Happy Birthday, Lyla Rose!

Lyla turns three today! Mark asked me last night if it feels like a long time or a short time since she was born, and I felt it was kind of both. In some ways, it's hard to believe three years has past since she was born, and in other ways, it seems like she's just always been a part of the family. She is always ready with a good hug, she loves to be silly and make us laugh, and she loves her family. We're actually doing her little family party on Saturday so we can celebrate with the Williams family at Hartfield, so today we'll just do some fun little things to make her day special.

This is a collage of some of our favorite Lyla pictures in year two. You can click on the collage to see it bigger.

Birthday Dinner

Yesterday evening we headed over to my parents' house for a little birthday dinner. There are four March birthdays in ten days in our family, so my mom made a great dinner, and we got to do a little pre-birthday celebrating.

As most of you know, Lyla and Bo were born on the same day. That was the best smile I could get out of her, but she was happy to give Uncle Bo a big hug.

We even had Mother Mouse serenade us with her guitar skills...that's all I'll say about that! :)

Mini Road Trip

On Friday, Mary and I did a mini road trip to NJ to visit P and Kristin. Even though we were only there Friday through Saturday afternoon, we had such a great time. We made the most of our girl time by talking and laughing late into the night on Friday, having fun food and wine, more talking and a long walk Saturday morning, then more good food for lunch Saturday with more talking and laughing. There seems to be a theme here... Anyway, we had such a fun little visit as always and enjoyed seeing little Abby too!!

To celebrate our birthday (Kristin, Mary, and I all have March birthdays), P got us a little cake and actually sang Happy Birthday to us!

Video Update

We decided to head out bike riding this morning before the storms came. So, after a quick breakfast, we went out to the parking lot behind our neighborhood town center so Nina would have some open room to practice in. Here is a little video of the bike rider this morning.

Started off With Three Wheels...

...then went to four, just to get to two! That's actually a line from a kids' song I've heard, but I'm borrowing it today as it fits this post. Nina learned to ride her bike without training wheels yesterday. It was awesome. We really didn't think we'd be going down that road any time soon, but yesterday she asked us if she could try it, so we decided to let her give it a shot. I honestly thought the learning session would go about five minutes then be done. However, with Mark running alongside the bike, she got tons of confidence, learned balance, and was riding up and down our street with no training wheels.

After being out there riding for awhile, we had her take a break for about an hour (it's quite a workout for the parent too), then I took the next shift of running alongside the bike. By that time, she was riding along while chatting, humming, and asking to ride around the loop where all the big kids were playing, all the time asking, "Where are the boys?"...GREAT... Mark and I can guarantee that the first crash is going to come from being distracted by the boys while riding and not paying attention to where she's going.

I did take video of it, but my video made me a little dizzy when watching it. Today is supposed to rain all day, but I'm sure we'll be out a lot more tomorrow riding bikes. I'll try to remember to take a better video then.

Note: If you're wondering if anyone is giving that poor little Lyla any attention at all (after all, the past few posts have been about Nina), rest assured, she's still here. If there was any interest in photos or videos of a toddler pulling everything out of the garage only to not play with it and leave it on the driveway, yard, or sidewalk, we'd have plenty footage of Lyla!

Flying a Kite

Yesterday afternoon was great weather to fly a kite. This was Nina's first time flying a kite, and she really enjoyed it. Mark taught her how to maneuver it around, and after that, she was doing it on her own.

She was having a great time and a lot of success flying the kite down the sidewalk by our house, but then one big gust came along and blew the kite into a tree. We were able to get it down after cutting the string, and next time we'll take her to a more open area as to not worry about that, but even with trees and houses to factor in, she really did well.

Crazy Kids

Maybe it was the sugar high from the icing we let them put on on chocolate chip cookie bars, or maybe it was the Party Favorites music that was on, but Nina and Lyla were in a pretty crazy mood tonight. They were having fun dancing, being silly, and running to the couch to crash into Mark. After a few nice, warm days, I think we're all feeling a bit nutty that it actually snowed again today!

