out takes

When I uploaded pictures from yesterday's snow day from the dslr camera, I found a few gems that had not been uploaded that I had forgotten about. ;)

A few weeks ago, I was trying to get some cute pics of B&E for valentine photo cards.   One idea I had was to take pics of them snuggling in their jammies in bed ("hope your valentine's day is warm and snuggly" or something to that effect).  I was able to get a few decent pics of them separately . . .

 

 . . . but things went downhill fast when I told them to snuggle up with each other . . .



Little Miss decided she'd had enough snuggling . . .

 . . . as had big bro.

I tried tucking them back into bed for a couple more individual shots (since snuggling clearly was NOT working), but they were now in full on silly mode . . .

This Mama doesn't give up easily, so a night or two later, I attempted to get some pics while the kiddos were eating cookies.  (This time, I thought perhaps our valentine could read something like, "We wish you a SWEET valentine's day) . . .

Again, I struggled to get a cute (or heck, even decent!) shot of both kiddos together . . .

 . . . so tried for some individuals . . .


yikes!! (I think she's actually saying "cheeeese!" but the chocolate cookie in her mouth makes this look scary!)

Nope.  Back together?

This what I got when I instructed B to lean in towards E ;)

 Oh well.  At least they enjoyed eating cookies!

In case you're wondering, here's what we ACTUALLY did for our valentine . . . I used some shots of the kids playing in the snow (even though I wasn't terribly thrilled with any of these pics, either) and made this collage card:

I miss the days when the kids would sit still and smile for the camera!  I'm gonna have to get more creative with my photography!

snow day (take 5?)

Honestly, I've kind of lost track of exactly how many snow/extreme cold temp days we've had this year - I just know that we are ready for SPRING!  (Actually, the kids really love the snow - especially on days like today when it's actually warm enough to go outside and enjoy playing in it!)  

When Billy got home from work, he and the kids bundled up and headed out to shovel the driveway (again).  While they were out, the city plow came by (which Elise found very exciting!) . . .

 . . . but then Billy had more shoveling to do from the snow it left behind at the end of the driveway. :(

Elise was asking if it was coming back.  (We cannot keep her mittens on no matter how hard we try - she pulls them off just like she pulls off her socks!)

Braden loves to run and jump on the piles of snow . . .

I think Elise is ready for warmer weather too - she drug out the trike to try taking it for a spin (and can almost reach the pedals!)

After our outdoor fun, we came in and enjoyed freshly baked cinnamon rolls and hot chocoate - yum!  Snow days aren't all that bad! ;)

via iOS

Back in late November we finally took the plunge and got our first smartphones.  My old phone was dying, and although I wasn't looking forward to paying monthly data plan fees, I was excited to be able to  enjoy the extra features that smartphones offer.  One such feature is the phone's camera from which I now I have the ability to upload pics (without a data plan on my old phone my phone pics just stayed on my phone).  

I am still trying to get used to my phone's camera (I end up with blurry pics more often than I'd like, but I think part of my problem is that my subjects don't hold still very well most of the time!), but love the convenience of it.  It's fun to be able to share pics immediately via social sites (though I try not to bombard my FB feed with too many phone pics).  :)

When syncing my phone the other day, I realized that there were a bunch of pics on it that I hadn't put into iphoto (which is how I sort/save our photos), and that I haven't posted to the blog.  They're not all great quality, but I like how they capture the everyday moments.  If you're my FB friend or follow me on Instagram, many of these are repeats.

Somehow both kiddos ended up in our bed one night, and were snuggled up together in the morning

we didn't make it to many BB games this year, but Elise sure enjoyed her sucker while watching the action from Daddy's lap

my little beater-lickers

Elise usually says "cheese" when the camera appears

E got her first trim!  

Dilly bars are delish!

Rockin' rainboots and pigtails

the long winter

Remember that Laura Ingalls Wilder book, The Long Winter?  The one in which it is bitterly cold and there is snowstorm after snowstorm?  Well, I think we're reliving it (at least to some extent - we're not running out of food or having to twist hay into logs for the fire) here in Iowa this winter.  It's been soooooo cold, and whenever it warms up, we seem to get MORE snow.  I'm alright with the snow, because if it's going to be cold, we may as well have pretty white snow to look at.  I say look at, because it has generally been too cold to actually got out and PLAY in.  

