Lily's Party

Lily's party details included just the five of us in our backyard with chocolate chip cookies. It was perfect and the best part was seeing how much she loved getting ALL of the attention for a change. She was beaming when we sang happy birthday to her. Adorable. The princess dress was a big hit - look how proud she is as her daddy helped her put it on. Around her neck is a portable princess CD player. I can barely get it off of her for her naps and bedtime. It's been around her neck (and the music it plays has been in my ears) for the past 4 days straight.

It's good to be 2.

Look Who's 2!

My Lily-pie turned 2 yesterday. It's hard to believe. I can't even express how much I love her. She is the sweetest little girl ever. If she ever hears music she'll walk straight over to me and put her hands up. She loves for me to hold her and dance. Lily's just starting to talk and usually I am the only one who can understand her. My favorite thing is when I ask her something and her answer is yes, she looks me straight in the eye and just does one single large nod with her head. It's so cute. She's my little side-kick all day and I wouldn't have it any other way. She is a happy little girl through and through. I can't believe I get to call her mine.

I love you, Lily. Forever.

My Lily

Catch-up

I am quite behind with my pictures as of late. With school out and everyone home all day everyday I seem to not get much done. We've had lots of beach and pool days, Elle had her birthday and Jon and I just returned from an amazing weekend in Vail, Colorado with friends. We were there for Jon to train for his upcoming mountain bike race next month. I had never been to vail and I must say I now can't wait to go back. It was unbelievably beautiful. And for the record, how cute is Jon?

A total keeper.

White

I decided to paint our front room bright white. I did love the grey color but my walls had been grey for almost 7 years now and I wanted a change. I finally saved enough and ordered the white belgian linen draperies from restoration hardware. I ordered one panel each month and then the next few months I ordered the drapery rods one at a time. Well, it paid off and finally I had everything I needed to give our front room a new look. As soon as the primer started going onto the walls I got nervous but I'm so glad I went for it. It is really pretty.

The windows in this room are hard to work with - the one behind the green chest was tricky because it is not centered on that wall. I wondered how to deal with it but decided on just ignoring the window and putting draperies along the whole wall to disguise the fact that it's off centered. It worked and it is so much more visually appealing to me now.

Jon's a good sport when i do all of these things to our home. I made him hang the curtain rods at 11:30 at night. He looked at me and said, "right now? are you serious?" I shook my head yes. He's a very good husband. I asked him how he liked it once it was all done and he said, "if you're happy, i'm happy."

Well, Jonnie - I'm very happy.

Elle

This is Elle's Birthday month. She's turning 7 and I can hardly believe it.

4th of July

and to prove I really was with my family ...

We had a very happy 4th of July. Swimming and BBQ with cousins during the day and a fun firework show that night. We danced with the live band, the kids went on carnival rides and the firework show did not disappoint. Such a fun day.

Patio

Our back patio had a facelift this weekend. The girls love to eat their meals in the backyard and so I decided to fix it up a bit for the Summer. The biggest difference happens to be our new table and chairs but I somehow didn't get a picture of that. I found them at an antique shop. It's a weathered white round table that I LOVE. I also found this perfectly weathered bistro chair. Isn't it great? I loved the color of it and wasn't quite sure what I would do with it once I got it home but I knew we "needed" it. Later in the day Elle went with me to get flowers for our new table and we came home with flowers and also this old whiskey barrel. I love how it looks from our back door. I also love Lily in the background pushing her baby around in a stroller.

~ happy summer ~

Ballet

I'm not sure which Gwen loves more - ballet or her ballet teacher, Miss Theresa.

I think however that this picture says it all.

Father's Day

A Happy Father's Day

The 2 most important men in my life...

My Jonnie and my dad.

I love you both sooo much.

Elle made a card for Jon all by herself and was so excited to present it to her daddy.

She listed her favorite things about him.

Here is Elle's list in her own words:

Daddy - Here are the things I love about you!

1. you are nice to me

2. you smell good

3. you dress good

4. you are a good sport to me

5. you take really good care of me

6. you have good parents

7. you help me when I am sad

8. you give me fun stuff

9. you give good hugs

10. you give me good kisses

Pretty cute, huh? To see it in her 6 year old printing makes it even more adorable. We're saving it forever, for sure. Gwen and Lily gave their daddy his favorite candy, licorice and hot tamales. We presented all of his presents to him with breakfast in bed of course. I can't get over how excited they get about everything. So sweet.

We had a very happy father's day.

Tap

As you can imagine, Gwen was over the moon with excitement the day her tap dancing costume arrived. It's so cute on her. All she keeps telling me is "mom, you want to see my maxie ford?" I die.

I think I learned the maxie ford step when I was her same age.

She had a dress rehearsal in her class on Friday. Her eyes were glued on me during the entire dance making sure I caught every move. It was so cute. I love that part of being a mom. They're soo excited to show you everything. I made sure I made a big deal about the whole dance and of course how cute she looked. And what did I tell her I loved the best out of the whole routine...? The maxie ford steps of course.

