School Days, school days...March 22nd, 2011

I know, it is so hard to believe but the time was upon us. Not long after we began to settle into our life with two kids, I began to feel immense guilt. There is something that happens when you feel like you work so hard to develop a smart, fun, happy, loving child and then you add a newborn to the equation and you feel like you have just dropped your first child off a cliff to fend for themselves. So many moms know it, but the first weeks and months are a challenge and there is a huge learning curve. We started realizing in this time period that Harper needed some outside of the house influence, and Reiss and I need some time too. Here enters Orange County Cooperative Preschool. This wonderful little school starts accepting kids at the age of 2.5 years old and has two classrooms of preschoolers each with a wonderful teacher. Parents volunteer in the classroom a few times a month so you are able to see the teacher and children in their environment. They have classes 3 times a week from 9am-12pm. After our spring break this year we decided that it was great timing and was a great trial period before her having to go to school next year so we jumped in. This was our beginning... Our big girl all ready to go. Yes, she picked out the Dora the Explorer backpack, which is funny since she had NEVER watched the show and she resembles Dora a little bit too!

Can you believe that she is this big already?

So excited!

Giving the backpack its due props.

Little sister tagging along on Harpers big adventure.

Such a big girl...

Her first cubie...

Getting comfortable with our helper of the day, our good friend Em, Mason and Mrs. Jeanette.

Already settling in with Hudson and Sierra.

At noon, I arrived to this scene...perfectly at play.

Ready to go with all my stuff.

Let's blow this joint!

You have to appreciate these moments, we love this little girl and are so proud of her today.

Our first piece of preschool artwork...so sweet!

Sisters - End of February

I have tried to take the lead of my fellow blogger friend Em and capture the girls monthly, so you can really see the changes as they happen for all those family and friends far away. The only problem is that I have not been taking my job as a blogger very seriously and am only now beginning to show interest in catching up. So here are pictures from February...wow.
Big cuddles, Reiss not fighting the love!

All smiles!

Adoring big sister.

Smerky, smerky!

For a while the girls really seemed to be on the path of being those sisters who didn't look alike and shared very few features. As you can see here, that is changing, each day they start to look more alike and meld into one another. Its a really sweet and crazy thing how you can wake up and say "wow, she has eyebrows today" or "did her nose change in her sleep?"

Oh, Melissa and Doug, how I love thee!

As so many of my fellow moms will agree, I love Melissa and Doug toys. Somehow most of their toys manage to squeeze in multiple games/learning milestones. One of our more recent toys has been a block set that is the toys that will never die...in a good way.

It is a great way to work on colors, numbers, counting, shapes, manual dexterity...I feel like I am missing a few. Oh yeah...Reiss just likes to throw them and then leave the star shaped ones as booby traps on the living room and dining room floor.
On this morning we were making some "gorg" necklaces...needing some assistance from mom.

Stinging, stringing and stringing-we better have some strong necks!

So content...

Tada! Look at this lovely! Jewelry/Gift Mart here we come!

Velvet's Photo Shoot

Harper has many photographers in her life so she has learned these lessons honestly. Her Aunt Gray is a great photographer, her Uncle Robbie loves being behind the lens and our great family friend Carrie Coleman is an amazing photographer. We are finally out of the phase when taking pictures Harper smiles so much it is a scary face and not a happy face and she is beginning to understand what a REAL smile is. On this morning it was not Harper in front of the camera, it was Harper behind the camera.... Our favorite subject...Velvet, the bunny rabbit.

the perfect subject...that's going to be a good one.

The shutterbug.

Reiss all poised for her close-up. No scowl in sight!

Her coy face!

Our lady of mystery shot