My girl wants to party all the time!

WHAT a weekend we had! Who knew a two-year-old's birthday and accompanying parties could be so darn FUN?

Dorothy started her special day in her birthday outfit request:

She eventually swapped out the pink hat for the birthday crown we made,
and I was able to convince her to wear some more sensible shoes.

I wish that I could take credit for the beautiful weather we had.
The day was a birthday present in itself!
We took full advantage and spent hours outside
walking, talking to the animals, playing on the swings, and poking around the garden.

About three weeks before her birthday,
Dorothy started to request a "choo choo" cake.
I had no idea she was even interested in trains!
I had already made plans to do flower cupcakes for her big party,
but some toothpicks, popsicle sticks, and store bought Thomas later,
we had a train cake that made her eyes light up.
We love easy.

Dorothy has always been pretty dainty with her food,
so when Goose dug in and started getting cake everywhere
(and enjoying it!)
we thought it was great.
I can't wait to see what she does with her bowl of birthday pudding.

Since ALL her Vieira aunts, uncles, and cousins were in town,
we did a BIG ole' birthday bash in her honor.
Here she is with her grandma-made daisy pillow.

This talking, singing, pink and purple picnic basket from "Auntie" Mary
was THE toy of the evening.
All little hands were grabbing for the cups, food, forks, and trying to push buttons.

I wish we had a video for this one.
This is Dot cutting a rug in her new birthday dress and shoes.
I'm sure there will be many more birthday dance parties in her future.

And my favorite,
birthday giggles with papa:

This little girl of ours sure knows how to have a good time.
We are grateful for her infectious smile and laughter,
her love of the color pink and all things girly,
her stubborn but sweet personality,
and for how complete she makes our family feel.

Until next year,
Happy Birthday, my Polka Dot!

You know THAT outfit?

That outfit that has to be washed every week because you wore it again; the one that is a color that looks great on you; the one that just makes you feel pretty, oh, so pretty:)

Well, THIS is the ONE for Dot:

Even when I hide this skirt and shirt set at the bottom of the drawer,
she finds it.

But, what can I say? She is my daughter after all.
(we're not shy about color or patterns in this family)
I hope she always stays a free spirit.

Just pretend it is after midnight...

So that you can say this with me:

My big girl is TWO years old!
And what a wonderful two years it has been.

More
laughing,
loving,
snuggles,
and
silliness
than I ever had before becoming a mommy.

More lessons in
patience,
kindness,
gentleness,
and
humility
than I ever would have imagined.

Thank you, Dorothy,
for all you have given me.

I love you, my big lady.
Happy Birthday!

Let us not forget the Goose

I feel like there have been quite a few posts about Dorothy lately, and I'm about to do another. But right now, I need to give a little love to my second born.

This girl has been nothing but sweetness since the minute she was born--scratch that--since the minute I could feel her kicking around in the womb. Even during my pregnancy I could tell she was going to be our little peacemaker. She brings a calmness into our home that I truly appreciate, and she is not ruffled easily. One of my favorite things are her incredible hugs. She wraps her little arms around you and nuzzles your shoulder until you can feel your heart melt. It is wonderful.

I love watching her and the way she observes the world. While Dot is running all around the yard saying hello to every animal she can find, Lucy is sitting in the grass observing each spear and rock surrounding her. Occasionally she looks up to smile at her sister's antics, and then she slowly crawls to a new spot for observation.
I love that Lucy's personality compliments her sister's so well. While Dorothy enjoys the spotlight, Lucy likes to sit back and see what is going on before jumping in. She is also incredibly patient with Dorothy and still smiles through some rough hugs and tough love.
I feel blessed to be mommy to this little beauty. And I'm sure that I will just continue to learn from her example.
I love you, miss Lucy.

tea time!

Is this the little girl I carrried?

As I watched Dorothy eat her yogurt at the kitchen counter this morning, I was filled with that pang that I'm sure all mother's know: she is growing up too fast! She looked so grown up with her hair back in a ponytail, her coordinated hands spooning in the vanilla yogurt, nodding her head to the music playing on the iPod. She seems so much older than even when I left for my trip to Illinois just a few weeks ago.

Last night she asked me to read her her favorite book of poetry. Then she wanted to go through the ABCs and sing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star." Pretty soon she'll be correcting all the words she now says incorrectly, but in such a darn cute way.

All I can do is try and savor these moments.

What was THAT?

Oh, my kitchen floor. Try as I might, even with a vacuuming every(or almost every) evening it finds itself covered with goodies from my two munchkins almost immediately. I've not given up hope for a clean floor, but have simply decided it is nowhere in my immediate future.

