Halloween
I took the girls Trick or Treating last night while Scott stayed home and handed out candy. For some reason, most of the towns around here don't actually do Trick or Treating on Halloween night, and Friday nights are apparently definitely out. Regardless of what the calendar said, the girls and I had a blast. They were real troopers, out walking around for nearly an hour. They kept saying "We don't want to go home yet!"
Molly was a black kitty (same as last year) and she was meowing at everyone. I made Megan's unicorn costume. It didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, but she was happy with it, so I guess that's what counts.
They really brought home quite the candy stash. We just dump it all into one bowl and then we will ration it out a few pieces at a time over the course of the next few weeks (till we decide we've had enough and then dump it one night after they're in bed!)
Labels: Megan, Molly
Molly's 3rd birthday
We celebrated Molly's birthday this weekend, a few days early so we could spend some time with my parents, too. Scott was sick so he wasn't able to be with us, he was trying to rest up at home.
I improvised a pig cake for Molly. She loves the book "If You Give a Pig a Pancake" and this seemed easier to make than a kitty (her other favorite animal). She loved it - she kept saying "That's my pig cake" like that was what she'd been asking for all along. In reality, the only guidelines I got were "pink" and "chocolate" so I guess this fit the bill.
After dinner, we opened gifts. She received several new puzzles, lots of PJ's, and various dolls.
Giving "Oopsie" Bear a hug. She had proclaimed her favorite color was green that morning, so I was thankful that they'd only had a green bear left the day I was shopping!
Playing with Megan and Grandpa. Megan was very fascinated with Molly's new toys and had a bit of jealousy that she didn't receive lots of new things, too. We all had to keep reminding her that her turn would come.
Rocking and singing a lullaby to her Strawberry Shortcake doll.
Three new friends.
All ready for cake. She sang Happy Birthday along with us and even blew out the candles like a pro.
Time is going by so quickly, I can't believe my baby girl is three already. I can't imagine where the time has gone - it seems like yesterday she was just a tiny little thing. Well, she still is, but compared to this baby, she sure does seem grown up!
Labels: Megan, Molly
The Pumpkin Patch and more apples!
We made a trip back out to Paulus Orchards to go to the pumpkin patch since the weather was so nice this weekend. The girls had fun scouting around the patch to find the perfect pumpkins.
Megan proudly shows off her pumpkin.
It was also the last weekend that they were offering apple picking, so we picked a bag full of apples, too. Since it was so nice, we got much better photos this time...and look, we remembered jackets, too!
Labels: Megan, Molly
The old swing
We visited Nana Caroccia this weekend in Jersey Shore. Scott and a friend went on an over night bike trip on the Pine Creek Rail Trail, so it was just the girls. We had a nice time visiting and the girls had a blast playing with Nana's toys and of course, swinging on the swing in the yard. In fact, this is a highlight of every trip. This old swing has been in the big old pear tree since I was a little girl. My dad climbed the tree and tied it up there over 20 years ago. I'm so glad the girls have been able to make some special memories of swinging at Nana's house. The pear tree is getting old and slowly dying...I don't think the swing has too many more summers left in it.
Labels: Megan, Molly
Impromptu Fall Photos
The weather has been so nice and the leaves are starting to change colors. I had been wanting to get out for a walk and get some photos of the leaves, but instead ended up taking pictures of the girls. I was really happy with out these impromptu photos of the girls came out!
Labels: Megan, Molly, Photography
Yay Molly!
From a Google Talk Conversation with Scott today:
11:52 AM Scott: guess what molly did.
11:53 AM me: oh no.
what?
Scott: she went upstairs all by herself.
and got on the toilet all by herself.
and tinkled all by herself.
me: yay!
can you hear me cheering from here?
Scott: yes.
me: that's awesome.
Baby steps, baby steps. I have to keep repeating it to myself. We aren't pushing this potty thing, because we don't want to have to take her there on a schedule and we are "training" her, not the other way around. Maybe this is a sign she's going to figure it out on her own? Wishful thinking, no doubt...
