Update

We are ready for Spring, and yet, snow is resting on our lawn outside right now. So, we've had to come up with more things to do indoors.

Our first real tea party with real herbal tea and crackers and all the chairs full. Rainey was so excited about the real herbal tea (instead of water), especially because it was pink. The first taste was not all smiles (a little unsure), but she then decided that she still liked the tea over water.

Lots of time at the Discovery Museum -- sadly, our membership ran out. I didn't renew it because I thought we would be outside a lot now... hmmmmm.

Lots of indoor play time -- it's especially fun for Rainey when they can match, and she gets to choose both of their outfits. (Can you see how she's drawing Rapunzel? Hint: the long hair -- it's one of my favorite drawings to date)

Our one sunny day we went to This Is the Place park, and it was freezing and windy. But at least we got to see baby animals, ride a horse, and eat lunch by an original cabin, while feeling cold.

Here we are attempting to play outside, even though it's gray and a bit cold -- these girls are such good friends already:

We've had some fun visitors. These two are 2 of our favorite friends from Virginia. It was our first time meeting baby Leah:

And last but not least, we celebrated both Kevin's and our nephew's birthdays -- here are all the SLC cousins (minus 2 who are still playing off camera) on the family celebration day:

We really have a great time together, even if we're stuck inside.

Getting Big

I can't believe how big these girls are getting...

Rainey is producing more sophisticated art, better than mine, eh? (I should be embarrassed about my "dancer girl" as Rainey calls it, but I have zero artistic ability so no pride there...)

I just LOVE her drawings and letters

This one she called "My Family" and she asked me how to spell everyone's names (BTW, Emma is my cousin from England who Rainey adores!)

E or Budgie is crawling, pulling up on things, becoming quite opinionated and dramatic at times, and sprouting new teeth (Her top two teeth are coming in now after a few rough nights)

I really love the time I get to spend with them, even though we spend a lot of time solving personal space issues and respecting "special projects" -- can you guess what is hardest for which girl?

Hint: Rainey LOVES her sister and being able to move her places, and Budgie is sometimes lovingly called "Baby Monsty" (monsty=monster)

SoCal

We spent over 2 weeks in Southern California visiting Kevin's parents, and we had a blast! We were busy visiting with family, friends, and acitivities:

Papa and Grandma

Playing at the park:

Swinging in the backyard:

We got some time with Aunt Tracey -- Rainey loved helping her with this project:

And we got to see Ben and Alex -- always a good time!

A major highlight was Disneyland. We went with Kevin's mom and without E -- both huge.

Of course, we started with the princesses just after a carousel ride. You wait in line not knowing which 3 princesses you get to see.

waiting patiently

When we turned the corner, Rainey's excitement about finally seeing princesses decreased quickly because there was Tiana, a princess we have never discussed -- I've never seen "The Princess and the Frog." Rainey began a bit scared and not so sure about this princess thing -- Tiana was a good sport, especially as I carried the conversation and stood next to her for the picture. You can see the how Rainey finally gained her confidence and excitement back as we progressed through the princesses.

It was fun to see her so happy in the end -- what makes it worth waiting in lines as a parent:

Next, we went to Toontown and Rainey LOVED that!

We especially enjoyed Minnie and Mickey's houses:

Just before the roller coaster started -- she loved that she and Dad had matching sweatshirts.

We got to meet up with her cousin Chad -- he helped boost her energy because she was ready for her nap at this point.

We did It's a Small World twice because it was so fun. It still had Christmas decorations and songs -- much less repetitive. =)

Going home -- definitely ready for rest:

but not without a souvenir:

Kevin left for China for a week, and so the fun continued. We had perfect weather, and enjoyed being outside, visiting story time at the library, and going to Pretend City:

waiting to go in playing w Grandma

planting in garden writing her name

dancing on the pretend stage E sitting in a crib in the pretend house

Sweet sisters:

Rainey feeding her a bottle for the first time all by herself:

3 years old!

I can't believe I have a 3 yr old! We had a really fun party with family.

She is all about princesses... Good thing we get to take her to Disneyland in January.

And E just hit the 6 month mark. Here with her Gramsey:

One of their favorite things to do: (hard to keep up with the hair at times)

We just took the girls to see the lights on Temple Square:

We think Rainey liked it...

But E didn't last very long: