Why?

These are the questions I got from Ella, in rapid fire, all before even the first one was answered!


"Why does it rain? Why do we have teeth? And, why do we need to eat?... And, why do we need to wear pj's?"


ummm... where do I begin?

"And, why do we have bones?"

uh... well... oh my...

Making Pancakes

Here's another video clip from March. Ella and Katie were helping me make pancakes. When I turned on the camera, Katie got a little shy. Funny how they do that sometimes. And, the little "click, clack" with her tongue... she does that ALL THE TIME now! ....strange.

Enjoy the clip!

Things We Like

Here's a little clip I took in March of this year... You can tell it's older because their hair is so much shorter. They were helping me fix our favorite dessert - chocolate whipped cream cake -- and they were licking the spoons and telling me the things they like...

Two Lil' Tea Pots

Here's my first attempt at video-making... I know, I know, I need some practice. Still, it's live-action! Here, the girls are performing (with Daddy) "I'm a Little Tea Pot". Enjoy!

Sister Fights

While working on a puzzle together, Ella screams, "I DON'T WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME ANY MORE!"

Katie screams back, "Okay then... I will PLAY BY MYSELF!"

Ella answers starting with a scream, "ALRIGHT! But when you are done, I will come in there and look at it and say what a good job you did and give you a big hug!"

Tattoo Artist?

I am seriously beginning to wonder about this obsession with writing on themselves -- does this mean they are going to grow up to be tattoo artists? This is unreal! I turn my back for a minute and this is what I find... a "tattoo" of a sheep on Ella's calf drawn by Katie... "Because her favorite song is Baa, Baa Black Sheep", she says.It's really quite good... I knew immediately it was a sheep and it being in black marker, I was pretty certain it was Baa, Baa black sheep. Katie has really taken to drawing. Maybe I can channel this interest in a more positive direction...????

Ella giving me a big smile after modeling her tattoo.

Triathalon Man

Here's a few pix from Dad's triathlon... I took the girls downtown to watch the event. We ended up seeing Bill 4 times - coming out of the water, at the transition area, starting the 40K bike ride, and then again at the 5 mile mark on the run. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the girls wrangled and in the stroller to catch him coming across the finish line, but we met up with him soon after. It was a fun and beautiful (and HOT!) morning in downtown DC -- I'm glad we got up BEFORE THE CRACK OF DAWN (ugh!) to see the race! You'll notice the the girls "dressed" for the race... they are becoming quite the fashionistas these days!

Bill in the transition area, getting ready for the bike ride
Getting good luck kisses from his girls.

Playing in the water fountain in front of the Washington Monument.
On the run...

At the finish line... Bill got a medal (everyone who finished did), but Katie and Ella were convinced he was the winner. Katie kept holding the medal saying, "You're da WINNER!"

Blue Beard

I don't know what to say about these... I wasn't there to witness this or to take photos. I left them painting and when I downloaded pictures, I found these. I do vaguely remember seeing something blue on one of the girls' faces later that day and Daddy saying something about a beard... here's the evidence.

Ella
Katie

Mermaid Wishes

At My Gym the teacher went around the circle asking each kid to introduce themselves and tell what they want to be when they grow up. Ella's answer? A mermaid.

Sharing

We were at The Nation's Triathlon this past Sunday (Bill competed in the race and we were there to cheer him on!) in downtown DC waiting in line at the port-a-potty and the girls were getting all sorts of attention. Several ladies in line were asking the typical kid/twin questions, "how old are you?, who's older?, what are your names?", etc.

Katie spoke up, clear as a bell, "My name is Katie and this is my sister, Ella. She don't share too good, but I'm teaching her."

She was quite proud of herself for sharing this little nugget of information...

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

First Day of "Big Kid" School

Here's a few photos from the girls first day of "Big Kid School". (Big Kid school, by the way, is Preschool.) They were SO EXCITED!

Katie (in pink) and Ella (in blue)
A close-up of their new school shoes -- they are very sparkly!
Off they go!
After school, we had Anna Yuki (the girls BFF!) over for a picnic play date.
"CHEEEEEEEZZZZEEEE!"

A Day Out with Our Friend, Ben

Ella and Katie have a new friend, Ben. We met Ben out for a play date at Burke Lake Park. They had a BLAST riding the merry-go-round and the little choo-choo train and eating ice cream. Here are a few pix from the day.

Katie (in pink) and Ella (in stripes) on the merry-go-round. Ella was adamant about NOT sitting on the horses. She thought they were too scary. Katie followed her to the "little" ones... at first.
But soon ended up on a horse... the WHITE horse was her pick. Ben is in the background.

Mom and Ella
Katie giving a cute grin.
Ben, Ella, and Katie getting ready for the train ride to begin.
Photo op with the engine.

Bedtime Rituals

The other night the girls were in rare form before bedtime... happy and funny (for a change). I grabbed the camera and took a few shots of our bedtime routine.

Ella showing me how she can brush her teeth.
Letting me see how bright and shiny they are!
Katie in bed with her book all ready for night-night. Getting a cuddle from Daddy while waiting for Ella to finish her teeth.
Watching themselves in the mirror!

With Daddy, the Bedtime Guru.
Reading books -- their favorite part of the day!

Sleepy Cheerleaders

The girls were all excited to watch opening game with Daddy. I think they were asleep before the end of the first quarter. Them's some sleepy cheerleaders.

Catalog Shopping

For those of you that don't know, I LOVE catalog shopping. It's like window shopping in your very own living room. Well, surprise, surprise, Katie and Ella like to catalog shop too. And, because of all the online shopping I do, I get PLENTY of catalogs to keep us shopping pretty every day. Here are a couple of shots of us checking out the latest in Halloween costumes... on nearly every page, the girls found something they wanted. Again, surprise, surprise! ;-)

Ella in dog ears (-and yes, she's in her underwear!) and Katie is on the right

Shaking The Sillies Out

The girls had a play date with their two best friends, Ben and Anna Yuki. We heard some kind of craziness downstairs and this is what we see... 4 kids laying on the couch kicking and screaming. Literally. The photo doesn't do it justice, but they were definitely 'shake, shake, shaking the sillies out'.

Ella (in pig tails), Anna Yuki, Ben, and Katie