Day 120 of 365

Two days in a row of sisterly love! It's been just the three of us this weekend, as T is in Fargo with his dad. McKenna has been helping me organize for next weekend's garage sale, although we did take a break earlier today for a birthday party for one of Lillian's friends. We'll see if this camaraderie continues tomorrow.

Day 119 of 365

Not sure what happened here, but both girls are actually looking at me and smiling AT THE SAME TIME. It must have been the excitement of visiting grandma. I can't wait for things to green up around here so I can take them out for a real photo shoot.

Day 118 of 365

Well, I knew it would happen eventually. I forgot to upload this photo yesterday. I don't even have a good excuse. McKenna was home sick, and we did a lot of cuddling on the couch. It was actually a fairly relaxing, non-chaotic day. I guess I do better at remembering to do things when I'm busy.

Day 117 of 365

McKenna and I got to meet our neighbor's new little man, Baby S, today. She loved holding him and told me that she wished she were his big sister. I can't wait to take his pictures this weekend! Congratulations R family!

Day 116 of 365

The only good that came out of today's cold temperatures and incessant rain was me not having to work at the high school track meet. I've had it!

Day 115 of 365

It doesn't seem so long ago that McKenna actually rode a tricycle. Now she tears around the neighborhood on her third "big girl" bicycle. Even Lillian claims she is too big for the purple tricycle, although with her small size she can probably ride it until the age of six. The second ones seem to grow up even faster.

Day 114 of 365

This is probably the closest McKenna will get to an Easter bonnet. She will wear dresses occasionally, but is most comfortable in a t-shirt and sweat pants. Shortly after I took this picture the dress came off and play clothes went on. We had a wonderful Easter weekend, spending time with both sides of the family in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Now, what to do with all this candy?!?

Day 113 of 365

Cake was blue - D is having a boy! It was so much fun to be a part of that celebration.

I had every intention of dying our Easter eggs yesterday, but the day got away from me, so we did it this morning. We ate a couple with our lunch, and the rest will be traveling with us to Wisconsin. I should make hard-boiled eggs more often - they are delicious!

Day 112 of 365

My dear neighbor D is pregnant and, much to my delight, wanted to find out the gender of her second child. She planned a "gender party" with a cake that had been dyed either pink or blue. The ultrasound technician wrote down the gender, sealed it in an envelope and then D took that to the bakery. With friends and family gathered around (even an overseas brother watching via Skype), D cut into the cake and it was...

Since D hasn't sent out the big announcement, I don't feel right posting it here just yet. Come back tomorrow to see a slice of this cake.

Day 111 of 365

McKenna moved into a full sized bed last summer, although she only occupies about 25% of it. The rest of the bed is filled with stuffed animals of various types, sizes and colors. There is an elaborate system involved in putting each animal to bed, and she knows if even one is out of place. Washing sheets has become somewhat of a process, as all animals (and their corresponding blankets), must be removed and then meticulously replaced. I wonder where she gets this?

Day 110 of 365

I was greeted by this snowy scene this morning, but by the time I left work it had all melted, only to give way to a sun shower this evening. Such is spring in Minnesota.

Day 109 of 365

I love it when the girls just get out of a bath or shower. They smell so good and feel so cozy in their pajamas; I could just eat them up.

Day 108 of 365

With snow in the forecast this week, I decided to wander around the yard this afternoon just to reassure myself that it is, in fact, spring. The chives have returned to the raised vegetable garden, buds are sprouting on the maple tree and the sedum is poking through rock and last year's remains. The flora knows it's spring; if only the weather would cooperate.

Day 107 of 365

The girls have had enough of me and my camera lately. They tend to run away when I take it out. Lillian, covered in rice after dinner, took off her clothes in the kitchen and was dancing around "nudey rude" as we call it. I took a series of quick shots and this was the best of the bunch. A little out of focus, but at least she's looking at me!

Day 106 of 365

Princess Lillian had a fabulous time at her friend's birthday party today. She danced, played balloon games and ate lots of cake (well, frosting). I thought she'd be tired when we came home, but I was the one who ended up taking a nap. When I woke up, I felt like a princess.

