Crazy Hair Day & Pink Princess Rides

Elise rockin' the rainbow hair for the day

Sometimes you just gotta embrace the wild side! Elise finally achieved her dream of rockin' rainbow colored hair during crazy hair day at school while Alina found her perfect princess dream vehicle at Toys-R-Us. These two girly girls make me smile.

Alina in her dream pink princess ride

Elise's First Day of First Grade

Another big milestone in the bag! Elise began her first day of first grade on August 19, 2015, and I am so proud of our girl. She is so open to change and new experiences and even though she's a bit shy, she always give me the look as if to say, "mom, I got this". I was a very shy kid and more than likely cried and was anxious on my first day of school up until 4th grade, so I'm happy that she has so much confidence and I hope it's something that she continues to embrace until she's grown. She had a great first day and was happy to be in class with one of her Kindergarten friends as well!

Excited for her first day of 1st grade!

Elise & Alina's New Room

Elise & Alina's new shared big girl room!

The girls are officially roommates now! This is the result of months of debating on what to do to make our tight four bedroom home work to accommodate baby brother on the way and still maintain our office work space. They both expressed excitement over the prospect of a bunk bed although initially they weren't exactly keen on sharing spaces and toys (mostly Elise, who's been used to having her own room for the past 6 years). We're happy with the end result, mainly because we found a nice quality bunk bed that works well for the space and being a twin/full combo they can grow with it over the next few years. I had to get plenty of photo documentation as this may be the cleanest we see their room EVER again...hah! We are now working on turning Alina's old room into baby brother's nursery. More photos to come once his nursery is finished. Stay tuned...

Their lovely cherry hutch and floral chic bedroom decor

More shared spaces and the view from Elise's top bunk

Little Red Cheongsam and our Yin and Yang

Alina in her little red cheongsam dress

I bought this adorable little red cheongsam dress years ago with the intention of Elise wearing it at some point. Unfortunately for me, at three-years-old Elise had a strong aversion to the color red, anything covering her neck or mom telling her what to wear. She flat out refused to put it on. I tried again with Alina and finally had success! She not only wore it, but posed for me and grinned the entire time. I've always found it amusing how kids can have such strong opinions at young ages. Elise was fighting me on clothing choices since before she could talk. Alina will usually wear anything I pick out without much fuss. 

This brings me to the bigger picture and how I see my girls personalities as completely yin and yang. Honestly speaking, they are opposites in most ways, but through all their differences they bring a sense of harmony and balance to our lives in revealing such different personality dynamics and rewards. It's amazing how much perspective they've brought into our lives and while we can spend hours attesting to all their differences, ultimately I wouldn't imagine or want them to be any other way. This really gets me wondering what baby boy's personality will be like. I already have my yin and yang girls, so how will he fit in the mix? I wonder, will he be more like one or the other? As he grows, it will be very interesting to find out and watch his personality reveal itself. As for now I have my yin and yang to keep me on my toes.

Pretty floral embroidery and cute curls

Mama-Mobile Alert!

Mama's got a brand new ride

Well, it's official, we've swapped the good ole hot rod for a new Toyota Highlander SUV with third row seating. The girls love the new SUV as they have more arm and leg space and are no longer within smacking distance of each other. They also enjoy the super sized sun/moon roof for cloud and star gazing on long car rides. Now we will have room for baby brother to fit in our ride! I am going to miss the old Charger though, it's been a great car for us over the past nine years. I think the girls are going to miss it too, since they have already voiced concern that the new SUV is not fast enough (go figure).

Goodbye SRT8 Charger; nothing but great memories

Early Easter Fun

Cute cousins with the Easter Bunny 2015

These five are the sweetest little pals. The girls love spending time with their cousins and enjoyed getting to meet the Easter Bunny and hunt for eggs together. It's been a joy watching them grow and develop sweet little friendships over the years. When these five are together the laughter and smiles seem endless!

Little pals after their Easter egg hunt

Alina's First Dance Class

Alina loves her Saturday ballet and tap class

Adorable little dancer, Alina

Sweet little Alina started her first preschool dance class this month, and just look at her huge smile! She loves to dance and especially enjoys her new class as it is taught by the dance teacher that works at her preschool. She loves getting to dance at preschool and is very happy to be going to dance class on weekends now too. She makes the cutest little bun-haired ballerina and is so eager and excited to learn all the new dance steps and moves. We sure love our tiny dancer in the making!

All smiles while practicing her dance moves

Celebrating Rainbows

Rainbow spotting brings immeasurable joy!

After a recent February rain storm, we were rewarded with a beautiful full rainbow. The girls were jumping for joy and believed it was put there solely for their visual enjoyment, and who are we to dare argue with such cute logic, right!? They spent about 15 minutes outside dancing and raising up their arms in excitement completely shoeless on the damp pavement, not a care in the world. It's little moments like these where the two of us relish in the opportunity to sit back and take in the sweetness of their little universe. Love these two so much.

'Tis the Season

Proud girl and her holiday table arrangement

Bright red and sparkly poinsettia; girl approved!

