Cabin fever no more

We feel like we have been home too much, so we decided to head downtown today. We went to the Shedd Aquarium. It cost more to park then it did to get in. But the hour train ride with Shelby just wasn't going to happen! She is way too "busy" to sit still on a train. THe girls had a great time. There were several animal demonstrations where they had an animal out and talked about it and then answered questions. Ellie was so cute, she always had a question and I thought theyy were good questions too. I really think she liked to raise her hand, but then ended up with a question too, to my surprise. "Do Iguanas hide from the sun?" "How fast is a tortise?" "How old is Nikel the turtle?" To my surprise (and Jeff's too) there is such thing as a blue frog. Here is a picture that Ellie took of it. Hers turned out better then mine. She loves to take pictures and is getting really good at it. When we got home today it was about 38 degrees and that actually felt warm. So, we went for a walk/bike ride. It was nice to get some fresh air. I am so ready for this winter to be over. Tomorrow Ellie is going to a birthday party at a place called It's a Girl Thing. Should be cute, I'll take pictures.

This is what happens...

And, I think this means I drink too much coffee. Shelby always wants my coffee!

So, this is what happens when I am on the phone and I know Shelby is too quiet and probably into something and ignore it anyway. Yummy...a cupcake! The part I didn't get a picture of was Puck...he was involved in this too! I actually laughed, it was pretty hysterical!

Ballet again! YEAH!

Ellie finally had ballet again today and oh, she loved it! And, I have to say, I love watching her! This is definately her thing! Big news for us...we found a sitter. We have used a neighbor girl who is 14 and I am ok with her for a couple of hours. This girl I found on Sitter City and she actually lives across the street from our subdivision. We h ad her over tonight to meet her and have her meet the girls before we just left them with her. She is great. And the girls loved her. Ellie wanted her to stay and put her to bed! Yeah! Mom and Dad are going on a date!!

Fashion show

Jeff had a business dinner tonight, so Ellie and I decided to have a fashion show. She has a ton of dress up clothes (mostly princess dresses, but some other stuff too) and some dresses in her closet. Well, the problem is she wanted to have a fashion show like the one she has seen on Max & Ruby. They get into their grandma's chest of dresses, silly hats, belts and big shoes and have so much fun. Well, I am completely lacking in that area. I still don't know how to put a slideshow on here, so here are a couple of pictures. I was in a dress too, but Ellie was behind the camera and well, need I say more?

Will ballet happen?

WIll ballet ever happen again. Ellie has been talking about starting ballet since I signed her up mid November. Her first class was 2 weeks ago and she LOVED it! All I have heard about is when do I get to do ballet again. Last week was cancelled because of the FRIGID weather and then today was cancelled because of a "instructor conflict". What ever that means. Ellie was so bummed and is wondering if she'll ever get to do ballet again. Here is a picture of my ballerina!

Growing and learning

Kids never seem to amaze me. They seem to learn something new everyday. Mine seem to be growing leaps and bounds right now. Earlier I asked Ellie if she wanted to play her bear computer game and she replied "no, mom! I want to get on pbskids.org" What? Ok, she has only been on the site a couple of times and I didn't tell her what it was called. I am sure she has seen the ad for it on PBS, but has no idea she knew what it all was! THe other day we were going to the mall and she said "mom, is this the way to the mall", I replied "yes". How do you know? you don't have the GPS on? Too funny!
Shelby is starting to eat with utensils, waving bye, answering yes/no questions and can follow simple directions. She amazes me how much she is growing up every day. When I put her shoes on her she walks to the door to leave. When we come in the door, she waits until I take her shoes off before she goes toddeling off. WOW! She learns faster then her Dad!
Well, off to clean the house before I head to bed! Jeff is on his way back from Florida and will be home late! YEAH! It's been a long week without him.

Play, eat, play eat...sleep!

