Easter Preview

 Oh

 My

Heavens.

I could just eat these two up every day.

Cliff Notes

 The following is a collection of pictures that make up a cliff notes version of what my blog should include over the past few months. Actually, it's not even a good cliff notes version. Maybe cliff notes of what the cliff notes should be?

 I adore this photo. {December}

 Picking up her sister's love of reading. {January}

 We still do Learning Time, and Bryn is still quite the star student. She mastered preschool curriculum, so we've moved on to re-learning it all in Spanish. She is picking it up muy bueno. However, there are times like this when I step away for a moment and come back to be reminded that she is, in fact, a two-year-old. :) {Jan}

 Grandma, Aunt Courtney, and Aunt Kari came up for a weekend while my mom made curtains for the girls' room. Kari and Bryn had fun playing together. {Jan}

 {Feb}

 {Feb}

 {Feb}

 Park weather in February! Thank you, CA.

 My 29th birthday! Some people dread birthdays, or like to pretend that after a certain age they don't exist anymore. Not me. I LOVE birthdays! I usually try to lay claim to an entire "birth-week" of celebrating, i.e. "My birthday is this week, so you should probably do the dishes tonight." :)

 Gotta love Pat the Bunny. So classic.

 Trying on Sis's rain boots.

 These two seriously adore each other.

 Bryn rockin' some architecture with her foam blocks.

 For the past few weeks I've been taking tons of pictures of Bryn. She turns 3 next week, and I think I've been trying to capture her 2-year-old self as much as possible.

 She wanted to do a "beautiful" pose. This is the epitome of elegance in her mind's eye. :)

 My darling girl. I've been asking her to please stay 2-years-old because I don't want her to grow bigger. She tells me, "Sorry, Mommy. I will turn 3 on my birthday, and then I will be humongous."

 We have a garden this year. Justin does most of the work, but I plan to do most of the eating. When he told me how long it would be before our first harvest, I may or or may not have cursed. Grow, grow, grow!

 Bryn has helped with every step from prep to planting.

Who says?

 Who says you can't post Thanksgiving and Christmas pictures in the middle of February? Hopefully no one. We had a wonderful holiday season, and once again, enjoyed living closer to our families for the occasions. It's nice not to deal with long plane rides, layovers in crowded airports, adjusting kids to time zone changes, living out of suitcases for weeks and weeks in an effort to make the costly airfare worth the trip, saying good-bye to loved ones who won't be seen again for many months, etc. Hmm...now that I'm thinking of all those things I realize saying "it's nice" is an understatement. It's really, really, REALLY nice.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Merry Christmas!

 What's with the hands in the mouths?? Silly girls.

This special occasion is the first night the girls shared a room together. Audrey got the boot from our room and Bryn was happy to receive her. However, the transition has been a bit tough. I don't think Audrey is as happy about the new set-up as the rest of us are.

Get Real

You know how blog life can kind of be misleading sometimes? I mean, most people post the highlights of their lives: days when they changed out of their pjs and put make-up on, activities when the kids are laughing and smiling, etc. Staying up-to-date about a person's life via blog entries can give sway to the impression that their life is always blissful, their children always obedient, their time filled with DIY projects or master chef recipes that always turn out amazing, and their calendars booked with perpetual vacations. I don't think blog life is meant to deceive, who doesn't want to look back and reflect on all the wonderful moments? But sometimes its refreshing to get a glimpse into a person's reality. And folks, here's a glimpse into mine:  

They are cute and smart and funny and wonderful and I feel like the luckiest lady ever to be their mommy. That is my reality. But is this the darling photo session showing off my adorable kids I envisioned? Not so much. No matter how hard I tried, the bribes I offered or the threats I made, I could not convince Bryn to put her pants on. Audrey, jealous of her sister's nudity, chose to go with the exposed mid-riff look. And by their far-off looks, lack of smiles, and mid-sentence mouth posture, you would never guess that I was behind the camera being as silly and charming as I could possibly be to evoke simultaneous smiles. This too, is my reality. And I still love it. 

Festive October

I heard talk of people starting to listen to Christmas music in October. Not us. Last year we were in So. Africa where Halloween goes mostly uncelebrated, so we were excited to live up the Halloween festivities to the fullest all month long.

Happy Friday!

Plethora of Pictures

Here it goes:

Audrey had a few weeks early on that were pretty rough. Her little tummy had problems digesting and she was in pain (and screaming) nearly all the time. I tried every recommendation given to me, but ultimately it just took a little time for her system to mature and now she is Heaven to be around. Justin's expression in the picture is a good depiction of how we felt during those few weeks:

Audrey doin' her thang:

 

Family reunion at Bass Lake:

We had so much fun at our family reunion...it tuckered these two out!

Bryn chose to wear this princess outfit to church (the yellow skirt to match the yellow top is under the blue skirt which are both on top of her church skirt...haha). Yay for vacation!

Justin did a hilarious song at the skit night using one of Grandma's wigs and the bro-stache app

A little dirt never hurt

 The week of Cody:

Can't you see the plea in Audrey's eyes?..."Uncle Cody, will you share some of your frozen yogurt with me? Please, pretty please?"

Uncle Cody wanted a break from swimming, so Bryn patiently waited for him. *Note: If you ever need to cut someone's sun-bathing short, stand about 2 feet away from them and just stare. They'll be back in the pool with you in no time.*

Cody kept us smiling all week long.

The Nut Tree:

We met up with Grandad and Kim at the Nut Tree and had a great time. We loved everything, except for the train whistle (Bryn is plugging her ears).

Tea Parties:

Tea parties are a favorite past-time at our house. Grandma Suzu got us started on them at the family reunion. Now I am invited to tea nearly every day.

Audrey enjoys the tea parties too (pictured here with her cup and spoon).

This is a tea party with Grandma Suzu. She provides fancy hats for her guests to wear. Ooh, la, la!

Reading:

Passing on her love for reading.

Oh, how I LOVE this!

Sisters:

Enough time for a picture before church...impressive.