You're The Cat's Meow

Miss Sydney has a shadow. His name is Uno. These past few months, she is rarely in her bedroom or on the sofa alone. She always takes that extra minute to scratch Uno behind his ears and talk to him.  

Tonight before going to bed, Sophia told me that I was pretty... Sydney added, but Uno is the prettiest. Not sure how I feel about being replaced by a cat, but it is so darn cute to see the two of them together.

On our way home from running errands the other day, I mentioned to the girls that we had to get home in-time for their naps. Sydney said she had to check her calendar to see if it was a nap day or not. (A calendar she made on her own!... Isn't she a smarty-pants.) Here she is in the photo above and below looking at her calendar. ["x's" are nap days and "|||" are no-nap days]

 

baby, it's cold outside!

A few pics of the weekend snowstorm. It's beautiful, but I'd rather be in the tropics soaking in the sun.

 

For me, snow is overrated.

The Best Four Years of Our Life

My Sweet Sydney, You turned Four yesterday! It amazes me how much you know and how self-sufficient your are at such a young age. You will spend hours by yourself working on a couple art projects, reading books in your bed or arranging your stuffed animals while making a cozy bed for them. A year ago when you were three, Daddy and I woke up and found you sitting at the kitchen island with a carton of eggs. You had three eggs cracked open in a bowl. I said to you, "I can't believe that there are no shells in the bowl". You said, there were a couple, but I picked them out". You must have been really hungry that morning! Here are some many things that you do each and every day that amaze me and make me smile.

You love art and spend hours each day doing crafts, coloring and painting. Before starting a project, you decide who you are going to give it to. You make projects for Daddy and me daily. You must have inherited her artistic ability from Daddy or Grandmom.

You will diligently clean up the playroom and bedroom until everything is put away and in its proper place. You are responsible and reliable!

You run your own bath and always offer to run mine (and you do it perfectly).

Your absolute FAVORITE pastime is reading books and being read too. You love going to the library each week to pick out new books and videos.

You can hand-print your ABC's, your name and Sophia's name. You practice writing your letters all the time! The first word you wrote from memory last year was Pop Pop [even before writing your own name].

You never get tired of playing games. You make up games that you can play with your sister. Your favorite games are hide-n-seek, duck-duck-goose, freeze dance, musical chairs, tag, memory games and board games.

You LOVE to dance, dance, dance and perform "on stage" for us. You are very artistic and serious when you dance. It warms my heart just watching you.

You are my little helper and a mother hen to your little sister.

You want to be the best (and first) at everything.

Your favorite TV channels are Noggin and Sprout. Your favorite TV shows are Upside Down Show, Little Bear, Imagination Movers, The Backyardigans, Olivia, Wow Wow Wubbzy, Scooby Doo, Max and Ruby and Mickey Mouse playhouse.

You still love to sleep in bed with us. [Sophia is the complete opposite and wants to be in her own bed until morning when she comes into cuddle.]

You love to tell stories before going to bed and you like to read books in bed with a flashlight.

You like to pray to Jesus in private.

You are a whiz on the laptop (your favorite is PBS.ORG) and you play games on my iPhone.

You like to pick your own outfits out in the morning.

You help me set the table and have great table manners.

Your favorite drink is water with ice. You take a glass of water to bed with you EVERY night.

You eat cheesy eggs almost every morning for breakfast. You like PASTA, Shrimp, Broccoli, Veal Chops, Hamburgers, Mac-n-Cheese and French Fries. You are a great eater and will try anything. You love to go out to restaurants and help cook dinner.

You listens to (and remember) everything we say... it is no longer a surprise when you bring something we said up a few weeks (or months) later!

You are always helping your sister and are easily frustrated with her when trying to teach her something new.
You adore Grandmom, Grandpop, GMa, Popie, Nana and Pop Pop.

You love animals especially your cat Uno. You are very gentle with them. Uno loves to sleep on your lap.

You are Daddy's little girl. If Daddy is not home when you wake up in the morning, you ask about him or want to call him.

Your favorite princesses are Belle and Cinderella.

You love your cousins Rose, Corban, Morgan, Anna, Noah, Velia, Tony and Isabelle (and the list goes on...). Your best friend is Rose.

You’ve been doing ballet/tap for almost a year and you just started gymnastics. You are good at both, but have more fun at gymnastics.

You tell me many times throughout the day that you love me and you hold your hands up in the shape of a heart. It makes my heart melt.

I LOVE YOU SYDNEY ANGELINA! Happy Birthday!

{Not So Scary} Monster Mash

 

On Friday night, the Please Touch Museum (formerly known as Memorial Hall) in Fairmont Park Philadelphia had a MONSTER MASH for members of the museum. Sophia, my 2 yr old, went as Disney's Princess Aurora (in pink) and Sydney , my 3 yr old, went as Disney's Princess Belle (in golden yellow)... although she preferred to be called QUEEN Belle! It was a fun night of dinner, dancing, exhibits and a "trick-or-treat" treasure hunt. Sydney had more fun checking out all the cool costumes the kids were wearing. Sophia liked the music and dancing. The girls were mellow because they missed their naps (wish I could have a do-over because my girls don't have much energy after 6pm without a nap!).

The girls made the the 10 o'clock Philadelphia Fox News later that night [the news clip is at the very end of the video clip below... it's a 3 minute video so you may want to FF to the end of the video :) ]

Video of Sophia {Princess Aurora} Dancing to Ghostbusters:

Sydney was Princess Belle and Sophia was Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty):

Philadelphia SEPTA Bus Exhibit:
CHECK OUT THE SHOES!! (they light up too)

Metrorail train exhibit (nicer then the Philly trains!!):

Pretty Backhoe Operator:

Beautiful Mechanic:

What girl doesn't like to Shop... the only time "no nap" wasn't noticeable :)

My "Victorian" Queen costume which looked more like a Maid of Milking! Ha!! Only half of the parents dressed up... I couldn't wait to get my costume off. I'm not much of a costume person.

Carousel ride:

Leaving the Museum:

We were the last ones to leave the museum that night. We were also the last one's to eat before the cafeteria doors closed. What a fun night!

I'm a Turtle

A couple of minutes ago, Bob was getting the girls ready for a bath. Sydney was on the toilet... she pulled the toilet seat down on top of her back and said "I'm a Turtle".

Let Them Eat Cake!

Sydney and Sophia cannot resist a yummy dessert when we are dining-out. Sydney is known to clean her plate no matter how big the dessert!  They both love baking at home..... especially when it's cake, cupcakes or cookies with ICING and SPRINKLES!

Sydney celebrating her 3rd Birthday on the Disney Cruise:

Sydney (3 years) @ Marly's BYO Phoenixville PA... sampling each dessert with Aunt Becky & Mommy:

Sydney (3 yrs) and Sophia (2 yrs) @ Basta Pasta in Skippack PA: ICE CREAM!!

Sydney and Sophia @ Bucca's: Cheesecake!!!

Sydney and Sophia @ Inn at St. Peters, St Peters Village PA: ICE CREAM with fresh berries for Sophia....

Apple Tart with Ice Cream & whip cream for Sydney....

and yes, she ate the whole thing...

Baking Apple pie's or tarts (???) with no recipe ;) @ HOME in the kitchen:

Finished product.... a Cinnamon Apple thing with ice cream....

You are (both) the apple of my eye!! I love you... and love that you enjoy food as much as Mama!!