Smilin' sisters

Elliana is a wonderful big sister and thoroughly enjoys helping us with Adria.  Now that Adria is getting older and more mobile, she is finding ways to get close to Elliana whenever she can.  The other day, Adria climbed over to hang out with Elliana and they were both all smiles.

Say cheese Adria!

Good job!  I must be teaching you well.

Be careful though Elliana, I may surpass your cuteness any day now!

Where Mama go?

On Thursday, Mama left to go to Redding all ALONE!! 

Bret and I decided to institute a Mama vacation policy at least twice a year and since I had a Friday and Sunday off in the same week, I took advantage.  It was absolutely amazing to be able to sleep whenever I wanted and do whatever I wanted (apart from my normal workday on Saturday of course).  I had a blast staying at Grandma's and going shopping, going to the casino and just hanging out.  

I can't say that Bret had as good of a time though he certainly enjoyed spending more time than usual with the girls.  I came home on Sunday evening to both girls freaking out.  Within seconds though, I was mobbed with love.  I guess its a good thing I was missed so much by everybody!

Mama, Mama...listen to what we did all weekend!

Chase boy, play at park, Jamba juice!

Lots of love from my girls

I know I was freaking out just a second ago but now that Mama's here all is right with my world!

 

So there is the first bi-annual Mama vacation of 2012.  Everyone survived and Papa did a great job of holding down the fort.  Hopefully things will go as smoothly when Papa leaves again in April and May.

Now we're in trouble!

Adria is growing leaps and bounds though she still enjoys laying around on the floor.

I am content to lay here as long as Mama is near by.

I can usually placate her with a bowl while I do the dishes, though lately she has taken to using the dishwasher as support for her exploits.

Just this week, she started trying to stand up!  Mama was horrified and excited at the same time.  She simply can't imagine having two little ones scrambling around underfoot!

Wow, this is sort of what I intended.

Mmmm, maybe I can get onto the table next.

Mama had better get used to it though since Adria seems bound and determined to walk by 9 months.  Apparently she plans to do everything in the opposite of Elliana since she also appears to be talking too!  She has 3 "words" - mama, papa, and baba.  We've yet to determine if they are true words but she does seem to use them accurately and consistently so we'll see.

Valentine's Celebrations

My apologies for how delayed these pictures are, but here are some shots of our Valentine's celebrations.

Elliana was elated at receiving some princess coloring pages.

Princess, princess!

 Adria wasn't really sure what was going on but she was excited to be hanging out with all of us.

I'm all smiles.

Hmm...what's this?

 Mama found some "candy" boxes that actually contained animal crackers so these were perfect for the little ones.

Adria got a new toy that has fast become a favorite.

Monkeys!

 Ellie rounded out the evening with coloring and enjoyed playing with her new purse and stickers.  The stickers now decorate her walls quite prominently.

Look Mama, it's one of my favorite princesses - Jasmine!

Silly and Snarky

It is amazing how quickly Adria can change.  One moment, we have a funny, adorable baby who laughs and giggles like this:

I got the beads!

 And then another moment, we get utter disdain since we're apparently boring her.

Can I help you?

Oh well, I guess she'll get used to us eventually!

Bathtime Hijinks

As many of you know, bathtime is one of Elliana's favorite activities.  Adria is still on the fence about bathtime but will occasionally have some fun.  On Sunday night after, our return from Redding, both girls desperately needed a bath and we were short on time.  We decided to try out a joint bath since Adria is now getting pretty good at sitting up.  Elliana wasn't a huge fan at first of sharing her bath, but eventually she warmed up to the idea.

Hee, hee.  Sister's here!

Adria was decidedly more interested in bathtime once she realized she had a companion.  I am becoming more and more convinced that Adria is willing to cooperate with just about anything as long as she has company!

Oooo, water is more fun when sister is here!

 All in all, we'd count the joint bath experience a huge success that is sure to be repeated.

On Monday night, we had another bath for Ellie and she did something absolutely hilarious.  Bret and I were in the hall chatting and Ellie came running out from the bathroom.  She was complaining she was cold and being dramatic as usual.  I told her she was silly and that if she was cold she should just get back in the bath.  What I didn't realize, was that Bret had emptied the bathtub of water and she was trying to con me into refilling it for her.  After I walked her back into the bathroom, I realized the true reason for the dramatics and told her that bathtime was over.

Before I could get her back into her room to get dressed for bed, she ran off and started up in the bathroom again.  When Bret and I walked in, we found her trying to refill the bathtub with a cup!

Who me?  I'm innocent.

If you won't do it for me, I can manage!

Needless to say she wasn't very successful, but we were certainly impressed by her ingenuity.

Valentine's Party

We went to a Valentine's Day party today for our playgroup and I decided to have the girls wear their Valentine's Day outfits.  I wanted to get a picture since I have a particular project in mind....

Wait, don't run away sister!

 unfortunately, this was the best shot I was able to get.

At the party, Ellie had a complete blast playing with her friends and eating chocolate.

CAKE!!!

I'm not sure she really understood exchanging valentine's but she definitely had fun.

Adria actually played on the floor by herself (and with other babies) for quite awhile, though apparently it was quite tiring for her since this is what I saw at one point.

Naptime for babies!

 And in honor of Valentine's Day, here are a few more cakes I made:

Stay tuned for more Valentine's fun!!