Christmas Excitement 2013

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He's coming soon...

…and we are giddy with excitement!

Not sure who is more excited, them or Mommy and Daddy!

Cookies for Santa, check.

Carrots for reindeer, check.

Two sleepy little girls who can't wait until tomorrow, check.

Oh, Santa!

Look at my brave little girl!  We went to the mall the other day and since there was absolutely no line, I asked the girls if they'd like to sit with Santa and tell him what they would like for Christmas, not really knowing what the answer might be (except from Poppi).  Of course, Zoë said you betcha.  Poppi, no dice.  

So up Zoë went to the man in red and told him she wanted A GROCERY CART!  She has said this consistently throughout the season.  Thankfully, Santa has already put it together and it stands at attention waiting for her gaze to fall upon it on Christmas morning.

Poppi, on the other hand, chose to lob her request from the safety of her stroller; sitting about 20 feet away, she whispered, "a new Ginger dog"(Fancy Nancy's Frenchie, one of which she already has, but has decided she needs a new one).  Luckily, Ebay has elves.

Passing the time...

Poppi passing the time while we wait for Santa; singing her ABC's while playing the xylophone.

I asked Poppi the other day what she would like for Christmas and she said a new Ginger Dog (her stuffed dog) and a doll house for ZoZo.  So sweet of her to think of her sister.

Happy Thanksgiving...

Our first taste of pumpkin pie; and we loved it tremendously.  Zoë is my sweets girl; she savors her M&M's when Daddy gives them to her and she loves a good lollipop every now and then, so it was no surprise to us that she loved the pie and the whipped cream was an added bonus.  Poppi, on the other hand, is not as interested in sweets; she can take them or leave them.  She tried it then went on her merry way.

We used the turkeys they made at our place settings.  We had a very quiet day and it was nice to have Daddy home because Zoë loves "being with my family."

Patience...

Patiently awaiting the arrival of Princess Megan.

(November 16, 2013 - St. Pete Beach, FL)

Princess Party...

We were invited to one of the girls' friends house for a Princess Birthday Party.  It was so sweet to watch all of the girls look at Cinderella with stars in their eyes.  She sang for them and then played games with them; at the end she "autographed" some of her pictures, and Poppi put it to her chest and said "I love my peecsure."

(There are no pictures of Poppi because she was behind the scenes most of time as she was once again "skeered" and was content to watch Zoë as she made a new friend in Cinderella.  However, we did have a small breakthrough when C was about to leave, Poppi gave her a hug!  And, yes, of course, my camera was nowhere to be found!

My Sweet Girl...

is growing up...

Zoë had just finished watching an episode of her favorite "tb show," Max & Ruby, where Max was in bed going to sleep.  She started pretending she was going to bed and said "Nighty-night, Poppi, love you;  nighty-night, Mommy, love you."  She sounded so grown up, my heart skipped a beat.  

"Time waits for no one...Hours are like diamonds, don't let them waste."

The Rolling Stones

Bewitching...

This is the best I could do on Halloween.  Zoë loved wearing her hat all day; and that included a few errands out to Target and the grocery store.  Poppi, however, kept insisting she was "skeered" of her hat and had no interest in wearing it.  Sigh...

Happy Halloween - 10/31/2013

This was taken at a Fall Festival on 9/28/2013; I thought it was appropriate for Halloween because I'm in the picture and that's scary. :)  We had a great time, especially Zoë, she enjoyed the zipline and a giant slide with Daddy.  Poppi was content to be the observer.

Helping Nana...10/25/2013

I am sure this will be the only age at which they argue over who gets to help clean!!!

Evolution of a Ballerina 10/18/2013

Not sure of the technical name, but the teacher calls this a "boat".

My little Primas discussing technique (or their special snack waiting for them in the car, not sure which).

A rare lengthy attention span :)

Joyful girls!

Ballerinas - 10/7/2013

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A Special Visit...9/30/2013

What a special day the girls had!  

They were visited by their Great Aunt Theresa, who came all the way from the state of New York to see them!  

Thank you Cousin Andie for making these priceless memories possible!  

The girls were beside themselves when they realized GA Theresa could read too!

These are the times of our lives!

TGIF!!

Flashback Friday:  This was taken 2 days after we returned from China (1/20/2012).  

Jet lagged and shell shocked but oh, so beautiful.  So sweet.

Fashionistas...9/4/2013

Helping Mommy...

Mixed load, anyone.  Color sorting optional.
They are so eager to help with anything around the house
and for right now this is the safest option; unloading the dishwasher, not so much.

I get allergic smelling hay...

