Morning stroll and Afternoon walk

Yesterday, was like any other day for the Passineau girls.  We got everyone ready to go for a stroll and enjoyed the beautiful, mild weather in the morning.  Some of you may be thinking, how does she do it with 2 little ones & no twin stroller.  Well, here's how I do it:

Please forgive my appearance--there's really no reason to get dressed up

It is a great workout to get them both up and down the hills of our neighborhood and I usually am very tired by the time we get back to the house.  Jessica just loves to go for a stroll down through our neighborhood and she loves to see all the pup-pups (dogs) in their houses and yards.  She also likes to touch all of the reflectors that people have marking their driveways....she likes to tell me the colors also.  When we get back from our stroll we play in the playroom, eat lunch, read books, take a bath and then get Jess down for a nap.  Baby Ella usually gets a bottle or two in the meantime.  After the nap, Jessica went outside for a 2nd time.  She loves to run around our yard and see all her rocks.  There are some large rocks under trees in our yard & she just loves to sit or stand on each one.  Yesterday, I snapped some pics of her in the yard to serve as her 18 month pictures.  I know it's a few days early, but they are cute.

Pigtails again...I know, I've got a problem :)

She's like seriously, mom?

Showing me how her shoes work

She thought this plant was funny b/c it tickled her

She looks like she's doing a hula dance here

I like this one b/c she has joy in her expression

She was captivated by something in the distance

This face is the miss priss face--she wants things how she wants them

She thought it was pretty fun to sit on this tree--she said ohhhhhh

She looks so big here

As for Ella, she just loves sitting in the bumbo these days.  She's growing like crazy and she went from a size 3 month clothes just like a week ago to wearing 6 month clothes no problem.  She's kind of a little chub right now, but so precious & sweet.  Such a doll baby in every sense of the word!

That's pretty much all for us.  I've got lots of cleaning to do thanks to Jessica's constant need to eat.  Hope you have a great Wednesday!

Stairwell gallery

I've always admired stairwell photo galleries in other peoples homes.  I am not a decorator in any sense of the word, but I did want to try this technique up the stairs to the girls' rooms.  Because our home is a Cape Cod style, the angles are kind of funny and our ceilings are not that high, so I've had a difficult time finding art that looked right on the walls.  I've seen numerous articles on stairwell galleries and think it fits with the homey feel of our house.  So here's what I did:

1. I decided on what I wanted to display--I chose pictures of me & the girls

2. I did a quick layout using Paint (obviously not to scale :)

3. I taped paper on the wall in the desired location in the size I wanted for the pics

4. Once the pics were in, I used picture hangers to hang the pics

(I did have to adjust my original design--I didn't take in to consideration the frame size)

I think it turned out really nice & I'm glad I did it--although, it may not be "correct" in the design sense of the word, I'm happy with it :)  This morning the girls are being their usual cute selves.  Jessica's new habit is carrying 2 cups (her snack cup & water cup) while also carrying her MoMo with her...sometimes she even adds piglet to the mix--it's funny to see her with so much in her arms, silly little girl!

Little Ella is in her usual spot, the bouncy seat.  I might add I got this thing at a consignment sale for $8 and wow have I gotten my money's worth out of this one.  She just loves it and has started grabbing the little animals that hang down near her hands. 

That's all for this Tuesday.  We are heading down to the playroom to listen to Jessica's music (her colors CD--oh, how I love my little red wagon, etc.....I can hear it in my head!)  Hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

Last weekend of August....

Well, I guess since next weekend is Labor Day, that means that summer is fast drawing to a close.  This weekend we celebrated the final weekend of August by spending good quality time as a family and having fun outdoors.  As I mentioned in my post on Friday, Michael took a much needed vacation day and we had a nice relaxing day.  I got to run some errands while he "watched" the girls (basically, the girls slept while I went out, but still really nice not to have to take them with me :)  I don't think I told everyone, but Michael got me a small deep fryer for an anniversary gift---I know many of you are thinking that's really just a gift for himself, but actually I did want one for making doughnuts, etc.  So on Friday night, I fired up the fryer and made some pretty delicious fried cod with a light, crispy batter (Ina Garten's recipe, of course).  I was impressed that the fish did not seem greasy at all and was much better than frying on my stove.  On Saturday, we each took Jessica outside at some point and enjoyed the playroom with the girls.  I got treated to a BBQ chicken pizza and a nice bottle of Spanish white wine.  I've only ever had Spanish reds, but the white was fruity and refreshing.