The holiday season is upon us yet again, and every year it seems to arrive quicker than the one before. As a kid, December was obviously the longest month of the entire year. The anticipation building up to Christmas was overwhelming and I think that we all went a little crazy waiting. Two days into December and the girls are certainly feeling that vibe. The Countdown is on, and we all enjoyed decorating the inside and outside of our house for Christmas.  Dad deserves another gold star for a job well done on our Christmas lights. The kids 100% approved (and helped!) and Alina especially loves the Mickey & Minnie centerpiece. They each made sure to peek outside before bedtime at the sparkling display.

Elise picked out this lovely holiday bouquet

Dad's Christmas lights, the girls are big fans

Cute Little Thanksgiving Pilgrim

Cute little Pilgrim Elise at her Thanksgiving Feast 2014

Elise had her Kindergarten Thanksgiving feast and short musical performance last week. It was super cute. The kids dressed up as Pilgrims and Native Americans and sat down at shared tables to eat a feast of popcorn, apple slices and other goodies. Her class dressed as Pilgrims and since I volunteer two Fridays a month to work in her class, I had the pleasure of helping the kids make their hats and woven paper placemats. I will tell you that teaching kids how to weave is no small feat whatsoever. It was a lot of work, but fun all at the same time. I was definitely sweating by the end of the day, but it was 100% worth it to see all these cuties dressed up and celebrating before the holiday break. Elise basically made the perfect little Pilgrim. She looked the part with her blonde hair and braids, and as for that serious expression, well, she was just counting down the time until Thanksgiving break began. Yep, it starts this early!

Play Time & Sunsets

Scooter fun out in our court, love those smiles

Play time with their best neighborhood buddies

Elise's chalk art Olaf

She also did this adorable Elsa chalk drawing

She posed by her art, but I zoomed in on that sweet smile!

Beautiful pink and purple sunset

So lovely, all four of us just sat back and watched the sky

Perfect end to a relaxing weekend

Elise's First Visit From the Tooth Fairy

Elise's 1st visit from The Tooth Fairy - $10 sparkly dollars

Elise was very excited when she discovered her first loose tooth a few months ago. We expected it to fall out within a month, but despite all her wiggling it didn't quite happen that way. Instead, her adult tooth started growing in behind her baby tooth, so the dentist recommended that she get the baby tooth pulled since it was unlikely to fall out on its own. Elise did well at the dentist, there were definitely some tears, but overall she was very excited once her tooth was out and the dentist placed it in a special tiny treasure box for her to bring home.

Later that evening before bed, we read a story about Tooth Fairies and how they love to collect teeth to build their castles in the sky and how they always leave a very special gift behind as a thank you. Elise was so excited that she had a difficult time falling asleep that night. She carefully placed her tiny tooth in her special lost tooth pillow, and drifted off to dreamland. She was thrilled to wake up in the morning and find that a Tooth Fairy came to take her tooth and left a sparkly $10 dollar bill in its place along with a special thank you note. She now has a second loose tooth and is determined to wiggle it as much as can be, so the Tooth Fairy will come visit once again.

Duck, Duck...Geese

Feeding the ducks and geese at Land Park

After our fun day at the zoo, we took the girls over to William Land Park to feed the ducks and geese. This is probably one of their most favorite things to do and they love the opportunity to get up close with the friendly geese (the ducks don't play that). We just sit back and watch the girls run, giggle, laugh and relish in endless entertainment. I swear that they could do this all day and be perfectly content. The ducks and geese, on the other hand, move on quick once the food runs out. 

The best part of all this, is that it brings me back to when I was a kid and my grandparents took my brother and I to the duck pond. It was undoubtedly the highlight of our day. Feeding the ducks and geese never got old back then. Then one day, when I was around 12, I decided it just wasn't exciting anymore, so I quickly crossed it off my activity list and never looked back, until now. Seeing how much the girls love this brings all those special memories and moments back. It will be bittersweet when the day comes that they no longer want to go feed the ducks and geese, but I will always have these memories and the pleasure of knowing that both the girls (and mom and dad) will get the chance to relive our youth once again through their children. Shout out to the next generation!

Getting up close with the friendly geese

More Gymnastic Fun & Sweet Moments

Sweet sisters holding hands

At the girls request, we enrolled them back in gymnastics on Saturdays. They both love it so much and enjoy getting to spend 45 minutes exhausting all their energy. After class one Saturday morning, I was quick enough with the phone camera to catch the sweetest moment; two adoring sisters holding hands while walking to the car. I know it seems like something you'd think they always do, but not so, this is a special and rare moment. They are the best of friends, but at the same time locked in a constant power struggle. They fight over toys, food, tattling, semantics, mom and dad time, and who gets to push the garage door button or feed the cat. It can get a bit overwhelming at times, and usually Elise is the culprit for starting many arguments because she assumes the big sister role means getting the first say in everything. Alina is great at pushing Elise's buttons and finding devious little ways to retaliate back. 