Labels: Molly
Apple Picking 2008
Every year on the weekend of my birthday, for the past 4 years, we have gone apple picking. Since moving here,
Paulus Orchards has been our orchard of choice. Anyway, with the rainy weekend forecast, I was really bummed that we weren't going to be able to go. When the scattered showers forecast for today seemed to be pretty scattered, I convinced Scott to go anyway. We got everyone ready and headed out with high hopes. It seemed nice enough, till we were almost there. Then it started to drizzle.
We bought our bag to put our apples in and I grabbed the umbrella out of the car just in case. We grabbed Molly's windbreaker that happened to be in the car, too, just in case she got cold. Unfortunately, we didn't have one for Megan. She said she'd be ok, so off we went. We headed first for the Empire apples...think pie :)
By the time we were done getting those, it was raining pretty hard, and we were all getting pretty wet (and we were only half done!) On the way to the golden & red delicious, we had to pass the car. Scott made Megan a poncho out of a shopping bag that she wore grudgingly. You should have seen the daggers when he suggested it to her. I told her she should be happy to have such a resourceful daddy and that she would never again have us telling her to put her head in a bag, so she should take advantage of the opportunity. She didn't see the humor.
Scott with the half-full apple bag, after the poncho struggle.
See, I got wet picking apples too, I didn't just make the Scott & the kids get soaked. And got a new haircut last week, too, although this isn't the best view!
Megan's poncho. She got over it and it helped keep her dry. Oh, she got a new haircut last week too.
Molly's not impressed. Once her apple was gone, she was over it.
Megan was happy to get back into the car...look at that wet hair!
I made Scott stop on the way out so I could take a picture of the pumpkin patch, full of pumpkins. Sometime next month, we'll head up on a weekend that it's NOT raining and pick out a few pumpkins. Then the girls can play on all the cool new playground equipment that they've added, too.
Labels: Megan, Molly
Hippos for Molly
I finished up a dress for Molly yesterday during their naps - long, due to the rainy day fun :) She was pleased to model it for me when she woke up. I'll make a bright pink pair of leggings to wear underneath for when it's cooler. She really liked it.
And a closeup because she's such a cutie.
The band-aid on her cheek is covering a bug bite. She keeps picking at it and making it bleed so we've had to keep it covered. It's almost gone now :)
Labels: Molly, Sewing
Rainy Day Fun
It rained a good part of the day yesterday and the kids were full of pent-up energy (donuts for breakfast anyone?) so I bundled them into play clothes, raincoats and boots, and took them outside for some puddle jumping. They had an absolute blast.
Before they were too wet:
And just getting started. You can just tell that they're thinking "I can't believe she's letting us do this!"
Megan working on her technique - she made some really big splashes.
And Molly tried, too.
When we were ready to come in, I dumped over an inch of water out of each of Megan's boots and almost an inch our of Molly's too. Their hair was dripping and their pants & feet were soaked. After changing into dry clothes, they warmed up with hot cocoa.
Labels: Megan, Molly
While Scott sleeps...
I came home from work to a quiet house. I knew that something was going on because the girls are almost always awake when I come in. I see that Scott has dozed off on the couch reading a book. I am surprised the girls are so quiet upstairs. I head up to look for them and see that they have gotten the tent out and set it it up. Strange, I don't see them in here playing in the tent, oh well, I figure they're in the playroom.
So I head to the playroom and find that they aren't there either. Then I notice that the gate for the attic stairs has been set aside. Hmm...I head up to investigate. They had gotten into the wrapping paper and were wrapping presents for me, complete with bows and lots and lots of tape.
See? That's my stack of gifts. I don't know how long they were up there, but I guess it was a good long while!
They were so excited about the gifts and we had to pretend it was my birthday so I could open them. I had ooh & aah over each one as I opened it. I wonder if this means I don't get presents on my real birthday?