That is what we did today. This morning I had 5 moms and their kids over for a playgroup. Out house is great for playgroups. We have the office/toy room and then the basement. The moms even got to talk! When they left Ellie was so tired and hungry. SHe ate a big lunch and lounged after that. Later, a friend from school came over with her younger brother and mom. THe 4 kids (yes, SHelby too) played so well. Kara and I just talked and drank coffee. It got a little too quite and then Michael (2) appeared with a Shelby diaper. Hmmm! Where is Shelby? Well, they decided she had a wet diaper and that she needed to be changed. They got it off ok, just couldn't get one back on. Too funny! Shelby loved it, she could do without diapers! THen we were feeling brave and took the kids to Colonial Cafe. Kids eat FREE on Mondays and they had a great kids menu and tonight % of our check went to the girls school. It was our first time there and it was REALLY good and REALLY kid friendly! Needless to say, after a very busy day, both girls are crashed out and I am not too far behind them. Today is only day one of Jeff's weeklong trip!

Shelby's first haircut

We took both girls for haircuts today. It was Shelby's first one and she just sat there and let them cut. She wasn't too sure about the water bottle sprayer and she could've done without the blow dry, but she was a champ. She and Ellie sat side by side at Cookie Cutters kids hair place. I couldn't believe how well Shelby did. She is 15 months today! Wow! I can't believe it.

Trying not to freeze!

Ok, so the differnce this winter from previous ones that I have lived in the Midwest (which is 5 now), is that I actually have to leave the house most days no matter how cold it is! It is so cold here and will be for the next few days! And we have had a lot of snow! A good thing for Ellie, not so much for Shelby. We have school 3 mornings a week, gymnastics one morning and ballet the other! So, before if I didn't feel like going out I stayed in. Now, I have to be a responsible parent and take my child places. And, even though Shelby is walking, quite stable I might add, I still have to carry her through sloppy parking lots and what not! I know...bitch, bitch, moan, moan!!
So, Shelby is quite fussy compared to her sister and much more high maintenance! However, she may be my little superstar! She has gone poopy on the potty. Ok, so I put her there, but she still went and thought it was fun. And she has gone tee tee twice today. The second time, she pointed at her diaper and I asked her if she needed a dry diaper. Usually the answer is No, with a shake of the head! She HATES to have her diaper changed!!! Well, this time she talked to the bathroom and pointed at the potty! Now, all I have to do is teach her to get up there and hold her balance. Maybe we need our "little" potty from our Tecumseh house sooner then we though!

4 kids??

There is a reason I don't have 4 kids! I sometimes wonder why I have 2!! But most days I love it. I have Ellie's friend Julia and her older brother here for the day while their mom has a minor surgery. They have been here since 5:30 this morning! THe hardest part...getting 3 kids ready for their Christmas program and to school! Oh, and then picking them up from school. Right now I am trying to ignore the arguing from 3 over tired kids!

Ellie's Christmas Program

Ellie's Christmas program was rescheduled from before Christmas when schoold was cancelled due to bad weather. Here are a couple of pictures and a video.

Playing outside

It was nice to get back to school today! Ellie was so excited and had a great day. I took the girls out to play a little this afternoon. Here is my first try at a slideshow, so I hope it works.
http://slideshow.com/galleries/8428

Back to school..

I am looking forward to getting Ellie back to school, as she is too! She was sick the week before break and then the 2 week break. So, she has been off for 3 weeks and really misses school and friends. We had a few play dates, but she is really looking forward to going back to school. We have had a very lazy few weeks and a lot of jammies. I don't think we will have too much trouble tomorrow though. Ellie picked out what she wanted to wear tomorrow on Friday!

Family dance night

We all had some extra energy to burn off tonight before bed, so we put on some music and had a blast dancing. I think at one point Shelby was break dancing. Of course the best stuff happens when the camera is not around, but here is a glimpse of the activity. And, yes, I know, I still haven't figured out my camera and the video is sideways again. :)