Day of Fun at Splashpad today

We have been so busy lately I haven't really had time to blog. Yes, you read that right folks. Do not adjust your monitors- lol. My bootcamp started back up, and my sister move to town (woo-hoo) and Ryen and I have been sick and she is cutting more teeth and Ella has swim classes at night... Geesh, the list goes on and on.

Anyhow today we had a real fun day with good friends at the splash pad at Power Ranch. My sister and my niece joined us too. It was awesome. Here are some photos. I have tons of other stuff to blog about and photos to post, but I have an hour left of the Bachelorette from Monday that is screaming for me in the living room, as well as a coughing 8 mos old baby that I am hoping stays asleep, a good cup of coffee and a great book waiting for me on my nightstand, as well as a husband who just got home and is eager to spend time with me. ;) Not to mention all this photo editing as given me a stiff neck, but well worth it.

The More Things Change...

...the more they begin again. It is so surreal to watch my oldest child growing up right before my eyes and lose some of those qualities that make her a baby. She just outgrew her carseats and is now in a Big Girl booster seat. ALREADY! And Little Ryen outgrew her infant carrier and is now in Ella's old car seats. Sigh... Here is a cute photo of them below checking out their new seats. I just love the look on their faces it is like they are both saying to each other "check out my new ride!"



Ella is becoming a little person, so fiercely independent and sometimes so sure of herself. She is so creative and intelligent and has so many ideas and concepts that I cant keep up. Her newest thing is whenever I am speaking sternly to her (ok who am I kidding- yelling at her) for not listening or for doing something she shouldn't, we have a hilarious exchange. It is something like, "Ella I said stop hitting your sister RIGHT NOW! (notice I raise my voice there) and her reply is "No! I'M TWO!" all while holding two fingers in the air. Sometimes if I am lucky she will scream "I'm TWO AND HALF!" I try so hard to keep a straight face at that moment and sometimes have to turn my back to her, because when she catches me laughing at this, she laughs back and then doesn't take me seriously. I tried to recreate this on the video camera but it didn't really work because we weren't yelling at each other- but you get the point. Anyhow here goes...



The other thing that drives me crazy that I have been complaining about for over 8 months now, is she wont call me Mommy anymore. She insists on calling me Mom. Seriously? I didn't think I was going to have a child calling me Mom in my house till she was almost a teenager and she started before she was even 2. There is something so baby-ish about her calling me Mommy and something too grown up about her calling me Mom. Heck there are some kids her age who are still saying MA-MA. And I get the long dragged out "MAWWWM" (usually with a roll of the eyes which many of my friends have witnessed... It's hilarious!).

BUT- as Ella leaves baby behavior behind Ryen follows right down her paved path. As Ella is no longer calling me Mommy, Ryen is finally saying Ma-ma! Although she usually says it when she is real sad/tired, or I have to bribe her with food. Da-da and El-la are still her favorite words...sigh... but at least she can say it, along with No and Da for Dog. I managed to capture Ma-ma like twice on this video below, although it wasnt easy and if you blink you might miss it. Some of you may think she is saying MMM like "this is yummy," but I think NOT! And you will clearly hear her tell me NO at the end of the video when she is sick of me asking her to say Ma-ma! LOL



Ryen is also in such a rush to walk just like Ella. If you try to sit her on the floor she arches her back and wont let go of you until she is standing up. You literally have to bend her body in half and force her into a sitting position and even then she throws herself backwards in frustration. So we stand her up and let her hold on to the couch instead. Here they both are (stealing this idea from My Buddy Sue's blog at www.Parkecentral.com by the way):



I don't think I am truly read for two kids two yrs and under when BOTH are walking. My friends who have traveled this road before me, like Michella, Trish, Stephanie, and even all my neighbors who have more than one child, have all been great for me to learn from and funny at the same time. I can't tell you how many times at a playdate, I hear "Oh Crap! Where is -----?" (insert name of one child there). The kids are always just nearby playing, but it is funny how you get so used to only having to focus on one kid for so long because the other can't go anywhere. At least I have been around this enough times to know it WILL happen, and I WILL panic, and thanks to my great friends I will laugh knowing it doesnt make me a bad Mom just makes me human! LOL

