Coloring the Easter Eggs

All ready in their matching aprons....

Mommy, as seen through the eyes of Quincy

Do you see all the lines at the bottom of the drawing? Well, those are my knees. All six of them. At least she didn't say they were wrinkles. Or necks.

Monkey Bars

The other day we went to a park that we haven't visited since winter began last November. This park has monkey bars, where as the park that we typically go to doesn't have them. After swinging on the swings for a while, the girls ran down to the section of the park that has the monkey bars. Ellie immediately grabbed hold of the first bar and made it all the way to the other end without falling! I have no idea where she learned this since she was too little to do this the last time we were at this playground. After she completed it and I picked my jaw up off the ground I thought, "Where is my camera?". And then I remembered my new, super-smart phone. And then I remembered the video-thing on my new, super-smart phone. I love that phone.

Quincy is still working on mastering them.... :)

I have a new phone (and it's waayyy smarter than I am)!

I took Ellie and Quincy to school with me the other day just because I could (yes, my principal gave me permission). They spent the first period of the day playing in the AP Physics C teacher's classroom while the students in that classroom reviewed for a test. During that time, I discovered that my new super-smart phone can take amazing videos...this video is, however, not really that amazing, it's just the first one I took so it gets the honor of being placed in the blog.

Ellie and Quincy are taking "real" swim lessons....

You know...the kind you pay for at a swim facility with a professional, certified swim instructor....not the kind that mommy teaches for free.

The first day of the lessons, Ellie did GREAT! She was a little nervous at first since it has been six months since she has been in a pool; but after maybe 10 minutes, she was back to normal and loving the aquatic existance.

Quincy, however, missed out on the first (non-refundable) lesson. She has pneumonia. Again. She's a professional in developing pneumonia; it's her sixth time in two years! The good news is that after two days of antibiotics, she is now eating and drinking fluids again and her temperature is now back down to normal---from 105!

Random Feb/Mar Photos 3

Quincy helping Ellie read a Bob Book.

Last weekend we took the girls to their first Lady Gladiator soccer game (the varsity girl's team at Tim's HS). Ellie likes to kick soccer balls, and she's pretty good at it, so we figured we would let her see soccer in action before she joins her first soccer league next Fall.

Random Feb/Mar Photos 2

Winter is finally going away and we are now getting brief glimpses of Spring. It was close to 70 degrees a few weekends ago, so we hauled out The Big Bouncy Thing and let the girls do their thing.

Random Feb/March Photos 1

Quincy about to break an ankle in a pair of my boots.

Ellie's and Quincy's current favorite game is "Bag Lady". This is a game that they created where they collect all of their "things" and carry them downstairs and then proceed to load everything on the couch and burrow under it. It's really cute...until I have to clean it all up.

Just thought I'd stick this photo in of Cosmo...because I love him.

Ellie

Ellie is hands-down the happiest child I have ever (EVER) met...so this is just another ordinary day of happiness for her! I have no words that are strong enough to describe the joy that she brings our family every single day. It is hard to believe that she has only been a part of this family for nine months....it's hard to remember what life was like before Ellie.

Bringing our sled---okay, a trashcan lid---out of the basement to take a ride. Note: Our new dog-door is in the background...that story is in another post.

Ready?

You betcha!

Total happiness.

Quincy

Radiant in getting to play in the snow again! This is Quincy's fourth big snowfall, but I am not sure if she remembers the others. Like Ellie, Quincy is an absolute joy...her giggles sound like an Elf (other people's words, but it is true)...and when she does laugh, it makes others laugh along with her! Three years ago I never would have imagined that life could ever be this perfect...and I am not just saying that for the purpose of a post...it really is true! Getting ready to sled down the hill in our backyard...

The end of the sled ride, at the bottom of the hill...

Quincy and Ellie doing what they do best....being sisters (yes, those are Ellie's feet sticking out from under Quincy).

Snow!

Otis, being Otis....

Cosmo, being Cosmo...

Our front yard the night it snowed (with our great snowman in the background).

Our backyard...it was soooo pretty!

Otis...one handsome dog.

Our first Snowman in the New House

Ohhhhh...Ellie got to see her first real snow! And it was PERFECT snow...super light and fluffy---just right for building a snowman!

Ballet and Puzzles

Quincy has the flexibility of a rubber band. Seriously, she just bends and stretches all over the place, pirouetting and dancing like the characters in the books she reads. This summer we are finally beginning ballet lessons for her...I can NOT wait to see her in her little outfit...

Ellie, on the other hand, has the flexibility of her mother, which is not great anymore now that I am 44 (!) years old. But she is great at a lot of other things, soccer and jig-saw puzzles among them. Give Ellie a puzzle and she will work on it for hours until it is finished. That girl has great concentration skills!

TBS Movie and a Makeover Shoot

A lonnngggg story, but we were contacted by WTBS to see if our family wanted to participate in a dog-themed Movie-and-a-Makeover. We didn't know anything about this program, so we went to their website and did some research. The MMO show airs Saturdays at 11 am and shows a room make-over in conjunction with a movie. The makeovers that we saw online were awesome so we jumped at the chance to participate. Wellllll..fast forward to the present day: Since the downturn in the economy, their makeovers have turned into product-placement makeovers. Fourteen people descended on our house for close to 12 hours last week to film commercials for dog-related products, anywhere from Purina food products to a dog door. Our make-over? A dog door. Yep....a dog door. Even though we didn't get a 10K makeover, we had a GREAT time and I got to pick the designer's brain about paint colors for our walls (which saved me having to hire---and pay--- a designer to come out to the house this summer to pick colors).

This was the scene while they were trying to shoot a commercial for the dog-food. Turner people flew in from NEW YORK for this shoot...it was surreal. Forteen people to film a dog food commercial?!?

One of the TBS people arranging the dog-food just-so for the shoot. This took about an hour. I am not kidding. An HOUR.

Ellie reading to the on-camera designer, Brian. Brian and his partner want kids in the near future super-bad so Brian couldn't get enough of ours. Ellie has a grape in her mouth...hence the bulge in her cheek.

Cosmo enjoying some of the perks given to us by TBS....