Jekyll and Hyde

Nina, Lyla, and I have been plagued by a respiratory bug since the weekend, and I ended up taking Lyla to the pediatrician yesterday to get looked at. I warned the doctor that Lyla isn't too keen on those in the medical profession, but the exam had to take place nevertheless. As soon as the doctor tried listening to Lyla's breathing, she began her screaming, twisting, pushing, resisting, etc. to the point where both the doctor and I were attempting to restrain her enough just to get her ears checked and breathing listened to. The doctor turned to me and said, "She's a real little pistol, isn't she?" For those of us who know Lyla, it isn't too often that Lyla and being a pistol are mentioned in the same sentence. However, as soon as the doctor left the room, Lyla returned to her normal self - smiling, chatting with her high little voice, pointing, and playing. The minute the doctor walked back into the room to hand me the perscription, it was tears, crying, angry faces, etc. Dare I say we've got another drama queen in the family?

Nina's First Big Kid Bike

Our gift to Nina this year was her first big kid bike and helmet. We "test drove" it last night at the store, Mark put it together after she went to bed, and she wanted to ride it first thing this morning. We got one that is a little big for her size so she'll have plenty of time with it now and in the future, but she actually rode this bigger size better than the smaller bikes. Our little girl is growing up!

Happy Birthday Nina!

Nina turns three tomorrow, but we celebrated with a beach party yesterday afternoon and evening. We ended up with one of the most perfect weather days of the month for a beach party which was good because I didn't have a back-up plan for how to have a fun beach party inside. Anyway, this is an occasion for another web album, so click on the link and view the slideshow to see captions that tell about the party.

Happy Birthday, Nina!

http://picasaweb.google.com/amandabeth2/107?authkey=Gv1sRgCNvQ1IHRua7HhAE&feat=directlink

The 3rd Annual Hawk Hunt

The 3rd Annual Hawk Hunt was this morning at my mom and dad's house. The hawk hunt actually included bugs this year, so it was officially the Hawk and Bug Hunt this year. There were so many great parts of the day, and too many pictures to put on the blog post, so I put them on a web album.

Click the link below, then choose the Slideshow option. I narrated the day with captions on the pictures, so you'll follow the great event. Be sure to click through to the end for a ssssssssssuper sssssssspecial ssssssssssssurprise (hint, hint) that was the grand finale to the hunt this year.

http://picasaweb.google.com/amandabeth2/106?authkey=Gv1sRgCJr2v42RlaWjaA&feat=directlink

She Likes the Wind

Now every one of you who grew up in the 80's or has ever seen the movie Dirty Dancing is sharing the same miserable fate that I am. You saw the title to this post and immediately the very sappy and quite awful 80's hit She's Like the Wind is now ringing in your head. Good luck getting it out. It's unfortunately been stuck in my head for awhile now. I came into Lyla's room after her nap, and found a funny sight. I had put the fan in her room to cool it down, and I found her laughing and smiling standing up at the point in her crib where the wind was blowing, and she was letting it blow in her face and hair. It was cute, and I hope you enjoy the pictures because now most of you are going to be annoyed with me at having gotten this song stuck in your head!

You Know Your Life is Exciting When...

...a big night out is going to Red Robin. Ok, so you sense the sarcasm dripping from my words, but Nina loves Red Robin. In fact, we've had conversation before about who would be her favorite bird - Talon (the DC United mascot who she loves) or Red (pictured below). It's a tough decision that she can never quite commit to. So, I decided to take my old camera in the diaper bag last night in hopes of catching a picture with Nina and her bird. Lyla was not as sure about the Red Robin. With some prodding (ok, pushing) on the back from Nina, Lyla did get close enough to Red to give him a high five, but shockingly enough, she wouldn't accept the balloon he was trying to give her. Lyla LOVES balloons, so that was a bit surprising, but I don't think she's quite warmed up to the idea of an oversized red bird yet.

I also had to include this picture of Nina's drawings this morning. I think they are getting so cute!

A Walk in the Park

Every day that the weather is nice, we try to get out to take a walk around the neighborhood. There is always something interesting for the girls to look at, the fresh air is great, and Nina loves to ride her tricycle and Lyla loves to ride in in the car. Since it was such a nice day today, I decided to take my camera with me, so I ended up getting some pictures of the girls when we stopped to play on the rocks. Nina is doing quite well these days. She still has a ton of energy, asks what seem like hundreds of questions a day, and still has the strong will she's had since she was a baby. Lyla is doing good as well. She refuses all baby food anymore and uses those six little teeth to try to eat anything that Nina is eating. She is also a bit more of a rascal now than she used to be. She's figured out some buttons to push to antagonize her sister, and she seems to be quite adept at doing so these days. Most all of it is done with the knowing/coy smile, so we're quite sure she knows exactly what she's up to...as all younger sisters do!

Also, Nina is still quite the fashionista in training (as are probably the majority of little girls this age). EVERYTHING has to match. I'm talking about even the slightest things... Dresses are always the preferred item for the day, and right now the #2 way to her heart is to compliment her outfit (#1 being offering her candy)!

A Nice Day

I had a great Mother's Day today. The weather was beautiful, and I enjoyed the time with Mark, the girls, and my family. After church I tried getting a picture with the girls. Nina was quite cooperative.

Lyla was not cooperating with having her picture taken, so no pictures with just Lyla this year. She was intent on carrying Mark's minnow bucket around the driveway instead!For lunch, my parents and Bo came over, and we got to celebrate the day with my mom as well.My sister and her family were in Gloucester, so my mom is missing one child in this picture.

Happy Day to those grandmothers, mothers, expectant mothers, and women waiting for their time to be mothers. I can say that I know and love some amazing women that fit those categories, and I'm thinking about you all today.

