Morning Trouble.

This looks like a sweet little angelic face, right?

Well, don't let him fool you.

Recently John and I have pleasantly discovered that we can get at least 30 more minutes of sleep in the morning because the kids have been getting up and playing together quite well lately. They read books, watch cartoons in Bella's room or go play in the office or playroom together...and we get to sleep some more!

However-

We have come to learn the consequences of letting them play without us knowing what's going on. This morning I woke up to find that Tyler had taken a purple marker to the playroom carpet...and the sliding glass doors....and his arms and legs. I started scrubbing it immediately (thank goodness for washable markers) and then promptly threw every marker I could find in the house, into the trash. As for his arms and legs- oh well. Yes, I am sure we got some stares as we ran errands together this morning. Yes, I am the mom who is so tired of scrubbing marker off her son, that I finally just came to the conclusion of "whats the point?"

But the part that gave me the biggest laugh was when I was cleaning Ty's face this morning he randomly said-

"Bella draw on my back."

What?! I said to him. She what?

So I took off his shirt, and this is what I found:

Yes. Bella had indeed drawn on his back.

Apparently, she wanted to be sure he (or anyone else) didn't forget his name, and so she tagged him.

And this is what happens when we try to sneak away with those 30 extra minutes of sleep.

I've Got The Luck Of The Irish.....

... and it comes in the form of these two beautiful little munchkins :-)

In celebrating my ethnicity of 1/2 Irish (thanks to my mom and the Irwin side of the family), I enjoy getting the kids all decked out in their green outfits and preparing a traditional Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage and baby red potatoes. The recipe for preparing corned beef is actually quite easy...but somehow, I'm still confused and find myself constantly checking on it all day long. I may have also called my mom about 5 or 6 times to verify that I was doing it right. But now the house smells delicious, and I'm fairly confident that it will be cooked correctly. Note that I said "fairly confident"....you just never know until you cut it open and take a few bites. Fingers crossed!

On a more serious note, St. Patricks Day marks exactly 5 years since we said good-bye to my Opah. He was my mom's dad, and the patriarch of the Irish brood on that side of the family. His funeral was appropriately on St. Patrick's day, and had beautiful Irish flair- complete with bagpipes and all. We miss you Opah, we will remember you tonight as we enjoy our Irish meal in your honor. You would be proud to see my corned beef! :-)

We Better Start Saving...

....because Bellas wedding someday is going to be a doosey!!

She our baby girl...our princess...and the only one we get to throw a wedding for- so believe me when I say that every last detail will be tended to. :-) The reason I started daydreaming of her future magical wedding is because this past weekend we spent time with our awesome-amazing good friends the Squires, and Bella and Jacob fell even more in love.

Yes, Bella & Jacob.

Megan pointed out to me it's like a Twilight romance....too bad I have no idea what she's talking about since I've never read the books. Megan is probably rolling her eyes at me right now :-)

But seriously- it's not even that us adults tried to "force" it in any way. The two of them just kept holding hands, hugging and giggling with each other every time they were together. At the end of each day, we kept having to listen to Bella tell us over and over that she missed Jacob, and kept asking, "when is Jacob coming back?"

It was honestly the most precious thing ever. They genuinely enjoyed being around each other.

Megan and I were pregnant at the same time together, and Bella & Jacob are only about 3 weeks apart. It's like they were meant to be! And the best part? We would be in-laws with the Squires!

{Jacob isn't so sure about this kiss....}

At the end of our trip, the kids had to say good-bye at dinner, and then sadness ensued in the separate car rides home. Megan texted me a picture of Jacob pouting in sadness, and Bella just kept asking when we would see them again. So after the kids were in bed, Megan came by to watch the Oscars with me, and she brought along a "love letter" that Jacob had written before he went to bed. Actually, he dictated it to Megan, and she wrote down exactly what he wanted to say to Bella......

In case you can't read it, it says:

"I love you. I'll kiss you and hug you. When you come back I will hug you forever."

So adorable! Bella is a very lucky little lady :-)

Small Things To Remember....

Time to freeze a few memories in time. I wanted to jot down a few things about the kids as of lately, so that I would always remember the little things :-)

{ Miss Bella }

* Loves playing board games like Pretty Pretty Princess, Trouble and Chutes & Ladders

* Sings a hilarious rendition of "Hey Diddle Diddle" that cracks us up

* Is obsessed with drawing, painting and coloring. She could do it for hours.

* She told John the other night {I was gone at bible study with my girlfriends} that when she grows up she wants to "be a nurse and a mommy and go to bible study". Hmm... watching her mom closely perhaps? I melted when I got home and John told me.

* She gasps with delight every time we pass the Barbie aisle at Target. It never gets old to her.

* She loves cheeseburgers. And every time we ask her for her order, she tells us "a hamburger with cheese on the top and steak on the bottom. And no sauce."

* Still loves to be a nudist at home. Or run around in just underwear.

* Still petrified of people in animal costumes. She freaked out at a birthday party at Chuck-e-Cheese when "Chuck-E" appeared. And she still won't step foot in Red Robin ever since she saw the bird costume.

* L-O-V-E-S ballet. She loves twirling and frolicking :-)

* She's getting very accustomed to people commenting on her hair. Whenever someone stops her and compliments her curls or tells her how beautiful her hair is, she now answers with "I know." So modest and humble! :-)

{ Mr. Ty }

* Wakes his sister up every morning by going in her room, turning on the light, and crawling into her bed.

* Whenever he tries to sneak a snack from the pantry, he announces that he is "getting one for tyler and one for bella", and he brings her one!

* Tells us exactly what he wants, then asks and answers it himself. For example, he says

"I want to get ice cream, ok? Ok! "

* Eats like a bottomless pit, and yet looks skinnier and taller every day.

* Loves hiding in "tents" {when he puts a blanket over his head}

* Has learned about his "boy parts" and tells us what they are every day :-)

* Has has the cutest little voice when he says, "Mommy I hungry".

* He is still a dancing machine.

* Loves having both mom and dad tuck him in at night. He especially loves it when we kiss both his cheeks at the same time.

** And John and I still think we are the luckiest, most blessed two people on earth :-) **

My Little Ballerina.

Well, she did it again!

Another performance that was adorable and incredible all in one. I think she found her confidence after the last performance went so well, and this time she did even better!

She was in an older class this time {mostly 5 year olds}, but that didn't seem to bother her, and she followed along perfectly. One of the first thoughts I remember having when Bella was born and I saw that she was a girl, was- "oh my goodness, I get to take her to dance class!" I don't know why, but I instantly had this vision of a curly-haired little girl in a tutu dancing around on stage. I envisioned being able to share in those girly moments with her, and they are moments I wouldn't trade for anything.

The best part of the recital was when each girl has her moment to shine by performing a solo when her name was called. I actually felt nervous for Bella because she usually gets shy in situations like that- but she was the BEST! And of course, I am her mom...but seriously- she was amazing. I have the video to prove it :-) She pranced around stage and twirled so gracefully and with such a huge smile of accomplishment on her face. I was bursting with pride!

Then after her recital, we took her out for in ice cream celebration for a job well done, and then she got to go to a sleepover at Aunt Emily's house and have some really girly-girl time painting nails and eating popcorn :-)

Girls will be girls :-)

And believe me- I love having my little girl to enjoy it with!

Bravo Bella!!