Ten on Tuesday (Easter Edition)

1. Our morning started with Kelsea peeking out our bedroom window looking for the Easter Bunny.  I am sure she was relieved that he was not there since she is still frightened of that giant human size bunny you find at the mall.

2. We then headed downstairs to find that the Easter Bunny had left his first clue, "Sit on your knees and look beneath, where your baby sister falls asleep" in an egg by her bed.  Not bad for starting this at 9:00 at night, (if I may say so myself).

3. Kelsea continued to find 4 more eggs, which lead the girls to their baskets (in our bathtub).  And she was very excited to see Miss Alice in her basket.  Lorelei still had no idea what the excitement was about (maybe next year).

4. But they did seem pretty pleased with their goodies.  Good job bunny rabbit!  

5. We some how managed to get dressed and out of the house in time for morning mass.  We almost made it through the entire ceremony, until Lorelei had a meltdown after communion.

6. Lorelei came home and took a long nap, while Kelsea watched her new movie (for a total of 3.5 times that day).  I guess we all have our own way of celebrating His resurrection!

7. Before heading to my parents house for dinner (and more egg hunting) I attempted to get a picture of the girls in their matching dresses.  Kelsea did her best to help...

 But instead of happy, smiling faces, I got a lot of these

9. So Plan B was put into action, some of just Lorelei

and a few of Kelsea practicing her model poses

10. And then it was time to hunt for more eggs and consume more chocolate at Grandma & Grandpa's house, since clearly we had not done enough of that already.

Luckily Uncle Steve was there to help Lorelei find one egg

Which kept her entertained while Kelsea found the rest 

This is the face of Lorelei eating her first piece of chocolate.  Not quite sure it's a winner yet.

And Kelsea showing off her winnings 

And we ended the day with both kids falling asleep on the ride home (and staying asleep while we put them in bed--SCORE)!  I was somewhat concerned that Kelsea had fallen into a sugar coma, but found out it wasn't so when she crawled into our bed to snuggle later that night (whew!)  

Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend-we sure did!

Kelsea's American Idol Audition Tape

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hope your day was filled with a little peace, 

love and kisses

And the out-takes:

Me:  Honey, can you take Lorelei's paci out of her mouth for the picture

Kelsea:  I got it Mom

With Lorelei now walking, getting a photo of the two of them has reached a new level of difficulty (in case you couldn't see that from the photo)

Not knowing if there was even a halfway decent photo, thought I'd better take one of each of them, just in case...

At least one of the two stands still and smiles! :-)

Ten on Tuesday

1.  I heart Daylight Light Savings time!   Maybe with that extra hour of daylight I'll start running again, or watch Kelsea ride her bike, or play hopscotch, or do a load of laundry, or a little gardening...oh, the possibilities are endless!

2.  Kelsea sporting her new hat (and press-on princess fingernails) from Auntie Kelly.

3. I was informed today that Lorelei will be moving into the pre-toddler room next week.  She's been with the same teachers since she was four months old.  Sigh.

4.  Despite the pain in my heart of hearing my baby will no longer be in the baby room, I was quite content packing away the bottles this weekend.  And whole milk is way cheaper than formula.

5.  Somebody else loves the kitchen as much as her sister!

6.  Wallis was in DC last week, hence no blogging last week.  He'll be in Colorado for a week next month.  Still trying to decide if I or all of us should join him.

7.  Wallis was told his next job will most likely be in Palmdale (yuck), Bethpage, NY (had to look that one up), or San Diego (keeping my fingers crossed).  We'll see...

8.  I never sent out Christmas thank you cards.  Please forgive me.  The Laughreys are all very thankful.  Next year I'll do better.  (If I write it, it will happen right?)

9. My friend Cathy took some pictures at Lorelei's party.  This is one of my favorites.   My heart melts when I see it.

10.  My aunt Robie also took pictures and even got a video of Lorelei eating her cake. Thank you- thank you!  I would post it here, but I'm too tired to figure out how to do it (my brain starts to malfunction around 10pm).  So here's a darling photo instead!  Wish I knew what she was thinking.

Ten on Tuesday

1.  Hopefully a second shot at birthday cake today was better received!   Happy Birthday Jimmy!

2.  Kelsea was quite a fan of the jumper at Jimmy's party.  

3.  Happy belated Valentine's Day!

4.  Lorelei is 29.5 inches tall and 20 pounds 2 ounces, just 1/2 inch taller and 2 ounces bigger than Kelsea was at one.

5.  Lorelei's official one year photo.  I hope our next baby is born during normal waking hours.

6.  And her not so happy face when I greeted her with "Happy Birthday to you" 

7.  How Lorelei spent most of her Birthday and the two days following.

8. Yep, she's definitely not feeling well.  Not even a glimmer of an interest in her mini carrot cake.  Don't worry Lorelei, Kelsea will be sure to help you out with that.

9.  There is something truly magical about baths, because she was all smiles once in the bath! 

10.  Somebody else had a Birthday celebration!  Happy Birthday Stevie!

Her Party (our party)

Decorations: Flowers, balloons, table cloths, heart confetti (which we are still finding around the house), and this little banner my Mom and I threw together 45 minutes before the festivities began. 

And there was lots of food, thanks to those great chefs at the Loft.

A few presents.  I know, it's hard to resist buying clothes for little girls.  Thank you friends and family for all your contributions to Lorelei's registry.  We were able to donate two Hope Baskets, a gift of trees, two flocks of ducks, one flock of chicks and a goat to some needy families around the world!

And of course a birthday party wouldn't be a party without some cake.  

And  candle:

At least the adults are looking at the camera.  Lorelei is much to enthralled with what's been put in front of her.

And I think the cake was a winner!

She didn't leave much for leftovers, but she did discover frosting makes for good finger paint.

Luckily we had some wonderful friends and family to share (the other) cake with:

Uncle Steve and Aunt Jennie (carrying cousin Ben...which is short for a name that is still in debate)

Some pretty Mamas and their babies

Our beautiful aunts and cousin

The van Weezendonk family, who will be missed when they head off to VA this summer

Some of our littlest guests playing with our most popular toy:

Landon and his Grandma Marta

Just a week apart, Jimmy & Lorelei had no interest in smiling for the camera or even looking at the camera.  So much for their first Valentine's Day picture together!

And finally to wrap up this wonderful day, some of the birthday girl:

A few of Lorelei enjoying the warm sun on the balcony.

Look I'm walking, are you watching me Mama?