It is sad but exciting at the same time to see Ella leave her babiness behind, be less dependent on me, but my little Ry Bunny helps offset it a bit. What will I do when Ry is no longer my baby either? I think about what it will be like when Ella is starting Kindergarten and Ryen is over 2? Will I embrace my freedom from babies and babble and crying and night waking and diaper changing and teething and crawling and falling and walking? Or will I feel like I have suffered a deep loss? I wonder. Now if I could just get Jimmy to have number three, maybe I could hold off answering this question for a couple more years...!

XOXO

SuperMom couldn't do it without Super Inspiration!

Here is something I saw in an article that really made me stop and think:

You think your life is hard? Imagine being plunked down in a foreign land where you're not fluent in the language, you have to figure out how everything from a doorknob to a toilet works, and you're one-third the height of everyone else. Now you may know how your preschooler feels! Being a preschooler has its stresses. When your child seems overwhelmed, it's a good idea to look at what's going on in his world, slow the pace, HAVE SOME PATIENCE and provide some extra TLC — the same things you like when you're overwhelmed!

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So The Adventures of Supermom is the title of my blog not because I think I AM Supermom, but to remind me to continue to strive to be the best Mom I can be. Lately, I have really been evaluating my parenting skills and watching my friends with their kids and I literally am inspired so often to be a better Mom. I love taking bits and pieces from my friends and using it to keep evolving on this long strange trip of parenting, where there is NO instruction manual! Here are some of the Moms who have inspired me in different ways:

Brooke: inspires me to want to slow down a bit. Not always be in such a need or rush to get of the house. Just to breathe. Relax, spend a lazy day at home with the kids, and know that it is OK to do that.

Adrianna: inspires me to want to be stronger/more independent and rely on Jimmy less, since she so often has to go it alone, when Gary is on the road. =(

Michella: inspires me to strive to really grow and cultivate a beautiful and loving relationship between my two girls, like she does. There is nothing like Sisters.

Lori: inspires me to remember to fight for my children, and to never forget that I am their advocate and their voice.

Sue: inspires me to remember that Art and Music are just as important in my children's lives as Math, Language and Science

Tanya: inspires me to get my hands dirty and actually PLAY with my child. Not be in the same room with her while she plays and I read or blog etc. But to really PLAY with her and to really LOVE that time with her while I am lucky enough to have it. One day I will be yelling they never have time for Mom anymore...

Lindsay B: inspires me to try to respect the job I do now, just as much as I respected my jobs in the corporate world, and to realize that although I am not paid in money I am paid in love.

Carina: inspires me to want to have more children and to know it is possible! LOL

Jessica: inspires me to forget about the messes, forget about the spills or the waste of yards of toilet paper strewn all over the house and stop to appreciate the special moments with my children. Messes are cleanable, things are replaceable, but those special moments when you can grab your camera and laugh at your child's adventures (without caring about the clean up or the waste) you cant ever get back if you waste them getting angry...

Pamela: inspires me to not feel guilty about taking care of me! I simply will be a better Mom to my kids and a better Wife to Jimmy if I am taking care of me too. So she inspires me to not feel guilty about investing in my own health, as I am investing in my entire family's health at the same time.

Danielle: inspires me to be madly in love with my children and not care what anyone thinks about it! ;)

Jackie: inspires me to let kids be kids and not worry about the carpets or the couch or the toys or the vase etc. Children will break things, children will ruin things, and accepting it and preparing for it is a huge relief and much less stressful than always trying to prevent it.

Deanna: inspires me to try to not let having kids stop me from having fun, even though our definition of having fun has been drastically re-written.

