Saturday, March 20, 2010

Spring!!

This afternoon spring will officially begin! I just hope this spring weather will continue and the really cold days are behind us. I'm ready to pack up the heavy coats and clothes and break out the short sleeves and flip flops permanently.

We spent a lot of time outside yesterday - the most we've spent outside in quite a while. Everyone slept very well last night including Mommy! As soon as I get the dishes washed we'll head back outside today.

Here are some photos from yesterday...

From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


The bubbles were a huge hit with everyone.

From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


Gabrielle loves, loves, loves her sandbox. Samantha is definitely not so sure about it. I took her socks and shoes off and stood her up in the sand. She was very unhappy. I put some sand in my hand and held it up for her to touch and she would not even consider it. At least that is one thing I don't have to worry about her putting in her mouth - for now anyway.

From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


We drew on the driveway with some chalk. Samantha once again was more interested in how the chalk tasted as opposed to making pretty pictures with it. The girls also went for long rides in their wagon - great exercise for me and pretty much the only exercise I've been getting lately.

We have a church thing to attend this afternoon which should be fun. I'm hoping I'll still have some energy after that to go for at least a short walk around the neighborhood. Well, if I'm going to enjoy this weather at all I guess I need to get off the computer now!!

Happy Spring everyone!!

Friday, March 19, 2010

My Picky Eater

So what's for breakfast, Mommy?


From My Little Sunbeams


Oh no! I have to eat this homemade strawberry muffin. It looks funny.


From My Little Sunbeams


It feels funny too. Do I have to eat it?


From My Little Sunbeams


I'm going to try it but I know I won't like it.


From My Little Sunbeams


Well I guess it isn't the absolute worst thing you've ever made me eat.



Of course, 1/4 of a muffin later she decided she didn't want to eat anymore. I'm really concerned that she is not going to like her own birthday cake on her very first birthday!! She has gotten a little better with her eating. She will actually put things in her mouth to at least try now. And she has added open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches and grapes to her very small list of foods she likes. Unfortunately now I think she is deciding she is tired of green beans. She used to gobble them up and because it was the only vegetable she ate I gave it to her everyday. The last couple of times it has been offered I'm lucky to get her to eat even one bean.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Crazy Busy!

Aren't the days supposed to be getting longer? Why is the day over seemingly only a couple of hours after I wake up - and I get up at 6:00 a.m. - it is not as if I am sleeping late. Life is just crazy busy lately. I have a kitchen full of dirty dishes to get to but did want to post some photos.

Let's start with the grossest one -

From My Little Sunbeams


It seems Samantha not only likes to play in the trash but also the potty. Poor little puppy dog! He is Samantha's favorite toy. She crawls around with him in one hand and will hug him and rock him. She even tries to say "doggy." He is waiting for a trip in the washing machine at the moment. Hopefully he'll survive the wash. Samantha was thoroughly disinfected and Gabrielle and I had a talk about flushing, putting the potty lid down and closing the bathroom door after every trip. And I guess now I can't even turn my head for 30 seconds!!

The Lingg family is thrilled to have nice weather! Woo hoo!!! Because of a packed morning of errands, shopping and ballet we didn't make it out to play until just before dinner but we enjoyed even the little bit of time we had. Tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer. We don't have anywhere to be tomorrow so we'll head outside earlier and probably spend most of the day outside. Yay!!! I see tired kiddies, long naps and early bedtimes in the future. :)

From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


One thing is for sure, last summer getting outside was hard because I had to either wait for Samantha to be napping or I had to carry her in the Baby Bjorn front carrier or sling - both extremely hot for both of us. But this spring and summer will have its own challenges with Samantha crawling everywhere and wanting to put everything in her mouth.

From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams


From My Little Sunbeams

Saturday, March 13, 2010

What's Up March?

I have decided March is an off month for me. "Off" meaning I get in a slump and just can't get myself out. Last year I took two photos the whole month of March. Two!! And those photos were of myself after getting my haircut. The slump doesn't have to do with only photos but I know if I'm not taking photos regularly then apparently there isn't much going on around here.

After doing some thinking I've decided March is a difficult month. I am so over the cold and winter but in March we have just enough nice days to tease. Spring is just around the corner but it feels like it will never get here. In March we're sort of between holidays and birthdays in our immediate family. There simply is not a lot of action around here.

March is almost half way over and I can see the end of the month being better than the first half - thankfully!

So what have we been up to since my last post? We had a yard sale last Saturday. It was COLD while we were setting up at 6:00 am and still pretty cold even at 10:00. We did not have a ton of traffic but the people who did come for the most part bought quite a bit. Most of the items that were left were packed up and dropped off at Goodwill. There were a few baby items I was not quite ready to donate so they are packed up in the attic until I find someone who could really use them.