All that said, they are finally getting to a point where they are moving beyond the constant bickering and realizing how much they love to play with each other and be affectionate. Can we get a hallelujah on this one! I love seeing my girls show each other affection, and while I know that fighting will always come with the territory, I hope to see many more of these occasions where they take time out for sweet moments; even as simple and fleeting as holding each others hands while walking back to the car after gymnastics class.

Saturday morning fun at gymnastics class

Last Days of Summer & Little Friends

Best little preschool friends - Annie & Alina

Having a wonderful time at Annie's swim party

Happy birthday to Avi! Little Miss Tinkerbell

The summer of birthdays was in full force for the month of August. We know so many August babies, and it's pretty crazy busy and fun getting to spend nearly an entire month celebrating. Little Alina is in good company as some of our closest little (and adult) friends are all proud Leos too. While the girls had a wonderful time at all the August baby parties, Alina especially enjoyed celebrating with her best friend from preschool, Annie. They have been in preschool together since before they could walk, and both adore each other so much. In a short two years they will move on to separate preschools, but I certainly hope that these two always remember each other and the sweet friendship that they shared.

Celebrating cutie pie Leia's 1st birthday

Happy birthday sweet Zuri

Alina's Birthday Cupcake Bliss

The blissful birthday girl enjoying her red velvet cupcake

If this isn't the perfect advertisement for why everyone needs to try Icing on the Cupcake at least once in their lifetime, I don't know what is? Alina happily picked out the most perfect looking red velvet cupcake for her birthday treat, and it did not disappoint. Every bite was magic and pure "Mmmmm". She loved getting to blow out her three pink birthday candles too. It was pure cupcake (...ok, well mostly frosting) bliss.

Happy Birthday Elise and Alina!

Two happy birthday girls enjoying their special party!

We just recently celebrated Elise's 5th and Alina's 3rd birthday with a very special Frozen / Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party at Party Place in Roseville. They celebrated with plenty of little preschool friends and family, and were all smiles and joyous on their very special day. The photo above was one of the few that I even took at the party, we were all too busy chatting with friends/family and just enjoying watching the kids play. I was glad to get one great shot capturing the joy in Elise's face while admiring her Frozen cake and Alina happily blowing out her candles. These girls enjoyed every moment of their party and even remarked to mom that, "It was the best party ever", that's a compliment I'll take in stride. Thanks so much to all our friends and family who helped make this day extra special for our two birthday girls! More photos to come soon.

Early Independence Day Fun

Watching fireworks, and fun with glow sticks

We celebrated Independence Day early (on the 3rd), by gathering up all five little cousins in the back of Papa's truck to watch the El Dorado Hills firework show from a nearby hilltop. We were a bit far from the actual firework display, so while mom got some decent photos on zoom, the kids honestly had more fun playing with each other and their glow sticks. The little troopers made it through the whole show before crashing out, and the late night fun continued on the following night for July 4th festivities. Stay tuned!

Sleepy Girls, Crafts, Silliness and Smiles

Elise fast asleep and deep in the realm of dreamland

Sleeping Beauty, Alina all snuggled up

Little cuties playing, plus Alina's favorite toddler books

Every so often, the girls will sleep in after a busy and fun Saturday. Mom and dad love these rare occasions, mainly because of the extra sleep it allows us, but also because we get to peek in on them fast asleep, looking so cozy and content while dancing throughout the realm of little girl dreamland. They look so cute all snuggled up and dozed off. They are usually happiest when they get to sleep in a bit, so no complaints from mom and dad!   

After spending most of May on-the-go, we relaxed last weekend and the girls got to play in their rooms and just enjoy each others company. Elise's room is usually the happening place. Alina makes her way in there in the morning, so they can both play together. It's usually dolls, dress-up or tug-of-war (yes, we are still learning the art of sharing). Alina really enjoys when we read books to her, and her toddler favorites; Goodnight Moon, Peek-a-Who?, and The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar, still make her laugh and smile to this day. Elise is really into arts and crafts now, and recently asked to make a collage. I held on to an old Disney desk calendar, which was perfect for collage worthy photos. Elise chose all her own Disney photos and even designed most the layout. She really enjoyed the process. Momma did most of the work on Alina's, but she had input on the photos we used. They turned out great. Elise even asked to bring hers to school for show-and-tell. Disney collage success.

Elise's first Disney collage, she was so proud

Cute girls being silly, favorite sandals and one MESSY room

Alina's adorable Disney collage, super cute!

Gymnastic Tuesdays

Little gymnasts! They love Tuesday night gymnastics classes

The girls started gymnastics classes last month, and now look forward to Tuesday nights every week. Tuesday has become far superior to Friday in fact, all because they get to run, jump, bounce, flip, stretch, twist and get all their pent up energy out. Thank goodness for Groupon. I got a great deal for three months of gymnastics classes at a local gym.They have learned so much already and mom, dad and even grandma have all been able to join in on the fun as Alina's class is parent participation. During class, they especially enjoy the trampoline, rings, and bars. Their next favorite part of class is at the end when they get to chase bubbles and get colorful stamps on their hands and feet. It's the little things; go figure. I am so proud of their progress and hope that this is something we can do long term as long as they continue to show this much enthusiasm.