My Mom Linda: I couldn't complete this list without the woman who inspired me most. My Mom inspired me to leave my corporate ambitions behind in trade of the best job in the world. To accept the challenge and the financial struggle of being a one income family today so that I could be a major presence in my Children's lives the way she was in ours. My Mom sacrificed a career of her own, her friendships, her time and so many other things for my siblings and I that I couldn't even possibly begin to list them here. Now that we are older and have had children of our own, marriages, divorces, etc she continues to sacrifice for us and be there for us on a daily basis. I would not have survived the first 6 mos of Ella's life had it not been for her. She was my rock. When I was terrified and doubting myself she told me with SUCH conviction and such confidence that I would succeed, that I would be the BEST MOM and that I absolutely could do it on my own, away from the help and rescue of family. She made me believe it, and she gave me the confidence I needed to believe in myself. Lately, she probably feels like all she hears from us is what she does wrong (which is unfortunately human nature I think) But I hope she realizes when reading this, that no one is perfect, and she did/does SO MANY things right too.

So many countless others of you inspire me in so many ways everyday, and I am so happy to have you all around to watch and learn from. As Moms we can sometimes be our own worst critic. So for any of you above who have ever felt like you do so much wrong, please know that you do a lot of things right too, and you have helped me become a better Mom as a result!

XOXO

MY BIG NEWS... Finally!!!

Ok, so sorry to make you guys wait so long for my BIG news today. (NO it is not a pregnancy!) But here goes. It took 5 years, 1 month, and 22 days for me to have one of my family members join me in moving to Arizona!! My twin sister Lori and her family, including her boyfriend David, and my 6 year old niece Olivia have arrived in AZ and will be moving into their home in Queen Creek on Wednesday!! YEAH!!! From the day we moved here Jimmy both said we would LOVE it if some or all of my family would move out here with us. Jimmy even schemed once that if we could somehow convince my parents to move here we may have a shot at getting all my siblings to come out too (a long shot lol). But funny thing is that Jimmy and I always said from the start that if anyone moved out here it would be my sister Lori. We just knew for some reason.

Here are some photos of me and my twin as babies (sorry they are blurry)...


(Left Photo: Lori on left, Jill on right/Right Photo: Jill on left, Lori on right)

My sister and I are real close and I am so excited to have her here. Ella is SUPER excited to have her cousin Livvie who she pretty much idolizes. They are so cute together! They also brought their two dogs (a beagle named Clyde and a basset/beagle mix named Brady). The girls are getting along great and so are the doggies which is a huge relief for us, because we were so hoping the dogs would get along.

So my sister and her family drove cross country and she was posting her progress everyday. It was fun to follow them on their journey and reminded me of mine and Jimmy's cross country drive 5 years ago. Here are some of the highlights of their trip:

Stop 1 was Niagara Falls (so jealous!)


Stop 2 was Notre Dame in Northbend Indiana


Stop 3 was Lincoln Nebraska


Stop 4 was Colorado!


They stayed in CO for a few days visiting a friend and had a good time:


Stop 5 was New Mexico


Stop 6 was ARIZONA!! Yeah!


Here are some current photos of me and my sister:



I am looking forward to making many more memories and taking many more photos to add to our collection. It is so exciting to have Family here, no one loves you and accepts you like Family, and Jimmy and I have NEVER looked forward to the Holidays MORE than we do right now!

Welcome to Arizona Lori, Dave, and Livvie! We will always be here for you and cant wait to help you get on your feet and create your own great life here! XOXO

Separation Anxiety

Ahhh, separation anxiety can be one of the most frustrating parts of Motherhood. But for me, it is also one of my favorites! (selfishly) Ryen woke up tonight at about 8:15pm about 2 hours after she went to bed. This is the 4th night in a row she has done this. Normally I just pop her binky in her mouth and give her a tag to play with on her blanket and she is good to go. But tonight when I tried to walk out of the room she started crying. I walked back over to the crib and she reached for my hand.... sigh...

