Dance Recital and General Goofiness

Last weekend Abby had her end of the year Dance Recital.  She missed a few classes in the last month due to illnesses so I was a bit worried with how she would perform.  It was a grand family affair with both sets of supportive grandparents cheering her on - all sweating bullets in eager anticipation.  Abby's group had 2 performances and I'll admit, Abby did better in the first dance versus the second dance.  But in the grand scheme of things, she did really well and, of course, we were all proud of her.  This is most likely her first and last dance recital so I'm glad we got it on video.  The most fun part for Abby was when I put pink eye shadow, blush, lip stick and lip gloss on her.  On a personal note, I couldn't believe that I had a child old enough for me to put make-up on.  It was a surreal moment for me.  The rest of the pictures are once again, random pictures from the last week and a half.

Here she is backstage waiting for their performance.

Pink pink pink pink pink pink pink.  And pink.

My little ballerina.

My little model.

Similar to my child hood, we do fashion shows after we go shopping (or when shipments come via mail now).

Did I post this one already?  I don't know why I didn't do a side pony tail for Abby sooner.  Love her wavy hair (so different from my own - thanks Bryce!).

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mei Mei.  ♥

We are blessed to have two girls who are WONDERFUL eaters.  Abby is chowing down on a family favorite - grilled ciabatta with olive oil and garlic rubbed all over it.

Lilly, Lilly, Lilly.

Our sweet, crazy, mischievous little one.  Always up to something.

Like father, like daughter.  The resemblance is uncanny (except for the nose and complexion).

One day last week we visited my mom at work and she has a co-worker who has a ton of these "press here" dolls which the girls LOVE playing with.  It kills about 30-40 minutes easy.  Heck, I'm entertained as well each time I play with them.

As I've eluded to before, Lilly is our wild child.  Abby was and still remains our sedentary child on one end of the spectrum and Lilly is super crazy fearless nonstop waaaaay on the other end of the spectrum.  This photo captures what she's like 99% of the time that she is awake.  Just go, go, go.  You won't find her in the same place for more than 5 seconds.  No joke.

This is our free ad for Google.

Two peas in a pod.  Addicted.

A picture of Abby with her two favorite dolls dujour: Platypus and her purple and pink unicorn.  

These three are currently inseparable.

My mom feeding Lilly.  Somehow or the other, my mom raised 3 kids with no high chair.  She fed each of us on her lap like this.  Can you imagine??  Supermom.

We introduced our kids to Barrel of Monkeys.  Remember this oldie but goodie?  They love it.  :)

And lastly, for some reason, I love seeing kids eat corn.  I just think it looks so cute and grown up.

Happy Mother's Day!

Abby had pink eye and then a double ear infection last week so she missed school all week which meant ---- all we've been doing is play, play play!  For Mother's Day, Bryce and I cleaned the house (much overdue) and he is now making a wonderful dinner for us girls - grilled sirloin and halibut chimichurri with grilled asparagus and saffron rice.  YUM!  Nothing too much to report so here are the pictures!  

Mei Mei getting a ride on Jie Jie (with the help of Daddy).  ♥

My rock star.  We were getting ready to go swimming yesterday.

Showing off her temporary tattoo.  :)

Mei Mei likes to pick up tree bark off the ground.

We had an impromptu trip to the park after Mei Mei's first nap.  Both girls had so much fun exploring!

Abby likes to swing...but not TOO high!  Such the opposite of me as a kid.  Swings were, and still are, my favorite.

MUUUUULLLLLCCHH!!!  So fun!  Mei Mei is rocking her new swim shoes at the park.

Aww.....  ♥

Abby actually climbed UP the slide and slid down.  Never done that before.

Whheeee!!!!!!

