Way Back When-esday!!

Playing along with Cheryl of Twinfatuation ~

I love when the lilacs bloom in Minnesota, and since the girls have been a year old I've taken their pictures while they play with the lilacs. This year the lilacs bloomed early, and I was able to get some really neat shots of Ella and Zoe holding the flowers as well as shots of them jumping off the retaining wall with lilacs behind them. I'll post those later, but for now here are the girls in May of 2007, checking out the lilacs for the first time:

May 2008 (year two):

May 2009 (year three):

Dad's Day at Preschool

Ella and Zoe spent this morning at the park and zoo with their Dad -- it was 'Dad's Day' at Preschool : ) They all had a great time, and a bonus for me -- SUPER NAPS this afternoon!!

New parks are always fun . . .

~ Class Photo ~

A highlight was watching one of the animals eat breakfast, can you tell what it is??

A sloth -- sooooo cool!!

Ella and Zoe also had a picnic lunch with their Dad and the girls gave him early Father's Day gifts they made at school:

It read: A treat for my Dad because I think he's neat and needs a yummy treat to eat!

*Raisins . . . because you're 'raisin' me!

*Goldfish . . . because you're the big fish in my sea!

*Chex Cereal . . . because you always 'chex' on me!

*Popcorn . . . because you are my Pop!

So cute!!

Only one more day of preschool and then Summer Vacation!! Hard to believe the year is almost over with . . . .

First Ballet Recital

All I can is -- Oh the Sweetness!!

From getting ready to leave for the recital . . .

. . . to warming up before the recital . . .

. . . to starting the first dance : )

Zoe danced her little heart out and did such a wonderful job!

Ella had a blast and also did a fantastic job : )

Both girls were right on and such fun to watch. It's neat to see their individual personalities shine through with their dancing styles -- Zoe is a very graceful and precise dancer and Ella continues to dance to the beat of her own ballerina, and light the room up with her bright smile : )

We feel so grateful for Ms. Zachari -- not only is she a very talented ballerina herself, she's also a great teacher.

Tom and I were so proud of our little ballerinas.

Fun, Fun, FUN!!!

And of course having Grama visit made it all even more fun : )

Tom's Day and Mom's Day

The past few days have been busy over here -- busy with Tom's birthday and Mother's Day celebrations, and full of many moments that have touched my heart.

Touch My Heart Moment #1:

Last Tuesday Ella and Zoe happily kept busy in the backyard for quite a while and then very excitedly ran to me singing a happy mother's day song they made up, taking my hands and bringing me to the Mother's Day Cake they made out of dirt, grass, sticks, lilac petals, rocks and a puffer mushroom thing -- just for me. It was really sweet, really really sweet and just touched my heart : )

Touch My Heart Moment #2:

I had to add these next two photos because it still cracks me up when I think about it. I have no idea what the puffy grey thing is, but when you squeeze it a puff of something grey-ish comes out of it. I LOVED when I would find one of these as a kid, and now Ella and Zoe are sharing in my excitement, though Ella wasn't as sure about it as Zoe and I were. Each time she would squeeze it . . .

. . . she would make this face! Love it : )

Touch My Heart Moment #3:

Last Thursday the girls had Bike Day at preschool and then a Mother's Lunch Bunch for lunch. They were sooooo excited to bring their bikes to school and ride with their friends, and because I am one of those mothers (yes, I arrived early so I could watch them bike for a while -- and I took pictures from my car), I was able to see how my two little biker girls took to riding outside of the comfort zone of our backyard patio. It cracked me up. They started out biking together in a very small circle . . . .

. . . then their circle started to get a little bigger . . .

. . . and then they were off!!

