the cat

Addison brings home drawings and projects from school all the time. I haven't really saved anything yet mostly because you don't know what a lot of it is. But yesterday she brought home a picture she drew and I almost cried. Behold. Her first picture that actually looks like a real animal.

Yes, she did draw it all by herself. I love the detail on the nose and mouth and the little paws. I found out this morning that they have an art teacher that comes in every Tuesday and walks them through the steps, line by line. Yesterday they did a beach scene with a palm tree. Let's just say she did better with the cat.

This one is definitely getting framed. I can't wait to get more to add to the collection.

father's day

Addison was so excited for Father's Day. She's been asking me all week when it was going to be here. She jumped off the couch yesterday morning to give Michael a hug. Happy Father's Day to the best daddy in the world. The girls love Michael so much and he loves them back just as much.

We spent the morning at the pool. Everyone swam until they couldn't swim anymore. Addison kept saying her cheeks hurt so we knew it was time to go.

Morgan is in love with the water. Her swimming is getting better everyday. She was so worn out that I finally made her take a break.

Snack time.

Michael - Thanks for being such a great dad. Seeing you with the girls melts my heart. I know you'll always be there for them and for me. It makes me love you so much more. Love - me.

morgan overload

I would have pictures of Addison if she let me take pictures of her. This past weekend we went to Gainesville for a birthday party. Lucky for the girls it was a pool party. And there was pizza and cake. I even let them have some Sprite. Morgan was in love.

Both of them had so much fun in the water. I didn't see Addison much, but Morgan was all about hamming it up for the camera.

So it's a lot of pictures of Morgan. Who cares? She's cute to look at.

I swear sometimes I could just eat her.

bat girl

Just a warning. If you are a bad guy, you better watch out. Bat girl is looking for you.

There's no escaping her. Her cape makes her fly super fast and she'll zap you with her curling iron, wand thingy. I have no clue what the gloves and bracelets do other than make the outfit.

Let's not forget about the stethoscope locator that blinks to let her know that bad guys are in the area.

This morning I was bat woman because I'm a mom, who is bigger and stronger than bat girl. I had to wear the little cd player around my neck and then I was sprinkled with pixie dust so I could fly. You know. Because I don't have a cape.

Bat girl is currently at school learning new ways to fight the bad guys and her gear is taking a rest in my car. She will continue saving the world as soon as I pick her up.

stats

I took the girls for their well visits soon after their birthday and haven't posted their stats. It's not that important, but still fun to note.

Addison -
40 inches tall  (55th percentile)
33.2 lbs  (35-40th percentile)

Morgan -
35.5 inches tall  (90th percentile)
23.4 lbs  (10th percentile)

I always thought Addison was tall, but evidently Morgan is going to be taller. She's a full inch and a quarter taller than Addison was at two years old. And both of them have no meat on their bones. This makes buying clothes a little difficult. Addison's torso is long so I have to finds shirts that are made longer or her midriff is always showing. I bought some new shorts for Addison the other day that were 2T. Morgan is also wearing a 2T mostly because her diaper fills the space. Without it and her pants would be falling off. Because Morgan is taller than Addison at the same age, all of the hand-me-down dresses she is wearing are a little short. I know it doesn't really matter at this age, but it does look a little funny.

They both eat a fairly balanced diet, but they just don't eat a lot. The doc said that's okay at this point and I shouldn't be concerned. It does worry me a little when Morgan goes on one of her eating strikes, but I guess she'll eat when she's hungry. She's been drinking a lot more milk recently which is a good thing. Either way, they're both healthy so that's all that matters. Addison got her Kindergarten shots and it was pretty dramatic, but everything with her is. She swatted the nurses hand as she was finishing the shot in her leg. That caused her to get stuck and scraped twice as the shot was coming out. Her leg was black and blue for a week. Morgan got two shots and took them like a champ.

Ready for cute, random pictures? Here's the girls at Sunday school with my mom.

a get together

We spent all day Saturday at the lake. My brother had the jet ski up and running and my cousin put his boat in the water. We all had a blast celebrating my mom's birthday.

Baby M and her third cousin Evan hanging out in the water.

My aunt Karen reading books with Morgan.

Morgan worked on her swimming some, but when she needed a rest it was here. Addison had a great time with all of her third cousins. Here she is with Hannah.

Mom opening her canvas picture from all of us.

And my little sweets eater doing what she does best. Destroying a cupcake.

Such a fun way to spend a Saturday.

a little surprise

I've been keeping a little secret.

My mom has been begging me for a good picture of all of her grandchildren together. Since her 60th birthday was coming up, my sister-in-law and I met to have pictures taken of the girls. It was all planned out for the week before Easter. We would meet and have plenty of time for the girls to relax so we could get some good shots. But we all know things don't go as planned.

It was the worst day. Things were stressful at work. Addison had to pull over to poop. Morgan cried from that point on. The black clouds were looming overhead and hail was heading our way. We had about 10 minutes worth of picture taking. And Morgan wanted no part of any of it. Her tongue was out most of the time. Both my sis-in-law and I were in tears when we got there.

I kept telling myself that it was all for mom and that no matter what we got that she would love them. Between the jumping, dancing and singing in the background we were able to get some good shots.

Taryn Lewis from Sugartree Studios does all of our pictures. She really is good at what she does. Even on the worst day she knows how to make magic happen.

Seriously? Look at those faces. That may be my favorite picture of Morgan...ever! And it was the last one she took.

Addison loves her cousin so much.

Mom's little party was this past weekend. We blew one of them up to a canvas which is now hanging on her wall. I think she was surprised and happy. My sis-in-law and I are so happy to have these memories. Love these girls so much.

(Taryn is here --> click!)

around gatlinburg

While we were in Gatlinburg we did a little sightseeing. It's a great little tourist town with a ton of shops, mostly candy and treats. The girls found lollipops.

Morgan decided to just sit down in a store and eat hers.

Then she decided that she wanted to try on some sunglasses. Every time I took a pair out of her hands and turned my back to put them on the shelf she had another pair pulled out. She like cheesing for the camera. I feel sorry for the person trying those on after her. She was a mess.

We stopped for a picture with the bears. Addison actually let me take a picture of her. The other is courtesy of Addison, our budding photographer.

Another decent family picture courtesy of a stranger walking by. If I could I would attach sunglasses to this post so you don't go blind from looking at my glowing legs.

I tried to justify all of the crap I ate by walking. I don't think the formula worked out in my favor though.

special occasions

Yesterday was our anniversary. Michael has been putting up with my shenanigans for six years. I'm not sure how he does it sometimes. There's a lot of female drama in our house.

This was taken about a month after we were married at a little family party to celebrate our wedding. We started planning this big wedding and then nixed the whole thing and got married on a cruise. Just us and 20 close family members and friends. It turned out to be perfect.

Today is my mom's birthday. It's a special one since she's turning 60. So this weekend we're having a big bash to celebrate it, Morgan's birthday, Mother's Day, and whatever else we can think of. Happy Birthday mom!

my hat

We were leaving the beach and she wanted to wear my hat. Everything about her is me. I love it!

And I'm terrified at the same time.