So it Begins...

Mike's worried with Riley starting dance class next week that if we're not careful with the girly outfits and such we're going to turn her into a high maintence little Barbie doll of a girl. I can see his concern, but I'm not the one who gave her a pedicure with pink sparkly nail polish!

So, pretty. She even dressed in all pink with open toed shoes (of course) to match her "toe paint." I told Mike even us low maintence girls like our toes to be pretty. She'll have a good head on her shoulders with us for parents, every girl deserves pretty toes now and then.

Who me? High maintence? Never.

PS: This totally means I can buy her more tu-tus, right?

Mars/Venus Priorities

My priorities in order of importance: Unpack all remaining boxes (there aren't very many left), finish painting touch ups in Isaac's room, get Isaac's furniture into a more functional formation, laundry (where did it all come from?!?), start painting the baby's room, organize kitchen cabinets (now that I have everything), cleaning, organize my own closets and drawers, hook up blue ray in the bedroom (the living room one has been hooked up since day 1), organize my desk/craft stuff, make invites to house warming play date, etc etc (I could write this list for days).

Mike's Priorities: Set up shed (aka man cave), set up living room tv, blueray, stereo, etc (including programming remotes), mount speakers and camouflage wires, landscape backyard, build swing set

I would like to point out that nothing on my list is finished and his list is complete. This is simply because he gives himself less general tasks than for example unpack all boxes. Also because he doesn't mind if one item takes him all day (and doesn't have a toddler under foot). The other reason is I can only tell you what his priorities are after he's started a project because I can't even begin to guess what he'll decide is important.

It should also be noted that his priorities make him a hero. Although I get everyone up on time, fed, bathed, etc I am never a hero. My goals are too mundane, I suppose. I do what has to be done because it has to be done and he does what he wants to do next because I will always make sure what has to be done is.

I'm really grateful, today. The kids needed a swing set. They're so happy. Check with me again tomorrow...

Sleep Overs & Scrapbooks

Over the weekend Riley enjoyed a milestone: her first slumber party! I love having a little girl.
My friend and I were co-hosting a scrapbooking party on Saturday so Riley and I headed over Friday night. The girls are always so happy to see each other. Riley's so lucky to have a best friend this young who conveniently has a mommy who's best friends with her mommy. I digress, first order of business baking cookies.

With toddlers there's always lots of help, especially in the kitchen. After baking they sponge painted/finger painted. They get their artsy craftiness from their mommies.

After an incredibly well earned bath in which our little artists turned the water and most of the bathroom blue it was pajama time. Everyone knows watching toddlers play is cute, but pre-bed pajama play time is the cutest!

They were "resting in their nest" like the We are the Dinosaurs song. I came over to see them both laying on pillows pretending to snore! I couldn't make up something this cute!
In the morning after breakfast the Mommies were sitting at the table sipping coffee and looking at some pictures of a couple of silly girls we know while the girls played. It was a pretty quiet morning and then we heard lots of laughing. With a quick exchange of glances we grabbed our cameras and rushed into the living room. We found the girls playing peek-a-boo over the arm of a chair.

In the morning after the girls were dressed and pig-tailed up we got ready for the scrapbooking party.

I made deviled eggs and fruit salad which were a big hit with toddlers and adults alike.

Now we'll take a break from cute babies and tslk crafts. We did a two page layout with a Valentine's Day theme.

We cut out this heart as a background element. We crumpled it up and then ran an ink pad over top of it to give it a distressed look. I love how they turned out. For an extra distressed heart (boy, that sounds awful!) tear it around the edges. You do need thicker paper for best results (We used Stampin' Up card stock).

Here's the finished left hand page before I added pictures. The part that looks like a tiny file folder is for journaling about what's on the page. We foldered a card sized piece of card stock in half and used a tab paper punch to make the tab. Before we glued it on we added a sparkly red brad.

Here's the left side post pitures. The Stampin' Up lady brought pre-cut letters for the "Be Mine" (she used a Sizzix machine). I used my Creative Memories corner edger on the on the first picture. Riley in her pink outfit with a big smile. Followed by Riley with her "My Mom is the Best" shirt with a stolen princess cup. The last one on this side is a less close-up of Riley in her pretty pink outfit.