I held her hand and she drifted off to sleep. When I thought she was out, I tried to walk out again. She must have opened her eyes and seen I was gone, and she started crying again ( I hadn't even made it out the door yet). I walked over to her crib again and again she reached for me. It was sad but beautiful at the same time. These phases can be really frustrating but this is also when I feel the most like a Mom! I watched her sleep and stroked her head. I held her hand, and watched as she jerked her eyes open to keep checking if I was there. It was so sad, that she was so afraid I would leave her. I scooped her out of her crib and rocked her in the rocking chair while she snuggled against me and kept rubbing her hand up and down my arm.

Normally I would have been in such a rush to get her back to sleep to go hang out with Jimmy or to write on my blog or to watch the premier of Army Wives. But tonight I thought about my friends who lost their twins and Susan's message to hold your babies close and hug them a little bit tighter and take the time to appreciate them, and I did just that. I rocked her without looking at the clock, without caring about what else I could/should be doing and it felt great. Once she was settled down and back to sleep I placed her in her crib. Last night my Ry Bunny also woke me up at 11pm (exactly 21 minutes after I crawled into bed for the night completely exhausted) and I had to feed her to settle her back to sleep. I am sure this is probably going to happen again tonight but really who can say no to this face...?



I will continue to think of my friends Matt and Susan, and tonight I will look forward to it, instead of dreading it. Good night all.

BIG NEWS COMING TOMORROW!!

What a Busy Week!

We had a fun week of errands, bootcamps, playdates, and family time!

Now that School is out for Summer the neighborhood has started Tuesday Morning Coffee again, and I was the first one to host. About 5 of our neighbors came over for coffee/snacks and the kids ran around screaming on a donut sugar high the entire time! =) It was fun! Of course I took photos but didn't really get any good ones.

On Wed we went to our friend Brooke's to see some of my friends from the playgroup I used to be in. We had a blast. The kids all played well and Brooke had Pizza for everyone. Here are some cute photos.




On Fri we spent the afternoon as a family at Sweet Tomatoes teaching Ryen how to eat solid foods like veggies, pasta and potatoes, while me Jimmy and Ella stuffed ourselves with yummy food! Summer also means the return of Margarita Fridays in my neighborhood so Ella, Ryen and I went over to my neighbor Elissa's house for some Margaritas (we ended up making frozen strawberry wine drinks instead) some swimming, and some dinner. Ella was so tired when we got home she passed out cold at bedtime!

Some random thoughts:
1. My crazy PMS is gone, I dont feel like breaking every mirror I see anymore, and my 5 pounds of pre-period water weight and bloating that made me freak out thinking I was gaining weight, has disappeared. Till next month when self depracating Jill makes her return...

2. Ryen cut her second tooth on the bottom!! So exciting. They are so tiny right now that I cant get a picture but I cant wait to be able to post something soon. Toothy grins are my favorite. (she is getting so big so fast!) Instead you will have to settle for blurry photo of her eating her first french fry! Love the face!! LOL



3. My Summer Reading list in full swing. Here is my stack (minus one that is in my diaper bag).



Although honestly I will probably be done with all these in the next 5-6 weeks and will need a whole new stack! But luckily my bookclub seems like the fire was lit again and we are starting a book exchange at our club meetings so it should be a GREAT Summer of reading! Jimmy thinks it is so weird that I read more than one book at one time. I will switch off and read a chapter of this book and then a chapter of the next one. I think because I build up such a pile, I get anxious to start reading all of them and so I attempt to read them all at once. Am I weird?

4. Here is a cute video of Ella practicing her audition for American Idol Season 25. She knows like over 60 nursery rhymes and loves to sing them in the car! I sneak my camera out and catch her and as you can see, she LOVES the camera!



5. Brooke and Michella wanted to see how my handmade invitations turned out for my Sister Lisa's Bridal shower. So I told them I would post a photo here. The photo doesn't do it justice. The paper is Celadon Green over Black with Yellow Ribbon with a Calla Lily and Crystal Brads. They were so cute. (These were the flowers and wedding colors my sister had chosen so I used them for her shower too!) Right now I am working on Baby shower invites for my friend Jessie, but I can't post them on here because SHE READS MY BLOG!! Hee Hee! After they go out I will post a photo. Jimmy is telling me I should start a business.



