Tree Swing

The fact that we don't have a very big yard doesn't seem to bother the girls one little bit. They're happy to find fun things to do whenever they present themselves, like in this picture. The big magnolia tree on the Lexington Street side of the house has some low-hanging branches on one side, and - look! - this one's just the right height for little girls to sit on! How wonderful!

Happy Birthday, Baby Ava!

On Saturday, we attended the 1st birthday party of our little friend, Ava Daniel:

We all had a great time, especially the birthday girl! Doesn't she look like she's enjoying herself while sitting with her daddy's in this picture? She is too cute!

The party was held at Gattiland. If you've never been there, it's a pizza place out front and an arcade in the back. You can see by Caroline's face that she's not too sure she wants to be in this dark, very loud place...

...whew! a kid-sized merry-go-round! Let the good times begin!

We found a few other games & rides for the girls to enjoy, like the monster-truck ride pictured here. So, between the all-you-can-eat pizza, birthday cake & ice cream, arcade games, and good company of the Daniel family & friends, it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Thanks again, Megan & Josh, for including us in Ava's special day!

Preview of Recital Costume

The annual June Conn School of Dance recital is just over a month away. That means only one thing - it's costume time!

This year, the ballet will be performing "Hansel and Gretel," and Jordi's "Creative Movement" class (that's what they call the ballet classes for pre-schoolers) will be bunnies. Caroline is modeling a costume, too, since she would not be denied participating in the dress-up dance show at Nana & Grandad's house! Aren't they just too sweet!

Dragon Boat Races

I took this picture last night:

They had these four toy bins set up in the hallway and were chanting "Row! - Row! - Row!.." When I inquired what was happening, I was informed that they were in a Dragon Boat Race. Jordi later told me that the idea came from one of the "Ni hao, Kai-lan" computer games she likes to play on the Nick, Jr. website. (Believe it or not, folks, she actually is capable of playing video games on her own at the tender age of 4-and-a-half years old!) If you're not familiar with "Ni hao, Kai-lan," it's a relatively new cartoon on Nick, Jr. about a Chinese-American little girl. It has become a favorite of theirs; Jordi especially enjoys the little stories and learning the Chinese words. Last week, we even went to our nearby Chinese restaurant to try Chinese dumplings after they watched a show about how Kai-lan's grandfather made them for her and all her little friends. I ordered the steamed variety and both girls gobbled them up! Go figure!

More Daffodil Pictures

Since I don't have any newly-taken pictures to post, I thought I would share with you these two images from earlier this month:



I developed both of these as 8x10s and they are now proudly displayed on the mantel of our living room. Thank you again, Christy, for taking so many wonderful pictures of the girls amongst the daffodils!

Caroline in the Bath

Reason #18 why Dad is more fun at giving baths than Mom: shampoo mohawk hairdos!

Sick Day

Our little Jordi came down with her first case of strep throat this weekend. Luckily, we were able to get to the doctor first thing Monday morning and, by suppertime, she was already perking up. Chris took this picture Monday afternoon, while she was still feeling poorly. Uniqua was Jordi's constant companion during this time; whenever the fever came on & her throat hurt worse, Jordi wanted only to hang onto her stuffed friend, bury her face in that pink neck, and fall asleep. Don't we all wish we had such a furry source of comfort!

Jordi's First Soccer Game

Jordi's YMCA soccer team played their first game yesterday - and won! It was just as you would imagine a co-ed, four-years-old-and-under soccer game would be, only with the added twist that the temperature dropped about 10-15 degrees while we were out there! Brrr!

Her team is Orange, and you can pick Jordi out in this picture by her pink shin guards. Their opponent this week was the Red team.

The boy pictured here with Jordi is easily the best player on the team at this point. No one keeps stats at these games, but I'm pretty sure he scored all but one of their goals! When I complimented his mom on his ability, she admitted that he has played before; maybe there's hope yet for the rest of them!

The traditional post-game demonstration of good sportsmanship: the "good game" hand slap!

Our next five Saturday afternoons are booked with more soccer games; look for more pictures next week!

Sister Act

This week, the girls added live music and original song writing to their popular singing & dancing act. What a treat! It started when Jordi got the pink guitar out of storage, and then sought out the drum so her sister could join in the fun. We've all been impressed with the wide range of song topics put forth by these two. A picture doesn't really do it justice; you really have to hear it to appreciate it! If I get a video, I'll be sure to post it!!

"Dirt Face"

When asked, that's what Jordi told me they were doing out here in this empty flowerbed while I was chit-chatting with the neighbors on their porch yesterday evening! I commented that Caroline looked like she must have lost that game, Jordi replied, "Oh, no, there's not a winner or loser, just keep on playing!"

Here's a second picture for emphasis, but it really doesn't do justice to the amount of dirt on Caroline at this moment. I know you can see the amount of dirt on her face and shirt, but you have no idea - nor did I until I tried to wash it out later in the tub! - how much dirt is being held within that lovely curly hair! In fact, I found it impossible to remove it all last night. So, although it's still there, at least it's now clean dirt!

Jordi's Soccer Practice

We signed Jordi up to play soccer through the YMCA and yesterday was her first practice. Here is a picture of her taking her very first official kick! Last week, Nana bought a soccer ball for the girls to share. We had been practicing on our own for a few days prior to this, so Jordi was at least a little familiar with what was happening out there!

(Jordi likes this picture a little better and asked me to post it on her behalf.)

In case you were wondering about Caroline, here's a picture I took of her just hanging out while Jordi was practicing. I did kick the ball back & forth with her for awhile, but I think she would have rather been out on the field with the other kids!

Jordi's first game is Saturday, so check back then for more soccer pictures!

Jordi at Ballet Class

One Monday way back in January, a professional photographer, Ashley G. Quinn, came to Jordi's ballet school in order to take some promotional pictures of the students doing their thing during the classes that evening. I'm pleased to let you know that this picture is scheduled be used in an ad for the June Conn School in the summer issue of Bridges Magazine! How nice!

Pretty Faces

Today I took my first look at Christy's pictures from the park, and these two images have really grabbed me. I found something special in each of the many the pictures she took, but I keep coming back to these particular black & white images; they are simply lovely! Thank you again, Christy!!

Daffodil Days at Central Park

Today, Spring made a valiant attempt at showing herself; although the skies remained mostly overcast, the temperature was a very pleasant & warm 70-ish degrees. And during the afternoon, the sun even peeked out every now and then.

Time to go to the park!

Our friend Christy Ford met us there in order to take pictures of Jordi and Caroline amongst the thousands of blooming daffodils. I hope to post some of her pictures at a later date; for now, you'll have to be content with a few of mine:

After Christy left and the girls were left to their own devices, they found some "fishing poles" and decided to do some "fishing" in this little stream. I like this picture because you can see how wet Caroline's dress is - yes, at one point, she did fall in!

What a trooper! After the initial shock of being wet wore off, she was determined to carry on with the fishing expedition. I mean, is this the face of girl who's having the time of her life, or what?!

Even Jordi (although she didn't fall in) didn't mind getting a little muddy. She was having too much fun poking that "fishing pole" in the water and pulling it out, excitedly shouting, "Look! A leaf!" (Do you think she'd be disappointed if we went real fishing??!) Anyways, all in all, we had a wonderful afternoon!