Chicago

We hit the big city this weekend ... sadly for only about 24 hours though. Little Miss Kendall was baptized this weekend and we are (very honored to be) her godparents so we went up for the ceremony. The girls were just dying to see not only Kendall, but Uncle Ryan and Aunt Suzie too. And Spike - of course. I did not get a single good picture of the kids together - I thought it was hard to get two - impossible to get all three smiling and looking at the camera. This one was as good as it got.

Mallory is in that "I LOVE Babies" stage. She was very interested in Kendall. I think she is trying to give her a kiss here.

We hit the Lincoln Park zoo - the girls loved it, of course. We traveled there using public transportation - wasn't that Green and Frugal of us???


I thought this was a GREAT picture! Well, Ryan could use a smile, but the girls sure look nice!

Mallory's first taste of popcorn. She loved it, so much so that she demanded to hold the container. At one point, she put her entire face in it. Love it!

Kendall completely co-operated for the baptism, no screaming involved. :) I'll post some pics of that in the future - didn't get any with my camera. It was a long ride home, but well worth the trip. Wish they lived closer!

Magic House

Surely I have posted about the Magic House before ... but even so, it is so fun that it bears mentioning again. Magic House is basically St. Louis' children's museum. The kids really really love it. Keira claims all the parts are her favorite. She loves the static ball, the section that has a the grocery store/library/bank/etc, there is an area to learn about magnets that Mal really liked ... I could go on and on. Oh and another favorite is the creative studio in the basement where the kids get to paint and do a craft to take home - also Keira's favorite - especially since she now wants to be an artist when she grows up (changed from "Nature Girl" about a month ago!). We got to go to the Magic House with some good friends that came to visit from Kansas City. Keira thinks it is neat that we have friends all over - I think it's neat too -- except for that fact that I would rather have them all live next door ... who is up for some communal living?? Anyone ... Anyone ... ????

Static Ball - Keira loves it! It makes for great pictures.

Malzy was actually flirting with an employee that was outside of camera range. Pretty cute.


Keira was totally into the hospital nursery - for about 5 minutes she wanted to be a doctor. Then she changed her mind to mechanic (see below).

Nascar pit crew anyone?

Random side tucked away in the museum. There are several, one is several stories high with glass windows so you can watch them go down.

Thank Goodness for Water

It's been hot hot hot here and we've spent every afternoon (and some mornings) in the backyard lately, that is, when it's not raining and there isn't a tornado warning making me crazy. As a SAHM, I am not sure what I would do without the backyard kiddie pool, sprinkler and slip and slide. The girls can play for hours back there. Here are a few recent pictures.

My big girl ... she is going to be taller than me by third grade, I think.

Look at those curls!


Mallory loves the water table. I mean seriously LOVES the water table. This will keep her attention for a very long time. Today she was using it to search for treasure ... rocks!

Mallory has entered that stage where it is extremely difficult to get pictures of her. She says cheese and smiles, but rarely looks at the camera. So you'll have to take what you can get for awhile.

After about 7,000 tries, this was the best I got of the two of them together. Grrr....

Dance Recital Videos

Ok - so I couldn't figure out how to make them smaller, so I uploaded to you tube. You have to click on this link to see them, you can't search and find them. They are each about 2 minutes long. Keira is the second from the right in both videos. So cute!

Tap Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2vh6bJggmU

Ballet Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJfGrj5_FdU

Apparently I fell off the wagon

I was soo good with posting or awhile (unlike some regular readers of this blog ... you know who you are!) and then, well, I just forgot. Thank you to one nice reader for kindly reminding me to get on it! :) So, let's see ... oh yes, Keira's dance recital. It was just so, absolutely adorable. They held it at the local community college. They did two routines. A tap and a ballet. The costumes were fabulous. Hot pink and silver. Keira did very well. For the most part, she knew both routines. At this age, they still have their teacher standing up front, directing them. It was pretty cute in the tap routine because the girl standing next to Keira watched her the whole time for the moves. I've got a few pictures below ... the video is a bit to big to post, but I am working on that!

I made these as a little treat for the girls, aren't they cute??!!??

Keira all dressed up and ready to go. The hands on the hips are all hers - she is a bit sassy (but in a good way! :)



Another "pose" all her own.

Keira tip toeing (I am sure there is some ballet term for whatever they are doing, but I don't know what it is) off stage. Keira is second from the end. Yes, she is tall for her age.

My other little princess - wants to be all dressed up, just like her idol, big sister!

More on these to come ...

Crazy Weekend

We had lots and lots and lots going on this weekend. One of those things was Keira's last soccer game. The Queen Bees had a great season and I really liked the coach. He really focused on helping the girls get better. They had their medal ceremony and got some great treats too.

What can I say ... she's her mother's daughter ... she loves her some cupcakes!

Giving the coach a High Five after receiving her medal.


Go Queen Bees!

Treats I made for the girls ... Cute little water bottles I found at Michael's for $0.80 and then filled with sugar cookies with yellow frosting for the Queen Bees!