Isabella turns 2

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Isabella turns 2 July 2nd. We threw a party this past Saturday and she and her little friends had such a great time. The theme was all things water and at this age, they are obsessed with water, so it was a hit!

Bedtime

The girls looked so adorable tonight in their matching pajamas, I can't even stand it! We are having such a great time with my mom here. Isabella really loves her abuelita.

A Combo Celebration

We had a great weekend celebrating Father's Day and my B-day with Lytle and Darwin. Lytle made the most delicious tiramisu which has now become a birthday tradition, started by Jason (he makes an incredible one also) and Lytle and I did a bit of shopping on Saturday. We also made our way to Philly for dinner. It was a fun weekend filled with celebration and way too much great food. The leftover tiramisu is calling my name....hard to resist.

Almost 6 months

Where has the time gone? No really, where? I just can't believe that Olivia will be 6 months old next week. She's sitting up fairly well and to my pleasant surprise she loves to eat. I think she might be a bit more serious than Isabella. She smiles all of the time, but getting her to really laugh is tough. Isabella spends her day trying to get "baby" to laugh at her silliness, great for me because they entertain each other. In no time they'll be running around the house together.

Sesame Place

Yesterday Isabella and I went to Sesame Place and had such a great time together. I had low expectations of this amusement park that caters to the 2-10 yr old crowd, but it definitely exceeded my expectations.
Isabella loved seeing Elmo all over the place, but was somewhat confused at first during the Elmo's World Show because Elmo was truly about 9 feet tall. She loved the rides, although the concept of waiting in line for a 2 yr old just doesn't work well (luckily the lines were short). The highlight was definitely one of the water attractions The Count's Splash Castle. Every five minutes the Count would say, "Ha, Ha, Ha 5-4-3-2-1" and this massive bucket would pour out a ton of water, absolutely soaking everyone in it's path. We got caught in the periphery only once and even that was pretty powerful. The cutest part is that I'll ask Isabella if she remembers the water park and then I'll say "Ha, Ha, Ha" (in my best Count voice) and then she'll say "2, 3, 4, OOOOOHHHHH Agua!" So cute.
I can't wait until Olivia is old enough to go too. Good times.

A New Beginning

It may have taken me 3 days to finish listening to President Obama's speech he delivered in Cairo, but I savored every word. Inspiring.

Mrs. May's

I decided to go to Costco today because we are out of wipes and I really love their wipes. Good price and great quality. Oh, and I needed to buy meat and at least where we are, they are the best value and again, the best price. I told myself that I would only buy wipes and meat and that's about it. Uh..not a chance. A full shopping cart later and almost $200 worth of groceries, I just tossed that idea of staying on a food budget out the window. Well, this just means that for the last week of the month we'll be living on beans and rice.
Anyway, I came across these granola bars and after reading the ingredients decided that I had to have them. For several months I've planned on making my own granola bars from scratch and it hasn't happened. Well, these Trio bars are absolutely delicious and I highly recommend them to anyone looking to eat something filling, nutritious and satisfying. Give 'em a try.

Sweetness

Tonight after we finished our family prayer, Isabella kept her arms folded and began praying by herself. She was just mumbling something I could not understand but it was obvious she was proud of herself for doing it on her own. So cute.

I'm still pretty amazed by how much she adores Olivia. She is so great to her sister and loves to show her off to other people. This past weekend we got a sitter and went out to dinner and when we returned the sitter reported that Olivia had a hard time and Isabella was right there helping take care of her little sister. I know they will have their moments, but I hope they are just that...moments.

Passion

Lytle came down for a visit recently and left a few of her tea bags behind for me to try. I've been a fan of TAZO tea for a while, but never tried their Passion tea and just today discovered that it's my new favorite drink and perfect for the summer. It's refreshing and delicious. Would highly recommend a tall glass filled with plenty of ice and this delicious passion fruit infused tea.

Procrastination

There's really about 50 things I should be doing right now instead of blogging, but I just don't want to do any of them. Gosh, should I fold the laundry, clean the kitchen, sweep and mop the floor, clean the family room, plan a presentation in Spanish that I'm giving on Sunday.....or....should I post another picture of Olivia and brag about what a great baby she is and how she's growing up too quickly. I choose the latter.

Rain

Isabella loved playing in the rain these last few days. She especially loved standing in the spot where the rain runs off of the roof and getting soaked. She'd run under and then run out and scream with glee.

Otter Pops

If only Olivia's first food was an Otter Pop instead of rice cereal....she just might eat it.