Labels: Megan, Molly
Lettuce edged skirt for Molly
Last night, I was working on a little skirt for Molly from some knit I found at JoAnn's a while back. When I realized it was going to be too short for her I decided to see if I could do a lettuce edge on a regular sewing machine rather than a folded hem. I found this tip in a Google search and it worked really well on a scrap of the fabric so I decided to go for it!
http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/review/readreview.pl?readreview=1&ID=344It took a while to finish up the hem, two times around, but I'm happy with how it came out for my first try. I think I'll be reserving this technique for sleeves & leggings hems from now on! The skirt is still really short, but I think it will work for a bit. I used Kwik Sew
3501 and thought it was really easy to put together. I'll definitely be making more of them in a bigger size.
Here's an action shot from this morning - she loves it. Sorry it's blurry - I couldn't get her to stand still! I think the length will work for the summer and I'll make some pink leggings for the fall when it's too short.
Labels: Molly, Sewing
Fireworks!
We just got the girls tucked into bed after watching the "Grand Finale" fireworks for the city of Harrisburg's three day Musical Festival over the 4th of July (sorry - no pictures!) Megan didn't stop talking the entire time. "When is it going to start? How long is it going to last? Why are there so many? How do they make them?" And our favorite..."They are lasting a long time - they must have bought ten packs or something."
This was Molly's first time seeing fireworks - I don't think she knew what to think at first. She leaned back in my lap and just watched when they started. After a few booms and flashes, she started to be concerned about the noise. She kept saying "I want them to stop." I kept talking to her about the pretty colors and asking if she thought they were pretty, and eventually she relaxed and just enjoyed the show. She kept telling us what colors she saw once she started to enjoy it.
They were both sad when the show was over and already wanted to know when the next time we'd see fireworks would be!
Labels: Megan, Molly
Molly's turn!
I finally finished Molly's dress like Megan's last weekend. It ended up just being too much fabric, so I cut the bottom tier down and shortened it. I think it still twirls pretty well :) Molly loved it - Scott said that when she wore it she told everyone "Mommy sewed this dress for
me." It's a little wide for her - she's a skinny minnie - I need to learn how to alter these patterns before I start sewing!
Labels: Molly, Sewing
Peek a boo!
Just a fun picture of Molly from today. This is her favorite place to hide when the girls play hide & seek in our back yard. Note that there are only 2 places to hide there, and one involves climbing into the flowerbeds which isn't really encouraged :)
Labels: Molly
Fun Long Weekend!
We had such a fun weekend. Having three days off was great, and I wish we could do it more often. Saturday, we just kind of hung out together around the house. While the girls napped, I went to Joann's and picked up a few things at the Memorial Day sale. I picked up a really cute planter for $7 too. When I got it home, I stuck some herbs in it and will bring it inside to keep fresh basil in my kitchen year round :)
Sunday morning, Scott got up and went on an early ride with the Harrisburg Bicycle Club. When he got home, we went for a picnic at
Gifford Pinchot State Park. Nothing fancy, just bologna sandwiches & PBJ. The girls had a blast just going there to eat and then check out the playground very briefly. It was really busy plus Molly was tired and ready for a nap. Here's a picture of Megan trying out the seesaw.
When we got home and while the girls were napping, I did some sewing and finished up a dress for Megan (watch for photos!) while Scott took another bike ride.
We didn't feel up to cooking, so we had leftovers for dinner. The girls dined on the patio and had leftover pancakes & sausage from breakfast the day before. They loved it!
Monday, we just lounged again. I did some more sewing and finished up a pair of PJ shorts for Megan. Scott did some more bike riding. We hung out with the girls. It was just such a fun relaxing weekend, it makes me wish I had long weekends more often! To top it all off, the weather was great - in the 70's & 80's every day, but not too humid (well, not till Monday when the thunderstorms started to roll in).
Labels: Megan, Molly
Happy Mother's Day to Me!
Scott was quite good to me this year for Mother's Day! He got me a new lens for my camera - a 50mm F1.4. All of today's photos were taken with it and I can see this one quickly becoming my favorite. It is so clear an sharp, even to look through the camera with it on. I took the photo above with no flash, and the aperture set to 1.4 - I love how the center of the markers is in focus and everything else is blurry. Very cool!
