Breakfast in our Suite

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, we love our table!

I've been having more sick days than well days lately with my pregnancy complications, so it's getting harder for me to get around. This morning, we brought the girls' little table upstairs for them to have breakfast and snack on so I don't have to carry Evelyn up and down the stairs so many times. They absolutely love their little table and I'm so glad we thought of this so they could get even more use out of it. They sat so nicely and enjoyed their cinnamon toast and milk and chatted with eachother this morning. It was so cute. I didn't even have to tell them to sit, they were so excited to see their table up here that they just climbed right up onto their chairs before I even set their plates down! I can't wait to see all three of our little girls having "tea" at that table!

Fashion Plate

Matilda found something in my closet that she likes.

Those are my favorite party shoes, and they're great and all, but look at her legs! They're a million miles long!!!

Here's a peek at her runway walk:

Father's Day

I made a mistake this year and thought Father's Day was the week before it really was. I sent Ed and Evelyn out with instructions "Stay away for at least 4 hours while I try to potty train Matilda." I'm so generous. Anyway, they were determined to have a good day. He and Evelyn went on a long bike ride along the river and then stopped at a park for a picnic of sandwiches, cookies and watermelon before heading home to find a frazzled mommy and a wet Matilda. It was not the most successful attempt at Father's Day or at potty training, so I was glad when my own dad informed me that I was a week early, so I had a chance to do it better.

Evelyn enjoying her pre-Father's Day picnic after a nice bike ride,

wearing an adorable dress from Great Aunt Mona

that was Matilda's last year--they're growing so fast!

For REAL Father's Day, we started celebrating on Saturday. We went out for a family breakfast downtown and then walked to Island Park to enjoy the nice weather and play with the girls. They were really excited to walk on the long bridge all the way across the river and they had a great time playing at the park.

On Sunday, we let Daddy sleep in while the girls and I went out to get some special treats for Daddy. When we got home, we made a special breakfast of poached eggs and smoked salmon on toasted english muffins with home made hollandaise sauce to start the day off right. Later, after nap, the girls signed a card for their daddy and thought up a list of their favorite things to do with Daddy that they wanted to thank him for. Then, we gave Daddy the cards and.....

ICE CREAM CAKE!!!!

Really digging into that ice cream cake--you can see why it was served outside

The girls really enjoyed that ice cream cake, too, and Matilda actually picked out the design all by herself--it was a rectangular white cake with a bright red border and 2 mini ice cream cones on top.

After the girls went to bed, Ed and I watched a movie together while enjoying grilled lobster tails, grilled steak and home made tarragon butter using fresh tarragon from our own garden. We even opened a bottle of champagne. It was a nice day for the best dad I could ever pick for my beautiful girls.

And, since Matilda didn't make it into this post yet, here's a random clip of another Daddy-Daugther's day out:

What have the girls been up to?

It's officially summer and the blog is way over-due for an update about the family.

Matilda will be 3 in 11 days. She's SO excited about the new baby and has been spending a lot of time giving my belly hugs and kisses and asking when she can hold the baby. She's still learning tons of new words and speaks so clearly about so many things. She has a very active imagination and it's wonderful to watch her play, especially when she's sharing and playing with Evelyn. Matilda is also working on using the potty like a big girl and is making some progress there. She says she wants to go to the zoo for her birthday and have a princess party with chocolate cake. We will oblige. She spends the rest of her time being hilarious or challenging authority. She's growing up so quickly and I'm impressed that she is trying to make jokes now. She asks me "Mommy, are you happy?" and when I say yes, she asks me if I am all the other dwarfs, one by one, and she finds it hilarious. Her other favorite "joke" is when I ask her for a handshake she says, "no! I'll give you a PANTS shake!" and then wiggles her little bottom as fast as she can. She is so hungry for information too, asking about everything around her from her stuffed globe to the life-story of all her dolls to how anything she sees works. Here's a movie of her talking about her flamenco dancer doll Ed and I got for her in Spain.

Evelyn is tall and strong and athletic. She remains fearless and has learned to climb just about every piece of furniture in the house and definitely keeps me on my toes chasing her around and makes me feel a little bit like a superhero since I save her life about 10 times a day. But she's no tomboy. She loves to play dress up, adores her baby dolls, worships Matilda and even let me paint her toenails the other day. When she's not climbing, sleeping, eating or narrowly avoiding a harrowing fall, she's wandering the house in various stages of dress and undress. She's also getting more and more chatty, has learned to say "no" VERY clearly and is starting to try to sing some songs. The way she runs and kicks a ball around the yard makes it clear that we'll have several summers of youth soccer in our future.

Fleece footie pjs, a princess dress with full tulle skirt and a winter hat... in June.

A little scamp in her birthday suit

Little Pink Toes

Both of my big girls love to chase eachother around, hide under blankets, play with stickers, and do absolutely anything Disney princess related. They have occasional spats here and there, but in general they get along and are good about sharing their toys, space and parents with each other and they genuinely enjoy the other's company and ask where sister is if one is out without the other.

And both Evelyn and Matilda were extremely excited last night when we informed them that we are expecting another girl! I am halfway through the pregnancy now and the baby is growing and developing perfectly and we are so pleased to be adding another little girl to our family!