My mom came to help with the yard sale. She stayed inside most of the time with the girls, keeping them fed and busy. Gabrielle did fairly well with the fact we were getting rid of some of her things. Some toys she freely gave up while others she resisted a little more about. I only put out the toys she truly did not play with anymore and the toys we do not have room for anymore. There were one or two items after not selling I brought back in and let her have so she was pretty happy. As promised I gave her a little bit of the money and she bought a Disney Princess jump rope later that day.

Samantha's first top tooth has finally cut all the way through. Instead of teething issues I am now having to listen to her grind her teeth. The sound sends shivers down my spine! She is still being an incredibly picky eater. We are done with baby food except for some baby cereal and fruit in the mornings. The few food choices she does like she can eat a lot of but I'm having a really difficult time even getting her to try new things. Texture is big issue with her so if it feels funny in her fingers it probably isn't going to make it to her mouth. All I can do is keep offering different foods in hopes that she will try and decide she likes more of a variety!

Ed and I are both exhausted lately. We are dealing with some sleep issues with the girls and some testing issues with Gabrielle. I keep telling myself it is phase and will eventually end but in the mean time I'm stretched pretty thin as far as patience goes. Last night Ed and I got a much needed night out though. I emailed Tammy, my sister-in-law, on Wednesday with a last minute request of babysitting. Can I tell you I let out this huge sigh of relief when she emailed back that she could come over Friday night? Ed and I went out to dinner - sushi - and it was delicious!! Then we went to a movie and saw "Green Zone". It was really good too. After the movie we stopped by a new sweets shop next to the restaurant where we had dinner. The sweets shop and all kinds of candy and fudge and shaved ice and some really cute metal lunch boxes. I now have to go back before Easter and get a My Little Pony lunch box for Gabrielle. She will LOVE it! Ed and I each got a small piece of fudge and then headed home. The night out ended great when we came home and both girls were sound asleep! Thanks Aunt Tammy!!

I don't know if anyone missed my posts and ramblings but I'm sure some of you missed seeing some photos of the girls so here are a few from the past week or so...


Samantha "trying" out pizza for the first time -
From My Little Sunbeams


Gabrielle loves to dress up! She loves all things pink and girly -
From My Little Sunbeams


Gabrielle also loves her baseball hats. I think she gets that from Ed. We took Ed lunch this week while he was at work. After lunch we walked around the warehouse and the property for a little bit. Gabrielle got a kick out of the pond.
From My Little Sunbeams


Samantha playing in the grass. She only tried to eat it twice. She'll try to put grass in her mouth yet she won't try mashed potatoes? I don't get it...
From My Little Sunbeams


Gabrielle and her new jump rope -
From My Little Sunbeams


Samantha was exhausted from having lunch with Ed and then playing outside. After playing with a couple of bites of enchilada she finally gave in -
From My Little Sunbeams

From My Little Sunbeams


Gabrielle all frillied up once again, this time for ballet -
From My Little Sunbeams


Samantha loves baby dolls. She is giving one of Gabrielle's dolls a big fat kiss here -
From My Little Sunbeams


Gabrielle, future "baby wearer". She informed me yesterday morning she needed a "string" to put her baby around her neck.
From My Little Sunbeams


We bought the new Barbie movie this week - "Barbie and a Mermaid's Tale." In the movie the Barbie is half mermaid, half human. When her mom, the mermaid, brought her to shore to find a human to take care of her, she had the baby in a sling which is why Gabrielle wanted a sling for her baby. Since seeing the movie she also wants to be a surfer girl.

I think that pretty much catches up on our "goings on". I'm really going to make an effort to blog more frequently. I have really missed it! So hopefully if you check back in a couple of days there will be a new post and new photos. Have a good weekend everyone!

Friday, March 5, 2010

A New Book

I am so excited and so overwhelmed right now by the kindness and thoughtfulness of a complete stranger. A couple of weeks ago I left a comment on Lysa Terkeurst's blog in hopes of being randomly chosen to receive her DVD series on her book "Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl." In my comment I mentioned how badly I've been wanting this book. Through my comment a fellow reader of Lysa's blog found my blog and left this comment:

Hi Tiffany, I found you from Lysa's. I have two of her books and would love to send you one. My email addy is on my blog. Send me a note if you'd like and I'll drop it in the mail to you this week. I'm in NC too so it shouldn't take too long.

Hugs,
Tee
I was caught by surprise by this random act of kindness. Yesterday I received the book and I am so excited to start it.

Thank you so much Tee!