Partners in Crime

Hannah went through a phase of playing with our pots and pans, but it has been a long time.  However, Sofia recently discovered them and Hannah is remembering how fun they are to play with.

They make a pretty good team....until Sofia gets distracted with something else.  Hannah, however, is quite determined to make some "good food."  She was a little irritated I wasn't actually opening the cans for her and making her pretend to make food, but she got over it eventually.

With their help I reorganized all of our pantry items.  It was needed, but we'll see how long it stays that way.

Angry Baby

She is a very happy baby...except when we make her angry!

Nothing Much

This past week has been a hectic week with Dr's appointments, Valentine's Day, more doctor's appointments, feeding missionaries, helping with a bridal shower (don't worry - not my own!)....etc...  It's been busy so there's absolutely nothing I've taken a picture of except this:

A while back we got a dslr camera and we've loved it, but I'm still shooting in auto mode and have had unsuccessful attempts when I try to use the manual mode.  Anyway, a friend recommended a book to help me learn (thank you soo much!) and I checked it out of the library.  I'm only a third of the way through it...but I am reading it and trying to practice with the camera.  Anyway, I've been trying to read during nap time, so the flowers on our balcony have been the victim of my photos. 

A Sweet Mess

We decided to make some sugar cookies the other day.  The girls helped make the dough and frosting, but then it was nap time.  Just as they went to sleep I began rolling out the dough with the intent of baking and frosting majority of the cookies while they were snoozing.  It's amazing how much easier it is without 4 extra helping hands. 

A few minutes into it I heard a knock on the door.  It was maintenance workers asking to use our kitchen to try to unclog the sink below us.  So, I hauled all the cookies and frosting out of the kitchen to the table.  The noise woke Sofia up, who then woke Hannah up.  Needless to say, my plans were thwarted.  I trapped Sofia in the high chair with food and Hannah helped me with rolling out the last of the cookies and the frosting.  Luckily she didn't want to frost herself, she had more fun with the sprinkles.  She did a pretty good job, but we had a mess by the time it was over.  I'm still vacuuming up sprinkles, but at least Hannah seemed to have fun.

I never caught her licking the frosting...but I'm pretty sure she had quite a bit of dough.  Can't say that I blame her.  

It was fun, but I think sugar cookies are a lot of work, and I think I'm done with them for a little while.

Birthday Girl

I can't believe this little girl turned 1 year old.  How did that come so fast?!  Her birthday was on Friday and we had a fun day.  I meant to take pictures of the day, but that didn't happen.  Here's what we spend the day doing:

* We started off with pancakes and eggs (per Hannah's request).  This was Sofia's first taste of pancakes...and she is a fan.

* The bulk of the morning was spent at the park.  It was a beautiful day.  Warm, but not hot.  I was in shorts and a t-shirt and it felt good to play in the sand.  Hannah shared her toys with other kids and played nicely while Sofia explored in the sand and around the jungle gym.

In honor of her big day we made some cupcakes.  I wanted to experiment with a recipe so we made a rainbow cupcake.  It didn't quite turn out how I had hoped, but Hannah was pretty happy with our results. This was also my first time really frosting cupcakes.  They turned out okay.  Not great (I should have come to you for help Courtney), but once again - Hannah was happy with them.

Being the mean parents that we are, we didn't get her anything for her birthday.  We figure she doesn't care and she doesn't need anything.......fortunately, grandparents saved her from being present-less.  Here's a picture of Hannah enjoying Sofia's new book/cd:

Our Little Climber

She has officially entered into the climbing phase - pretty much overnight.  I can't believe she's already reached this stage.  We were headed up to Hannah's bed the other day and Sofia didn't want to miss out.  She climbed right up to the top.  She was trying hard to make it past the last step onto the bed when I decided to intervene.  

Another one of her favorite past times is the swivel office chair.  Ok, I can't blame her, because I think it's fun to spin on.   But she loves to climb up and stand on it.  Here she is looking so proud of herself and having so much fun....

 ...then Hannah decides to join the fun.  I don't think Sofia likes it quite so much, but usually has fun for at least a minute or so before she gets a little too squished.

So Comfy

I don't know what it is, but both of these girls sleep in the most uncomfortable positions - it must be the norm for all kids.  It's either bum in the air or squished to one side of the bed with the face plastered to the wall (Sofia's favorite).  I just don't understand...it looks so uncomfortable....but whatever works, right?

1st Haircut

Hannah had her first real haircut this week.  She was beginning to develop a mullet so I figured I should probably do something about it.  I had planned on waiting until James was home to help distract her, but the opportunity came and I took advantage of it.  Therefore, I didn't get any really decent pictures.  Here's an after shot and one of the hair on the floor.  I cut about 3 inches off.  Yikes!

Hannah did pretty well keeping still, however there was one mishap.  I went to adjust the computer (her distraction) and she got a hold of the scissors and cut her hair.  She added some more bangs on top.  Seriously, I only had my back turned for like 15 seconds and she climbed up, got her own scissors, and cut her hair.  Oh well, at least it kind of blends in with the rest of her bangs so it's not too noticeable.

She Walks

Sofia took her first steps about a month ago, but is just now beginning to walk more and more.  We figured we should document it....so here is the awful attempt:

I love her facial expressions.  She is so proud of herself!

Hollywood Sign

We hiked the Hollywood sign the other day with some friends.  We carried the camera, but didn't pull it out until we were up on top.  So, we didn't get a picture of the sign itself, but at least we used the camera. 

Here's the view from the top:

It was cold.  Hannah actually kept her jacket and shoes on (an amazing feat)!  But, on the way down we got really cold.  My fingers were numb when we got to the car and I couldn't unbuckle the girls to get them out of the stroller.  Sofia was a trooper, but close to the end she gave in and fell asleep.  What a comfortable position!