An Excuse for a Party

It had been a little while since the cousins were out at Mousey and Poppy's in the name of a party, and they were itching to get together, so we threw together a Cinco de Mayo fiesta out at my parents' house yesterday evening. Aside from the sombreros, the music, and the food, the evening was less Cinco de Mayo and more a scene of four girls enjoying playing together and destroying my parents' house (it's a good thing they're not up tight about the condition of their house when we're over)!

Old Friends, New Friends

Today, Mark and I got to hang out with old friends, Judd and Chrissy, while Nina and Lyla got to hang out with a new friend, Margaret. This was our first time meeting Judd and Chrissy's little girl, and she seemed to be entertained by Nina. Even though it was dreary and rainy outside, there was plenty of energy inside to go around!

Coffee for a Good Cause

I got this info. today from the International Justice Mission (IJM) and thought I would pass it on. Join us in drinking coffee for a good cause this month!

This month, drinking great coffee can literally change lives. During the month of May Storyville Coffee is dedicating 100% of its revenue to IJM — up to $1,000,000 — to stop slavery, human trafficking, and other forms of violent oppression.Simply go to WWW.STORYVILLE.COM, purchase coffee, receive fresh roasted coffee beans in the mail, brew and enjoy — or consider a gift of gourment coffee for Mother's Day or to celebrate graduations this month. Storyville is based on the idea that coffee is a ritual that gives us time to think, create and dream. In dreaming, we remember those who cannot. Your support can enable victims of modern-day slavery to dream again and to build new lives. Spread the word by forwarding this email to a friend.

Flower Girls

After lunch we walked over to one of the parks in our neighborhood to pick flowers (mostly likely weeds disguised as flowers). Both Nina and Lyla love picking flowers, and since Nina spent the entire summer last year blowing puffy dandelions in the back yard, hence producing a crop of dandelions this year that will drive Mark nuts in his efforts to cultivate a nice yard, we decided to manufacture weeds in another section of the neighborhood. It's cute to see Lyla learning from Nina. She picks flowers too (always the yellow dandelions for herself), and will also give Nina some of the others she's picked.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

In a day, it seems like spring jumped from trying to emerge to full out summer time. I don't think this heat is here to stay, and hopefully we'll get to enjoy the spring season, but it was in the 90s here today, and our AC isn't blowing cold air. We're feeling HOT! Mark is on a trip, so the girls and I tried out a new park today in Ashburn, the Dinosaur Park. It was great, and Nina and Lyla had a good time until they were too hot to have fun anymore.

After we got home, I filled the pool with some cold water from the hose, and Nina had fun sliding down the slide into the pool of cold water. I don't know why she needed to wear her goggles in 4" of water, but she really felt she needed to!

Sister Update

It's been awhile since I've done a sister update, and I think the last one I did was more about how the girls were different. They are, however, proving to be similar in more ways now too (aside from looking nothing like each other)! They both love to be active and love the outdoors and are usually quite upset when we have to come inside, even when the weather is rainy or cold. They also love dogs. Lyla will take off down the sidewalk or across the park to try to get closer to one she sees. They also both love their blankies, and it will be a very sad day if we ever lose one! They also are both shoe girls. Nina always was a shoe lover, and now Lyla has joined the ranks too. She loves shoes for herself, and she will also offer you your own shoes persistantly - whether you want them or not. While they both have their moments (yes, our sweet spirited Lyla does have a temper), they are both loving, sweet, funny little girls, and we're enjoying seeing their relationship with each other develop more also.

Dancing

Because it was rainy and dreary the past two days, we haven't gotten outside to play. Instead, the girls got out a little energy to Madagascar's Move It Move It. Lyla still needs to work on her dance moves. She's only got down the bouncing move, but Nina is definitely starting to pick up some new moves since the Hampster Dance of last summer.

A Little Help

Mark got a little help today when washing his car. Nina was really into it, but Lyla preferred the stream of soap bubbles that collected at the end of the driveway!

Don't You Hate a Dead Battery!

Today was a beautifully sunny and pleasantly warm day, so I decided to take the girls to Frying Pan Park where I visited many times with Nina before Lyla was born. I brought my camera, ready to take pictures of the girls and the many newly born animals on the farm, but I took one picture (this one here), and my camera battery was dead. I had not paid attention to the battery bar indicator the last time I took pictures, so I missed tons of great opportunities for photos today. In the only picture I did get, Nina is covering her nose because we were by the pig pen, and she was bothered because they were stinky. I'm bummed that I don't have pictures to prove it, but we had a great time today.

Cute

On most mornings, the girls are up right around 7 a.m., but lately Nina has been sleeping later than Lyla since she isn't napping during the day. In the time before Nina wakes up, normally Lyla and I sit in her room and read books while Mark gets ready for work. Lately, she has been a little obsessed with Brown Bear, Brown Bear. After reading it several times, I'll pick up another book from the bookshelf and try that, but today she just kept going back to the stack of books and handing me Brown Bear. When Nina got up, I put all her books back in the bookshelf, and we went in Nina's room. Mark hadn't left yet, so he was in there with the girls also when I went down to the kitchen to get Nina's milk. When I came back up, this is how I found them (so I ran back down and got my camera). Mark said that after I left the room, Lyla went back to her room, and must have found the Brown Bear book in her bookshelf because she walked in holding it up to Mark to read. I guess she must really like this book!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone! Today, the girls and I went to my parents' house after church for an Easter egg hunt and lunch. Mark won't be home from the team's away game trip until this evening, so it was nice to have the egg hunt and lunch out at Haymarket. Even Cobi got in the spirit (not really) with bunny ears.

With the help of Uncle Bo, Lyla gathered about five eggs, and Nina managed to find the rest of them.