Daddy Jeff and I were on the beach, dance lessons, piano lessons, swimming lessons, preschool, two Valentines Day parties, and plain old life, keep us on our toes every single day) and to be honest, sitting down to blog, doesn't always end up on the top of my 'to do' list. I promise to put forth better effort going forward though...

When the kids play together, which they're doing a very nice job of lately, Graham usually decides the game and the rules for the game. Usually, it involved Darth Vader and his crew taking over the Barbie house, but Amelia is just happy to have a willing playmate. Tonight though, Amelia got her way. She has a hair stylist set that she loves and she convinced Graham to play "hair cutter" with her.

I love Graham's expression in this picture-he takes the blow dryer very seriously and does a pretty good impression of the way it actually sounds!

And, on a completely random note, here is a cute quote from a conversation I overheard today.

Amelia:I really want to be a princess when I grow up.

Graham: You can't be a princess, Amelia. You have to have a REAL job!

Amelia: Like what?

Graham: How about you be a clown?

Clearly, Daddy Jeff and I need to do a better job instilling high career aspirations in the two of them! :)