My 365 Project - 86

some comfy reading...

My 5 year old Sofia

Sofia's been five for just under a month and I still can't come to terms with having a five-year-old. It sounds so old. Which means I'm getting old...er.

I'm not hung up on the idea of getting older, god willing it's inevitable. But it just takes me a second or two to wrap my head around being my age and having my children at their ages and reminding myself that I am an adult and not 16 anymore. Which is how I feel sometimes. Mentally not physically.

I'm loving what 5 has brought us in just these past few weeks...more understanding of things going on around her, more questions of things she doesn't understand and with that, her own little hypotheses thrown in here and there and adding "I'm 5 now, so I can do..." insert whatever thing we just told her she can't do yet. The last one just makes me laugh. Sometimes anyway.

All of this is just a reminder (isn't everything a reminder) of how lucky I am to have a five-year-old and to be able to be with her each day and watch her grow. Love that little girl of mine that made me a mommy.

the power of the dandelion

Like most kids, my darling girls are in love with dandelions. I'm sure homeowners shudder when they see us taking walks and the girls racing each other to pick the most dandelions and then watch the seeds scatter to the winds and float away. Yes, they're weeds and picking them and letting their seeds blow to allover just makes more of them grow, but I don't care. Maybe it's because I don't have much of a green thumb and actually think dandelions look pretty and not an ugly weed. But I think it has more to do with how happy it makes the girls. I'll take smiles any day over the worry of another dandelion growing in my yard.

My 365 Project - 85

Technically I didn't take these pictures, Sofia did, but I still thought it was a cute post for my 365 project. Nonno Mario leaving the house and Sofia running after him into the porch to get one more picture, Olivia being silly, their coats hanging on the mudroom bench and their mess. Oh, and Sofia making a face into the camera. Funny how this time around after I downloaded the pictures, there were 0 pictures of her feet while she was walking. She must be getting bored with those pictures.

gelato, buttons and naptown

The girls and I went down to Maryland for two nights for some family time and we all had a great time. Just some good ol'fun around the house and in town for a relaxing couple of days. The girls were loving the gorgeous weather we had and enjoyed a daily gelato...something they could definitely get used to.

The girls helped Nonna in her room and they came across some buttons. Who knew they would be so much fun. In this picture Olivia is holding a button on her nose and was calling herself "button nose." She's very clever.

Then there's Annapolis...I LOVE Annapolis. Always have and always will. Such a fun little town that has become quite the big-little town. The girls love it too and ask regularly to go when visiting my family. Friday morning we set off with Nonna Lisa for a walk around downtown and of course, more gelato.

My 365 Project - 84

Happy little moment from today...making the kids smile. No matter how much your back was hurting. Of course, I was taking the pictures so I wasn't the one swinging them back and forth. The picture itself isn't great, a little out of focus, but I'm loving the feeling that is there.

all smiles

These three together make me smile so much. Sofia and Olivia are such daddy's girls and he is so silly with them that the majority of the time they are around him, all they do is smile. Anthony's work schedule is crazy and he basically sees them for an hour or so just before bed during the week and when he walks in that door you would think Rapunzel or Snow White themselves are coming in too. Not to compare my husband to a Disney princess, but anyone out there with a child with a storybook or movie character that they love, you understand what I mean. Anthony is more of a Flynn Rider for the girls and that's actually what they call him when they're all dressed up in their princess gear and he comes into the room.
My prince charming, their Flynn Rider. Too cute.

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just a little after-breakfast-solar-system-book reading for the girls

My 365 Project - 82

My recent antique visit find...a blue Ball mason jar with a lid. And it's dated 1908, not too shabby.

Just a little long...

After their baths last night, I had to remind myself to get a picture of Sofia's hair while it is at this length. Another couple of weeks and we're going to chop it to donate. We're talking a little bit here and there about how someone is going to love having her hair as a wig and that makes her smile.

My 365 Project - 81

Hooray for DATE NIGHT!

Yes, we ate more than drinks and dessert. It was all delicious!

My 365 Project - 80

Finished masterpiece...$1 birdhouses, some paints and brushes made for a very fun activity this morning!

P is for Paint

My little Picasso's this morning had a great ol'time painting some $1 birdhouses. Not too much complaining when they have paintbrushes in hand, pretty colors to choose from and a clean slate.

And of course, they loved wearing daddy's t-shirts. 

Sofia is saying that the paintbrush was her mustache and goatee like daddy has...

ready to create!

We could have painted on the side porch where we normally do, but instead I just taped down some cut-up brown bags and let them sit at the breakfast nook table. They were so quiet and serious about this activity.

See how clean Sofia's side started out to be...

getting messier when she started experimenting with color mixing...

love how she is so careful not to get dirty trying to pick up the string to turn the birdhouse.

Do profiles get any cuter than this one?

or this one?

I'm going to dry out the brown paper and see if I can use some of it as matting to pictures of the girls. Will post whenever I get around to doing that though!

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I LOVED walking into the living room into this picture!