6. At the Northeast corner of Gilbert and Ocotillo Rd there is a white cross that has been there for the 5 years I have lived here. These are common here in AZ, and are roadside tributes to those who lost their lives in car accidents. What is unique about this one, is that every couple weeks there is a new wreath of flowers hanging on it. Every couple weeks. I dont know how long it was there before I moved here, but it made me think about the person who brings these flowers twice a month and I knew right away it has to be a MOM. I will feel awful when that piece of land is converted either to commercial or residential properties as the cross will likely have to go. But for now the owners of the land continue to let it be, and the grieving Mom continues to place the fresh flowers. Each time I see it I peek in the rear-view mirror at my girls, and it reminds me to be a little more patient, drive a little bit slower, make sure I have my seatbelt on tight, and be especially thankful for the people in my life.

Careful- I might eat you!!

I have been grumpy for a few days now, which means I must be getting my period. I always enter a 4-5 day span of self-loathing before my period arrives. I can’t walk past a mirror without shaking my head in disgust. I try on every outfit in my closet and have such a bloated stomach during this Pre-period timeframe that every thing gives me muffin top and makes me even grumpier. I don’t want to get out of my yoga pants (God I love those and thankfully I bought 10 pairs!)I also can't stop craving sweets and wanting to eat everything in site. (Thank God for my new discovery of pop secret kettle corn which is low in fat and calories and satisfies my sweet tooth while filling me up!)

Then I start beating myself up that I am not doing enough. (Like seriously getting my ass kicked three days a week at bootcamp and spin classes 2 times a week is not enough??). I start saying how I should be eating better (I tend to eat pretty good overall) and that I should have better time management. But should it really be this hard to look good? (Or should I say to be happy with how I look as I know I have some friends that hate me right now and want to scream at the computer right now that I do look good already. Love you guys! XOXO) But I digress. Where was I? Oh… On top of finding time to get to the gym 5-6 days a week, I am trying to take care of two kids 2yrs and under, two dogs, a house, a marriage, friendships, family relationships, the cars, cleaning, grocery shopping, paying bills, financial planning, scheduling, cooking, socializing, reading, watching tv etc. (poor me- right, imagine if I had a full time job on top of all this like some people- much love to those ladies that have to do almost all of this and work full time.) And seriously the timing NEVER seems to work out for me. I want to take a 5am Spin Class? Can't anymore because my kids wake up at 5:30. Want to take an 8:30 bootcamp? Can't because Ryen needs to nap and will not nap in the daycare. Want to work out after Ryen's nap... cant! None of the classes or bootcamps I want are offered. WHY does this seem to always happen to me?

And now I am supposed to try to find time to squeeze in planning out a daily menu that is calculated so precisely to 1200-1400 calories and remembering to eat 6 times a day (small meals that it) and prepare my snack baggies of carrots or apples etc in advance (so I will always have something to eat to keep my metabolism going) all while trying to drink the 2-3 cups of coffee I need to function along with 8 bottles of water a day and a few protein shakes? SERIOUSLY????? It was one thing when I was kicking my ass to look good for my sister’s wedding but just for everyday life? No!

Did I mention I want to punch someone in the face repeatedly till they scream Uncle. (ok, maybe not)

Anyhoo, so when my period strikes, sane Jill will return and will say… 9 mos on 9 mos off. Sane Jill will take a look at this photo below:



and realize that I looked like that in October of 2008 and will look at this photo below:



