Belated Easter

So its a little late, but I thought I would post some pictures of Easter. I failed miserably at getting a good picture of the girls in their Easter dresses, but we got a few other cute ones along the way. My parents and brother came down for a week and spent the holiday with us. Always a good time. We had a little Easter egg hunt for the girls and some of their friends, courtesy of Grandma and Papa.

OUR NEW HOME!

Most of you have probably already heard by now, but Todd and I finally bought our first home! We are all so excited. We were able to take advantage of the housing market and get a great deal on a new home in Delaware, Ohio. Its about 30 minutes from where we are living right now. We've been going up there every Saturday to check on the progress, and we finally have some pictures worth sharing. We're hoping that we will be ready for closing in June. Ella is very excited about turning 5 in her new house. As exciting as the house is, I think I am more excited for the fenced backyard. I'm not going to know what to do with myself!

This is a picture of the entryway leading into the kitchen and dining room. As you can see, I have a great view of the backyard from the kitchen. To the right is a the bathroom and a little playroom.

This is the view from our bedroom window. The girls are very excited about the duck pond right outside our backyard.

Ella in her hard hat.

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in so long... I claim WINTER BLUES!!! I've been lazy about a lot of things lately. Blogging was one of the first things to go. Followed closely behind by consistent parenting. We've had this discussion in particular a lot around here lately-
Ella- "Mom, can I keep this huge fort up in the middle of the living room for the rest of the week?"
Me- "No."
Ella- "Aaargh! Please!"
Me- "No."
Ella- A LOT of whining and crying.
Me- "FINE!"
Ella- "Can I have my lunch in there?"
Me- "No- lets eat at the table, please."
Ella- "But Mom!!"
Me- "No, Ella."
Ella- MORE whining and crying.
Me- "FINE!"
I've lost my resolve to argue with that child. We're just trying to make it through the winter. My sweet little Ella left with the warm weather, and I am just praying that when it comes back, so will she. In the meantime, we've dubbed her CruElla. Which usually serves to make her angrier. Because, as she says, she's "still Cinderella, who just doesn't like anything."
Here are a few pictures of the last couple months-

A couple of pictures from our trip to Buffalo to visit Grandma and Papa- there was a great little children's museum. We also went to the Fisher-Price museum of toys. Which was great, because it was freezing cold outside.

Our only venture into the snow this season. It was just too cold!! Molly refused to keep her gloves on, so within 2 minutes she is bawling and holding up her little red hands. The rest of the time I had to sit inside with Molly and watch Ella out the window. I am so over snow.

Ella loves putting together little beds and forts for her and Molly- whatever we can do to pass the time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOLLY!

Molly had her birthday on Friday, and we are now officially the proud owners of a two-year-old! Its hard to believe that two years have gone by already. She grew up so fast. It didn't help that she couldn't wait to do it. She is fiercely independent, and is determined to do everything by herself. She started potting training herself 4 months ago, and gets really upset if you try and do anything for her that she thinks she can do herself. Those fits can set us back a good 20 minutes, so I usually play along. She is not super cuddly, but she is very affectionate. She loves to sit next to me with a little arm around my neck. She is also a big helper. She loves to help Mommy clean up, and unload the dishwasher. She also thinks she is quite the comedian, and is constantly cracking herself up. She is learning new words every day. Although if I ask her if she can say any specific word, she will always tell me "no". She loves baby dolls, Dora, and Elmo. She is such a joy to be around, and she is always happy. Molly, you have been such a blessing in our lives, and we love you so very very much! Happy birthday Moosie!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

How cute are the girls in their Christmas dresses? Getting a decent picture was another story. One of these Christmas's Santa is going to leave me a very nice camera under the tree that will capture hundreds of perfect pictures, but until then I'll have to make do with whatever candids we come up with. We had a very nice low key holiday. The girls were so excited for Christmas this year. I'm not sure how much Molly really understood what was going on, but Ella's enthusiasm definitely rubbed off on her. She loved unwrapping presents, and got really mad whenever it was someone else's turn. The kitchen Santa brought her was a big hit.

Ella has been busy playing for the last five days. Everytime we go out she asks- "Are we going home soon so I can play with my toys?" She keeps asking me how the elves made all the different things in the workshop that she got for Christmas.

Its hard to believe that another year has gone by. We have been very blessed this year, and we're excited for all the possibilities this new year will bring. That being said, I'm about to go eat another piece of cake because my new year resolutions don't kick in for another three days. We love you all, and hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Are you on the nice list?

So this morning Todd showed the girls this website that tracks Santa on Christmas Eve. It also has a countdown to Christmas, and I think there were some games or something like that. What I loved was where you could check to see if you were on the naughty or nice list. So we got on and checked both of the girls. It asks them a few questions like- Do you go to bed on time every night? and so on and so forth. And I am pleased to announce that both of our girls made the nice list this year. Well, according to Santa Ella is barely hanging on. But that was good enough for her. We may have sacrificed any leverage we had on her before Christmas by giving her that news. Anyway, check it out- www.northpole.com.

Naughty or Nice

I have been so lazy at blogging lately- and I felt very justified, seeing as how the holidays are just around the corner. But when our funny little girl learned this new word, I knew I needed to make some time for the blog between everything else that is going on. Hopefully I'll be back before Christmas...