Bee Sting & Trike-a-thon

Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee and it was poor Isabella that got stung by a bee. She was scared and even exclaimed " I don't want all the bugs to bite me".  Sophia is also scared of the"buggies"( Fifi's name for bugs).

Taken a few hours after her 1st bee sting  Boo-hoo!  :(



On a more positive note, Isabella LOVES pre-school!  Last week they had a Trike-a-thon.  A police officer came in to talk to the class about safety before the kids hopped on their trikes.  Isabella had a blast riding in circles around the loop.  Sophia, on the other hand was bored and wanted to be on a bike too, not stuck in the stroller.  Sophia misses her big sister while she is at school.

Isabella & her class with the policeman

Happy Girl!

look at the shadow from the helmet!

"The sign says STOP!"

Whee!  That was fun!

After race treat!

Twinkle Toes & Dress-up Clothes

Twinkle Toes and Dress up Clothes...that's what little girls are made of.

Crusin' around the house

The girls are excited to go "bye-bye"

Isabella thinks its funny that Sophia is blowing raspberries.

Isabella  and her friend Madelyn started dance class last week.  Its a ballet/tap combo and she loves her wearing her tap shoes. 

Photo of the last 5 minutes of class when parents are allowed in the room

After class Pose.
Sophia, Madelyn, Ellie & Isabella

Sophia has a bit of a cold and is feeling out of sorts.  When I walked into the family room Sophia had climbed up and into the DOLL stroller!  She was half asleep in it and did not want to get out!

Sophia in the doll stroller

Mama Bell taking care of Fifi

Make a wish

  On Sunday the 18th we had birthday cake one day early.  I mean, who could resist that all that sugar wonderfulness?  Surely, not I.

Happy Birthday to ME

The munchkins help blow out the candles

My birthday was Monday the 19th.  On my birthday I spent the day with Isabella & Sophia.  I thought about how lucky I was to spend my entire birthday with them. Being home with my girls is a dream come true.  I guess I am not just a stay at home mom anymore since I have a few jobs. I am lucky that they are flexible and allow me to keep my family a priority.    For those of you wondering about my multiple jobs...well, I work a few hours a week doing childcare at a local gym and my kids are with me.  I also sell my products on ETSY and have recently started selling them in a local store.  On top of that I still freelance as a makeup artist and LOVE it!

Anyway, back to my actual birthday.  Will thoughtfully picked out a butterfly bush for me.  I love butterflies and out past 2 attempts at this plant did not turn out.  Luckily, this one was a bush rather than a little plant.  Isabella & Sophia enjoyed digging in the dirt and helping Will plant it in our backyard.  I am already looking forward to being able to watch butterflies in our back yard.  I remember as a kid catching them in my grandmothers backyard.  I would love for my daughters to have the same magical experience in their own back yard.

One of the best memories of my birthday was taking turns blowing out the candles on the cupcake.  After taking turns we all blew them out together the last time.

Blooms on our Butterfly Bush

Three Garden Gnomes

Sophia enjoyed filling up her bucket

Isabella enjoyed getting dirty

Happy birthday to....?



Sophia blows out the candle!

Isabella blows out the candle!

We all make a wish!

1st Day of School

Good morning Big girl!

Today was a big day for Isabella.  It was her first day of preschool!!  She has been looking forward to going to school for a while and we were all excited.  We started off the morning with blueberry pancakes which Isabella requested.    After a nice breakfast we headed off as a family to take Isabella to school.  Bell was thrilled to bring in the play-dough that I made for the class.  Isabella walked right in the class and found a seat to play with a few other kids.  She had lots of fun and told me that she enjoyed painting and also playing in the sand box.  She was super excited to see Sophia and I pick her up and ran out of the room into my arms (despite the teacher blocking the way).  I asked Isabella how was her day and first she said "fun" and next she said "I did not listen to the teacher". Overall, she enjoyed attending school and looks forward to returning.  Hopefully, next time she will remember to turn her listening ears on!

Isabella loves to help in the kitchen

Fifi's turn to help stir

First day!

Isabella finds a seat to play right away

The girls saying their goodbyes

Fifi missed her sister

She was saying "BELLA, BELLA!"

Our girls are growing up so fast!

Big Girl & Big Fish

Last Friday was a busy, fun and exhausting day!  We started the day off visiting Isabella's school to meet her teacher for the 1st time.    We all enjoyed checking out Isabella's preschool and she is eager to start.  Then we made a round trip visit to Maryland for Meredith & Sean's engagement party.  The party was loads of fun and my mother in law sure does know how to throw a great party!

Our big girl is excited to go to school

Along for the ride

Isabella meets her teacher

Miss Sassy strikes a pose

Cheese!

Sophia & Isabella with Grandmere



Isabella wanted to know where the eyeballs were on the fish!






Its Raining, Its Pouring...

The girls love the rain.  They can wear rain boots, rain coats, carry an umbrella and jump in puddles.  They even discovered how neat it is to listen to the sound of the raindrops on our house, car and windows.  Since we could not play outside much the girls enjoyed a movie together and lots of arts & crafts.  Here are a few photos of our rainy week in Richmond.

Isabella is excited to watch a movie!

The movie has their FULL attention!

Sophia always has a baby with her.

Sisters who hug

Sisters who snuggle

Its raining, its pouring...

Ready for an outdoor adventure

FiFi LOVES to color these days.

Come on Irene

Since my last post we have experienced some unusual weather.  First we had an earthquake (5.9 on the Richter scale).  Then a few days later Hurricane Irene blew through Richmond.  We were very lucky and did not have any damage nor lose power. I felt extremely thankful to have electricity and hot water when 75% of Richmond was without it. 

Sophia is 22 months old now and is definitely acting like a two year old.    She loves to color, play with baby dolls, dance, and watch Dora.   She lights up like the 4th of July when Daddy comes home from work!

Isabella, who is 3 and a half now, starts pre-school next week.  She is very excited to go to school and meet her teacher.  I know she will have a blast! 

We are all ready for Fall weather to arrive and hopefully we wont have anymore natural disasters floating through our neighborhood. 

Isabella - 3 1/2 years old

Sophia - 22 months old

Peak-a-boo

I see you!

Where is FiFi?

Hi there!

P.S. I am extremely happy to report that I am back to running since my back injury on July 4th.  I actually ran during the start of Hurrican Irene.  It was a wet run, but how many people can say they ran in a hurricane.  :)