Big Girl Bike!

Tessa receieved her princess bike for Christmas months ago. And it has actually been pretty warm; warm enough to ride. And the girl just could not figure out how to pedal the darn thing! However, I am ecstatic to report that she finally rode it this weekend. So cute! (Of course then yesterday she wanted to ride it to our neighborhood playground). This went fine until we tried to come back (which is slightly uphill) and I was stuck "pushing" her, pulling Morgan in the wagon, and trying not to get pulled too much holding Lucy's leash. It was a sight, I'm sure!

I still can't believe my baby girl is riding a bike! They sure do grow up quickly!

This and That

Clearly I need to post more often. I went to write a blog post today and realized I had about a million pictures I wanted to post and a million things to write about. And it is probably going to all seem random. Alas, here we go...half these pictures came from Nate's phone, so I may not have even been around when they were taken, but I was told, "I expect to see these on the blog." Well, honey, here they are (interspersed with some of mine).
I took the kids to Target for a reading day they had to honor Dr. Seuss. My kids enjoyed story time and loved their free goody bags! Thanks, Target!

We also planned and booked our vacation this past week and are finally biting the bullet and taking the kids to Disney World. This little princess is pretty stoked and I can't wait to see her face light up when she meets all her favorite princesses!

Saturday night we took a family trip to Menchie's so Daddy could try out the new frozen yogurt place. It was much more crowded on a Saturday, but they kids still had a great time! Tessa FINALLY learned to ride her bike (with training wheels) but she can actually make it go forward. Believe it or not, this is progress! I have a great video of it on my phone...now I just need to figure out how to post it! Morgan has now inherited the princess bike, but don't worry, he will be getting a boy one for his second birthday this April.

Another picture from Target...

And here is Tessa sporting the free Dr. Seuss mustache!

And I'll leave you with my sleeping babe. After an hour of attempting to get Morgan to take a nap on Saturday, we gave up and headed to the grocery store. Where he napped, like this, for the entire trip. Poor boy was tuckered!

Have a great week!

Is He Really This Big?

Is Morgan really riding on a big boy swing?

Yes, just like his big sister, though he can't go very high yet.

Is he playing in the sand and actually helping us build things now (as opposed to standing there and throwing all the sand out of the box). Yes, he is!
Does he go to birthday parties now and actually follow along with all the birthday festivities (presents, singing happy birthday, etc.). Yep!
Did he feed the goats at the zoo this weekend for the first time?
Sure did, with no fear and gave them almost as much food as his sister did.
I think it's safe to say that Morgan is on the brink of no longer being a baby and truly a full-blown toddler. We all love him so much...he is the sweetest little man and we are enjoying each day with him! (And Tessa too of course!)

Love is in the Air

We couldn't just do nothing for Valentine's Day, so the kids and I enjoyed a nice evening running errands out and about. Morgan got his first official haircut at Cookie Cutters. He did great - he was very serious the entire time he was getting it cut, but didn't cry or fuss at all. (I personally think he was just content to be watching Thomas as Tessa most always trumps Morgan at home on what show we watch...)
Afterwards, they both got a balloon and played on the slide for awhile. I ran into one of my sorority sisters from college and her husband who were going to the Verizon store next door and was able to catch up with them.

And then, I fulfilled a promise to treat them to ice cream if there were good for all our chores (there are a few more you'll see soon). We tried out Menchies, which is a new frozen yogurt shop in Mason. It was awesome! You pick your own flavor, make a bowl for yourself, add whatever toppings you want, and pay by the ounce. It was actually very reasonable (each of us had our own and it was less than $5) and I was surprised that Morgan ate his entire bowl, by himself with a spoon nonetheless! After eating (or should I say devouring) their ice cream, they got to draw on two giant chalkboards. Such a cute place! We will definitely bring Daddy back!

And on to probably the most interesting events from Valentine's Day...my hubby sent me some flowers at home. (I requested them not to be roses this year, I love them!)

And the main event...during second period class I looked down at my hand and saw this:

One side diamond M.I.A. My students were busy with an activity so I started slyly walking around looking for something that sparkled. One of them finally asked me what I was doing, and immediately announced what a great example of irony it was that I lost a diamond on Valentine's Day. Every one of my students frantically searched for the missing diamond, walking around without shoes on so they might feel it on their feet. Again, no luck :(

I tried remembering the last time I had seen it and whether or not I had seen it at school that day. I checked the halls, my morning walk to the refrigerator where I keep my lunch. No luck :(

I raced home during my plan bell to just search and see if maybe it came out while getting ready, or buckling the kids in their car seats. I never in a million years thought I would have found it and was assuming we'd have to pay the deductible to replace it. But lo and behold in a random search of our bed, I found it underneath my pillow. Who would have thought? I was so relieved and grateful. Both rings are now at the jeweler being repaired, and I should be thankful, as they said several prongs needed to be replaced. So there you have it, Valentine's Day in a nutshell! Daddy comes back from D.C. tonight and I am very much looking forward to letting Daddy handle night duty this evening, though that story is for a whole other post...

Happy Valentine's Day

Daddy is leaving for Washington D.C. tomorrow, which means he'll be missing Valentine's Day. Therefore, we are celebrating early, although we are starting a bit drained this weekend. There have been a concoction of medicines all around to treat sinus infections, coughs, and ear infections, respectively. I was a tad nervous we may not be able to follow through with our original plan of the kids spending the evening with Grandma and Papa, but they have pulled through and just left for a fun-filled evening.

Before we packed their clothes last night, they thought it would be fun to pack themselves.
We also celebrated early by giving each kid a couple of small things. Each got a new pair of jammies. And Morgan finally got a man-bag. (He likes purses way too much and now has his own manly turtle backpack!)
Tessa got a new coloring book,
and a fun Fancy Nancy puzzle,
that she ended up putting together rather quickly.

Daddy and Mommy are headed out for dinner and a movie tonight, followed by NOT getting up at 5 a.m. tomorrow. Can't wait!

Another Tu-tu post

Morgan officially knows the word tu-tu now...and asks for it by name instead of grunting and pointing to it. What are we going to do with him?
And in fabulous Tessa news, she finally danced at dance class. Really did it. And followed her teacher. And posed. And smiled. She loved it!

Which is a really good thing, as I wasn't going to continue paying $45 a month to watch her stand on a blue line for much longer! I love that she is starting to be in an activity. We may try soccer again this spring as she'll be almost a year older than when we did soccer in Minnesota. And while that didn't go great, I'm hoping it will be better with her a year older.

Mother Knows Best

A few weeks ago, Grandma bought the kiddos balloons from the dollar store. They LOVED them.
And the next afternoon after school all they wanted to do was play with them. And when I suggested we go outside for a little bit, they agreed, but insisted on bringing their balloons with them, with promises to, "hold on tight." Well, clearly, you know what is going to happen. Morgan's was the first to go,

And he handled it quite well for a 21-month old. Instead of crying, he waved bye-bye to his balloon until it could no longer be seen. I gently reminded Tessa that hers could fly away like Morgan's and we should probably take it inside. She refused and promised she wouldn't cry if hers blew away.

Well, of course, hers also blew away. (It's kind of a distant image by this point).

And she definitely cried. Handled it WAY worse than her 21-month old brother. Maybe next time she'll listen to me? Doubt it. And I'm sure she won't listen when she's a teenager either...

But for now, I really do know best. Maybe Morgan will listen?