Friday birthday celebration and Earth Day

Princesses on Ice last night was incredible. The Disney shows are just something else. I am always impressed with everything Disney. I always have, and always will be. I am hooked on everything Disney! It's funny how my girls are all just like me. Boy, did they love it. We've seen this show before, and two other different Disney on Ice shows, but they just seem to get better every time. Abrielle absolutely loved it too! I knew she would, but boy was she just mesmerized the second Mickey and Minnie came out on the ice. Of course, Maddie and Faith were just beside themselves singing and clapping. Everyone within a 2-aisle radius from us kept laughing at how excited they would get, and how loud they would sing along.

We had a wonderful time today at the lake too. We couldn't have asked for better weather. We just picked up some little Cookie Monster cupcakes from Redner's this morning (Maddie and Faith joke all the time that Cookie Monster is Abrie's 1st 'boyfriend' and so they insisted on these little cupcakes) and Dan grilled burgers and hot dogs. We had the lake totally to ourselves, and Abrie had the time of her life sitting and splashing at the water's edge. My baby is a beach girl.

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Earth Day yesterday was fun. I had been telling big girls for awhile now that we would do something fun to honor the Earth on Earth Day this year. They are always wanting to pick up trash that they see since they want to "save the Earth," and yesterday I let them do just that. They made signs the night before that I helped them paint that said 'Team Earth' and they made up their own little chant while they walked. It was cute. Maddie kept stopping to hug trees too. And, in the afternoon they painted little birdhouses too with their little friends.

Daddy-o

I really wish I had pictures from today. I got a text message today at work from Dan saying that I wasn't going to believe it, but Maddie caught two fish today all by herself! I was so excited. I knew that he wanted to take his little ladies down to the park today to make an attempt at fishing, but I really didn't think it would pan out very well. But, fish they did. And, not only that, they also dug in the back yard for their very own worms! Dan said he let Maddie have the rod and she started reeling it in by herself, and couldn't believe that she had caught a little sunfish. Not once, but twice. She was very proud, and Faith was very proud to report that she caught "nothing!" hahaha. And, they were both proud to report that Abrie apparently sat in the grass as content as could be just inspecting all the loose debris by her feet. That is totally Show!

I love hearing all the little stories that the girlies have of their days with Daddy. He is loving it, and they are definitely loving it too. He is a great man.

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I wish I could figure out why all of a sudden I can't upload pictures to here. If I could though, I would be able to show my little Houdini and her antics these days. Abrie is, and always has been, the climber in the family! She's been climbing the stairs since 7 months of age, and loves to climb on top of the VCR, etc. Her new favorite thing to do is to try and climb into the bottom cupboard in the kitchen (which is one of her all time favorite hangout spots) and onto the dishwasher. She has always loved "helping" with the dishes, but now it's funny to see her actually ON it.

My big girls have also been extremely busy with elaborate set-up's. They could definitely be on one of those 'extreme' shows about 'extreme set-up's!' Haha. Maddie's is really neat downstairs. She has every single My Little Pony, Littlest Pet, Disney Car, Princess and Prince figurine, and Playmobil person set up in the Playmobil dollhouse. She calls it 'Mickey's House of Mouse.' It took her more than a week to get it right. Today they told me that our house is a museum, and each set-up is an exhibit. It made me laugh.

Besides eternal set-up's and playing, my big girls are coloring constantly. I've now introduced them also to the world of 'Pictionary' and they LOVE to play that with us on their chalkboard.

New additions

The most exciting thing that has happened recently is the birth of my newest little nephew, Chase Finn! Girlies and I have been so excited. We got to meet him on Sunday and he is just precious. I love so much being an aunt!

Been keeping busy. We enjoyed a Friday off last week and went to the museum to see the Bob the Builder exhibit that I hadn't been able to see with Dan. It was just as cool as my little ladies (and their Daddy!) had described. They spent forever there. Abrie absolutely loved it and was in heaven sorting through the toolboxes and the little garden that they had. Maddie and Faith were in heaven because their little friend, Nora, was able to come too. They all had a blast.

Now it's on to planning my baby girl's birthday. I've never been one to do 'big' parties or anything for their birthdays, especially the 1st birthday. I think we'll enjoy the time together as the 5 of us on Friday, and I think we'll go up to the lake to barbecue. Considering Abrie enjoyed herself tremendously at the lake and the beach a few weeks ago, I think this will be a perfect way to spend the day with her. I'm bummed that I have to work on her actual birthday on Saturday, but we'll definitely make the most of our Friday together and have a little cake on Saturday probably.

B2: Birthday week

I can not believe my baby will be 1 on Saturday! Where has the year gone??

Planet Hop

The 'Planet Hop' is almost as popular as hopscotch here these days! And, I love the fact that Faith-y likes to call Jupiter... Zupiter!

Little roosters, I have three

It is deja vu here again.

Last year when Abrie was born, my two big girls were my little roosters. They were always awake by 5:30am, and that was on a good day. A lot of days they were awake at 4:30am and I somehow managed to keep them laying down until 6 am or so. A lot of it had to do with them not seeing me in our room since I was either out in the living room feeding the Show or in her room trying to console her back to sleep.

