Early Morning Singing

The girls woke up way to early this morning (in my opinion). They were bright eyed ready for the day and so I took them out onto the porch so that they wouldn't wake up little Paul. We had a very fun time together, I just wish my voice wasn't on the video!

Prayer and Almond Roca

Lucy is learning to say her "Lord's Prayer". She pretty much has is down, although with her particular two-year-old's dialect it's possible only her daddy and I can understand her :-)

(excuse the video quality and angle, Lucy and I were laying on the couch

together while I held my phone up to video. Not ideal circumstances,

but I don't often get out my real camera these days...)

Now this little girl knows how to enjoy her almond roca!

One little piece provided about 45 minutes of entertainment and enjoyment :-)

Fall Fun

Lucy and Helen got to play in the leaves for the first time last week. Their good friend Joan came over and they all had a grand time in the leaves, then after playing outside we all came in and got warm and cozy. Here's another little video I made for my girls to watch.

Just Because We Like Our Puppies

I made this little video for my girls to watch, because they love our dogs. The song is not exactly accurate, as both our dogs are girls and they are labs, but I couldn't find a better song. (If anyone out there knows a good "doggy" song let me know and maybe I'll use it on our next video.)

Gardening with Daddy

One of the things I like the most about all of Ben's gardening and yard projects is watching Lucy and Helen follow him around. Especially Lucy. She just wants to do whatever Daddy is doing,

whether it's measuring boards to build a flower trellis

or digging holes to plant vegetables

Helen's never far behind Lucy.

Of course, another great benefit is the home grown vegetables, (a fresh salad every day) 

and the beautiful flowers from our yard.

 Yep, Ben's pretty amazing!

Everyday Adventures

Isn't it amazing how something as simple as making cookies can turn into an adventure with a two year old? This afternoon Lucy helped put in the ingredients into the mixer and then helped put the balls of dough on the trays. Of course when she's was done I did straighten out the rows of cookies "a little" before putting them in the oven.

Once the cookies were in the oven I peeked out the door to check on Helen, who was supposed to be happily playing at the sandbox. Well, I guess she just couldn't wait for the cookies, so she scrounged up an afternoon snack for herself elsewhere.

Yes, Helen always has chubby cheeks, but here they were extra chubby from the 12 pieces of dog food stuffed in. Needless to say she did NOT appreciate it when I extricated the food from her mouth.

Is there a moral here? Watch her better? Put the dog dishes out of reach? Hmmm. My conclusion is that maybe I should start buying the "made with real meat" type of dog food, so at least she gets some nutrients...

Girls being Girly

What is it about hair bows and little girls? Grandma Patty sent a package of bright colored hair bows and barrettes for the girls. (along with many other prizes, Thank you again Grandma!) and Lucy just kept wanting me to put in one after the other.

"Another one, please Mama"

Admiring the effect

Helen even wore one bow for about 2 minutes.

Happy Birthday Helen!

Helen Sue is one year old today. She was born on her Grandma Patty's birthday, which is pretty special. Helen and Lucy love each other so much, and Ben and I are blessed beyond words to have these two sweet girls and to be looking forward to the arrival of our next child at the end of August. The Lord has certainly given us far more than we deserve!

Here's a video from when she was brand new, only a few hours old. 

Now here's a video I just made. Helen is practicing taking care of her baby, so she'll be all ready to help when our new little baby arrives in a few months. Looks like she'll be quite a helper, doesn't it?

Quiet Time

Lucy and Helen were very tired but they have too much fun together to actually lay still for more than a few seconds. Helen has always been a wiggle worm.



p.s. I never would actually expect them to get any resting done unless I put them in their cribs in their separate rooms. This separate room thing is a luxury we will no longer have once baby #3 arrives. I'm enjoying it while it lasts :-)

Never Lonely

How could I ever get lonely with these two sweet children following me from room to room. Sometimes they both drag their blankets around and settle down right by my feet - no matter what I'm doing at the moment. Although it's frustrating at times, trying to actually get anything done, it's pretty special!

Helping?

Lucy really likes Helen and "helps" her in everything :-)

Baby Dear - out for a walk

As you may already know from my earlier post here, Baby Dear is one of my favorite children's books. The other day it was actually sunny here, a small glimpse that spring really is coming. Lucy took her "Baby Dear" for a walk and I took Helen. Somehow the photo of us doesn't look quite as sweet and nostalgic as the illustration from the book, but we love our babies every bit as much as that mommy and daughter do!

Our Family Vacation

We had a wonderful family vacation - a week in Maui. Although it rained and stormed for 4 days we still spent every possible minute on the beach. Our last 3 days were wonderful and the girls both really loved the beach; both sand and water.

Here is a little video I put together for Lucy to watch ~ IT's just Lucy and Helen and some of their little friends on the beach.

Hilariously Happy Helen

Yesterday Lucy was napping during lunch so it was just Helen and I. Helen was a VERY happy girl. She just kept going and going, but I only posted one minute of the video so you wouldn't get too bored. I love her belly laugh!

Helen Sue

"Little" Helen is getting pretty big these days. Sometimes if Lucy is napping I actually read books or just play with Helen and she loves it. She doesn't get as much one-on-one time with me as Lucy did (of course :-) but when we do play she sure loves it! She already has such a different personality than Lucy.

Big Happenings

New special pajamas made for Lucy and Helen by "Grandma Hicks."

Around here that's a pretty exciting event!

Matching is always fun

New Pajamas ~ Yay!

Helen likes them too

Lucy looks at the pictures and says each persons name

Lots of Snow

Over the last couple of days we've had a LOT of snow - at least for western Washington. My non-scientific guess is about 8". I don't remember having this much snow since my family moved to Washington about 20 years ago. So since Ben was home we built snowmen (Ben did all the work, Lucy and I helped by bringing out the eyes and noses) and we had fun in the snow with the neighbors. Still, for the majority of our time we were cuddled up inside. Lucy and Helen have loved having Daddy home, but I think he is ready to get back to work. He's not as good at "doing nothing" as I am. :-)

Our snowman family

Lucy got to hold the "noses and eyes"

Our kind of "walk" - Lucy couldn't have walked far in that deep snow.

The girls in their stroller / trailer

Lucy - BEFORE she got cold :-)

Here we are

 Ben put together a video today of some of the more "icy" photographs he took today, now that the snow has turned to wet hail and slush.

Our Walk in the Snow

Yesterday afternoon I finally took the girls out for a walk in the snow. Of course, then it was only a few inches. Now we have about 8 inches and it's still snowing! I'll have to try to get more pictures when we go out today but for now here are a couple from yesterday. They aren't the greatest, since they were just taken by me with my phone, but they show that we had fun. Helen just stayed bundled in her "pouch" while Lucy explored.

 Lucy's wearing the new shawl that Grandma Patty made for ME.

Lucy was so excited when I got it out and kept saying "please, please" so I let her wear it, this once. :-)

 We mostly stayed in the parking lot where the snow had melted,

since Lucy was slipping and sliding when we walked through the actual snow.

Enjoying the Sunshine (while it lasts)

I'm finally posting a few of pictures I took on Sunday while we actually had some sunshine. While Ben was out doing yardwork Lucy walked up and down pushing her "baby" in the stroller.

  

Meanwhile Helen was escaping right out the front door!

They're sure nice!

Fun with friends

We are very fortunate to have such good friends & neighbors. I think Lucy would love to live over at their house. She and Helen both love all the children and all the action.

 

a "quick" snack isn't quite as quick with this many children

storytime - gather 'round!

meanwhile Helen explores, looking for crumbs :-)