Four things we heart...

1.) The Dollar Spot at Target. The source for many things cute and cheap (although, not always a dollar). See the above bunny ears and flower crown. The bunny ears have now been to: the park, the library, the play area at the gym, to the Coble's house for a "showing off" of said ears.

2.)Doing headstands. They need help getting their feet up but for some reason, they love doing them! They'll stay like that for a near freakish amount of time and then get down and go on and on about how weird their heads feel. Please note the fairy wings on Isabel. :)
3.)We always love reading books. Lately, these are a few of our favorite books though. Going clockwise from the top left we have:

• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems. Really, we love any of his books. They are super funny and the illustrations are very cute and unique. Poor Trixie leaves her beloved Knuffle Bunny at the laundormat and can't seem to get her Dad to understand her toddler-gibberish explanation about what's wrong. (Read it and get back to me about toddlers going "boneless". Ha ha!)
• Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell. These illustrations are enchanting and the text is very kid-funny ( i.e. her voice is "like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor"). It has a great message about being unique and proud of it. Molly moves to a new school and is teased by a bully. Remembering the words of her grandmother and utilizing some of her spunk she triumphs over the bully and makes many new friends.
• Big Bug Surprise by Julia Gran. This was a gift from Shikay and fam and we love, love, love it. Prunella is the star of the book. She's a girl who loves bugs of all varieties. Her love of bugs has made her the less-than-favorite of some in her class and on the bus. She brings a great show-and-tell and manages to save the class from a swarm of bees all in one day. The characters are all illustrated to resemble insects. So cute and educational.
• Alice the Fairy by David Shannon. This is another author that we love. We have several David Shannon books and they are all engaging and some of our go-to-faves for bedtime. Alice is a girl who loves dressing up, is a fairy-in-training, and gets into a few scrapes along the way. She reminds us of Isabel in more than a few ways.

4.) My membership at 24 Hour Fitness. They just opened the club in December and I joined last month (along with everyone else at Poudre Valley Hospital--we got a killer deal). It is so nice to be able to work out whenever I want and the unlimited childcare for $15 a month (yes, you read that right) is awesome! Since we moved to CO, I'd been working out at the CSU gym. Being the oldest, palest, flabbiest girl in the room (it was all mostly 18-21 year old undergrad girls or football players) was getting a little daunting--and I couldn't take the kids with me. I'm loving the classes, the nice/new equipment, and being able to meet some of my peeps there for workouts!

My B.A.P. and all its glorious contents

I've been tagged by Stacy, of the Utah Seeleys. So...drumroll please...here is the contents of my big ol' purse! (Which was purchased as the perfect travel purse for my awesome SanFran trip this fall. It is now, officially, way too dang big for me and my everyday needs.)
Contents include: wallet, planner, 100 calorie pack of almonds (because I am, officially an old lady, and can't go anywhere without an emergency snack for myself), MP3 player, cell phone, Orange Cream lip gloss from Bath and Body Works, and Orbit Sweet Mint gum. For the benefit of the reader, I left out the obscene number of gum wrappers, random receipts, and two granola bar wrappers.

I tag Abbie, Sage, Melissa, and Season.

"What am I supposed to do?!"

Isabel, the future mermaid, at about 15 months.

Isabel got her first pair of glasses right around her first birthday. Milo got his about a year and a half later. It's been an adventure--of sorts--ever since.

When the kids are in the tub, it's a constant battle between "we want to wear our glasses because we can't really see squat without them" and "we can't wear our glasses in the tub because they get all steamed up". When the latter happens, we put their glasses on the counter until they're out of the bath.

Friday, we were driving home from the gym when Isabel said (in her most urgent voice), "Mom, if I am a mermaid when I grow up, what will I do with my glasses?! They will get all steamy!! What am I supposed to dooooo??!!!" Trust me when I say that there was true panic in her voice at this prospect. While I was fumbling for an answer and trying not to laugh, Milo responded with, "Issy, you just put them on the counter!!" Not one to be easily placated, Isabel followed up with, "Milo! There are no counters under water!" The rest of the drive was a heated almost-four-year-old discussion about the legitimacy of counters under the sea.

Their conversations are so funny--and heated.

We heart Valentine's Day

I'm more than just a little behind on this post. Sorry...we were out of town for a few days--more on that later.

This is the first year that the kids have really enjoyed Valentine's Day and had fun with it. They woke up to some candy, cards, heart-shaped toast with strawberry jam, and oatmeal with strawberries. Later, we had lunch with Grandma Kim ("...because we love her and it's Valentine's Day Mom?") and for dinner we had a heart-shaped pizza. A fun day all around with much discussion about whhyyyy we have Valentine's Day and whhhyyyy Mom and Dad would buy Valentine's cards and candy and whhhyyy people love each other. Pretty cute and a pretty abstract holiday to explain to almost-four-year-olds.

Asked as we're leaving Papa Murphy's: "Mom, did that guy make our Valentine's pizza for us because he looooves us?"

We even had to cut the individual pieces into hearts. Not as easy as it sounds. Two words will be the key to your success here--angular hearts.