Last week we got another round of snow, and while the temps were above the teens, the kiddos took advantage of the "warm weather" to play outside.

Elise loves to help shovel  (even though she can hardly hold on to the shovel with her mittens on!)

 
 . . . and Braden likes to dig ;)

I think it was too cold to smile!

Elise {23 months}

So this is nothing new, but time is FLYING by.  I can NOT believe that January is already in the books, but (due to some unexpected stressful events this past month), am actually glad that it is.  And I am hoping February is much kinder.  

Speaking of time flying, it has hit me recently that this sweetie has become a little girl. I am not sure when she transitioned from being my baby (well, I suppose she's technically way past baby and has been a toddler for some time now) to being a little girl.  Don't get me wrong, she'll ALWAYS be my baby girl, but suddenly she's grown up! 

Our little miss has become VERY independent.  We often hear "ME!" (which means I will do it myself!" and she will let you know in no uncertain terms if something is not to her liking.  She's pretty easy going and sweet and rolls with the punches for the most part, but if she feels she's been wronged, she'll let you know. 

Elise's vocab is growing by the day . . . although sometimes we find it a little challenging to decipher what she's saying. She finally says Braden (Ba-dn) and also refers to herself as Eeeese.  One of her favorite things to do is to go around the house pointing at pictures of people she knows and name them (Daddy, Grandpa, Mommy, Ba-den, Eeese! etc.) :)  

Current favorites:

• Daddy!  She is a total Daddy's girl!

• Wearing hats - she loves to put on her hat when we get ready to leave the house, and also enjoys playing with her summer hats inside

• Babies - Elise likes to rock her babies, wrap them in blankets, and put them to bed.  She also still has her favorite baby (named "Baby") that always accompanies her to sleep

• E loves to do "jobs" like sweep the floor with her very own broom (or try to use the big broom), turn off lights, throw things away (she'll get herself a kleenex, use it, then hold it up and declare "trash!" then run to throw it away), and pick up toys (she's very good at putting things away - in fact I think she has inherited some of my fondness for organization)

• Shoes - that's my girl!

• Jumping.  On the trampoline, off the step, or just on the floor - girlie likes to jump!

• Climbing - I think she gets this from her brother.  Both of them like to climb all over the furniture.  We took the ladder off of B's bunk bed when he had his cast so that he could get in the bottom bunk more easily, and have not put it back up because we're fearful that Elise will climb up. . . . and jump - see above.

• Sitting on the counter to eat.  I suppose this is somewhat related to climbing . . . both Braden and Elise seem to think it perfectly normal to sit ON the bar/counter to eat instead of AT the bar/counter.  It drives me crazy!  I think sometime they just want to be closer to the action, and it is pretty wide.  But you'll often see one or both of them perched on the counter with a snack.

• Snack: crackers
Veggie: peas  
Drink: cranberry juice  
Food: she'll eat pretty much anything

  

• Big Brother.  This is not the best of photos (I think I told him to give her a kiss and he was being silly), but Elise loves Braden and thinks she can certainly do anything that he can do.  He's still the first person she looks for when she wakes up in the morning. :)

• Stats:
Clothing - 18 - 24 mths/2T
Shoes - size 5 - almost 6
Diapers - size 4
Sleep - usually about 10-11 hours (but lately has been waking once in the night - ugh).  On weekends/no school days she is learning to sleep in and will usually stay sleeping till at least 8 if I don't wake her (whoo hoo!)
Hair - still lightish - more dark blonde than brown . . . and curly! These pics are post nap/stocking hat, so the curls don't look so great.  Her hair is getting longer on top, but is still totally a mullet - we have not cut the top/bangs at all yet (and I can't bear to cut off the curls in the back!)  She allows our daycare provider to put it in pigtails which looks adorable - so I've told Michelle she has permission to be E's hairstylist every day.  The only problem is that with pigtails she looks about 5!  :)

I am anxious to find out her growth stats when we visit Dr. Miller for her 2 year check up in a month (hopefully we won't be back before then . . . we found out yesterday that E has another ear infection - which is probably why her eyes look sad/tired in these pics from Sunday night).