M&E

I wish I could freeze time with these girls of ours. I want to keep them these ages for awhile. Their personalities are so different from one another, but I love that. Madeline is seriously funny. She is the comedian in our family, while Ella is by far the more serious one. Her sense of humor is dry...like her mama's;) I always wonder what they will be like as they get older. My hope for them is to be happy, healthy and to always be sweet to others. Madeline might have a harder time with that last one than Ella. Although my mom would say "Don't say that! Your children become what you tell them they are." I guess my mom always told me I was perfect...

She begs everyday to be dipped in the pool. And yes, she undresses herself and insists she goes in the buff.

Her thinking face:)

Who needs a fork?

Certainly not that girl.

As much as I love them awake...I love them sleeping as well!

She looks so angelic.

Someone was in the dress up bin! 

Keeping Busy

R&R is slow approaching and we are trying to do anything and everything to keep busy and take our minds off of the long days until we have daddy home with us. Here is how the end of our February panned out:

Ella drew quite a lot. Here she is walking Riley. Notice the bows in their hair.

Here is "Riley on a cloud in heaven".

We find many uses for Jenga blocks.

My girls met baby Lily

Ella absolutely adored her...

Madeline, however, didn't really notice there was a baby in the room

How sweet is she??

The kids all played while the BFFs got to catch up and hold Lily:)

Here is Ella's version of baby Lily in her crib (a stool turned over)

She found my crown and likes to wear it. She is the queen after all.

Bike Safety Week at Ella's school

The girls were all busy chatting on their bikes and the boys were busy racing each other. Such a difference,

Madeline just couldn't keep up, but she loved watching and being a part of the class.

Ella came home with this letter in her backpack addressed to Daddy. Makes my heart melt!

Busy with sidewalk chalk: Ella drew the whole family and then added the word "Family" at the very top. I know it's hard to tell. Just look closely, ok?

This pic doesn't really need a caption.

Madeline's "cheeeese" face!

Party at the Zoo!

Madeline and Ella's cousin, Mary Elizabeth, celebrated her 2nd birthday at Lowry Park Zoo. I have to say it was one of the coolest kid's parties I have ever been to! We sat in one of their educational classrooms and the zookeepers brought in animals for the kids to learn about and some were friendly enough to pet;) Of course Ella was hesitant with the snake, but not my honey badger Madeline. I think she would've taken that thing and swung it around like a lasso if we let her. They both loved the bunny and the parrot was entertaining with it's little tricks. However, the one-eyed owl...I could've lived without seeing. A little on the creepy side. It's been years since I have visited that zoo and it definitely didn't disappoint. The girls had an awesome time and the birthday girl was as adorable as ever. Loved being able to spend the day celebrating with her and the rest of the family. 

Baby bunnies

Ssssnake

I captured his good side.

Birthday girl and her daddy

Wallabies

Make me a bird...

The only thing Ella really wanted to see!

America

These goats wanted to eat our children!

Ella and her Magen:)

Love her

Waiting for the camel...

Camel ride in a dress. The things we do for our children when the husband is deployed.

Dancin' Away!

A few weeks ago Ella's dance teacher invited the parents into the class to watch the dance routine for the upcoming recital. Anyone who knows Ella knows she is as shy as can be. I figured she would NOT be ok with me in there watching and revert to her usual self. Instead, the opposite happened. I was able to see her completely in her element, dancing with a huge smile on her face. She wasn't a bit shy. She did every move, listened to every single direction from her teacher and made me a really proud mama! At one point, I got a little teary-eyed when I watched her. When did my tiny six pounder grow into this beautiful four year old? I swear it happened over night.

Just a couple of videos to see how stinkin' cute this class is...oh and how cute my kid is as well!

Holy Hiatus!

Where has my life been the last month? Apparently my last post got the best of me. Maybe the girls have continuously been winning every single day. Haha yeah right! Sort of. Let's just say I am very, very ready for their daddy to come home on R&R. The last 8.5 months without him have been really straining on me.  As much as I miss him, there are so many other things I miss about our life, too. I miss our house in Oklahoma and all of the space it has (do not mistake this with me missing the actual state of Oklahoma). I miss being able to yell at my kids without having my parents thinking I am caraaaazzzy. I miss the nights just snuggling up with Tom. I miss playing outside with the girls and seeing Tom pull up in the driveway after work and the girls so excited to see him after a long day. The list goes on and on. I think the only GREAT thing about deployments are the reunions. I absolutely can't wait to finally breathe again, knowing he is safe in our arms.

This was the last time Daddy held his girls over 8 months ago! He is going to be shocked at how much they've grown.