big news here is that lucy is back to naps! HALLELUJAH! she's napped all week & has been much happier in the evenings because of it. i think she was just going through some growing pains last week. phew! being that i'm home with the girls each day, i need that time to keep my sanity whether it's in pulling the house together, logging onto my computer for a few minutes, or just sitting & staring at the wall :)

have i mentioned lately how much i LOVE being a mom?! it's the best thing in the world, and i am so far beyond grateful to get to do it. 

i loved having one kid, but nothing beats having 2. seriously. [except maybe having 3? or 4? :)] seeing my girls interact, and learning their similarities & differences makes my heart burst.

eloise sat up unassisted long enough for me to snap a picture for the first time today! so exciting, but in such a different way than when lucy sat up on her own for the first time. i'm not in a rush for eloise to hit her milestones the way i was with lu. i am so in love with her being a baby & needing her mom for everything! :)

my dollbaby- such a laid back, sweet little angel!

she's found her thumb! precious, although she doesn't seem to be too interested in it [other than discovering that it's there & she can isolate it]. 

lucy is changing at the speed of light! [do i say that every post?!?] she is so conversational, and jon & i are constantly meeting each others' eyes in amazement at things she says. she's started "counting" in spanish- "uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis!" & yesterday morning as i was sipping coffee & lighting a candle she said "one- fire is hot! two- mommy's coffee is hot!" the connections she makes blow me away. 

the dollhouse has its christmas lights up to the girls' delight- tree to follow :)

this weekend is lauren's wedding! fingers crossed that lucy will actually walk down the aisle... i'm sure there will be a story to tell afterwards :) my sister & her family get in town friday to help jon & i coordinate the girls the day of... & to get down on the dance floor! lucy & tasman have some moves up their sleeves :) with eloise exclusively nursing, and jon, lucy & i all in the wedding, memories are sure to be made :) so happy for my dear friend.

xoxo,

ivy

a royal halloween

updating the ole blog is a bit trickier now that naps are hit or miss for miss lu. she napped yesterday, didn't nap today. who knows what tomorrow will bring. i'm actually wondering if this is just a little phase she's going through- 25 months seems awfully young to give up naps for good!? there's no rule book for this, you know. fingers crossed...

we've had a busy week with all the royals hype followed by halloween. can't believe it's november and, in my book, officially christmas music season :)

here's a peek at my girls' week:

i had the seriously difficult decision of whether to dress em up in halloween or royalty wear each day! what we ended up with:

& when the royals are playing in the world series for the first time in 29 years, what's a mom to do when there is ONE royal's dress between her TWO girls ... that's a size 12 months? [& said girls are 5 months & 25 months?] 

they take turns wearing the size 12 month dress. 

...& mom does extra loads of laundry.

lucy squeezed into & eloise swam in it just fine :)

we're sure to get more royal's gear next season. 

lucy made up a ballet class tuesday afternoon from when we missed earlier this fall. halloween week calls for a halloween tutu [thanks, meme!]

proud to hold some snail mail from her Godfather [this pony shirt would be absolutely all she'd wear these days if i allowed it]

elsa dress-up session [one of only about 20 per day]

ready to carve these pumpkins! [& help mama make pumpkin manicotti to accompany!]

finished products :) [thanks to daddy- the official pumpkin carver in our family] 

we actually ended up carving them on halloween afternoon this year, which was different for us. we may have begun a new tradition! it's hard to fit everything in between the girls naps, jon's work schedule, etc etc etc. & this was a fun way to spend halloween afternoon!

eloise's kitty...

& lucy's minnie mouse :)

halloween was a cat & mouse game at our house!

my mom & jon's parents all swang by to see the girls before trick-or-treating began :)

it was a COLD one! we had practiced trick-or-treating all week, and lucy was so excited to go up to the neighbors' doors & get her treats [although she kept forgetting to say "trick-or-treat" & kept saying "please" & "thank you" instead:)], but she only lasted about 10 houses before practically freezing solid. 

annual neighborhood kids' halloween picture- lucy insisted she was too cold to sit down on the cement- & eloise was much too comfy in the moby :)

unloading the goods!

it takes talent to stuff a fat cat suit into this thing... but my cat-napper was cozy & happy :)

saturday morning was sweet kinlee's second birthday party! lucy continued with her mouse theme & eloise coordinated in pink & white stripes :)

seriously wiped from all the fun, but holding tight to her pink balloon...

today we spent time with meme while jon watched the chiefs game with friends. 

love our sweet-spirited girls.

-ivy