This Made My Day

Every so often your kid does something that really makes you happy. Yesterday was one of those days. After Lyla laid down for a nap, Nina wanted to work on making her a birthday card. This is what she wanted me to help her spell, "Dear Lyla, I love you because you are so silly and you are a good sissy. Happy Veggie Birthday. Love, Nina" (Lyla loved Veggie Tales.) After making the card, she asked if I would take her to the store so she could buy something for Lyla for her birthday. Lyla has a stuffed Bob (the tomato), and Nina wanted to get her the stuffed Larry (the cucumber), so I took her to the store, and she used just shy of four weeks' allowance to buy her sister a birthday present. The reason it made my day was because Nina was so happy doing it. She got to experience what all of us feel when we buy/make/do something for someone that we know they're really going to love - even if it means sacrificing something in order to do it. It was neat to see her so excited to spend her money on something for Lyla, and she's doing a good job so far at keeping the present a surprise.

Ahh...Warmth

I know it's only the middle of February, but today made it feel like spring was on it's way (even though I know it's not). It was sunny and relatively warm, so after Nina got home from preschool, we were outside to play. Nina wanted to work on roller skating first, and Lyla did some exploring with her umbrella, then it was riding scooters and bikes until it was time to come in for dinner. I love afternoons like this and can't wait for the warm weather to come back!

A Special Date

Today was a special day for Nina. She got to go on a date with Uncle Bo. She was so excited all day and was ready to head out right away as soon as Bo came to pick her up. They had a great date afternoon at Fairfax Corner's Color Me Mine and Ben & Jerry's. Bo said she asked lots of questions including, "Do you have any wild animals living at your house?" Since she doesn't know much about guys in their 20's, I thought that was a funny question to ask. Anyway, she came home and told us that she had a really great time. What a nice uncle!

In Honor of Valentine's Day...

On Tuesday night, I started feeling really bad and ended up being the sickest I've been in a long time from then until now. I'm still not completely better, but at least I'm out of bed and moving around. Since we basically quaranteened me to the bedroom, I had a lot of time to lay there and think (you can only read and watch TV so much), and I got to thinking that Valentine's Day was right around the corner. I certainly think it's nice to have a designated day on the calendar to specifically celebrate the sweetie in your life, but I think everyone would pass up the Valentine rituals and celebrations just to have the people they love show they care more than one day a year. This week I got to see love in action, and to me that's really what showing love to a person is all about. So, in honor of Valentine's Day, here's how love looked to me this week...

Mark taking on full responsibility of the house, the kids, grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning so I could try to get rest and get better.

My mom, after a full day at work, making us a big pot of delicious homemade soup, and driving it over the same night so I'd have something to eat.

Getting cards from Grandma and Grandpa.

A call from my brother to say he's coming over tomorrow to take Nina out for some fun time.

A call from my sister to say that a special package is on the way for the girls.

Getting picture texts from Mark at the bowling alley of Nina and Lyla having a great time out with dad at the bowling alley on Friday evening.

Air hugs and air kisses from across the room from the girls because they couldn't come close to give me a hug and a kiss.

After four straight days of "doing hair" Mark getting good at pony tails!

Super Bowl

We had a few friends over for Super Bowl, so we went with a fun cake for dessert. Mark turned a little Cake Boss on me and actually cut out the shape of the football, the helmets, and he even decorated the Packers helmet. Who knew he had it in him? Nina and Lyla got nice and comfortable hanging out between our friends Mary and Simon.

Little Bible Teacher

Lyla asked Nina to read her the Bible story of Jonah, so I got the camera to see if I could record how this came out. Here is Nina "reading" the story to Lyla. Except for the fact that Jonah wasn't in the big fish for 10 days, it was a pretty accurate rendition.

Dad's Night

Last night was the much anticipated Dad's Night at Nina's preschool. After dinner out at Bertucci's, they went to her school. Mark got a tour of the classroom by Nina, they got to hammer geo boards together, they got their height measured in Dinos (the class symbol), the Dad's got to see a song performance, and they got special letters from their child. They both had a great time, and after getting canceled last week, it was worth the wait this week!

Lyla Loves...

...to play Handy Manny. She carries her tool box around the house with a pencil behind her ear and asks for things to fix....to wear her hair in pony tails now that it's long enough.
...to be a part of anything Nina is doing.

It's hard to believe our little girl will be three in a little over a month!