As for the adults, we had Thai takeout, gorged ourselves on yummy desserts from Whole Foods and watched one of the greatest love stories of all time, The Office: Season 3. :) I know, I know, some haters out there (Spencer) will try to say that it is just a workplace comedy. True fans know that this is simply not true. It is a love story. SIGH. The love story of Jim Halpert and Pam Beesley. (Returning with new episodes April 10th!!!!!!)

Highly suspicious...

Isabel showing her true feelings for Clara the Ballerina

This December, Isabel was lucky enough to go the the Nutcracker Tea Party with Grandma Kim and cousin Kiana. Grandma bought them matching dresses, they got to wear black tights (apparently, way cooler than boring old white tights) and they both got new sparkly shoes. They had a grand old time but Isabel was fairly suspicious of the youngest ballerina. See the above photo as evidence. Apparently, it was the massive amount of makeup that was weirding her out (according to Grandma Kim). The picture just came in the mail--a priceless souvenir don't you think?

Grandpas...times three

This week, 2 of our grandpas had some pretty big events come their way. We just wanted to recognize them and tell them how much we love them!

Showing Milo how to fish on a trip to Walden in the summer of 2006. Replace that hat with a straw cowboy hat and put some short OP shorts on him and it could be right out of my childhood. :)

This grandpa has been so busy managing a new project for IBM. He works so hard but always makes time to see us when we come over or talk to us when we call. This week, Grandpa Manuel won a national service award from IBM. He and Grandma Kim get a trip to New York and face-to-face congrats from some IBM bigwigs as part of the award. We are so proud of you Grandpa!

Showing Milo the proper way to eat nuts out of the shell.

This grandpa, Great Grandpa Manuel, lost his only living brother yesterday. :( Uncle Eloy had a heart attack while driving his wife home from work. We are sad to lose him so suddenly and very sad for Grandpa. He has lost several family members in the last few years. He is such a family man and cares so deeply for every person in his family. We wish we were closer to him so we could hug him and help somehow. We love you Grandpa! (and Grandma!)

Grandpa Terry with 5/6ths of his grandchildren.

This grandpa hasn't had an eventful week--that we know of. :) We just miss him. Milo and Isabel had so much fun staying with him when Lyla and Olivia were born. He gave them "chores" every day and rewarded them with quarters. Thanks to Grandpa Terry's coaching, Milo now lectures me on the hydration status of our plants every chance he gets! We love you too Grandpa Terry!

This is the way we eat our breakfast...

Three to a side folks. Lefties on the end please.

Most mornings, I come home to breakfast in progress, either because I'm returning from the gym or I'm just getting home from work. This is how breakfast with dad goes. Rather than fight out who gets to sit next to him, they all cozy up on one side of the table. Our table isn't that big so it's a little cozy...and pretty darn cute.

Order up!

Can I get that on whole wheat please?

On a day when my Issy and Milo were having a particularly difficult time getting the table set for dinner (and leaving their toys behind), I suggested that they pretend to be waiters and set the table. Well, that little novelty has now taken over lunch and dinner. They will stand on the dining room side of our island and "order" their food. I then have to scoot it across the island to them so that they can take it to their "customer"(being whomever is not the waiter at that moment). It's pretty cute but also sort of adds to the feeling that I should at least be getting some sort of tip share for all of the cooking up and serving that I do around this joint.

Anyone want a hamster?

Two little hamsters

If you don't already know this about me, I should make it clear right now: I really really really dislike hamsters. Always have. Pretty sure I always will. They stink, they eat their own babies (true story, ask Melissa and Abbie), they are creepy looking when they're born, they have WAY too much potential for escaping, they resemble mice way too closely, and we once spent a few months living in a dungeon of an apartment that smelled exactly like a hamster cage.

Ironic that this week I would tell my kids to get ready for naptime and hear "Oh man! Guess we'll have to play hamster cage tomorrow instead Issy." Yup, they were using the pack 'n play that Milo sleeps in during naps as a human hamster cage. Again, just so we're clear, my kids have never even seen, touched or otherwise experienced a hamster in their lives. Yet another "I have no idea where they got that!" moment.

A sore "froat" and a side-goiter

Isabel showing me her "sore froat".

This weekend poor Milo had his first case of strep throat. Unfortunately, since his last procedure in October, he's taken the 5th ammendment whenever I ask him if he's feeling okay or if anything hurts. The only reason that I knew something was amiss (apart from the horrendous and much-dreaded "sore throat breath") was that he woke up from a nap with what can only be described as a "side-goiter". The lymph node on the right side of his neck was ENORMOUS. We are talking HUGE folks. It was highly disturbing but, thankfully, made a quick retreat once we started antibiotics. Milo is feeling much much better too (he actually 'fessed up to feeling better). If you're interested, you can read about the side-goiter--called cervical adenitis--by clicking here.

Feeling a little left out, Isabel was whining to me about her "sore froat". When I asked her to point to where it hurt (I was already a little suspicious), she pointed to her upper lip. See the picture above. Funny girl. :)