Random pictures

I am happy to say that Lilly can finally drink out of a sippy cup!  She's starting to talk more and more too.  She's repeating what we say all the time and man, is she active.  My mom and dad helped me out this week while Bryce was gone for work and they both slept well the night after they helped me chase Lilly around the house.  I can't believe it but they say Lilly is more active than Elliott.  That's hard to believe! We knew Abby was very sedentary but Lilly is way on the opposite side of the spectrum.  Lilly has no attention span whatsoever.  Having said that, she's super coordinated, has great sense of balance, great dexterity and cat-like reflexes.  She's all muscle under the layer(s) of baby fat.  People always comment on her height when they meet her too.  On to the random pictures....

Abby first thing in the morning.  Needless to say, she's not a morning person.

Abby, my little helper, loves to help Mei Mei.  What a lucky little sister!

Much to Bryce's chagrin, both girls love drinking out of his "sippy cup" and they never refill it for him!  :P

My kids are slightly chubby - 3rd to her cousins Matilda and Willow!  :o

My little Abby in the middle during her Mother's Day Program.  ♥  They sang such sweet songs and Abby did a great job doing all the hand motions.  :)

Abby picked out their outfits - she wanted to match with her sister on this special program day.  :)

Me and my first born!  ♥  I love you, Abby!

Mei Mei showing off her sippy cup abilities!

Proud parents

This is what we do during dinner.

At least they are getting better at sharing....

Lilly the Puppy

Lilly is finally becoming more self sufficient.  As of this evening, she can finally put food in her mouth with her own hand!!  For the past few months, we've been calling Lilly our little puppy dog because back when she was crawling, she would pick up toys and stuffed animals off the ground with her teeth so that she could crawl faster.  I was on a mission to get her to feed herself and it was a success!  We've been practicing with Cheerios and I happen to capture this gem on video.  I normally do not allow food in the living room but I let it slide for Lilly's sake.  I hope you enjoy the video of our little Lilly, the puppy.  :)

p.s.  Abby is intently watching 101 Dalmatians in the background.  She got popcorn instead of Cheerios and that seemed to keep the peace.

Happy 4th Birthday, Abby!

Today at 7:11 PM our little Abby will be 4 years old.  She has grown to be a sweet, savvy, too-smart-for-her-own-age, sensitive, hug-able, loving daughter.  And in the past year, she has also become her little sister's best friend, protector, perma-play date and #1 fan.  Her little sister can do no wrong, cannot look any cuter or be any sweeter in her eyes.  We love you and are so proud of you, Abby!  ♥

Playing under the tent together.  :)

Playing outside together and sharing pine needles.

Impromptu hug.  Mei Mei wasn't ready yet.  :)

This was Mei Mei's first time to play out on the drive way and she was enamored with the shells in the concrete.

Kiss!

Mei Mei's thinking "Oooh!  I can't get out of this chair!"

I knew she wouldn't want me to help her and sure enough, she got it!

Daddy and his girls!!  ♥

Abby's 4th Birthday Party!

We had Abby's 4th Birthday Party at Wonderwild this year!  She hasn't had a big birthday party since her 1st birthday so this was exciting for both Abby and me.  :)  She had SO MUCH fun with all of her friends and family.  And not surprisingly, everything was pink, pink, PINK!  The Disney Princess themed party was inevitable so I'm sort of glad we can check that off the list (for now).

Abby said it was her birthday party but Mei Mei didn't have to give her a kiss because she wanted to give HER a kiss!  So sweet!  ♥

Mei Mei is freakin' fearless!  Really gotta keep an eagle eye on her.

We are ever so slowly opening all of her gifts and of course, Mei Mei wanted in on the action as well.  :)

A couple of days ago when Bryce asked Abby what she wanted for her birthday dinner, she said "I want chips and guacamole but I want the chips that are scoops.  With black olives.  And cheese.  And beef on it." So she essentially asked for a nacho dinner so she got what she wanted!  Bryce made his super fancy nachos and we sat outside to enjoy the perfect weather with Mexican martinis to boot.

Yummy!!  What a fun way to end a birthday party day!