and realize I look like this today (without sucking in) in June 2009. And that although my stomach is NO WHERE near where I want it to be and I wish it were more toned (and I am working on it) that it is pretty Flippin' AMAZING that my stomach is not permanently damaged goods after the way I carried my Ry Bunny. My stomach now, can always be hidden by strategic belts, waistlines and sucking in till I want to pass out and my abs hurt from basically an 8 hour long ab isometric. Sane Jill will look at me in a bikini and see my extra butt cheeks (which have gotten smaller lately), that my bootcamp instructor calls “BUTTHIGHS” and my cellulite and some of my not so flattering curves and will say does anyone really expect me to NOT have these 8 mos after having my second kid? Sane Jill will say, you are 31 years old not 16 so don’t expect to immediatelyhave that little tight ass all these teeny boppers are walking around with, unless I want to work out 4 hours a day like Gwen Paltrow or Kelly Ripa (no thank you!). I survived college, enough booze in my twenties to kill a horse, two pregnancies, one boyfriend and one husband who like to eat whatever they hell they want and took me along for the ride (one could not really get away with this- my ex) and one who clearly still can (my bean pole of a husband).

Not to mention I am signing myself up for so many flipping fitness things just so I stay motivated to make fitness an everyday part of my life. I have My second Triathlon on Oct 4th, The 60 mile Breast Cancer 3 Day Nov 13-15 (don’t even get me started on how HARD the fund-raising is this year) and a Half Marathon in January 2010. So knowing that I am committed to fitness and making it a part of my life permanently why can’t I just be patient? The results will come with time. I have already come leaps and bounds in such a short period of time. Maybe it is because Bathing Suit season is here again and I love the water, and so do my kids but I DESPISE bathing suits. Despise(verb): to look down on with contempt or aversion. Oh well. I wish I was Super-Woman who could just be Happy with herself all the time, because Super-Mom can not and will not allow my body issues to become my girl’s body issues. I KNOW I can break the chain and teach my girls to always love themselves even while I overcome my own struggle with it.

PS- to all my friends: I swear I am not writing this so you all will comment on how great I look and how inspiring I am to all of you, and how much you love me. You guys have told me that so many times on this blog already, and Sane Jill totally appreciates that and knows that you mean it. So you don’t have to comment to this thread, unless you just want to have a chuckle at how insane your friend is! LOL

D-Day 2009 and Love...Always & Forever

Today is D-Day. D-Day is the anniversary of the day Jimmy's parents passed away. June 2nd. Jimmy's Mom (Darlene) passed on June 2, 2000 and Jimmy's Dad (big Jimmy) passed away June 2, 2003. Yes it is extremely rare to have Husband and Wife pass away on the same day in different years, and in order for Jimmy's Dad to accomplish this he had to defy medical odds. None of the nurses or doctors could explain how he was still holding on. But we knew the answer... LOVE. He wanted to die on the same day as her. When June 2nd arrived we told him he made it to June 2nd and that it was ok to go, and off he went.

Every year on this day we buy big balloons and write messages to Grandma and Grandpa Carilli. We tell them about the kids and Jimmy and our lives. We tell them we love and miss them and we send them up in the sky. Below is one of my favorite photos of Jimmy's parents and our balloons as well as two shots of Daddy and his girls getting ready to send them off "to the moon" according to Ella, (which is where she has suddenly decided that Grandma and Grandpa Carilli live. LOL). This year was even more special as Ella helped me write on them (or scribble-lol)



On this day I am reminded of the power of Love and thought I would share a special story. In Christmas 2007 I was shopping for Christmas Cards for Jimmy. I always look for the wordy novel of a card that sums up a whole life's worth of feelings along with a Merry Christmas. Anyhow I was looking and looking and I came across this card. It was so not like me to buy this card but I couldnt believe how moved I was by it. It was so simple and so beautiful and so short. I bought it for Jimmy and he opened it on Christmas morning. He loved this Christmas Card so much that he still displays it on his desk almost 2 years later. This past Christmas when Jimmy gave me my Christmas Card, I opened it to find the same card that I bought him the year before. Not only did he get me the same card (because that was how special he thought the card was also) but he had to go to over 20 stores to find it. He had every female sales clerk in every Walgreen's and Hallmark Crown store Ga-Ga over him when explained that he had to find this one card for his Wife, because she gave it to him the year before and he desperately wanted to give her the same card this year. he finally found it. And so as corny as you all might think this sounds, now we have both cards on display in our house. Here is a photo of our matching cards below:



The cards read quite simply on the front:
"Merry Christmas to My Always"

and on the inside:
"From Your Forever"

Seriously? WTF!

