Playing at the Park

Having fun on the seesaw

Completely candid shots of daddy and daughter:

They have the same expression on their faces-oh it makes me laugh.

My girls:

so cute!

Can I say how much I love my new camera?!

Another first for Amy

On Sunday Amy "let" me put pigtails in her hair for church. She told me it was her turn for me to do her hair, once Adelynne was done getting her hair done, so I decided to attempt pigtails. And I squeaked them in, and yes there were tears, but hey, she's just not used to having her hair done! She'll be two in a little over a month, and she finally had her hair done. Its about time!

Milestones captured in silent pictures

Just before going to bed Amy stripped off her pajamas, and came to me saying, "potty, potty."  Now, Amy has sat on the potty plenty of times, but has never actually gone potty.  But I like to indulge her in this practice as often as possible for obvious reasons.  So I asked her if she wanted to go potty, and she said, "yesh."  So I took off her diaper and off she ran to the bathroom.  I followed closely behind her, and when she got to the bathroom she went straight to the toilet instead of the little potty chair.  She opened the toilet lid and said, "big potty."  So I put the child sized toilet seat on top of the toilet and sat her on it.  She wasn't there more than 5 seconds before she started saying, "all done," and grunting and pointing towards the toilet paper while saying "self, self!"  I told her she couldn't have any paper unless she went pee pee.  So I thought she'd get off the toilet or just protest my statement, but instead she sat there and within another 20 seconds or so, I hear little tinkling in the toilet!  I couldn't believe it!  I started cheering for her and she got so excited.  Then she proclaimed she was done and asked for the toilet paper again, which of course I gave her without hesitation.  Then she continued sitting and I asked her if she was done.  She said no and continued sitting.  I just thought she was delaying bed time, but I continued to indulge her anyway.  After a minute or so, she started saying, "squeeze, squeeze," and sucking in her tummy.  This is what Dustin and I do to help show her how to go on the potty.  Then, to my complete surprise, I could hear poopy sounds!  I am so happy and surprised.  Amy did her duty and was quite proud of herself.  In the meantime, I started snapping pictures of Amy's triumphant moments, and each time I turned off the camera, Amy would say, "more pictures."  So I ended up with more pictures of her on the toilet than anyone would care to see, but she was hilarious.  I have no idea what she was saying, but she was "talking" to me about who knows what.  Well, thanks for enduring the potty talk! 

This kid is hilarious!

Bath time Beauties

I HAVE A NEW CAMERA!! I just got it today, so naturally I have been snapping photos like crazy-but its so fun! I know my enthusiasm will taper off, but for now, I hope you enjoy these beautiful babies of mine.

Moments of: shoving wash clothes in the mouth, eating bubbles, laughing, giving bubbly kisses, laughing, spitting out bubbles, fun in the tub.

My Prince Did Come....His Name is Daddy

Once upon a time, Adelynne wanted to play dress-up on a Sunday evening, but she could not get her little sister to cooperate.  So Daddy volunteered to play with her, and you never saw a happier princess... especially when Daddy came dressed to the ball as a prince!  Daddy was adorned with a cape, crown, and a sword.  Unfortunately, he could not be convinced to wear tights. Nevertheless, Adelynne's face was full of admiration and joy for her wonderful Daddy.  



The prince and princess danced the night away, until the evil fairy, with her own sword in hand, came to fight the prince. Their swords clashed and clanged, (as much as foam swords can), and the princess was terrified for the life of her handsome prince. But then, much to everyone's relief, the evil fairy was soon distracted and began to beat on the photographer with her sword. The dancing commenced, and they all lived happily ever after. (Even the photographer).

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The End

Adorable Amy

Amy at the computer

Every Sunday we have i-chat/webcam with my parents.  We sometimes put the computer down on the girls' little table.  One evening we happened to leave it there after we were done chatting, and Amy had a good time playing on the computer.  I think she must have been feeling like a real grown up the way she handled that mouse.  She also did some fancy work on the computer too, it took Dustin a while to undo the mess she created! 

Congratulations, Dustin!

Tuesday was a monumental day for Dustin in his progression for working towards achieving his PhD.  He had his Special Topics Exam.  It was done orally in front of three professors that quizzed him on specific topics of math.  He was drilled for about an hour and then kicked out of the room while the professors deliberated over passing him or not.  Dustin said that he waited for about five minutes before he was called back into the room and told that he had passed.  Passing this exam means that Dustin can now officially begin work on his dissertation.  We also feel that we are beginning to see the light at the end of this tunnel.  Congratulations, Dustin!

Finally up to date

So I have spent many hours today updating this blog.  There are many posts to read, so sit down, stay awhile, and ENJOY!

Amy DOES have hair

Amy's hair is coming in slowly but surely. Maybe on her second birthday, coming up in two months, she'll be able to have a pony tail in her hair. Maybe...

