ten smile tuesday...and then some!

it has been quite sometime since i updated my blog...and there has been quite a bit going on since then...

we're smiling...

-we celebrated valentine's day...mike and i enjoyed a delightful date night the thursday before. i enjoyed my first experience with sushi...all i can say is YUM! then we celebrated with our girlies on saturday morning...mylar balloons tied to their chairs and goodie bags full of little somethings on the kitchen table when they woke up. i whipped up some heart shaped pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast...fun and tasty!

-potty training has been fabulously successful over the course of the past two weeks. in fact, i might venture to say kate is fully potty trained as long as she wears skirts (i know, bizarre...but true!). she has stayed dry even outside of the house for the past week! and, soon enough, i think she'll have the hang of it even if she wears pants!

-coloring, coloring, coloring. we have spent LOTS of time coloring lately....it seems to be the girls' favorite activity...and, better yet, they enjoy coloring together. elizabeth has become quite the talented colorer (is that a word!?) in the past few weeks...actually using multiple colors, staying the lines, etc. i am amazed at how almost overnight her fine motor skills have matured immensely...her handwriting, her coloring, her cutting...amazing! and kate...sweet kate...she would do crafts and coloring, etc. for hours on end. (that and washing her hands...over and over and over and over...in fact, she has been washing her hands to the point of getting terrible red chapped rashes on them...ugh!)

-only a handful of days (ten, to be exact--but, who's counting, right?) until jilli and i head west to meet up with an a.maz.ing group of ladies...can't wait!

-jillian is growing...and growing...and growing....and lately she has become obsessed with her feet, which i find precious. she loves to lay on her back and grab her little footsies and roll back and forth. she also is delighted by sitting up...it is her favorite position. and chewing...chewing...she is chewing anything and everything...and mommy is praying and hoping her teeth will pop through ever so soon...hopefully before we board the plane to head to seattle! this sweet girl is beyond delightful...even when she is a bit fussy from teething...mike and i constantly comment on how much we enjoy getting her out of her crib after naptime...she will lay in her crib chattering and playing happily until someone comes to get her, at which point she greets you with the biggest smile ever...every time...seriously, i'm not sure there could be a smilier babe!



-elizabeth and i enjoyed a baby shower (or girl party as libs called it!) for my sweet friend lora, who is expecting a baby girl in just a couple more months. actually, lora and i grew up together, and i get a bit sentimental thinking about our little girls growing up together...so fun! elizabeth dressed up (and let me braid her hair without any whines or complaints!), and she insisted that i too should dress up. have i mentioned how much i enjoy the age of four...



-i've been working to get back into a better "routine" at home...kate has been itching to learn (of course, we are learning even as we play...but i suppose i mean she is itching for some structured "learning" time), so i am switching up our morning schedule. this week we are doing all things "Bb"...we made bumblebees yesterday...we've played with buttons and bells and beanbags and buckets...we're singing about "b" and reading all kinds of Bb books...Bb is quite the exciting letter. up next, some Bb cooking! (elizabeth made her bumblebee all by herself...colored it, cut it out, pasted it together...oh my, she was proud!)


-school! elizabeth and i visited a co-op type school for home-schoolers that meants at our church...we are hoping there will be openings for the girls next year...as i think it would be excellent for kate to have some structure, and elizabeth is simply itching for "school". as we venture toward the very real possibility of home-schooling this was one more step in seeing what it might look like for our family. i also received my first shipment of curriculum type stuff in the mail the other day...exciting!

-having people to our house. i simply love opening our home to guests...last minute plans for game nights with friends, planned dinners, flock group meetings...i just really enjoy opening our home, so it has been great to do that several times in the past couple of weeks.

-scotch-a-roos...yum! (and, because it really wouldn't be ten smiles without a food item!)

-and more...but for now i should probably head out and fold some laundry!