Day 105 of 365

Lillian has yet another princess birthday party for a preschool classmate tomorrow, so we painted her nails this afternoon. She is learning about patterns in school, so her choice of colors was orange, purple, pink, orange, purple, pink... And, of course, they all needed some glitter topcoat. Now it's off to find just the perfect princess dress and shoes.

Day 104 of 365

This may look like a simple braid and pony tail, but at our house it represents major progress. McKenna has never enjoyed getting her hair styled, much less brushed. Even as a toddler, she would remove any barrettes or binders I attempted to put in her hair. When she announced a few weeks back that she wanted to grow her hair, we came to an agreement. She would brush her hair twice per day, allow me to "style" it on occasion, and in return she could grow it long. The process hasn't been without tears, but we're coming along.

Day 103 of 365

The General Store in Minnetonka is one of my favorite shops. They have a little bit of everything - clothing, jewelry, seasonal decorations, toys, housewares and more. Not to mention a delicious cafe with the most amazing popovers. I really like to buys gifts here, especially for children. McKenna and Lillian both have birthday parties for friends this weekend so we made a trip there this evening. Every time I stopped to browse at something McKenna told me "Focus, Mom, we're not here for that." She sounds just like her dad that way.

Day 102 of 365

I am so happy to see some color in the garden! And even happier for the beautiful day we had. All of the neighbors were out after work and the kids enjoyed dinner together on our front porch. Is it too early to start the countdown to summer?

Day 101 of 365

McKenna can lean toward the dramatic. When she's happy, as in this photo, it's a riot. When she's sad or mad, watch out! I'm already dreading the teenage angst years.

Day 100 of 365

McKenna moved up to a new, bigger bike this spring. She actually won this bike two years ago. My mother-in-law had taken her to the circus in Fargo and they entered McKenna's name in a drawing. Her name was called after intermission and neither one of them could believe it. The good news for us was that it was already assembled! Not only did she get a new bike, but she gained another special memory of Nana Barb.

Day 99 of 365

Lillian had another birthday party today for one of her preschool classmates. As usual, she ate all of the frosting and none of the cake. We make a good pair that way, since I like the cake and not the frosting.

Day 98 of 365

Our last stop in Fargo was Scheels, a sporting goods store. There is a ferris wheel inside the store that most of the students rode. Three college tours in two days and a late night staying in dorms made for a very quiet bus ride home.

Day 97 of 365

Although I love to take photos, I don't particularly like to be the subject of them. My colleague took this photo on our field trip, without my knowledge. After challenging my students to a game of bowling, I proceeded to lose. Big time.

Day 96 of 365

I love that the girls and I can be outside (without snow!) when we get home each day. The past few days we've been eyeing "signs of spring" everywhere. Buds sprouting in the garden, new growth on the trees, sprigs of green grass shooting up through the brown, birds singing, geese honking and even bugs flying.

I'll be heading north tomorrow, taking some students on a college tour in Fargo-Moorhead. The blog may not get updated until Friday, but my Nikon is making the trip and photos will be taken.

Day 95 of 365

Papa Dennis is staying with us tonight before heading back to Fargo tomorrow. Both girls got some snuggle time in before bed. We are so very fortunate to have such wonderful parents and grandparents in our lives.

Day 94 of 365

Lillian has a favorite blanket called "soft blankie" that she carries around the house and absolutely must have at bedtime. It was given to her by our neighbors right after she was born. Over the past three years, soft blankie has been lost on a number of occasions, once for almost two weeks. It had been shoved into the oven of the girls' play kitchen and was discovered by another neighbor's little boy. Were we ever happy to see that blanket again!

Day 93 of 365

When I saw these first garden sprouts, I knew what my blog picture would be. I've really been wanting a macro lens lately, but I had to make due with my 50mm. I can't wait to see these tulips once they bloom.

Day 92 of 365

We had a long day at the convention center for McKenna's karate tournament, but Lillian packed her own backpack of goodies. She had books, markers and coloring books and a sticker book. Considering we were there almost 7 hours, she did surprisingly well. It helped that grandma was there to entertain her as well. Kenna came home with 3 trophies - 1st place for mega team, 2nd place for one-steps and 3rd place for forms.

Day 91 of 365

McKenna has her second karate tournament tomorrow. There are so many kids participating in the mega team competition, they practiced outside today. It was too cold for my taste, but she thought it was fantastic.