Wednesday, May 30, 2012

3 yrs old!

Chloe turned 3 yesterday!  We started the day out singing happy birthday to her in bed.  Then she got up and saw the banner on her door and the butterfly balloon!  Her expression was awesome.  She was just so happy!!  Everything we did today was her choice, and she loved all of the attention and special care just for her.  I could tell she felt very special.  It makes me think we should do special days more often than just on birthdays.

She had been waiting all week to open the presents that "the mail lady brought" her.  We did let her know they were really from her Great Aunt Emily, although I think she may still be giving the mail lady the credit :)
 Yay we love books!!!


 Maddie even got a present (thanks Emily!)
 She got a special card from Great Grandma and Grandpa.  She is starting to understand money, and wanted to "go to the store and buy food for everyone".  How adorable.  
 croissants for breakfast!
 And a chocolate milk straw :)  
 I let her have skittles after her shower, and she probably only ate two.  The rest she arranged in different patterns.  
Next we were off to the bouncy house place.  

They now have quarter kid rides there too!

 After that I asked her where she want to go to lunch "at a restaurant and have a balloon and ice cream and where they will sing to me".  Red Robin it is!  check check check!  She ordered Mac and cheese and mandarin oranges and orange juice.  Then got a birthday sunday accompanied by a super exciting birthday song! She loved every minute.
 Next she got to pick out her very special present from Mom and Dad.  Which will it be, pink or purple?  "Hmmm let me think about my decision..."
 "I choose Purple!!"


------------------------3 hour nap goes here!!!---------------------------


 Andrew picked up the horn on the way home from work.  Chloe told him she wanted the "blue excuse me horn" we saw last week at REI.  He did even better and found a pink and purple one!  I have to say she might like the horn more than the bike.  
 We tried the method of taking off the pedals so she could practice balance first....but it turned out that the bike was a little too tall for that, so Andrew just pushed her around for a while before he re-installed the pedals and training wheels.
 We gardened and weeded a bit, and walked around the yard.
 Then went inside to decorate her birthday cake that I made while she was napping.  Note to self, next year don't make the cake without Chloe.  Making it is her favorite part!  Of course there were too many sprinkles and Chloe had to "try" a few.  
 Chloe wanted Thai food for dinner, which worked out since Maddie was ready for bed at 7!  She loves  pretty much any food but Thai food is definitely a big favorite of Chloe's.  Usually she eats all of the broccoli (literally all of it to the point where Andrew and I don't get any) but tonight Thai noodles were the star!  
 Happy Birthday song!

It was quite an eventful day and we all loved every minute of it!  Chloe loves being 3 and already tells anyone we see that she is three now.  Very cute!  Also cute- we made a list of questions to ask Chloe with the idea that we will ask the same questions each year (thanks for the idea Amber)!

Favorite Color:  Pink and Purple
Favorite Food: Noodles (she was eating Thai noodles at the time)
Best Friend: Tuesday
Favorite Song: "a lot of different songs"
Favorite Person: Mama (sorry Andrew, I am just super fun!  What can I say?!)
Favorite Activity: painting on my Buddha Board
Favorite TV Show: Diego
Favorite Movie: Cinderella
Favorite Drink: Milk
Favorite Book: Brobee's Birthday (we read that today)
Favorite Destination: "vacation"(when asked further) "on an airplane to vacation to far away places"
Favorite thing to do: Bicycling (got her first bike today)
What do you want to be when you grow up?: "you can't handle the truth when I grow up" AKA a lawyer.
Favorite Sister: "Manny" Her pet name for Maddie
Favorite thing to Wear: "Ppppppppppppppppbbbbpbpbbb"  interview concluded.

Happy Birthday!  We love you lots and lots!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

cookies!

Andrew got back last night from another business trip (this time to vegas, and you better believe there was no way I was tagging along there!).  He was gone for 5 days, and I am so glad to have him back!  We even made welcome home cookies!  Chloe wanted to frost them in pink and purple, so that is what we did!  She helped with every step but when it came to decorating that was all her!  
 I had Madeline in the sling most of the time so she could see what we were doing, but when it came time for icing I had to put her down so she didn't get her little fingers in it!  She really likes doing whatever Chloe is doing, especially if it is messy!  I am still trying to give her only healthy foods so icing was not on the menu for Madeline.  Boo.  She did get cantaloupe, oranges and tofu though.  

