Love

Love just isn't a strong enough word for the way I feel about these girls.  I am so blessed to have these 3 calling me mommy.  They're growing up faster than I would like.  I literally sometimes feel a panic come over me that it's all just going by too quickly.  Things have changed a lot in the past year.  They're getting older and are at school longer and have activities.  Gone are the days of me just hanging out at our home with my babies.  I miss that A LOT.  Nighttimes are filled with swim team, dance and homework assignments.  I used to be able to just play with them all day and then I could write about it here on this blog.  I've been terrible at baby books and so this blog is where I can log my memories of my girls at all of the different stages they have been in.  I still get to play with them but finding the time to write about it is getting more and more scarce.  I think of all of the things I love about them daily and don't want to forget.  Today I decided to write my top 3 favorite things about the girls right now.  I could just bottle them up right now just as they are.  They make me happy and I love them more than they'll ever know.
 Elle, Gwen and Lily - my hope is that one day when you're older you'll read my words and know that your mom loved and adored you - from the beginning.

Lily

Top 3 things I'm loving about you right now:

• I LOVE your voice.  It's incredibly cute right now.  When you mean to say "because" you always say "tocause" and I never correct you - it's just too cute.  When you ask to snuggle in my bed I'll say, "why? are you having a bad dream?" and you'll reply, "no, it's just tocause I love you."  How can I resist that?  I pull you up next to me every time.
• I love how before bed every night you say, "what do I have in the morning?"  No matter how I answer that question you always get so happy and excited about the next day and say, "Yay!"
• I love that after we go to swimming lessons on Fridays you always get excited to go to "rocco's".  It's our routine to go to LaRocco's pizza together every Friday.  Just the 2 of us and it's my highlight too.  

Gwen

Top 3 things I'm loving about you right now:

• I love how every morning I find you in bed with your little sister, Lily.  You told me that when Lily wakes up she says, "Gigi, will you snuggle me?"  It's so cute to see you being a big sister.
• I love how you quote lines from TV shows and movies during the day. It's always hilarious and your timing is incredible.  You crack me up every single day.
• I love how you get so excited about how you're growing up.  You often yell to me to watch you grab a glass out of the cupboard and make sure that I am noticing that you are NOT on your tippy toes.  

Elle

Top 3 things I'm loving about you right now:

•  I love your sweet notes you leave me all over the house including on my bed at night with directions as to what time you would like me to wake you and the "agenda" for our next morning.  It's pretty cute.
• I love how much you love reading Biographies.  Every single week during school library that's what type of book you choose to bring home and then you are enthralled until it's time to choose a new one.  Right now you're reading a biography about Neal Armstrong.  You read the biography on Elvis Presley in one night and then asked for me to let you listen to his music - you loved it!
• I love driving in the car when it's just the two of us.  You love to turn the music up and have taught me little routines that we do while driving to your favorite songs. 

Easter Bedroom

Lily is now out of her crib and shares a room with Gwen.  When she realized she was a big girl now and got to have an Easter Tree in her bedroom she was soo excited.  As soon as the box of Easter decorations came out of the garage the two of them grabbed the tree and ornaments and ran up to their bedroom to decorate it.  It's something so small and simple but to little girls it's a BIG deal.  I think the little wooden egg ornaments on their tree were moved about 1,000 times over the past few weeks.  There's even a big crack in the pot because of it tipping over so many times but I don't care a bit.  That was the whole purpose of this little tree.  It's theirs and they can play with it as much as they like.  

Easter Tree and Bunnies

I absolutely love Easter decorations.  I never tire of them and hate when it's time to put them away.  I spotted these little cement bunnies at an antique shop and fell in love.  They weren't very much and I really wanted both but purchased just one of them.  My friend Christy was with me and later in the week she went back to the store and surprised me by buying the 2nd bunny and dropping it off at my house.  Aren't they so cute?  I love them and now they'll always remind me of my friend as well.  

  The girls helped me decorate our Easter Tree in the front room this year.  We've collected little ornaments for it over the years and their favorites are the little cards with their initials on them.  They each get to place their initial card wherever they want and put a lot of thought and effort into it.  

Egg Hunt

The egg hunt in the backyard was cute.  They were each trying to find "their own eggs", the ones each of them had dyed.  Elle was sweet and helped Lily find eggs and Gwen's face shows exactly how excited she was.  

Easter Morning

Before the girls went to bed on "Easter Eve", they put out carrots for the Easter Bunny.  Gwen was contemplating what beverage to leave for the bunny.  She couldn't decide between milk, water or juice. After thoughtful contemplation she decided water would be the best.  In keeping with tradition, the girls also got to put on the Easter Pajamas.  Very exciting :)  

Early in the morning all three of them rushed into our bedroom to wake us up so they could go downstairs.  It really is the most adorable thing to watch them be so excited about finding out what the bunny has left for them.  Lily was screaming with excitement when she saw that the carrots had been nibbled at and the water was gone.  The girls each found their baskets.  The Easter Bunny left them lots of foil wrapped chocolate eggs, jelly beans, a milk chocolate bunny for each of them, pez (of course!) sunglasses and a few other little prizes. They were thrilled.  

Happy Easter

We had a very happy Easter.  Poor Jon didn't feel well.  I did make him get out of bed long enough to take our picture before I headed to church with the girls.  Little Lily's dress looked cuter without her little cardigan but she INSISTED on wearing one since her big sisters had cream cardigans on.  She wants to be 'big' just like her sisters.  

I have more pictures from our morning.  We had an early morning egg hunt and ate lots and lots of chocolate for breakfast.  It was perfect.