Here's the right side of the layout. The "XOXO" on this side were also cut with a Sizzix machine. I fond stick them tricky I remend glue stick to those adhesive roller things. Also using temporary adhesive to stick your pages to the table so you can line up your design in the middle if it's continuous like this one.
I'm sure you noticed the pretty girls in matching outfits in the first picture. Since Riley is my one and only baby she will never have a sister, but she does have a best friend. After Christmas we discovered the girls had been given very similar outfits and decided for Boo's Mommy's birthday with dress them alike. That wasn't enough to satisfy us though so for my birthday a week lady they wore these. So cute! Yay, tu-tus. Have I said I'm glad I have girl?
The next picture is of Riley and her friends in the shirts I made them for Valentines day. I think they were a big hit!
I didn't sell a darn thing at the party, unlike my superstar co-host. That wasn't really a factor for me though. It was one of theose getting back into the swing of things opportunities. It gave us a chance to have a girls night sleep-over and do some scrapbooking! Win-win. It also jumpstarted my personal scrapbooking efforts.
Riley's scrapbook was only done up to Thanksgiving, not bad? Yes, terrible, Thanksgiving '09. Worse the Family album was only done up to summer of '08. That's ok though I needed a project to distract me from up coming stress. It was nice to hit the ground running.
Everything between Thanksgiving '09 and this Valentines Day, GO!

"I'm Not a Princess! I'm a Durl (girl)!"

I am quoting little Savannah who I used to babysit. She loved to play with Abby, but no matter what her big sister wanted her to pretend to be her answer was the same. She just didn't want to be something she wasn't.

It's nice to have a solid sense of self, but pretend is amazing. Riley loves to pretend usually she pretends to make coffee or soup. I think she really enjoys saying "hot!" and having you blow on it. Lately my little chef has taken to picking up her toy phones (she must have at least 10) and yelling "eggs!" into them. Maybe she's expanding the menu? Or maybe she's ordering breakfast, who knows?

I much prefer this game to her angry screaming into the phone that Daddy taught her. Mommy takes the phone and says "oh, hello Elmo!", but Daddy likes to pretend it's a solicitation call and yell "don't you call here!" Guess who Riley imitates. Another pretend game she likes to play lately is wash your hands. She'll bring you whatever bottle is handy and shake a little "hand sanitizer" onto her hands and yours and rub them together and laugh.

She also likes to take a baby wipe and wipe all her baby doll's faces. I guess they're a dirty bunch. So domestic, always cooking, cleaning and taking care of babies. I wonder if she would play this way if I wasn't at home with her?

It's OK soon enough we'll break out Space Camp Barie and play mission to space.

What are your little ones pretending? Do you remember any pretand games from childhood?

On That Note...

I'm so grateful for Riley! I was feeling so outnumbered with these two boys. I was worried I'd be drowning in a sea of Transformers forever. Hurray, girl toys!!

We went to ToysRUs last week because Isaac had a girl's birthday party Saturday and a boy's party Sunday. I did my best mom sleuthing and based on very limited (and not altogether reliable) intel from Isaac and the invitations I decided the general category of gifts we needed. I took Riley and headed down the girl toy aisle and sent Isaac and Mike over to the boy toys with specific instructions. They found a cool helicopter disc toy thingy and I picked a "Fashionista Barbie."

I gave my approval to the boys' choice and then Mike narrowed his eyes at the pink box on my lap.

"You got a Barbie."
"Yeah, she'll love it."
"But what does it do?"
"It doesn't do anything, it's a Barbie."
"Ok...I guess...if that's what you want to get."
"It is."
"But it doesn't do anything?"
"No."

I then had a conversation all way home about all the awesome toys we grew up with that required you to use your imagination and in case you were wondering Barbie was a hit.

Sigh...Boys!

PS: I can't wait for Riley to be old enough for Barbies!

The Hair Stick Differential

When Isaac was a toddler he loved "sckicks." He used to come home with pockets full of mulch from the playground. Sticks were his "thing."

When Riley was a few weeks old we discovered her incredible fondness for hair. It was the first clearly articulated word she ever said.

So, even though Mike's already raised a baby through infancy and knows it all and I'm a fully enlightened modern woman, etc we acknowledge there are gender differences. Don't get me wrong Riley has had a pair of dinosaur jammies in every size so far and she has a space camp Barbie waiting in her closet because I don't believe in limiting her in any way because of her gender. I want my kids to have choices. That being said the choices the kids make are different from each other.

Without any encouragement Riley lusts after purses and is fascinated by little girls with long hair. Recently a little girl gave her a baby doll and Riley loved on it like crazy. She also adores her stuffed bug. She's just like her mom. I always tell Mike I may not be a super high maintenance girly girl, but I am still a girl. For all her interest in the outdoors and adventure Riley is still a girl. And thank goodness!