Touch My Heart Moment #4:

We invited our very special neighbor, Arlene, along with to the Mother's Luncheon -- which was another highlight of the day for all three of us. We love Arlene very much and feel so lucky to have her in our lives : )

Touch My Heart Moment #5:

I have to say the best part for me though, was when the girls gave me the brightly painted flowerpotsmadeintobells Mother's Day gift, and these:

Ella wrote that I am 21 years old (LOOOOOVE her), that I'm prettiest when I dance (oh really?), that I love to bake cakes (I think their frog birthday cakes made a lasting impression) and that I'm funny when I tell her an apple will grow in her tummy (our little joke about why we don't eat apple seeds). But the part that made my heart stand still for a moment was her answer to what I always say to her, which is 'I love you'. Wow. I don't even know what to say to that, for her to think of that as a response, it means everything to me. I also love how she decorated my card -- the explosion of colors is so much Ella -- her art truly reflects her personality.

Zoe's card looks like this:

She said that I'm 47 years old (I'm totally letting that one slide), that I'm prettiest when I dance (hmmmm), that I like to make cakes (sound familiar?) and that I always tell her to use her manners (so true!!). The part that Zoe wrote that brought tears to my eyes was that I am funny when I laugh -- I LOOOOVE that so much!! The best parts of my days are when the girls are laughing and giggling away together or when the three of us are : ) So that was pretty awesome to read! I also really love the rainbow crown she colored on my head of wild and bright RED hair and I especially love my long skinny legs (which makes up for thinking I'm older than I actually am).

I also found it interesting that both Ella and Zoe answered some of the questions with the same answer (that I'm prettiest when I'm dancing and that I like to make cakes) considering they weren't together when they worked on their projects. I guess dancing and baking together is a pretty big deal for 4-year olds! Good to know : )

Touch My Heart Moment #6:

Last Friday night I read the book 'The Very Best Daddy of All' to the girls, which is about different things different animal daddies do to take care of their children/families. Ella and Zoe loved hearing about each animal, looking at the pictures and making comparisons between what the animal daddy was doing and what their daddy does. But the page that did it for me was early in the book, and was about the Daddy Fox. That page read: 'Some take care of your mama so she can take care of you.', and Ella immediately said 'That's just like OUR daddy!!'. Yes indeed, just like their daddy, and the fact that Ella understood that (and of course Zoe agreed) is pretty neat to me, and really touched my heart.

Touch My Heart Moment #7:

Because Tom works evenings we decided to celebrate his birthday on Saturday. Ella and Zoe decorated a birthday crown for him, wrapped up his gifts and water-colored homemade birthday cards. A leaky toilet at our house changed our plans somewhat, but after working on the leak for over three hours (poor guy) and before a Menards run and a few more hours worth of stinky work, the girls gave Tom his crown, sang him the birthday song and watched as he blew out the candles on his homemade pizza. I know it's hard to stop working on a big project when there's so much to get done, but Tom knew how excited the girls were to celebrate his birthday and he made sure to take that time. Plus, I always love seeing Ella and Zoe snuggling on their dad's lap : )

Touch My Heart Moment #8:

Zoe and Ella love dress-up and pretending they are ballerinas, or princesses, or fairies, or mommies (etc., etc., ), and two of their favorite outfits are these old leotards and tutus (in the above photo) that their big cousin Elise wore to her dance recitals when she was little (in the mid-90's). I think they are so funny and I always feel like I have a miniature Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette running around our house when they wear them : )

Touch My Heart Moment #9:

On Sunday we drove out to Buffalo to spend some time with my family, and this is what Zoe looked like taking her nap in the car. Just cracked me up, and she actually slept like that for a while : )

Touch My Heart Moment #10:

Watching Zoe . . .

. . . and Ella sleep so peacefully.

It was a great weekend (despite the toilet mess) and even though there are plenty of times Zoe and Ella test my patience or drive me nuts -- these little moments that 'touch my heart' really make me feel like the luckiest mama in the world!!

Happy, Happy Mother's Day!

~ I love my two little sweeties,

who make Mother's Day a whole lot more fun for me ~

And I love my Mom,

who shows me every day what being a GREAT Mom (and Grama) is all about.

Happy Mother's Day!

~Jeremi

'Say What Wednesday' and 'Way Back When-esday'

Here are some more Ella and Zoe'isms (playing along with Missy at www.twolittlemonkeys1.blogspot.com):

*Zoe was picking her nose and I called her on it -- she said she was 'just doing her homework'.