Backyard Friends

This morning there were tons of squeals and screams. The birds found the bird house today. We put the house out Sunday afternoon, but we hadn't seen any birds visiting it. This morning, there were over 15 birds there at one point. The brave ones (not deterred by the very colorful and very unnatural paint color of the bird house) went inside to eat, while the others waited underneath and picked all the seeds that fell on the snow. Nina and Lyla sat at the window and watched for a long time. They were so excited that the birds located the house and came to get food this morning. Keeping the birds company, is Snowflake the Snowman (named by Nina) who is currently standing next to the tree. After the "warm" weather supposedly arriving tomorrow, we're not sure how much longer he'll be out there.

Super Bowl and Sex Trafficking

If you can't imagine how they're related, read this article. You might remember a post I did about this time last year related to spikes in sex trafficking in South Africa as the World Cup approached. While it's depressing to think that these well loved sporting events carry a dark side to them, the sad part for me is that the traffickers are just moving with the supply and demand concept. I hope that many girls can be rescued from pimps and traffickers on account of awareness brought by articles like this, but until the demand is addressed, the traffickers will keep going after an endless "supply" of young girls to meet the demand set by the men right here in our own country.

At a recent workshop on trafficking that I attended, Brad Myles, director of the Polaris Project, addressed this exact issue. Here in the United States, law enforcement can go after traffickers and pimps all day long, and girls can hopefully get rescued when law enforcement is alerted, but until the issue of the "john" and the demand for the supply is addressed, the cycle just keeps going round and round. It's sad to think that we're our own problem with this issue.

Sledding

Mark and the girls went out sledding yesterday afternoon and evening. As soon as Lyla got up from her nap, they were dressed in snow clothes and ready to head out. Nina and Mark had gone out in the evening on Thursday, but this was Lyla's first time at the big hills. She had a blast! They stayed out until it got dark, then we ate dinner and settled under the blanket on the couch for a movie night. We picked Homeward Bound, and the girls loved it. Nina, especially, rode every wave of emotion in the movie. Thankfully, it has a happy ending. The only problem was that Nina was crying after the movie for a Golden Retriever of her own. The poor kid wants a dog so bad, and she's just got the meanest parents in the world who keep handing down the verdict of "not yet." Maybe someday...

** Click on the collage to see it bigger

Change of Plans

When Nina woke up this morning and found out that school was canceled, she was very disappointed. She only goes to preschool three afternoons a week, so when it's canceled, she is disappointed, but she was extra bummed today because tonight was Dad's Night at preschool. The dads were all invited to preschool tonight for a special night with their child. Nina and Mark had plans to go out to dinner together then go to Dad's Night, so when it was canceled (until another day), we tried to come up with something fun to do this evening. The girls enjoyed playing outside in the falling snow, and they even helped Mark do a little shovelling.

After playing in the snow, we had a fun pizza dinner, and the girls got to paint a birdhouse together. We'll put some bird seed in it and hang it out on one of the trees in the back yard tomorrow. They are very excited (and hopeful) that birds will come.

Keep an Eye Out for This

Coming on tour to all fifty states this spring is a film I would like to encourage everyone to keep an eye out for. If you live here in the DC Metro area, you'll probably be hearing from me personally as I try to recruit you to come to the film, but for those not living in VA, I hope if the film shows somewhere nearby, you'll take advantage of the opportunity to see it.

Sex + Money a National Search for Human Worth is a full-length feature film that attempts to document how the sexual exploitation of children has become such a fast growing form of organized crime right here in the United States.

The producer of the film met with the leaders of the trafficking task force that I'm a part of and has chosen DC (specifically a showing to Congress and a showing in our county) as the film's second debut location. We are extremely excited to have this great opportunity to help host and promote this film, and as date become concrete for the April showing in this area, you can count on my sharing that with you and hopefully recruiting you to attend!

If you get a few moments, check out the link above for the film and watch some of the webisodes. They will give you an idea of what the group has been doing and what you can expect to hear more about in the film.

Anniversary Help

I got a little help from my girls this anniversary day. Nina started by giving some spa treatment. She painted my nails, put some glitter lotion on my hands, then gave Lyla some treatment as well. Lyla helped bake the dessert for dinner. Anyone who has ever baked things with kids knows that signing up to do so means it is going to take at least twice as long to make your creation, and the mess you'll end up cleaning is going to be enormous. Still, since they love to "help," we agree to the conditions. In the oxymoronic twist of fate, I was trying to make a recipe from one of the most calm, clean, and hypnotizing cooks I've ever seen with one of the messiest toddlers I've ever seen.

