Great weekend

Probably should've used this for the side-by-side with Kyra...so pretty

...even when she's crabby. 

Ruby was trying to give her a hug, but Stella had just woken up and wasn't in the mood at all.

We had our friend Lexington over for the weekend.  She is the daughter of a great friend of mine and sorority sister from ISU. The girls had such a wonderful time together!  There was no third wheel in this group at all.  They all did so great.  And now tonight Lexi is gone and we kinda miss her. Stella was a big helper and entertainer.  Ruby really enjoyed the company too.  And Lexington is a very sweet little girl!  We had lots of fun. 

A very clear difference showed itself in moments such as these (below).  We all got our pj's on, got snacks, milk, tent set up, movie on, pillows laid out and....Lexi was all about watching the movie and chilling out.  Meanwhile just after this photo Ruby was over bouncing up and down on a pillow and then crawling on my face and Stella was log rolling on the blankets and pillows.  Hmmm....I've definitely got two live wires and sometimes it takes me being around a mellow child to remember that.

It was another beautiful day here today! See...it was soooo sunny Ruby had to squint!

Our sweet little Ruby Tuesday out ate both of the other girls at any given meal.

The girls did a fun little art project this weekend.  We wanted to make a gift for Lexi's Mom and Dad as they had a trying weekend.  So we started off by painting coffee filters and throwing salt on them for a cool effect.

Ruby got to paint too! 

After the coffee filters dried, the girls ripped them up and we mod-podged them down onto canvases. Once that dried the girls colored all over the surface with paint markers.  They turned out so cool!  I think I see some more of these as gifts in the future. 

One of Stella's finished works.

Fun with TONS of bubbles!

Stella and Kyra

I get told quite a bit that Stelly looks like Kyra Sedwick.  Whatcha think?

Beginning 2012

Happy New Year!

Puppy love...

I love, love, love watching these two play together!

Spaghetti dinner...

Ruby thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Look at this big girl who's car seat is now forward facing.  Hey, this girl is as big as some 2 year olds I know.

She loved her first ride like this.  She was looking around in awe. 

Video of big sister helping Ruby get strapped in. 

We've had such nice weather here.  Windows open, kids playing outside, running in shorts and t-shirt kind of weather.  We've been loving it.  Ruby is saying more these days "Baw"=Ball, "Tell-A"=Stella, Nigh-Nigh, "Mill-yee"=Millie, "Bah"=bye and she's finally referring to Dad as Dadda and not Mommy.  Ruby is getting so tall and is about 25 lbs. now.  Her hair is curling up in the back and she can run...fast!  She gets into everything and especially loves remotes, phones, and sissy's lip gloss.  This morning she ventured into the bounce houses at this place called Giggle Bugs where we meet friends quite often.  It was the first time she really got in.  She had a great time sitting in them and bouncing all over the place and watching all the kids.   

Tuesday we recieved a great note from Stella's teacher.  It said, "Stella has changed from a timid and quiet girl to an outspoken LEADER.  It's been a fun transformation to watch!  I love my job"  Talk about bursting with pride and joy.  It was so cool to read that.  I thought it was a great opportunity to talk to Stella about what it meant to be a leader and what a responsibility it was not only in the classroom but for her sister.  We talked about way to be a good leader and I definitley let her know how excited I was for her to recieve such a special note.  I am looking forward to my first PT conference coming up next week!

This is a picture of Stella after her nap.  She did not have this on before her nap.  I routinely find her in a completely different outfit after her nap everyday.  I love it that this girl is into fashion, but I do not love the heap of clothes piled up on the floor each day.  Her philosophy seems to be that if she's had something on for more than 4 or 5 hours it is time to change!