First Haircut

Well, I knew this day would come. Sophie has been asking for weeks now... "When do I get to have my first haircut?" She has been announcing to everyone she meets lately that her hair is too long so she needs to have it cut. So I finally called and set up an appointment, and on Monday we went to have her long, beautiful mane cut for the very first time! I took her to a Cool Cuts where I knew they would ceremoniously save some locks for me.

As we pulled into the parking lot Sophie asked "Is this the hair cutting store, Mom?" I answered yes as I turned off the engine and gathered my things. I glanced in the rear view mirror to see her staring intently at the sign on the door. She sounded a little concerned as she stated, "But there is no 'H'. You know, 'H' for huh-huh-hair cutting store!" She seriously makes me laugh every day!

Anyway, Sophie was excited to find that she got to sit in a race car chair and watch the Barbie movie of her choice. And I hovered around the area, obnoxiously snapping pictures from all angles! Here are some before, during and afters...





The above two were taken at home that morning. Sophie often gets to play Dora on the computer so I can get an uninterrupted shower!









And of course, we celebrated this monumental milestone with lunch and a Frosty at Wendy's!



She is so proud of her new haircut! And I am so very proud of my big girl!

Brain Noodles of the Valentine Assortment

We got up on Valentine's morning and enjoyed Ray's scrumptious pancake breakfast. Then we exchanged cards and gave the girls each their gift... Brain Noodles! What a fun find - they remind me of thick, huge, fuzzy pipe cleaners, and you can bend and twist them in all kinds of crafty ways. The girls ran off right away to combine their noodles for their first creation. As per Nonnie's suggestion, Ally made sure we took some pictures to show our far-away loved ones. Of course, she directed all of the posing and camera angle shots...

Fabulous Friday the 13th...

The day before Valentine's Day this year was just a really great day. For me, it was one of those busy, fun, heart-warming, memory-making days that brings me joy whenever I look back on it. Here are a few highlights.

The day started with a 7:30am performance at Ally's school involving two of the first grade classes. In honor of President's Day, they decided to perform the Gettysburg Address. Or, as Ally proudly called it, the "Spaghettisburg Address". I caught a bit of it on video. You may need to pop a Dramamine before watching, as I had a restless 3 year old pulling on my arm at the most crucial moment. But just keep your eyes on the "bearded" girl in the red shirt and denim skirt. We couldn't have been more proud!



We returned to school a little later for Ally's Valentine party. Her teacher had pushed all of the desks together to make one huge table, covered it with pink drawing paper as a tablecloth, and scattered markers around so the kids could draw between bites of pizza and passing out their Valentines. It just so happened that the little girl next to Ally was out sick, so Sophie was able to sit with big sister and friends. Anyway, our girls had a ball with drawing "on the table", and I just couldn't resist snapping some pics...









The coolest thing about Ally's party was that her teacher invited us to take our kids home with us if we wanted to. What kid wouldn't want to leave school early?! So since it was a gorgeous, crisp, cool day, we decided to spend a good part of the afternoon at our favorite playground. By the time we got home and threw a pizza in the oven (thank you, Papa Murphy's!), we looked out the window and realized we just had to spend a little time in the backyard enjoying this amazing sunset...



Then my incredibly sweet husband came home and, after getting the girls in bed, we snuggled up and enjoyed a romantic movie together in honor of the big V-Day.

What a wonderful day! One of those that makes you soak it all in for a minute and breathe an honest prayer of thanks to God. We are truly blessed.

Long Overdue Update

Ok, it has been way too long since I have posted anything! So today I finally decided to dust off my keyboard, clear off my camera and give you an overview of this year so far. Here are some things that filled our January:

Ray had a birthday (princess candles compliments of Ally!)...



We took a trip to the zoo, where among other things the girls enjoyed a long-awaited carousel ride...



















Ally's school had an "inclement weather" day. Up north we called it a snow day, but snow doesn't happen often around here. I guess it was more of a stay-in-our-jammies-drink-hot-chocolate-collect-icicles kind of a day! Our freezer still boasts a healthy stock of those icicles.

Just for the record, the girls dressed themselves for this great outdoor adventure. Or rather, I didn't make them get dressed. Or apparently even put on coats. (Seriously, was I even there?!) Anyway...









And finally, Ally got an award at school for her mad math skills...











Ok, more updates to come. Hopefully I'll get some February updates to you before March!