 I took the girls to a 100-acre estate today.  The grounds were breathtaking with their magnificent gardens, arboretum, a 12,000 square foot mansion from the Gilded Age, a children's farm and a nature center complete with a waterfall and 30-gallon aquariums.  The weather was spectacular and the girls were beside themselves to have the freedom to run as far as the eye cold see.

This sums up the day...we loved every minute of it.

Looove Poppi's face!

 This is what a day of fresh air and running in the grass does to one's hair.

Happy and tired, enjoying her favorite snack...raisin bread with extra raisins added by mommy.

Sweetness...

This morning the girls and I were out for our morning stroll; we go for about two miles every morning, weather permitting.  And today was gorgeous; I love September morns.  

Just as we were nearing our house, I heard this:

Zoë :  Poppi, hold my hand.

And saw this:

Poppi left, Zoë right.

They held hands until we made it home.  

It was one of the most tender moments I have ever witnessed and I am grateful that I had the privilege of doing so.

Sigh...

Fresh Air...

We took the girls on a little excursion today (much like the ones my parents used to take us on, only we made sure we had more than a quarter tank of gas; my father thought it was fun to live on the edge and go on a long drive and sweat the trip home because the needle hit "E" and we were nowhere close to home.  We would have to coast down hills in neutral; yeah, it was a blast, she said sarcastically).

Apparently we are quite close to one of the largest lakes in our state!  Who knew.  We just happened upon this quaint little beach, so we decided to be a little spontaneous, which doesn't happen much with two year old twins.  It was extremely hot and humid; I was drenched from head to toe, but not because I got in the water past my toes.  It was that hot.  The poor girls were wilting so we didn't stay long.

Zoë was so enthusiastic, you would have thought we were at a four-star caribbean resort.  She loved combing her little beach area for seashells.  Poppi, on the other hand, does not like the sound of the waves on any body of water, be it fresh or sea.  You can see her foot lifted up in the photo, ready to make her getaway.  She hung on shore with Daddy for most of the 15 minutes we were there; every now and then she would come down to check things out and dart back out.  Funny.

What a beautiful day of making memories with our girls.

Trying to get my little beachcomber to say "cheese."

Wheelbarrows and Rakes 8/25/13

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Since Fall is right around the corner (eeeek, I can't believe Summer is almost gone :(), I bought the girls some very cheap inexpensive rakes, shovels and hoes.  And what yard preening apparatuses would not be complete without wheelbarrows.  Yep, that's me, go big or go home.

The girls loved them.

I cannot take credit for this brainstorm, Zoë has been "baking leaves" with her golf clubs for weeks.  I thought I'd better show her what the proper tool was for raking lest she take a rake to the golf course ;)

Happy Birthday...

Happy Birthday, Nana.

We miss you; please come to see us soon!

Funny Girls...

This morning I decided to give the girls cottage cheese with fruit on top of it.  When they were little, and unable to protest, I guess, they loved cottage cheese with organic pureed fruit mixed in.  Now that they have veto power, they have decided that it should never touch their plates again...

Mommy:  Here is your breakfast, love, fruit and cottage cheese.

Zoë:  {After inspection of the white, lumpy substance on her plate}:  Mommy, this cheese is Pee U.

Poppy decided in a show of solidarity that she too would not like the white clump, even though she had voiced her approval just minutes before.

(pictures taken 8/11/2013; video 8/13/13--wearing Aunt Marion's paint smocks)

Milk and Cookies - 8/11/13

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Making cookies with my girls brought back so many vivid memories of the times I did the exact same thing with my mom; although my mother was much more laid back when it came to eating raw cookie dough, and, thankfully I am here to say I survived.  I, however, am not and I am overly cautious, to wit, you will hear me telling Zoë not to touch the dough (relax, my father would probably say, oh, he of eating lumps of raw hamburger, salted, no less!).  She did get a smidge in her mouth later on and is A-ok.  To each his own, I guess, but I would prefer not to take any chances.  I will say, however, to this day, it is one of my guilty pleasure, raw dough.  Yes, I know, I am such the gourmand.  Poppi, on the other hand is much more interested in the raisins, as is evidenced at the end of the video..."more raisins," she said.

Zoe Makes Dumplings - 07-31-2013

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We read Kai Lan's ABC book and "D" is for Dumplings; we haven't read it for a while, though, so I am not sure why she was thinking of dumplings :)  Love that she thinks outside the box!

Southern Cousins...

 Allie visiting in May...

And Amanda visiting in July.

Please come to see us again soon; we enjoyed catching up with you both.  Our girls are lucky to have such beautiful and inspiring young women to look up to.  We miss you so much.