Why? that is all I can ask myself right now as I feel the tears welling up in my eyes and I am trying so hard to keep them from falling. Why?

A couple weeks ago I posted a very emotional story about my first childhood crush John passing away, and how tragic that was for his identical twin Matt. I posted about what a waste it was, and how I always worried and watched Matt from afar hoping he would land on his feet, and be able to live a happy life. How I always felt a bond with him, having a twin of my own...

I was over the moon when I found out Matt and his wife Susan were having identical twin boys of their own! Seemed to me like the Universe was correcting a VERY BIG WRONG from 16 years ago. I thought maybe it was John's interference or influence, and I couldn't wait for Matt to experience identical twin boys from a very different perspective and to relive some of his own childhood and relive some of his memories with his brother.

WHAT THE FUCK is wrong with the Universe? Today I found out that Matt's wife Susan went into premature labor yesterday. The doctors couldn't stop it and the babies were too small and young to survive. Needless to say he and his wife are devastated. I don't understand why some people have to be given so much sadness. I have seen what so much sadness can do to a person first hand, as my own husband has experienced more than most.

I feel completely deflated like the air has been let out of my lungs and it is hard to breathe in. I just don't get it. And so my tears are spilling over no matter how hard I try to keep them in. And I find myself thinking of my friend Matt again, 16 years later and saying "It is just not fair" AGAIN!!!

Happy B-Day to Mandy - More Ryen 1sts - & A Cute Craft!

Happy Birthday to MANDY, Happy Birthday to MANDY, Happy Birthday Dear Mandy, Happy Birthday to You!!!! My baby, my first born, my Mandalay Bay is SIX years old today! Oh my gosh. In 6 years she has brought so much laughter into my life and so much love in my heart. Mandy had a great day. First Ella and I made her a carrot cake and let her lick the spatula and the bowl when we were done! =) Then she had a lazy day lounging by the pool (what a life) until it was time to sing Happy Birthday and eat her cake. (She ate her cake so fast that in the photo there is an empty plate! I didn't even have time to snap the picture. LOL ) Here are some photos!

Ryen had a few more firsts this week! She cut her FIRST tooth! Well actually looks like maybe 2 on bottom and 1 on top all coming through together. So needless to say my sweet adorable baby has been replaced with a nightmare for the past couple days. Poor thing is in so much pain she doesn't nap or sleep well and she isn't eating as much. Not to mention the clear runny nose and catastrophic diarrhea that goes along with teething. Wow! Isn't this fun!? I can't wait till I can get a toothy smile out of her and post them- it will make it all worth it!! But for now I am getting red eyes and crankiness...



Ryen also had her first shower and she loved it. She sat on the floor splashing around and chewing on toys, but her FAVORITE part was sharing Mommy's towel and snuggling against me. (my favorite part too!)



She also STOOD by herself for the first time. She loves that too. She wants to stand up all the time now. I wonder if I will have an early walker on my hands like Ella...



Lastly, we have a birthday party to go to this weekend for Ella's friend Ryan and we thought we would make her a similar "garden" to what Ella has to play with. So we crafted her a pretend garden complete with foam soil, fake flowers that she can pull out and "replant" whenever she wants (and she can get more flowers to add to it). We made a cute wooden plaque with her name on it and decorated all four sides of her "planter box" with pink daisies and flower stickers. We even put Butterflies in her garden! We so hope she likes it! Here are some photos:

Front:


Back:


Butterflies:


Although this didn't take long to make, there were lots of materials involved. The basket, the foam, the flowers, the wood plaque, markers, glitter glue, pink wire, butterflies, toothpicks, stickers, etc. We had so much fun, and I can't wait to give it to her on Saturday. I just hope she likes it as much as Ella does, and that her Mommy appreciates that Ryan can now garden year round without making a mess, needing water, or killing pretty flowers! =)