Start Your Engines...

Lately the girls have taken to having "races" back and forth across our family room. Of course it was Corinne's idea, and then Ellen quickly joined in (because she is up for anything C does) and now that Sophie is walking... she's in too! As you can see they each have their own, ahem, vehicle of choice. This is usually our post breakfast routine, if you can believe it.

Ouch!

Ellen and Sophie are each getting their 4th molars and that means persistent runny noses... which have provided the perfect breeding grounds for some nasty cold viruses that have camped out at our house on and off the past few weeks. Ugh. So we stayed home from church and went to the park this morning. Fresh air does all of us some good, doesn't it? With Ellen and Sophie about to jump out of their seats as we pulled up to the park, we got everyone out of the van and were making our way to the swings. That's when Sophie tripped and did a complete face plant on the sidewalk. Poor girl. She's been walking on her own for just about 2 weeks now and doing great at it. But I intentionally didn't offer her my hand for that reason and look what happened! We stayed to play and had a great time, so it was all in a day's work for Soph.

School

Don't be fooled by the smiles. Corinne's first day of school was...a bit traumatic at the drop-off & goodbye. She was "so excited" she said this morning, all the way up until pulling in the parking lot of school. It seemed to get worse from there. I have heard and talked to and read so many of my friends' blogs about how it was the BEST day of their kids' year, going to school for the first time. Full of pictures and smiles, and excitement and energy and anticipation. Well, that was not our experience on the first day. Then again, I was expecting this. I second guessed my decision to send her to school for about 1.5 of the 2.5 hours she was there. Actually I alternated between that and praying for her to have confidence, peace, fun, meet new friends, and feel comfortable and happy in her class. But after working through it all in my heart and in my head I have come to the conclusion that it's just not Corinne to jump into something with both feet, ready to conquer a new adventure. And it may not ever be her. And that is OKAY. She doesn't need to be anyone but Corinne, with her own gifts, preferences and personality. She would probably not choose to go to school this year or next year, or maybe even in two years...because it's new, foreign, unfamiliar. But she has to go at some point. And so I think it's the right thing to push her, just a bit, out of her comfort zone. Because that is life and that is how we grow and change, mature and develop. And she is so ready, from an intellectual standpoint, to learn more and do more--to be challenged--that I think she will actually, at some point, really love school. But that may be down the road awhile. So we'll just wait and see, and love her through this. We'll keep talking about how "firsts" are sometimes scary and hard (swim lessons, school). But that it gets easier and becomes more fun the second, third, fourth times. And we'll keep giving her the tools to succeed with confidence.

Photos from SF

coloring on the plane
watching a movie on the plane
the Golden Gate Bridge (bummer that a random girl was standing right there!)
cupcakes for Aunt Laura's b-day
the Big Girls!
the steps in front of Aunt Laura's
Notice the amazing view from the park! It's right around the corner from Aunt Laura's!
I took Corinne with me to visit Laura in California (along with Marcey and my mom) this past holiday weekend. We dubbed it the "Big Girls Trip" since Ellen and Sophie stayed home with Brett. We had a really wonderful time in San Francisco with Laura, seeing her world out there, and spending time all together. It was also Corinne's first time flying, which was very cool for her. Corinne was great, three hour time change and all, and was totally into everything California. (Especially Lily, our very own former pet, who went to live a pampered life with Aunt Laura a few months ago:) We rode a cable car, celebrated Laura's birthday, saw some of the landmarks from Corinne's "Goodnight San Francisco" book and went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum with some friends...plus there were dance parties and playgrounds in between. It was a full trip and Corinne is already looking forward to next time (as am I).

The Hopper

Corinne has a new favorite past-time. It's literally called, The Hopper! Really it's just a simple ball with a handle on top and the object is to...hop! Corinne loves it and hops all around the house. (It's actually pretty good exercise, too :) Silly girl.

Walking!

Sophie is taking steps on her own now, and it's pretty fun. We've been playing a game the last few nights where two of us will sit across from each other and Sophie starts at one of us and walks to the other...and then collapses into our arms for a huge hug and then goes back. It lasts for a while and she gets so excited! This time Corinne was the one across from me and we were doing the above game. Not the best photos, but enough to get the gist! (I had to stand behind Sophie or else she just wanted the camera!) Corinne and Soph had so much fun and laughed and giggled as they took their hug to the rug. We're hoping Soph will be walking everywhere soon!

Friday

I prepped C before our trip to the zoo by telling her that doing the Carousel would be out of the question with me flying solo. Surprisingly she was okay with that! So we visited our favorite animals and then hit the train as our grand finale. And yes, (though it's hard to believe) all four of us did fit into that tiny train seat.

Three Peas

My mom spent the day with us recently and we took the girls out for lunch as we often do on those days. The girls had a ball but we didn't have quite enough time for a second stop at the park before heading home so instead we took a walk down the sidewalk in front of storefronts and restaurants to burn off a little energy. It was the perfect thing to do because we spotted this patio furniture, which was really a glider, in front of an Ace Hardware store and the girls thought we hit the jackpot! Who needs the swings at the park when you have the hardware store's summer clearance sale going on?! Plus here they all got to swing together. And then, to top it off, Ellen and Sophie spotted some balloons further down the sidewalk--some store was celebrating the opening of a new location--so the girls literally squealed with delight all. the. way. there! Hooray! It's the simple things, isn't it? (Ellen in blue...Sophie still holding a baguette from lunch :)

An Old Favorite

An old favorite has been revived! The baby strollers have been lying dormant for a year or two now, since Corinne's glory days of pushing them up and down the street (like a broken record) the summer she was 18 months old. But not to worry--they've made a comeback. This time Ellen and Sophie are the drivers! The girls discovered them recently and it made for a lot of fun for all. Even Sophie, who isn't walking on her own yet, was able to take advantage of the extra help the stroller provided in walking up and down the sidewalk. (Ellen in purple)

Sidewalk Chalk

Ellen and Sophie love to check out and do whatever Corinne is doing! That's a normal part of being sisters, I know. And usually Corinne is okay with that...though it definitely depends on what she's playing with. Here is one such instance where everyone was into some chalk drawing. I'm looking forward to lots more of these "Sister Moments". (Soph is in green, Ellen in blue)