Megan in jammies after eating donuts for breakfast. Again, no flash, and just window light, I think. It just looks so clear and crisp compared to no-flash photos with my other lens!
It does well outside too. Before lunch, we went to the park to burn off the sugar high from the donuts. It was overcast and chilly, and the jungle gym is in the shade. Molly played on the "little playground" while Megan played on the big one. Molly loved sliding and sliding and sliding. On the "big playground" Megan met a boy who will be starting Kindergarten with her in the fall. Maybe they'll be in the same class - they seemed to get along pretty well!
Labels: Megan, Molly, Photography
Daddy's Three Girls
Scott was behind the camera on Easter so we don't have a shot of him, but he did manage to capture some good photos of his three girls. I even like the one of me!
Labels: Molly
Egg Hunting
After lunch, the kids hunted for eggs. Kathy & I set up separate areas for the little ones so that they didn't get ran over, and they hunted first. Both Molly & Trevor were pretty methodical about their hunting. See an egg, pick it up, go get the next one. Till they'd either found all they could fine, or got bored!
For the older kids, we scattered about 60 eggs around the rest of the yard - under stuff, in stuff, all over my parents' yard. They ran all over looking for those eggs, and we're pretty sure they found them all :)
Labels: Molly
Easter Morning
We spent the night Saturday at my parents' house so the Easter Bunny had to find us in Mercersburg. The girls were up bright & early, but we managed to hold them off till 7 or so. Their baskets were hidden around the living room as were a few other goodies. They enjoyed the morning hunt and settled down to play with their treasures for the rest of the morning till their cousins arrived.
Labels: Molly
Sundresses
They had this neat-o pre-shirred fabric at Joann's and I thought it would be fun to make the girls sundresses out of it. With Molly's, I decided to make the skirt tiered, so that it would be more twirly. I think hers came out adorable.
I had planned to do the same with Megan's, but she had other plans. She wanted me to make it straight, so I did. She also wanted her straps criss-crossed in the back, which I tried. Unfortunately, I think that just made it pucker. Also, the fabric I got for hers had a longer section shirred than Molly's did. I think it is too long because it comes down over her belly and doesn't lay very nicely. Maybe if they have it on sale sometime, I'll try another one for Megan with the shorter fabric.
Labels: Molly, Sewing
Grammy Stone
This picture of Molly reminds me of Grammy Stone, my dad's mom. My parents have said before that they see some of her in Molly, and this picture really did it for me. I never really saw it before until Molly was wandering around the yard making this face - I had to capture a picture of it to show to them. Grammy used to set her jaw just like this. I guess when she was unhappy or didn't agree with you. I don't really remember when, but I do remember seeing it.
I'll have to see if my parents have a picture I can scan, so that I can do a comparison of the two. I don't know what Molly was doing, but she wandered around for a few minutes with this look on her face, then she went back to playing happily.
Labels: Molly
The Swingset
We got Megan and Molly a swingset this summer since we don't have a park in walking distance. Scott put it together in the backyard under the supervision of Megan. From my understanding that meant he worked as quickly as he could to put it together while Megan asked every 15 seconds "Daddy, why isn't it done yet? You're taking too long!" This swingset is honestly the best $150 we've spent in years. The girls love it - they go out and swing nearly every day.
At first, Molly really only rode in her swing. Now, she loves to climb up the slide ladder, swing on the glider and even try out the big kid swing. We might have to replace the baby swing next spring with the other big kid swing!
Megan taught herself to pump her legs to make herself go in only a few days. She loved the glider when we first got the swingset, too. Now, she likes sliding on the slide every which way (think head-first, on her back) and hanging upside down on the bars on the end.
Here are some pictures of the girls on their swingset from last weekend. You can see that they really have a blast playing on that thing!
Labels: Megan, Molly
Apple Picking
We did my favorite fall activity and went apple picking at Paulus Orchards in Dillsburg today. The girls had a blast. Molly enjoyed walking around and eating apples fresh off the trees. Megan picked apples and wanted to carry them all over with her instead of putting them in the bag. We rode in a wagon pulled by a trailer from the parking area out to the trees.
