We had a wonderful evening with friends last night. The girls had a blast running around with "the boys" (though I'm not sure their house is as used to hearing the high-pitched "happy" screams of Lia as we are ;) and then decorating pumpkin sugar cookies (piled way high with as much goop and sprinkles as possible!). Aurie was her angel baby self and just sort of hung out watching, falling asleep amid the din, and accepting cuddles when given- even smiling on command for some cute shots on daddy's lap. 

Lia had some struggles before heading over, with wanting to wear her dress-up princess dress over to see  Auntie Melly. Mommy's patience and persistence won out, though it's not fun! I'd much rather have moments like the day before, when leaning over her in the car to do up Aurie's belts, I gave her a passing kiss, and she says, "I wuf you too, mommy"...enough to melt your heart (and holds over enough of that warm and fuzzy feeling to get you through the "I want to wear my princess dress" times :)

Speaking of that day, I had to tell about our big exciting fun at Walmart, after grocery shopping. The girls look forward to playing "the claw" game, for a quarter, if they're good in store. It is nice, because it's a guaranteed prize, though they haven't quite gotten to the point where they understand the "luck of the draw" concept. It was a highlight of the day, however (pretty pathetic, no?), and I had to smile at us...it sounded like we were at the roulette wheel....the excitement over what the claw was grabbing was pretty loud :) And then, afterwards, with everyone grasping their prizes, we headed out to the car, and Ellie asked what her ring said. I told her "Girls Rule" and explained it means girls are the best, and didn't she think so? So then, there's a pause, and then she exclaims, "I'm a girl!" - you could see the lightbulb go off :)

Aurie Laughs!

Last night, while mommy was bathing the girls, daddy kept Aurie occupied on our bed. He started tickling her feet and she started laughing! I had to come from the bathroom to watch it was so sweet. Here she is...

I just can't get over how funny she looks sitting in this nifty little chair that a friend gave to us when we knew Aurie was on the way. It makes her look older, only miniature. She's able to sit in it for longer periods now, and I think she likes seeing things in this new perspective. We never had this for the other girls, so the look of her in it is new to us and we laugh every time we put her in there!

Oh Sugar!

Ellie had her first dance "performance" yesterday. She and her class of seven performed their number for all of us, in their classroom . It was really sweet. With only five lessons under their belts, I think they did pretty good! I have been trying to upload the video but haven't had much luck. 'Oh Sugar!' was their song. My favorite part (and it seemed that it was Ellie's too) was the wiggling hips to the beat...darned cute! :)

Silly Lia...followed us outside when Ellie modeled Mommy's newest creation for some photos. She started out in her princess dress... the neighbors must wonder! ;)

Take me out to the....Movies!

 The girls  and I headed over to the ballpark nearby to watch Princess and the Frog. It was girls night out, and it was a lot of fun! They were excited (Lia's first real "movie" experience) and got pretty snuggly during the movie. It was nice to just relax and enjoy them.

That speck out there is Ellie, who was absolutely thrilled I let her take off her shoes and run about as she wished. (All from a girl who didn't nap that afternoon!)

 (Think Lis's enjoying that ice cream? ;)

Even Aurie seemed to be happy...

Photo, compliments of Ellie!

No, no energy at all ;)

We're Ready...

Wings, tiara and fins all set and ready to go! 

We're ready for Halloween! :)

(Fins in action)

So, with all of this sewing lately, my little seamstresses are busy copying mommy and making something for their "guys". I thought it was darling. Ellie got really into it, draping pieces across her guy.

                                                  

A couple of mornings ago, they set up for a "party" with Ellie's blanket as the tablecloth. (Aurie looks real interested, no?)

It's Like Ballet!

While taking a walk one evening, we ran across someone's hopscotch and the girls were interested, especially Ellie. So, mommy dug out some chalk from the garage and we made our own in the driveway. It was funny to watch her try to coordinate herself to jump from one leg to two and so on. She was really concentrating! So, after a few tries, here she is! I love the extended leg when she's on one foot...yes, I guess it is like ballet! (You can hear her say that right at the beginning if you listen carefully :)

Little Sweetness

Sigh...what will I do when I don't have a tiny potato to set up and take pictures of on a whim? ;)

Aurie tried her seat...I think we need to wait a while longer before using it. Her poor little head worked real hard at keeping up and straight (though everywhere, she gets surprised reviews about her strong neck and head control.) It kind of wobbled slightly...poor thing! 

(That is..."Happiness is Mommy"... Daddy agrees :)

The ballerinas one morning... talk about up and at 'em! (It's not me, I swear!) I haven't mentioned about their favorite game to play lately- imitating characters off their shows and acting out scenes. Max and Ruby is the usual, and it's quite comical to hear them going back and forth, in character. When it first started, Lia was on a play phone, saying, "Wheeze, we missed the bus", only for us to figure out it was Louise she was talking to, off of Max and Ruby, and was reenacting an episode. Funny girls!

Aurie's Babbles

More and more Aurie's smiling and talking...to us, to people admiring her, and even toys and polka dots!

Yum!

As soon as I had this darling outfit on Aurie, she started to nibble the bows by her mouth! Yum! (Love the smile? She LOVES when you face her, and smile... she smiles right back, and starts "talking")

I still haven't found a successful way to get all three, happy, and looking in the right direction (or even the same direction!) I used to cram Ellie and Lia on the chair...hmmm... have to try something else.

 More and more, Aurie is finding that little thumb and suckin' away! I LOVE it! (remind me of that, ok, a few years from now when she's still sucking it! :)

 So, here are mommy's creations slowly coming to life. I had used a couple of their dolls as inspiration, upon request to be Tinkerbell and The Little Mermaid for Halloween, sketched out some costumes, and now I'm piecing them together. I have the bodices pretty much finished (some minor fixes to Lia's drooping boobies, maybe)...voila! Stay tuned for the final result, and Aurie's too!