*Ella was having an off night and needed a time out to re-group -- she said, 'I am not feeling like myself.'

*Ella told me, 'After ballet I'll be in my office.'. I asked what she does in her office and she said 'I blow balloons.'

*Zoe very excitedly told me 'Mommy, Dad used all his nuts to decorate the snowman!'.

*Both girls told me they didn't like mashed potatoes (can not imagine), but Zoe said, 'I love the gravy'.

*Ella still yearns for speech class just to be for her. One morning she told me 'Mama, when I grow up I will have my own speech class'.

*The girls had been rather bossy towards each other and I asked if they acted bossy at school. Zoe said 'no, just our teachers do.'

*We were visiting Grama and Grampa and Grampa fell asleep on the sofa. Zoe looked at him and said 'Mama, Grampa looks just like Arlene!' (our very-much-loved 'grandma' neighbor).

*Ella's stomach groaned and she said, 'I feel like my stomach needs a snack.'.

*Ella told me she wanted me to do her hair like Ms. Zachari (their ballet teacher). Zoe said she wanted hers to look like mine (so sweet, I have a lot of issues with my hair).

*'I'll be okay with my sister'. (Ella)

*'I'll be okay with my sister'. (Zoe)

*'I love you Zoe'. (Ella)

*I love you Ella.' (Zoe)

*After looking at wedding photos of Tom and me (from 15 years ago) Ella said, 'Dad looks the way he doesn't look and you look the same.'

*After looking at wedding photos of Tom and me Zoe said, 'You're still married?'

*Our wedding anniversary brought about many discussions. I told the girls I hoped if they decided to get married some day they would find someone who treated them really well, that they had a lot of fun with and who made them laugh --just like I found when I met their daddy. Ella told me she was going to marry Grampa Lindy and Zoe didn't miss a beat, she told me she was going to marry Grama Dianne : )

*Ella was in a little trouble and after our talk she told me, 'it's okay -- it's just part of life.'.

*Ella was in a little trouble and said 'Live and Learn!'.

*Zoe was in a little trouble and said 'Ella did it.'.

*Ella, out of the blue, 'Oww. My crown just hurt me.'.

*Ella told me she was going to be a baby-maker when she grows up.

*Zoe said she was going to be just like Paige (their babysitter).

*We were running around in the backyard and I commented on how fast daddy was, that he can run as fast as a horse. Ella said 'No, dad is a donkey.'.

*We were talking about how different people are different sizes and Zoe said, 'Dad is not a little guy'.

*On their 4th birthday morning Ella woke up and said 'but I don't feel four!'.

*While shopping at the Dollar Store I told the girls to look carefully at the different items and see what catches their eye. Ella found a mermaid and very excitedly told me ' This catches my mind!'.

*Shortly after the Dollar Store shopping trip Ella said, 'Oww. My mermaid just poked me.'.

*When we have music playing Ella and Zoe are adamant that I don't sing along with (which so reminds me of when I was little and my mom would sing), but while driving in the car I started to sing a song myself and the girls really enjoyed it. Zoe told me 'You're a good singer'. You should do a show.'.

*Ella and Zoe were playing 'Mommy' and Ella told Zoe she was pregnant with triplets. Zoe told me, 'she's going to be a busy mama!'.

*After seeing a man who was completely bald Zoe said, 'we are all bald under our hair.'.

*Zoe was wearing her yellow dress and told me 'I am a sunbeam for Jesus'.

*Ella said her prayers one night and ended with 'God Bless my Grama Dianne.'

Playing along with Cheryl (at www.twinfatuation.blogspot.com):

Ella and Zoe at their One Year Birthday Party ~ April 19th 2007

They still love their chairs, though they desperately need to be washed. And they still have pink hightops, though they are a few sizes bigger : )

Baby Lambs

Last weekend we drove to Wisconsin to visit our former neighbors and their newly-born twin lambs. The mama lamb was very protective and apprehensive with unfamiliar people close to her babies, so we only took one lamb out for up-close viewing. But SOOOO sweet!! All baby animals are pretty adorable but baby lambs are just so so SO cute : )