Canoe Trip...

We finally took the canoe out on the bay. It was a lot of fun. The water was super calm. Ceci's eyes were huge and she was absolutely rigid for the first half of the ride. On the way back she turned onto her knees and decided to enjoy herself. Ceci has always played possum when she isn't sure of a situation.

Just Another Day in Paradise...

Things sure have changed for us in the last couple of months. The girls are growing up and it is getting so much easier to enjoy them. We actually had lunch in a sit down restaurant today. It was amazing! Wes and I didn't really get to talk to each other but all in all it was a good time and we aren't banned from going back.

We had a little picnic at the beach this evening. The weather was amazing for the end of September. It reminded us of why we live where we live. We really tried to take pictures of the girls where they looked sweet and loving. But honestly, they all pretty much came out looking like the girls are going to be taking the short bus to school.

Ceci Sezs Hi...

Ceci doesn't talk much...yet. Today Wes got her to say ketchup. We were pretty excited. I could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel on her screaming.

Today we spent the day at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. It was pretty neat. It was a total old school zoo. We could have touched all kinds of crazy animals. Wes and I both agreed that in a different life we probably would have. It was larger than we expected. I think the best part was that we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. The weather was amazing and we couldn't have had a better time.

A Little Bling...

Ceci likes her bling. Since Sophia's birthday she has been wearing at least one necklace everyday. I guess that she takes after her sister. Sophia is known for her purses and jewelry.

Soccer Mom...

For the last hour or so Ceci has been kicking this ball around. Her walking is progressing pretty quickly to running. She's catching up fast. I have to say that I can't wait for the girls to be old enough for sports. I'm looking forward to the Saturday games!

First Haircut...

Yikes, its been a couple of days. We've been a little busy what with being on vacation and all. I kind of forgot that as a stay-at-home-mom vacation is exactly the same for me as not on vacation. I'm not complaining I swear!

We bought a truck on Friday. We are pretty excited about it. We didn't think we would find one as nice as this in our budget. Wes started looking and researching in June. I'm just excited to have two vehicles again.

Sophia got her first haircut this weekend also. She was very grown-up about it. Looking at the pictures from a couple of days ago I realized that she really needed one badly! I guess that three years is a little long to go without a haircut.

Good Morning...

We have a very strict morning routine. Sophia gets up first and has her pancakes and juice. Mommy has her minimum two cups of coffee while Sophie watches TV. Ceci then gets up and has her pancakes, yoghurt and milk while Sophia has yoghurt. Yesterday Sophia added some oatmeal to the equation after yoghurt. She's not sure if she actually likes the "email" as she calls it, but she does like the mixing and pouring she gets to do.

Pretty Bracelets...

Sophia had her second class of "plastics" today. It still went well but she wasn't as focused as last week. It was pretty cute to watch the little ones try and walk on the balance beam and hop on one foot. She is really enjoying herself.

Ceci refuses to have any help now at mealtime. She is a big girl darn and she won't have it any other way. Ok fine...

The rings on their arms are from a stacking snake that my sister gave Sophia way back when. They rediscovered it tonight at bracelets. I finally had to put my foot down when they wanted to eat dinner with them on.

Roar...

Chloe & Isabelle our little neighbors came over this afternoon. Sophia and Ceci were in their prime. They got to stay up past naptime and destroy the house. It was a perfect day to them... I think the funniest thing was that the three older girls created a little zoo. I really didn't know that little kids could think like that. The picture is of Sophia in her cage as a lion sleeping. (I swear Mom I was right there, not scary.) Ceci was doing her best to keep up with the big girls. Even though she walks like a mummy she can seriously hang with the best of them.

Monkey See, Monkey Do...

This morning Sophie and Ceci had a lovely bath. Lots of splashing and screaming as usual. After the bath Ceci got dressed first. She wore a pink one piece velour outfit, definitely not pajamas. When it was Sophia's turn she threw a fit that she would not wear what I had picked out she wanted to wear her "pink jammies" also. How do you explain fashion to a three-year-old?

Needless to say Sophia wore her pajamas today.

Eating Habits...

Well, I have some guilt about my kids eating habits. They are starting to refuse to eat their vegetables and even fruit. We have officially started a health food kick.

Fall Has Arrived...

I can't believe how fast the weather changed on us. Yesterday we wore shorts and T-shirts and today I wore a sweater and jeans and still felt cold. Time just keeps going faster and faster. In honor of our crappy Washington weather here is a picture of Sophia in sunnier times.

I actually got out of the house alone today. It was so great. I spent the whole day on my own. What is sucks is that I do everything in hyper-drive because I am so well trained by the girls. I never know when they will get tired and start terrorizing everyone within hearing and reaching distance. The one thing that I did get for Ceci today was her own cowboy boots. She still wouldn't take Sophie's off so I hid them from her until I could pick up her own pair. It sure is starting early with her.

Back On Line...

We've had a little computer trouble here the past few days. We think that everything is ok now though. Phew. I was able to use the old desktop computer but that really isn't as convenient as the laptop. I really can't imagine life without a laptop anymore.