 All done!  Can we try one?  
Of course I let her have one (even though it was almost bedtime).  It is hilarious to see her metabolize sugar. I have never seen someone on crack, but assume Chloe's reaction is pretty similar....She goes into hyperspeed, and almost shakes with the extra energy.  NO actually I think she does physically shake.... I wish I got that much energy from sugar!  Instead I have to stick to the coffee for my power surges!

Welcome back Andrew!  We missed you SO MUCH!!!

Monday, May 21, 2012

A walk a day!

Maddie started getting sleepy for her morning nap so we decided to put her in the chariot and let her snooze in the great outdoors while we strolled around the neighborhood.  It totally beats being stuck at home for however many hours she decides to sleep!  Our neighborhood is very hilly and very awesome!  It is quite woodsy, and most people have acre lots so the houses are not crammed together right on the road.  Pretty much the exact opposite of our last neighborhood.  Anyhow, it is officially spring, and as you can see most of the trees are getting their leaves.  This happens all at once here.  Literally all the trees are bare one day, and the next they have leaves.  The surge of growth hypes up the sweet smell of spring (think flowers, meets forest, meets smell of rain, meets cut grass...pretty much the best smell you can imagine).  And it is getting warmer!  It pushed 60 today, and we got in every ounce of sunshine we could!  Of course we had sunscreen :)  


 Chloe kept very occupied saying hello to every person who passed by, and picking every dandelion on our side of the road.  Luckily there are only a few dandelions out so far.  I imagine next week we wont make it past the end of the street while she gathers her bouquet!  Today we made it more than 2.5 very hilly miles.  Chloe walked the whole way!  Amazing!
 When we got home we had a picnic in the sun on our patio.  Our grass is newly uncovered by snow, and itching to turn green!  We even watered it today!  We have also been doing a lot of watering and planting and hopefully we will get some photos of that soon too! 
Hope your spring is amazing too!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Smoothies

Yesterday was super yummy smoothie day at our house.  They are so easy to make and so healthy, I am not sure why I don't make them more often!  Maddie and Chloe were both big fans!  



 It was also ride your bike to work day!  Even though we live quite a distance away from his work, Andrew took on the challenge.  (The bacon station along the way may have had something to do with motivating him).  Local companies and vendors set up refreshment stations along the main bikeways to give out drinks, food etc, and generally make it a more fun ride to work.

There should be a ride your bike to work day every week!  What a great way to get around and breathe in the fresh air!  Easy for me to say, since I am not the one riding :)  Now that Andrew is all primed for a triathlon, maybe he will start riding to work more often!  Bye Daddy!  The girls like to wave goodbye to Andrew every morning.  Pretty adorable.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Play day!

The sun is still shining and we are making the very most of it!  After some driving around running errand we stopped by to visit our friends Rylee and and her mom T.  They have a trampoline, and as you can imagine it was a TON of fun for Chloe! 

 They also have this super cool wheelbarrow that is now on my wish list.  It is big enough and tough enough to be an outback wagon, but it can also tip like a wheelbarrow (when the safety lock is off).    Wagon rides were a huge hit.  
 Thanks for the ride T!!
 Maddie even got in on the action!
 Her favorite things were my sunglasses.....
and a cup I used to put her baby puffs in.  She also ate a bit of grass and a few leaves when I wasn't looking.  She is quite the determined little one!
 After Andrew got home from work we loaded up the truck with the bikes and went on a family ride on Campbell Creek Trail.  It was awesome!  Already the air has that fresh smell of growing plants, grass and trees.  The birds are chirping, and even the beavers were out building their dams.  We also saw two bald eagles hunting for food.  It was a pretty good day for wildlife viewing!
 Andrew is the stronger biker by far, so he took on the full load.  Thanks babe!
 We took a bubble break about halfway through :)

Just another day in paradise!


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

sunshine!

We had a nice sunny day and made the most of it by going out to a park!  Yeah a park!!!  There was no snow, and yes there was green grass!  It was high 50's and it felt so nice!  Spring has sprung!  The rest of the day I spent in the yard, raking up mountains of pinecones and sprucing up the yard.  In short it was a glorious day! 

I can't wait to see what it is like to be home with the girls when we can easily play outside, go to parks or really do anything without the massive prep time involved with bundling them up!  This is going to be great!!