The recipe was from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I learned of her just after we had Nina. As those of you who knew us back then remember, there was A LOT of time spent trying to soothe a screaming baby back in those days, and when I would be in the house alone, I would try to have other sounds going on in the background to keep me sane. One of the best was the show, Barefoot Contessa. It's a cooking show (and at the time, I didn't cook much at all except pasta and chicken), but the way she prepared the food, the way she talked, and the whole aura of her show was so calming and almost hypnotic for me to watch/listen to back in those days. Because she provided me with a positive memory of those days, I still use her recipes whenever I can. Also somewhat funny is the fact that Nina LOVES to help me bake. Maybe her baby subconscious remembers her mother being calm when Barefoot Contessa came on. haa haa! Anyway, since Nina was out at preschool and not able to dominate the baking scene, Lyla was the exclusive helper. This picture was taken at the begining of our cooking process. It got very very messy by the end, but we had a good time baking together.

What I Know Then and Now

It was perfect timing...I was going through a bag of old things and came across this little treasure. THE MARK DOLL!!!!!! He is missing his shoes, and his hair has taken on a rather ratty look to it now, but it's still the same doll I remember. Before some of you start thinking that I am a much weirder person than you ever realized, I must explain the Mark doll. It was the master creation of my mom (who else) as a "prize" at my bridal shower. Mark's mom had flown in from FL for the shower, and she and I were put to the test answering random questions about Mark - the winner getting to keep the Mark doll. I can't remember who actually won the game, but there were a lot of funny questions, a lot of laughing, and, in the end, I ended up with the Mark doll. Back then, Mark and I had only known each other a year and a half when I was answering those questions. We dated for six months, he proposed, then we were married a year later. Needless to say, there was some information that I knew and a lot that I didn't know. My guess is that people feel that way even if they date six years. After all, people are like onions (according to Shrek), there are a lot of layers to peel back. Anyway, shortly after winning the Mark doll, I married the man, Mark, and yesterday I came across the Mark doll again the afternoon before we were set to go out to celebrate our 9th anniversary.Our anniversary is actually on Wednesday (1/19), but my parents offered to watch the girls for us last night, so we took the opportunity to head out and celebrate a few days early. Nine years gives you the opportunity to learn a lot more about a person than just a few funny trivia questions does. We've shared many great times, some tough times, some just normal times, and I know a much different Mark today than I did nine years ago. I'm sure he would say he knows a much different me. We sat over a long dinner and talked about the changes going on in our lives, the changes in the kids, and our dreams for the future. Much has changed, yet much remains the same. I am really looking forward to seeing what another year has in store...

Golfer Girl

Since it's been so cold and windy lately, we've been spending most of our days playing inside. For fun, Mark's been working with Nina on tennis and golf in the basement. We have soft balls for both, so they hit the tennis balls off the wall and hit the golf balls from room to room. She really enjoys both, but yesterday when they were hitting golf balls, Mark was really impressed with how she was doing. She's got a great little swing, and she can really hit the ball pretty far. Mark's already looking forward to a father/daughter date on the golf course this spring! (disgregard the hair-do...she had asked for a crazy hair style yesterday)

A Dry New Year

I'm not one to get overly excited about the New Year. I know it's a highly anticipated day for some, and I totally get the reasons why, but I just basically enjoy the fact that it occasionally means a night to hang out with friends or have a nice dinner at home with my husband. On this New Year's Eve, we didn't have a babysitter and didn't have any raging parties to attend (a.k.a. hanging with other friends stuck at home with their young kids too), so we decided to make a fun dinner, get the kids to bed, open a good bottle of wine and enjoy the evening. Does that sound like we're getting old or just lame? Anyway, it sounded like a good plan to us, but even that thrilling evening was not meant to be. Mark and Lyla ended up a bit sick, and Mark succommed to TheraFlu just after 10pm, and after cleaning up from Lyla's throw up at 11:45, I decided to try to fall asleep for a little while before she was up again. So, with that being said, I'm already taking names for all those friends who want to line up to hang out with us next New Year's Eve. Book us while you can!

On another dry note, these pictures are of Nina and Lyla's staticy hair after playing in a blanket. Seems like dry is a theme around our house at the moment.

Yes, you are looking at the front of Nina!