Sophia found a little tree frog the other day. She refused to touch it. I have to admit that there was absolutely no way that I would touch it either.

Sophia also started gymnastics yesterday. She is the youngest in the class by about 6 months. She had a huge fit when it was time to leave because she enjoyed it so much. Ceci was so good the entire class. They have a great little playroom for younger siblings to wait during class.

Oh, and Ceci is finally walking. She walks a little like Frankenstein right now but she is getting better. She is choosing to walk all over the house instead of crawl. I can check that one off the list now.

Ceci is a Shoe Girl...

Ceci loves Sophia's new cowboy boots. Anytime she sees them she wants them on. They are at least two sizes larger than she wears. I have to say that I am a little proud. She's obviously a throw back to my roots. But then again, just look at her and you can tell that.

Today was spent recovering from the aftermath of Sophie's party last night. We still have a giant pink castle in our living room. Haven't figured out what we are going to do with that one yet. I think we need a larger house to just fit the girl's toys. I am putting a moratorium on toys until Christmas.

This is what 3 looks like...

Today was Sophia's third birthday party. She doesn't officially turn three until Tuesday. But obviously she doesn't know the difference. I am exhausted. She was pretty funny about everything. After opening all of the presents she turned and blew a kiss to each person individually. I have never seen a three year old work a crowd like that. She must somehow realize that these are her people.

Did you know that Barbie has a horse that literally walks? It is the craziest thing I have ever seen. Her name is Tawny and all of us so called adults were fascinated by her. Seriously, check it out at Target. The toys these days. My sister also got her this Polly that has snap on clothes. You put her in a changing room and voila she has clothes on. When we were kids we were just happy with rocks and empty boxes.

Now I'm off to bed.

Miss Sassy Pants...

Ok, so my almost three year old has an amazing fashion sense. I think from looking at her you can probably tell that we have a bit of a sense of humor around here. I think the best part is that we take her out looking like this. Oh, and before I forget she always puts her pants on backwards and refuses to fix them. At least we will have plenty of ammunition when she gets older. Because she is two going on thirteen.

So the birthday extravaganza has begun. My sister bought Sophia a castle. Literally, a castle. Here is a picture of it with my sister inside so you will believe me. I'm not quite sure where we are going to put it...

This Just In...

Wes does dishes.

Wes is actually doing the dishes tonight. He also put the girls to bed. I just got a little suspicious so I had Wes look outside and he told me it is a full moon. Mystery solved, I can sleep easy now.

Other than that I've got nothing for you.

Oh wait, Wes just informed me that I missed a bunch of stuff. I am quoting this from Wes, "Wes waters flowers. Wes takes trash out. Wes takes pictures of kids for you. " And I said, "That's all you've got?" With this information I didn't even have to double check. It must be a full moon!

Blame My Sister...

Ceci is really starting to come into her own these days. Still not walking, but she is literally hell on wheels. She can make her little tricycle go almost as fast as Sophie can run. Sophie had better watch out. Its hard to not laugh when she does stuff to Sophia because Sophia was such a little terror at that age. Heck, Sophia is still a total terror.

On a different subject; we went blackberry picking last night. I made an interesting cobbler tonight with the berries. I used pancake mix for the topping. It turned out pretty well. We topped it with ice cream of course.

Tonight we looked at a larger house in our neighborhood that is for sale. The lot is gigantic and the price is pretty reasonable for out here. We are very tempted...

Beach Bums

Didn't take me long to miss a day. That's alright though. It is hard to know if anyone is even reading this.

I took the girls to the beach this morning with some of our neighbors. The tide was out super far. We've all decided that we need to invest in some boots so we can go out onto the mud. Southern California sandy beaches this is not. The older kids were kind enough to hold still for a few seconds for a picture. Ceci on the other hand wanted nothing to do with sitting on the beach. The kids spent the morning hunting crabs and seashells. It was gorgeous by the time we walked home. We have had some amazing weather around here the last few months. I am so not looking forward to the gray season. I'm going to need some serious Prozac to get through it.

On a more serious note, how sad is the death of the "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin? Criky! I couldn't believe it, he truly seemed invincible. I was very sad to hear the news.

Little screamer...

I wish that this thing had sound. Ceci is a screamer. We've decided to try and teach a little sign language because all she does is scream. Yikes!

Sophia and I went to the Party Store tonight to try and find supplies for her birthday. We did alright. The outlets at Birch Bay were busy which is nice to see. I think our little beach has been discovered.

Not much new to report today. Wes is still adjusting to his graveyard shift. We finally finished season 1 of Veronica Mars. I am hooked.

Off to dinner, tacos and french fries. Guess who is cooking tonight...

Should've called this monkey girls...

Ok, second try. Ceci just erased my first post. Wes and I thought we would give this whole fancy blog thing a try. We are hoping that we might be a little more successful at this than the whole emailing thing. Not that we don't think about everybody but rather our kids drive us crazy. And he wants another one...cue evil laugh here.

PS no making fun of grammer or spelling!