I have three little roosters this spring. Apparently they all like to get up at the crack of dawn when it is light outside. I have no room to complain though since Abrie has been sleeping the entire night (knock on wood!!!) without even getting up in search of her pacifier. So, we've all been downstairs and ready to start the day these days by 7am at the very latest if I can hold them off for that long.

It was nice this morning to spend some extra time with my girlies before getting ready for work. Maddie and Faith helped wrap some little sausages in crescents for a breakfast recipe that I like (I am the only one though.. they love to help make it, but will NOT eat it!). We walked to Redner's and played outside for a good while too.

And, the first night with the three of them all together in a room was a success!

Is three company or a crowd?

We will see!

Abrie has officially moved into Maddie and Faith's room! Her room is now a mini-library and general play area. We will see how we all fare tonight. It should prove interesting!

Maddie just emerged with a question that she said she wanted to keep as a secret. She finally told me in a whisper, "well, I wanted to know if I could get Abrie's name sign off of her door and put it in our room since she's now a part of our room and I want her to know we love her here." It was so sweet.

B2: New favorite

Discovered a new favorite pastime of baby girl: the beach.

We went to the lake this afternoon and enjoyed this heat wave that has been ongoing. It will cool down tomorrow, but the past few days it has hit 90 degrees! I was thrilled to find out how much Abrie just LOVES the sand, water, and everything else related to being by the beach. Granted this is just the 'beach' of the lake, but it was good practice for the summer since we are planning on visiting the beaches up in Maine. Faith was traumatized by the beach at 8 months on a particularly choppy day (waves and wind), but despite it being extremely windy today, Abrielle couldn't have been happier. We worked her up gradually to sitting in the sand, but quickly realized that she is all about it. She sat there as happy as a clam! And, she only tried once to eat the sand.

The Idea Garden

Totally stole that phrase from my favorite gardens to visit, Longwood Gardens, but I still thought the name was cute. I have coined this as the nickname to the girlies' new project with Daddy.

They've been working long and hard on this for a week now. This is 100% Dan's project with his ladies, and I am not going to interfere. Not to mention, I am NOT good with plants. I repeat, I am NOT good with plants. I am only good at killing plants, despite my best efforts. I love plants and flowers, but like to appreciate them from a distance!

It's turning out cute though, especially considering between the two of us we have z.e.r.o. knowledge or experience with anything landscape or lawn-related.

1st Easter with our Breeze

It was Abrielle's first Easter!

Her 1st birthday is rapidly sneaking up on me, and I can tell this because I keep thinking "wow, it's been a year since last Easter when she was born 2 weeks later." It's crazy.

Anyway, our first Easter as a family of five didn't exactly pan out the way we had planned. The plan had been to join Aunt Lisi, Uncle Nate, and beloved cousins at their house with everybody else. My girls and I ended up sick though. Not to mention, Dan had to work late this morning and didn't get home until lunchtime today. He was so bummed to not get to see them when they saw their baskets from the Easter bunny this morning. But, they called him right away and told him all about their exciting surprises. 'Princess and the Frog' was a big one, and I am excited to watch it in its entirety by myself one of these nights. They loved what they saw this afternoon though, and think Prince Naveen is hilarious.

We were quite the bedraggled parade that walked to Redner's this morning. Girlies insisted on wearing their Easter dresses regardless of the fact that we were stuck here at home, and they looked so cute walking to the store in dresses and flip flops. Not to be outdone, Abrie was in a beautiful little Easter dress with a huge scratch on her forehead from taking a dive into the street yesterday. I don't know if it's from not feeling well or what, but her recent thing is to have mini-tantrums and she likes to throw herself forward and into the carpet. Well, she did it yesterday while sitting on the sidewalk, but she didn't have the soft carpet to cushion the blow. It didn't break the skin and bleed, but instead the blood vessels underneath all popped immediately and she had a lovely quarter-sized mark right in the middle of her forehead.

I was so bummed that we couldn't spend Easter with family the way they had looked forward to, and my back-up plan was to go to the museum for their Easter egg hunt. But, with Dan having to stay late at work, that plan also failed. I decided to hide eggs for the three (well, two) of them by ourselves this afternoon. So, that was nice for them. And, Nene and Grampa did stop by when we had returned from Redner's. Nene has now introduced them to the world of Zhu Zhu pets (or however you spell them). They are adorable, but I refuse to get sucked into spending money on their accessories! What they have will be enough in terms of Zhu Zhu! They had a blast playing with them all together though. We made our own little pork dinner here, so all in all, it was a nice, quiet Easter.

Summer weather and picnics

Thoroughly enjoyed my days off with my little ladies.

Dan had a long shift on Good Friday because of a protest at work, but when he got home we joined our neighbors for a picnic in their yard. It was wonderful. We had arranged a small egg hunt for them, and they loved it of course. Girlies had helped me make their favorite- a fruit pizza- and we also took fruit salad with a lime dressing, and pasta salad.

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It has been great to be in shorts and shirts, OR as two big girls around here like to say "dresses with no tights weather!" Abrie is definitely a spring baby. She is in her element in this weather. Boy, is she different in wanting to be outdoors and play instead of the way she acts in the cold. I don't blame her! She likes to sit outside on the driveway and play Potato Heads with her big sisters and try to eat chalk. And, lately we've been walking them up to the little daycare since the kids have been on break. She is IN LOVE with some Saint Bernards that live right next to the day care property. You just say, "Abrie where are the puppies?!" and she starts waving!