Grandma and Grandpa!

My parents came for a little surprise visit (I did get a day’s notice...still counts as a surprise) for a few days! We had so much fun with them!
We had a huge blizzard the first day they were here so most of our time with them was spent indoors. Grandma and Carolyn did a ton of puzzles together while they were here.

They brought a few really adorable puzzles to add to the girls' massive puzzle collection (Carolyn could always use a few more puzzles...she's still our puzzle girl :) My mom also brought me some great ideas and posters for my primary chorister calling...thank you, mom!

Carolyn loved having Grandpa around to read her book after book after book...

Carolyn teaching Angela how to brush that little tooth of hers that is starting to poke out.

Angela and Carolyn love pushing each other around in their little car.

Here we are at Chucky Cheese (the grandparents are always spoiling all of us).

Angela enjoying some of Grandma's cooking...

Kisses...

"It's Working!"

Maybe a little too much detail for you? Don't read if you don't want some fun potty training details:

About every month or so I give potty training a go with a new technique. Well, this morning we had a little break through...Carolyn announced to me that she needed to sit on the potty! Wow! She sat and gave it her best try, but nothing happened... So, she picked out one of her princess panties to wear and was promised to watch a "Little Einsteins" show if she would go (shows motivate Carolyn more than anything). Anyways, a little while later she was going potty in her panties so we ran to the toilet and I sat her down. Nothing happened for a while and then she let out a little toot...her whole face lit up and said, "It's working!!" Nothing happened after the little toot and so her smile faded into a confused look and she said, "What I do next?" So, yeah...Apparently, Carolyn's bodily functions do work, we just need to figure out what we do next now :)

He's BA-ack!

I am so grateful for a husband that works so hard so that I can fulfill my dream of being a stay-at-home mom. I love the fact that I don't work and can just focus on my sweeties all day long. I am also so grateful that “busy season” for Andrew officially ended last Friday (some people have asked me about busy season so I thought that I'd announce it)! He was home at 6:30 PM tonight and it was so wonderful to have a family meal together and get some help putting the girls to bed. The girls also loved having dad home early (to say the least)…he makes everything so fun! We love you, Daddy!

Other exciting news? I feel Angela's first tooth trying to push through! Also - Carolyn and Angela are now little roommates...much to Carolyn's delight! (Haha, we'll see how this goes...)

Another Free Day!

We love that there are so many free things to do in Denver! I don't always bring my camera along with me at free day events because the places are always insanely crazy and a camera is just another thing to worry about...but, I did bring it along today at the Denver Museum. Carolyn was super excited for the museum and has been asking to go there because we have been learning a lot about dinosaurs lately…she loves them!

Here she is listening to people talk about dinosaur bones:
We got to go with the cousins...they always make things so much fun:

After the museum, we went out to a grass area where the cuties just ran up and down a hill that was there.


Carolyn really wished that Daddy could have come. She decided to share what we did by taking pictures of some of Daddy's favorite things while we were there.

Daddy: Carolyn took a picture of the T-Rex for you..."Daddy's Favorite!"
She also took a picture of your favorite animal since you weren't there to see it for yourself:

Big 10 Month Girl

Angela is 10 months today! It's so fun watching Angela grow and figure things out. Here are some fun facts about our sweetheart:

• When I say “No” to her she loves to give me a big smile and shake her head back and forth (she knows how to get away with most anything).
• She loves to babble on and on. She also loves to open her mouth as big as she can and just let any sound she can make come out til her face turns red. She esp. loves it when I join in with her noise-making (makes her get even more loud and animated).
• She is getting more and more mobile every day. Now she can stand up on her own without holding onto anything for about 5-10 seconds.
• She is starting to love animals. When we go to the park, her favorite thing to do is to just stare at all the dogs and crawl as close to them as I will let to her.
• She loves to play peek-a-boo.
• She continues to love puckering up.
• She loves to play Hide-and-Seek with Carolyn and me. Carolyn and I have always loved to play this together and Angela has started to join in. When it’s Angela’s turn to “count and find us,” Carolyn and I will hide and keep talking loud to her until she finds where we are (usually under a blanket or something)…she loves it.
• She loves to share (hope she keeps this one up)! While playing with a toy, she’ll look at you and smile big while holding out the toy for you to take from her.
• She loves to snuggle, snuggle, snuggle! She also loves getting tickles on her back and face. She also won’t turn down a massage too often. She just loves being close.
• She loves to dance. While listening to music she'll wiggle her little body and shake her head...it's quite cute.
• We love our little girl!
  

Good Job, Mommy!

…One of my favorite things Carolyn says to me. Andrew laughs at me, but I feel so accomplished to hear her say that :) For example, today Carolyn and I were working on a puzzle. I was trying to figure out where a piece of the puzzle went on the board. I tried one spot and Carolyn said…

“Good try, mommy. Try right here.” (as she pointed to another spot)

I put the puzzle piece down where she showed me and it was right.

Carolyn: “Good job, mommy!”

Biggest accomplishment of day for me:)

I also love how Carolyn talks to Angela. They are so sweet to each other (most of the time :). Many times when Angela is crying, Carolyn will tell me that she needs a toy. She’ll bring Angela a toy and say, “Here you go, sweety.” I love when Carolyn calls Angela cute little names like “Sweety”....or I love how Carolyn will say, "How cute!" if she sees Angela doing something cute. They are both cutie-pies.

Lucky Us

We are so lucky to have Chantal close to us! We love hanging out with her! Carolyn just loves it when she babysits. In fact, sometimes Carolyn will ask me if I will leave with Daddy so that Chantal can come over and play. Last week, Carolyn got to visit her at work and got her teeth cleaned! Chantal was so cute with her and made the whole dental experience wonderful!

Carolyn got to play with some of Chantal's "toys" at work. Her favorites were the water sprayer and the water-sucker...here she is playing...

Angela's cute little gummies have yet to have teeth so she got to join in after the cleaning.

For my birthday, Chantal made me an AMAZING cake…I felt so loved! Carolyn and I always talk about our favorite animals so Carolyn told Chantal to make me a lion cake! It was SO amazing…Thank you, Chantal!!

Carolyn acting like the lion.

My birthday, by the way, was SOOO wonderful! I got to sleep in and then got breakfast in bed (Andrew’s specialty: Breakfast sandwiches… and my one of favorites ever: chocolate milk!) I received wonderful gifts from many (THANK YOU!) Andrew and the girls gave me a year zoo pass to the zoo so I can take the cuties whenever I want…I am so excited!

Living the Good Life

I love my life. I love the simple and wonderful things that happen every day. For example, yesterday Carolyn spent a long time making a picture for Daddy (she had to make it perfect for him). I left her alone for a little bit with the markers and when I came back to check on her, she had written her name all by herself. She’s been working on her name for quite some time now, but would always get stuck at the “y”…I can’t tell you how proud I was of her for doing it all on her own! After finishing her drawing, Carolyn and I laid on the floor together and she “read” books to me (I love listening to Carolyn make up words to books or remember what I’ve told her)…all awhile Angela had the time of her life crawling all over us giving me really big, cute smiles…I love the good life I live.