Dinner and a Movie

Daddy's out of town this evening so I told the girls we could do dinner and a movie. I set up a bunch of blankets & pillows on the floor, made them fish sticks and mac & cheese, and they got to eat their dinner on trays while watching a new movie. I went to Target the other day and saw the movie "Hook" on sale for $7.50! (Gotta Love Target!) I love this movie and I figured it would be a good one for Reagan considering her obsession with pirates. 

Quick Background: Last year just before Halloween my Mom stayed with the girls while Marty & I were out of town. She got online with the two of them and scrolled through tons of costumes for them to pick one out. MacKenzie, of course, chose a frilly, pink fairy costume and Reagan's choice was a pirate. Ever since that moment an obsession with pirates was born. Anything and everything that has to do with Pirates she LOVES! It has become a running joke in our family that she is actually a pirate.

So it was quite funny when I saw this tonight: As soon as Captain Hook came on the screen during the movie, Reagan disappeared into another room. I didn't know where she had gone and she didn't say. All of a sudden she reappears with a bandana covered in skulls & crossbones, an eye patch, and a hook for her hand. She wanted to put it all on while she watched! 

She is my little pirate.

The Big 3!

Today was Reagan's 3rd Birthday. Whew....what a day we had. I am just now getting around to writing about it at 10:00 at night, because we had such a packed day! She woke up to a breakfast of Birthday Cake...what more could a girl ask for, right? Then she opened a few presents. We got dressed and headed out the door to her "Big Surprise" for the day. We went to the Circus! The girls had no idea where we were going until we walked into the stadium. We took them early to meet some of the performers and animals. Then they sat in awe watching the show. After the show, we came home and Marty set up their second surprise...the water slide! They jumped into their suits and ran down the street inviting all the neigborhood kids over to slide. They went up and down the slide all afternoon and into the evening. We finished off the day with Reagan's favorite, pizza, for dinner. We all had a great time spending Reagan's 3rd Birthday together. I can't believe my baby is 3 years old. She is such a delight (when she wants to be, of course). She literally keeps me in stitches every day. She has such a hilarious way of saying and doing things. She is so expressive with her eyes and eyebrows. She can make some pretty crazy faces. She has the greatest ringlet curls. Some of them, when you pull down on them and let go, they actually bounce back up! She is my "cuddle bug." She is always up for crawling up in my lap and curling into the smallest ball she can. If I could freeze time right now, I would. I don't want her to get ANY bigger! 

Happy Birthday "Wilo", we love you!

She had three pieces of cake for breakfast!

Dressed and Ready for the Circus

Meeting some animals & performers before the show

Special, Sparkly Circus Shoes (Courtesy of Maggie...thanks Maggie!)

The Slide

Funny Conversations of a 3 & 5 Year Old

Reagan's Conversation with Daddy the other night at 9:30pm

She comes out of her room after she is supposed to be asleep already

Reagan: Daddy, I can't sleep.

Daddy: What's wrong Reagan?

R: I need you to take my pony (their word for pony tail) out.

D: Why, what's wrong with it?

R: It's making my brain hurt!

MacKenzie's Conversation with Me this afternoon

She is cleaning up the mess she made with paper dolls in the playroom, because I asked her to pick everything up. They are ALL over the floor.

MacKenzie: Mom, my head doesn't feel so good.

Me: Really, what's it feel like?

Mac: It feels like it wants to just lay down and watch TV.

Me: Yes, you are welcome to lay down and watch TV, AFTER you clean up your mess.

Mac: I really don't think I am going to make it. It really feels like it might explode if I don't lay down and watch TV right now!

Aaahhh.....the drama that surrounds us on a daily basis living with two little girls.

True Story

A conversation between a father and his three-year-old daughter overheard at Flips Gymnastics the other day.

Father: Honey, let's go in your class. It's starting now.

Daughter: Nooooooo! I don't wanna! I don't wanna!

F: Come on, let's just try it out.

D: Nooooooooo!!!!

F: Alright, then we're leaving...let's go.

D: No! I don't wanna leave!

F: Ok, well let's go in your class now.

D: NOOOO!!! WAHH!!

F: Well, then we're going home.....let's go!

D: But I don't wanna go home!!!

Father is now not nearly as patient as when this whole thing started (I think I can actually see his ears turning red as all of the Moms look on and he tries with all of his will not to snatch the little girl up by the arm and drag her out)

F: Ok, why don't you just go in and try it out for just a minute.

D: I don't wanna! I don't wanna! I don't wanna! NOOOOO!!!!

F: FINE! But we made a deal...we're going home, you're going to your room and you're going to give me $200!!!

Absolutely hysterical! I had to fight so hard not to just burst out in laughter at this poor Dad. He was so frustrated and I really did feel for him, because I have been there. But to suggest that your three-year-old pay you back the $200 you spent on her gymnastics class because she refuses to go is just classic! 

Welcome Home

I saw this commercial today. I actually caught the tale end of it and wasn't really paying attention. When I saw the end, I had to rewind to see the entire thing. It moves me, so I thought I'd share...

Christian the Lion

I saw this video and thought, "What a perfect illustration of God's love for us." Even when we abandon God and leave Him out in the wilderness somewhere so far from where we are, He always remembers us. He always loves us. We can leave God behind and put Him out of our sight, out of our mind. But He is always waiting for us when we return, and He wants to run to us and wrap His arms around us. No matter where we go without Him or how far we push Him away, He is still standing right there with us and loves us unconditionally. I love this video because it puts a visual to such a great truth. That is exactly how I envision God runs to us and wraps His arms around us when we return to Him, even if we feel like we have been gone so long and so far that we will be unrecognizable to Him. We are still His. He knows every hurt, every disappointment, every failure, every sin. We can never move so far from God that He will not know us anymore or that He will not want us back. What a relief that is.     :)

Deuteronomy 4: 29-31

"But even there, if you seek God, your God, you'll be able to find him if you're serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to God, your God, and listen obediently to what he says. God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you..."

All that's left...

...of the Oreo Cookies after Reagan got into them.

I left her alone with the cookies for a few minutes and returned to find this. There is not a TRACE of the middle of any of these cookies! She literally licked them clean. Now if I could have just gotten a picture of that!