Amy was quite proud of her new hairdo.

It curled all on its own

Cheese!

so cute!

Playing with friends

We've had some good snow fall throughout the last month, and the girls have only had a couple of days to enjoy it because its been too cold outside.  So here are some snapshots of the girls playing in the snow with their friends Aubree and Molly.  

Aubree comes over to play with Adelynne quite often, and the girls have a great time together. Here's some snapshots of them snuggling on the couch while enjoying a movie.

Adelynne gets her hair cut

Its been a while, but Adelynne did get her hair cut, willingly.  I thought it was time that her hair got a healthy "trim."  Her hair was getting pretty long, but I thought it was starting to get scraggly.  Her hair seems much more manageable now, and she looks awfully cute!

Amy's past times

Here are some things that Amy does during the long winter days.

Rock star:

Sing baby!

Actress: No better Tigger substitute 

Sad Tigger has lost her bounce

This is what happens when....

So this is what happens when Daddy brings home pizza.  And this is actually an unfair portrayal of Amy's true reaction because she was distracted by her roller skate gear.  

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My birthday present

I only want to post about my birthday (that was over a month ago now), because Aubree made me the cutest present.  She handed me a home made gift-wrapped in a simple piece of paper, but decorated by her as well.  When I opened the paper I found a home-made necklace inside.  It was a string with a purple paper heart upon which my name was written.  I put on the necklace, showering her with praise, and she said, "It has your name on it."  And I told her thank you.  Then she looked inside the paper and pulled out to small scraps of paper that were taped to the wrapping paper.  Aubree said, "These are your stick on earings."  

So, for my birthday I received a matching jewelry set!  

Back in California

After our all-too-quick trip to Las Vegas, Dustin and the girls and I drove back to California to spend New Years with my family.  This time I was going to see my sister and her husband Joe.  We arrived late in the evening of the 30th, and as soon as we were all in the house, we all had a second Christmas with presents from Grandpa and Grandma Biggs.  Adelynne was in an extremely chatty mood, which doesn't happen very often.  All of us were quite amazed at how much she talked, we kept giving one another quizzical looks and saying things like, "What happened to Adelynne," and "Who is this kid?"  I wish that I could remember what exactly she was talking about, but that's what I get for waiting two months to post this event.  Unfortunately, I didn't take more than four pictures for the rest of our trip either.  But we had a great time visiting with my family once again before heading home.

Grandpa and Adelynne enjoying a movie together.

As the rest of our time with family, this one also went by to quickly. Especially the time with my sister. But someday, she and I both hope, that we will live much closer to one another and raise our families nearby one another. I am so blessed to have the sister that I have. No one could ask for a better friend than she is. I know that when times in my life that I have felt all alone, my sister has been there to love and to help me. I firmly believe that if I hadn't had such a devoted friend by my side as a child, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Bowling

The evening that we spent with the Patty's and the Bledsoe's, we were able to go bowling... without the kids! Aaron's mom and sister babysat all of the 7 kids. Another one of Dustin's friend, Jake, also joined us. Dustin, Phil, Aaron, and Jake were friends throughout high school-it was practically a high school reunion (seriously, considering Dustin's graduating class consisted all of 30 people). They guys even called up their old track coach for a reenactment of a prank phone call once made by Jake. It was fun to see the guys laughing and joking around. 

We all had a great time bowling, except for Dustin. This was actually the first time Dustin and I have ever been bowling together. Let's just say that bowling is not one of Dustin's many talents. (Seriously, don't ask us to go bowling). But Dustin did well laughing at himself and being mocked for his many gutter balls. He's a good sport. I managed to get three strikes in a row at the end of the first round, but I didn't do well after that peak. It was so much fun to be out with adults, not worrying about the kids, and having a good time. 

Puppy Love

Before we left Las Vegas, we spent a day at Aaron and Niki's house.  While we were there we also had a great visit with our great friends, the Bledsoe Family.  The Bledsoe's got a new puppy for Christmas, and all of the children loved him.  But Amy was gaga over this puppy.  We had to pry the poor thing from her fingers, and when we finally did, you never saw bigger tears in your life.  Her love for this puppy was indulged quite a bit though.  And luckily her attention can be easily diverted-sometimes.  

As short of time that we spent with the Patty Family, Adelynne sure did become good friends with Ethan. I was really surprised and elated to see Adelynne and Ethan play together so well. In the past, Adelynne seems to have struggled playing with boys. But Adelynne and Ethan spent hours playing in Ethan's room with no quarrels or complaints. I went up to snap some photos of the two, and when they saw me they hid together under the blankets. But then, clever me, I told them I was all done and asked them if they wanted to see the picture that I took, and that's when they popped their heads out of the blankets to smile at me. 

I tricked them!