Ice Skating 41+ Years Ago

Zoe and Ella got a kick out of seeing this photo my mom emailed us:

A very blurry picture taken over 41 years ago of ME, the first time I went ice-skating.  I was close to 18 months old and at first, not too happy about being on skates --- but apparently the tears didn't last too long:

Ice Skating

They've been wanting to ....

They've been waiting ....

They finally went .....

ICE-SKATING!!!!

Presenting:

Zoe the ICE-SKATING Queen ....

..... Ella the ICE-SKATING Queen ....

.... and their dorky, very caring, very protective Dad.

Both girls did awesome.

It didn't take long for Zoe to cruise around the rink like a miniature kamikaze.

Ella too, but she preferred using the walker.

I had so much fun just watching ....

..... but I think these two had even more fun!!

Sledding

We finally went sledding down the big hill at Parkview Elementary School and these girls just FLEW .....

They are fearless, like their Dad.

They didn't tire of carrying their own sleds up the big hill ....

They didn't tire of sliding down either, flying through the air going forwards ....

.... or going backwards --- over and over again.

They are fearless AND courageous --- after Ella did a total face plant (I think I had a minor heart attack watching that happen), she cried a bit, got checked out by both Tom and me, got right back on her slide and started flying again.

Now they want to fly in their dreams, which I have no doubt they will figure out how to do --- just like their dad.

Valentine's Day Fun

Valentine's Day 2011 was a fun one but it started out with conflict.

The girls each wanted to wear their 'I Love Daddy' shirt and we only have one.  I pretended to cry, which got the girls laughing instead of arguing, and then Ella said she'd wear the mommy one instead.  I thought they looked pretty cute and they were both excited for a full day of Valentines Fun.

After eating heart-shaped french toast for breakfast (and NOT having the smoke detector go off), we headed off to preschool and I stayed for the morning -- which flew by -- as a parent volunteer.  The girls and their classmates passed out their valentines, played heart-shaped tic-tac-toe, had their faces painted, made Love Bead necklaces, built a city with huge blocks, took care of my broken arm in the doctor's office dramatic play area, gave me more shots than I needed, learned about cupid and played like there's no tomorrow.  What a life : )

Once home it took less than 3 minutes for Zoe and Ella to start opening their Valentines.  They really loved that part and it was sweet listening to their comments about each card and treat they received from each of their friends -- and it was funny watching them both make sure they both received the same items.

After heart-shaped sandwiches for lunch the girls actually slept during nap time, then we took a walk around our neighborhood and passed out valentines and heart-shaped rice krispy treats to a few of our special neighbors.

For dinner the girls helped make heart-shaped pizzas .....

.... and typical of Zoe, she ate all of her carrots before taking even one bite of her pizza.

And these are the three that make my world a very happy place --- whether it's Valentine's Day or not.

Love. Love. Love.

Our Funny Little Valentines ~

Roses Are Red,

Violets Are Blue.

Sugar Is Sweet,

And So Are These Two ......

  

Zoe and Ella make my heart so happy, and so does their Daddy (though I didn't get a picture of him in a fluffy pink dress).  I have a lot of love in my life and I am so very lucky.

Valentine's Day ~
What a WONDERFUL reason for a holiday!!

~ Jeremi

Making Valentines

Lots of Love.

Lots of Time.

Lots of Fun, too.

But this year's Valentines really took a lot of work and a lot of time.

Things started out great --- the girls were very excited to make their own.  They brainstormed a few different ideas and happily decided together on creating BUTTERFLIES (which they thought was perfect because they're in the butterfly class at school).

They cut ....

They glued ....

They added pixie sticks .....

They drew little butterfly faces ....

.... and they decorated (wearing their new super soft, super cute, sparkly princess pajamas from Grandma Della) ....

Towards the end I heard Zoe say, 'oh good, I only have 3 left and then I'm done!'.  That was before she realized they still had to put on the antennae AND write their names, poor thing.

So Zoe and Ella learned a lot about perseverance and how hard work pays off.

They each wrote their names on all 22 of the Valentines (still wearing their new pajamas even though it was the next day) .... 

.... and they learned about cooperation and how much their mommy loves them --- I put the antennas on.

They both did a super job!!

They love of they turned out ....

.... and they are very excited to give them to their friends and teachers on Monday.

They also LOVE that they're done making them!

I am too -- 44 antennas was a lot of work : )

Winter Fun

I've already mentioned it's been a long winter this year, and even though we still have a TON of snow we haven't been able to make any snow people or snow sculptures since the beginning of December because the snow is too fluffy on the top and hard on the bottom.

So instead we made this Happy Snow Face Girl ....

.... and this one too!!

The girls also painted pine cones with peanut butter and rolled them in birdseed for the backyard birds ....

.... and we spent a morning at the nature center, both outside ....

.... and inside!!

Taking care of the animals was a highlight for Zoe .....

.... and for Ella ....

.... and both girls put on a very entertaining wild animal puppet show for me.