Lia Turns Four and Rosie is trailing 3 months behind...

Last Saturday we had a get together with a few close friends to celebrate Lia's birthday.  It was so much fun!   We lined up the crockpot meals, had enchiladas, and a homemade ice cream cake from a new store in the area.  Less fussing, and more enjoying of the things that are truly important...our friendships and building good memories with everyone.

I love this photo of Auntie Esther and Lia reuniting.  Esther babysat Lia last year.  What an amazing role model for Lia.  Esther is the reason why Lia often bursts into a chorus, "Come thou font of Ancient wisdom...".  If you are around Lia enough, you'll hear it!  We are so thankful for Esther and all of our friends that have been a huge part of Lia and Rosie's young lives.

Lia is now embracing Fancy Nancy, Hello Kitty, puppies (battery operated of course) and accessories!  Here we are going to the mall...the day after her party. Lia loved choosing her outfit, including her glitter Hello Kitty shoes. (Keith's car is embellished with glitter and he's totally ready for getting the car detailed again).  The hat is made by my dear friend Loure.

Lia cashed in her free birthday ride coupon on the carousel, which included a ride for Rosie also.  Lia is so excited that her feet fit in the stirrups. It's super hard to get both girls to look at the same time, but Rosie  also had a great time!

Catching our breath...

I'm sorry, fellow blog readers!  It's been a while.  Hey, I thought technology makes your life easier?  My old Mac laptop was on overload, so I finally got a new Mac.  Then the new Mac wouldn't cooperate so I had to make an appointment. Now my cell is on overload with photos, and we need to buy a new printer for the new computer.  Ugh...So, I am going to get you guys all caught up with 3 months of photos.  It actually gave us some time to adjust, well needed time.  

One month after being back from adopting Rosie, we went to Martha's Vineyard.  It was not an easy vacation.  The girls struggled in the hotel room, but the beach was very calming to them.  We made the best of it, but it was definitely stressful at times.

The lighthouse beach at Edgartown

The girls are really into baby dolls.  They take good care of their babies, and Lia lets me hold her baby often.  Rosie has a baby panda as well as 2 baby dolls that she takes good care of.  One evening, we were playing downstairs and Lia was wondering where her doll's baby blanket was.  Rosie quietly went upstairs and brought it down for Lia.  It was so amazing to see Rosie's sweet heart.  Rosie just adores Lia.

Grammie and Grandad's front steps

This photo is taken at my house where I grew up.  I used to sit on those steps with my doll!  

Grasslanterns!

And here they are running around the yard, with some skylanterns that had landed on the property the night before.  The girls had a blast with them!  This was the last time we were there, since we were finally selling the estate.

I went back to teaching in September.  One evening, we had to grab a quick bite in a nearby pizza place.  The pizza delivery car was the cutest, just the right size for the girls!  Just had to take a picture!

Lia has definitely become the peaceful Lia we all know and love.  We overheard her one night telling Rosie, "We love you Rosie.  You are so beautiful.  Don't worry.  Everything is OK".  Keith and I were so blown over by the sweetest words we have heard.

Periwinkle/Fairy Godmother combined into one 

One evening, Lia decided to try to turn Rosie into a pumpkin.  Rosie had on a crocheted hat that she found ( a little big, huh?).  Rosie took the wand on her head all in stride, while Lia kept trying to get the wand to work. Thank goodness the wand didn't get stronger and stronger on her head when it wasn't working...Lia's going to be Periwinkle for Halloween, and Rosie is going to be Tinkerbell.

Waiting...and waiting....

And here is the infamous Easy Bake Oven that I was told, "Everyone has to use once"! Yes, we did use it once, and now it is officially off the bucket list (yay!), and ready for the garbage (the insides are coated with baked on brownie).  The girls waited and waited for the lightbulb to cook the cookie sized brownie, hence the pajamas and the tired looks on their faces.  The anticipation was so exciting and the girls got the biggest kick out of the oven.  The brownie was uncooked, (no kidding?)  and very, very gooey, but the girls thought it was the best thing.  Just today Lia was talking about making her birthday cake in it, but I told her, "Won't it be soooooo  much fun to use mommy's oven?".

big sister Lia rocking my sunglasses

Now we're getting ready to celebrate Lia's birthday.  She is so excited to be turning 4 next week!  She sings all the time now, chats a lot, and loves wearing bandaids as rings.