The weather was fantastic, sunny & low 70's. We all enjoyed the nice weather and the chance to hang out as a family. It was a great start to the fall season :)
Labels: Megan, Molly
Mini Vacation at Pine Creek
Last weekend we was the big Cline family reunion at Pine Creek. I remember going to this reunion since I was a kid. It's all of Nana's family in a pavilion at Pine Creek eating, talking, and just hanging out.
This year, we rented a house with my parents, my brother, Aunt Sara & Uncle Kevin's family, and Nana. We had an awesome time and we're all talking about doing this for a whole week next summer. The house backed right up to the creek and it was just so peaceful & relaxing. The kids had a blast, too!
The girls wanted to go right into the water when we got there. Molly waded right in in her clothes till we just took them off and let her go in her diaper. Megan at least put on a swimsuit!
Labels: Megan, Molly
Climbing
We took the girls to the park downtown while we were in Jersey Shore for the weekend. This is a park I remember playing at when I was little. It was just a few blocks from our old house on Lincoln Avenue and on way on the walk to school. Right by the pool.
Megan thought it was great. She loves to climb and she did a great job climbing all over the old jungle gym. Notice all the paint layers? I don't remember what color it was the summers I climbed it, but it's definitely stood up over time! She also enjoyed climbing on the new jungle gym. Molly even got into the fun, climbing up and sliding down the slide with Nana Stone and riding on the merry-go-round (again, the same one that was there when I was little)!
Labels: Megan, Molly
Nigh-night
We visited Nana Caroccia for the weekend and she had made these silky blankets & bags for the girls. They both enjoyed playing with them and tucking their babies in under them. Molly had the whole routine down. Kiss. Hug. Tuck. She did it over and over. And over. She is such a sweetie!
Labels: Molly
Molly's 19 month stats
We're a month behind on her appointments, so Scott took her yesterday. She's still a peanut - right around 25th percentile for height & weight, 50th for her head. She weighed 20lbs, 10.5oz and was 31" long. She gained just 9.5 ounces in 3 months! Other than telling us to have her drinking whole milk rather than 2%, the ped didn't seem concerned about it - she's staying on the curve now, so all is good :)
Labels: Molly
And she's off...
Molly took her "first" steps this weekend. They've been telling me all week at day care that she was walking, but I'd never seen her do it. I think she was holding out on me. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, she didn't do it until I saw it!
On Saturday, she was standing in the kitchen doorway at my parents' house, and most of us were in the kitchen. She just took off walking into the kitchen, we all cheered. She fell, but then got back up and walked a few more steps to get to me. I had tears in my eyes...I was so proud of her. She's been cruising the furniture for months, and standing unassisted for minutes at a time for at least a month. I knew she had to be close, I guess she was just waiting to show it off at the right moment. My parents were thrilled that they got to see her first steps, too.
So, by her birthday next weekend, she'll probably be into everything...
Labels: Molly
I got a new toy!
So, my birthday is coming up in just a few days. Scott got me a new digital camera. It's a Pentax K100D. It's not something I necessarily
needed, but it's someting I've been wanting. And I am going to be 30, after all, so he wanted to do something special.
I had a film SLR, and loved it, but hated the expense and hassle (proof in the 20 rolls of exposed film sitting in my kitchen) of processing all that film. So, we went digital. I wanted to go the less expensive route, and get a point & shoot. I love the point & shoot for the convenience, but I missed playing with all the features of the SLR. So, when Pentax introduced it's latest DSLR, it was conveniently right before my birthday which came shortly after our company's bonuses were distributed.
Here are a few pictures I took immediately after getting my new toy. I love this one of Molly. She is getting so big - I can't even believe how big she is. She's jabbering all sorts of gibberish. And trying really hard to walk. She just started to stand on her own for long stretches. If I recall, Megan was walking within days of doing that, so watch out!
Labels: Molly
