My darling dancer

Yesterday, a package arrived. It was Ellie's dancing things. After having been outside for a scooter/bike ride before dinner, I told her we could open it after dinner. So, we spent the evening trying on leotards and trying out ballet and tap shoes. She was so excited, and looked so beautiful...I had as much fun (if not more!) than her. I put on Center Stage (my all-time favorite dance movie) and showed her the ballet dancers having class (the leaps and jumps across the room caught her attention!) and then the finale with the lead dancer in red- red leotard and red pointe shoes...she was wowed and wanted to watch "the red girl" a few times...I see red ballet shoes in our future! ;) It was so darling to watch her try to mimic their actions. You can really see the excitement and her efforts in these pictures. I LOVED IT!!!! (Can you tell? ;)

Sweet Lia...you'll have your day, baby. (For now, Ellie's gold ballet shoes from a previous Halloween costume were sufficient.)

(There is a part like this in the finale! She was trying it out...)

And then, we popped on the tap shoes. I was so glad she was so interested in the ballet since tap was the one she seemed to be most interested in at the store, trying shoes on. However, without a dazzling example, like the ballet, it only resulted in a few minutes of tap tapping on the tiles. We'll have to find something...and, once she knows some things to do, I think she'll have more fun.

Putting away our shoes in the dance ballerina bunny bag from Nana...

Some sleepy sister time on the bed in the morning...

This is what Lia is all about with Aurie... lots of touching and hands-on :)

These beanbag chairs have come in handy :)

Aurie...Live & in Color

So the girls and I were doing something they like to do the other night- "clicking" on video clips of themselves to play them on the computer. I realized I'd better get videoing Aurie as a teeny baby and Lia talking, because the ones of them as babies and the ones of Ellie speaking in baby-talk are the ones that really make you remember that time. So, though maybe you might think of this as exciting as watching grass grow ;) here's Aurie, not doing much of anything, but being here teeny baby self, peeking at the ceiling fan (a favourite activity of all of our girls). (Oops...look at that- my Canadianism coming out :) It slips once in a while- those 'ou's...

And the excitement continues...

...with parties with friends...

...and presents sent from Nana...

...and movies with daddy...

...and surprises in the mail from Grandma and Grandpap...

...and caaaakkkkke :)

Check out that happy grin! Ellie had an extended birthday and was so excited by gifts arriving in the mail every day, Daddy taking her to see Toy Story 3 at the movie theater for the first time (I think he had as much fun as she did!) and friends over for playing, cake and singing on the weekend. What a lucky girl!

Noah was a good sport with the party tiara that Ellie chose :) What a funny boy!

There's no one like our Auntie Melly! :)

Some sister moments...

(Comfy Aurie? :) )

Now we're getting the hang of it :)

I tried to capture this ruffly sleeper that made Aurie look like royalty... It's just so pretty and frilly...you could imagine it on an baby in those days of royal courts). Her hands looked so pretty popping out of the frills, with a tiny white bow on the cuff. This picture certainly doesn't do it justice..I'll have to try again... (but she looked so cute in the light).