Sisters

This morning I was upstairs trying to get everything ready to head out for swimming lessons and came downstairs to Elle in her jammies dancing with Lily. Elle said, "mama, Lily was sad and so I got her a baba (our word for sippy cup) and put music on to dance with her." I walked into the front room to this sight of Elle holding Lily tightly and dancing. Oh how I love them. I love that they love one another. What Elle was doing with Lily was exactly what I have done with her and also what she sees me doing with her sisters. It was so sweet to see Elle comforting her sister the way she has been comforted. Ellers, I love you.

Crunch!

Gwen and Lily set up camp on our trampoline this morning. Gwen took out quilts, stuffed animals, snacks and of course their pillow-pets. I found them just like this munching on apples all snuggled up next to each other. Lily is quickly leaving her baby stage behind (which makes me sad) and is now just one of the girls. Gwen is LOVING the company.

All Mine

I have said this many times but living with little kids is like having your very own cartoon characters running around your home. It's the best and I never tire of it.

School Carnival

Elle's elementary school had their annual carnival. The excitement level about this event was pretty high. On the day of the carnival the rides were being set up before school let out. Blow-up bounce houses covered the school yard and I can only imagine what a big deal that was for the kids to see while at recess. As I was driving Gwen and her friends around that day, every time we passed the school the preschoolers in the back of my car would start yelling and pointing. Jon came home from work early and we went as a family. Gwen won the cake walk which was a HUGE deal to her. She was able to go to a large table with her winning ticket and choose any cake she wanted. She chose the one with mounds of frosting in rainbow colors and on top balanced a big plastic crab. She was beaming and very proud. Elle spent the majority of her time waiting in line for the trampoline jump. They were hooked up with harnesses and were able to jump (in elle's words) super-duper high. Yes it was crowded and the lines were long but really, as a parent there is nothing better than watching your little ones be so excited and happy. Totally worth it.

Memorial Day

We spent memorial day at the beach. It was pure heaven for me and made me so excited for summertime. Jon was able to surf with his brother, Syd and the girls had fun trying to spot which black spots out in the ocean were uncle syddles and their daddy. Lily never tired of the sand toys and Elle and Gwen spent most of their time on their boogie boards. I came home with splotchy burned legs which is completely typical of my first time out each summer. Can't wait for more days just like this.

New Week

I'm happy this marks the start of a new week. Last week was a rough one for me health wise. Being a mom of 3 little ones and also being sick is rough. I'm feeling better today and am so grateful. I think my family is too!

The sunlight in our home this morning was so pretty.

The flowers on our kitchen counter made me instantly feel better and then there's my Lily. How cute is she? Gosh, I love her. Her name suits her so well, doesn't it? I have countless photos of her on our front porch but truthfully that is her favorite place to be. She would stand there all day if I let her. I think it gives her a sense of freedom. Oh, and have I mentioned her very favorite thing to say? It's, "mama". She sounds like a broken record all day but I still love it.

Lily, you're adorable.

Home

Palos Verdes will always be "home" for me. Growing up there, I took its beauty for granted. I never realized what a unique and amazing place it was to live until I left for college. Since we don't live too far from there now, it is always so fun for me to take Jon and my girls with me and to show them all of my favorite spots. Elle was so cute and as she was looking out over the cliffs she said, "Mama, I love it here because this is where you were a little girl." I couldn't have said it better myself.

She's a Keeper

I went in to the backyard to find Gwen just like this. She was very serious. I asked her what she was doing. I had to ask her 3 times before she heard me or even realized I was standing in front of her. She looked at me and said, "mom. i am watching barbie mermaid. shhh."

I have movies on my phone and her #1 favorite is the Barbie one. Why the swim cap and goggles on dry land, you ask? I asked too.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Her reply, "mom. how else can I see underwater?"

Apparently she was not watching Mermaid Barbie. She WAS Mermaid Barbie.

Easter Morning

The Easter Bunny came to our home. Before bed the girls put their new matching easter jammies on and tore the last chains off of their "countdown to Easter" paper chains in their room. I still can't get over how excited they get about every single holiday. Easter morning is one of my favorites. The girls were thrilled with the little gifts and chocolates left in their baskets. Elle could not put her new book down. Gwen blew bubbles in her new silly straw cup and lily went nuts for her new little stuffed bunny.

Easter Sunday

Our very own Easter Lily was not interested in being in the picture with us - but we still love her

On our way out the door for church. I managed to wipe all of the chocolate off of their faces for this picture. They had just finished a healthy breakfast of sees candy, peeps and pez.

Real Home no.6

Our home is featured today on

stephmodo

I am a big fan (and follower) of Stephanie's beautiful blog and to say I am flattered would be an understatement.

Thanks to my good friend, Elizabeth

who came up with the idea of submitting pictures of my house and also for taking the time out of her busy life to take them