Sunday, is always a good day, but it is also hectic.  Trying to get two little ones plus ourselves dressed and ready for 9AM church is quite a production.  I feel like I need a van to carry all the bags and things they need--for those, just in case, moments (blow out diapers, throw up, all you mommies know what I'm talking about).  For whatever reason, I felt like all three of the Passineau girls should wear purple yesterday.  So here are some pics to show you how cute we were--we tried to get a shot of all three of us, but Jessica didn't cooperate (imagine that!).

Eating a piglet--don't really know what's going on

We're pretty sure she's teething, her hands are always in her mouth

Our best attempt at a group shot

Look how big this baby has gotten

This little dress is a hand-me-down from our friend Lucy--thanks Lucy!

Once we got home from church, everyone got brunch and a nap--although mommy didn't really get a nap b/c Jessica didn't sleep that long (yep, still teething).  Since she wouldn't nap I let her help me make brownies for small group.  Well, mostly she just licked the spoon & watched me, but it was pretty cute.  I can't wait until they are both old enough to help me bake, I know it will be so fun!

Yumm! Brownie batter!!!

She was kind of a mess, but so worth it!

Well, that pretty much sums up our weekend.  Hope you all had a great weekend and that you have a great Monday.  Today, when (if) Jessica naps, I'll be touching up paint in my stairwell so I can get my stairwell picture gallery hung.  The enlargements of me & the girls from Gabriella's newborn photos are in & I must say I'm anxious to get them on my wall.  Enjoy your Monday!

Sleeping Beauty part II

Today is a great day for the Passineau girls---Michael decided to take a vacation day and that means 2 little girls and one big girl get their favorite man all to themselves.  As I type this, Michael is on a walk with Jessica this morning and baby Ella is snoozing away in her bouncy seat.  Little Ella has had a good week, although, she was up last night and the night before to eat....don't really know why, although, I think she's in a growth spurt and was just plain hungry!  We are looking forward to a nice weekend and hope you all have a great Friday & weekend.  Here are a few pics of our little sleeping beauty from this morning....little girl's got to sleep after being awake at 3 AM, hopefully mommy gets to do some of this during the weekend :)

Don't you wish you could sleep so peacefully?

Don't know how an arm out to the side is comfy...but whatever!

Change is comming

It's hard to believe that Jessica will be 18 months old in just a little over a week.  So much is changing right now for her & she's learning new things daily.  The biggest thing this week is that her nap has gone from mornings to afternoons (which explains my lack of blogging yesterday;).  She's getting all 4 canines at once & has been for a while.  The top ones are through and her bottom ones are nearly---I'm very happy for this since she's not a great teether.  Also, all of a sudden her hair seems to have grown by several inches, it is getting really long in back.  Yesterday, I tried "true" pigtails on her & I must admit they were pretty cute (see pics).  She definitely identifies MoMo as her lovey and as I've been reading it means that she is maturing and learning she is separate from me.....don't know how I feel about this since I still consider her my baby, but kids grow up whether you're ready or not.  Enjoy the pics & have a great Thursday :)

She wants to go in the swing, our compromise is that MoMo gets to instead

Look at those pigtails...cute, right??

She looks so big here

Earthquake in the 'burgh

Well, apparently today in Pittsburgh we felt the effects of an earthquake that hit the Virginia area.  The weather has been so nice the last 2 days that we (me & the girls) have been outside quite a bit.  After lunch, we went for a walk outside and enjoyed some playtime in the yard.  I didn't really think anything of the rumble I felt at about 1:30 because one of our neighbors is having several large trees removed.....I just thought it was from the trees falling, etc.  At about 3, I came inside to find I had several messages from Michael, who had definitely felt an earthquake down at the hospital where he works.  Much to my surprise he said he felt the entire building shake...scary, right?  I guess I need to pay more attention to the news during the day, but truly I'm pretty focused on taking care of the girls and never turn on my tv during the day.  While everyone else was concerned about the earthquake, I was playing in the yard with the girls.....guess I've got to start paying more attention to the real world.  Anyway, hope everyone that was effected is ok & that no one had any damage.  Michael said that he didn't think the hospital had any damage or that anyone was hurt.  To lighten the mood, here are a few cute pics of Ms. Jessica and a video of her climbing the front walkway to our home by herself, oh, and also saying she's a good girl.  That's her new term for herself.  Enjoy your Tuesday afternoon!

yeah, she's kind of obsessed with her tongue right now

17 &1/2 months old

unfortunately, she still likes to eat leaves & dirt--despite my efforts