Well, this past weekend was particularly overwhelming: two extra kiddos, a baby shower, dinner with friends (tender mercy of no dinner dishes!), and a good dose of oncoming sickness to round it all out. Let's just say that I was less than diligent with my cleaning. Or perhaps we should just be honest and say that I didn't really worry about it:) Either way, by Sunday morning there were a few more past-meal goodies than usual littering our island.

That being said, my good husband was eating a snack at the kitchen island yesterday afternoon and dropped some. *Note: we are ALL ABOUT the 10 second rule, so long as what has been dropped does not splat or stick to the floor.* Marty, not thinking too much of his dropped piece of dry cereal quickly bent down to pick it up and popped it in his mouth.

And that's when I realized my kitchen floor had gone too far.

Oh, he sputtered and perhaps even gagged for a minute. Then he looked down and noticed the myriad of food pieces. "What was THAT?" he asked. I quickly thought about the possibilities: stale pieces of buttered toast, dry bits of playdough, dried up peas, and (dare I even mention them?) crusty chunks of hot dog and banana.

I'm still not sure what IT was, my dear. But rest assured, the floor will be clean by the time you get home today!

If you put them away...

spring will come. Right?
The sun is shining, a stinking cold wind is blowing, but we're hopeful for spring. Today we purge ourselves of our winter layers and cross our fingers that no more snowstorms will send us to dig through bins in the basement in retreat.

I've always considered myself a fall kind of gal, but this past year I have found myself looking forward with new anticipation for each season. I loved watching Dorothy's joy when she discovered scarecrows last fall and snowmen this winter in our neighbor's yard. I love watching Lucy's face as she pulls herself up to the windowsill every morning to see if anything new has entered her view. So even if it is a few weeks too early to really be out of the winter, we are ushering in the springtime! Daffodils, sweet green leaves, and chirping birds, here we come!

BFFs, time capsules, and photo shoots. Oh, my!

Once upon a time, I had a best friend named Heather. We met in second grade and became attached at the hip, as the best of best friends do. We clogged together, were tom boys together, tried to shave our legs without permission together, and did all sorts of other wacky 8 year old girl things together. Well, a few years went by and my dad switched jobs. Suddenly my family was packing up and leaving the good old land of Utah for the rugged east coast. I was devastated. How could I leave my other half?

Now that we were separated, we schemed ways of getting back together. We started saving all our allowance and baby sitting money, pooling it together for a plane ticket for Heather. She came to see me in Massachusetts two years after we moved. For several summers to follow, my family went back to Utah to visit, and I always made a point of spending time with my BFF.

Well, around the time we turned 16 and started dating, driving, and other shenanigans, our lives started parting ways. We fell out of touch and did not hear from each other until we were 23 and I was gearing up to marry Marty. As it turned out, while I had been sewing my wild oats and then meeting my handsome husband, Heather had met and married her own wonderful man and started her family. Now, three years later, I've got 2 babies, she's got 3, and at the beginning of this year I decided it was high time we met up. Marty booked me a ticket, and off I went with my lap-sitter, Lucy, for Chicago (or thereabouts).

It was incredible to reconnect and see where we both have ended up. Aren't we just a sight to behold?
Heather has three of the sweetest little boys I have ever met. This one is nothing but a love bug and was a great playmate for Lucy the whole time we were there.
Here are our two tiny munchkins, all snuggle buggled and ready to go!
One of the nights I was there, Heather informed me that she had a time capsule that we had created when she came to visit me in Massachusetts. I had completely forgotten and was a little nervous as to what the contents could be. 12 year old girls are weirdos, after all.
Apparently plastic jewelry was of uber importance to our little pre-teen selves. Plastic earrings and rings made up about 80% of the contents. We had also thrown in a few random pennies--not pennies to mark the year of the time capsule, mind you. Just plain old pennies, you know, in case the U.S. currency had dramatically changed in 14 years. We had also cut out a piece of one of our clogging camp shirts and written "Clog Utah" on it--man, we were die hard. Oh, and then there were the notes we had written to our future selves. Absolute gems, I tell you. The highlights of my letter were that I was going to be married to my middle school crush, Leo Waible. I was going to have 9 kids, work as a herpetologist(google it), and live nowhere but Provo, Utah (otherwise known as Paradise--right?:). All of our free time was going to be spent helping those in need, and "passers by." Our large house, to fit our large family, was going to have candles everywhere (apparently the large amount of candles was particularly important to note). And the BEST part, the final line of my letter, was that I hoped to be beautiful like Cindy Crawford. Well at least I achieved one of my goals:).
Sporting our plastic goods.
Heather and her husband have taken up photography as a hobby, and she spoiled me with some great shots of me and the Goose while we were there. If only she lived close enough that we could get her to capture our whole family *sigh.* One day.








Our trip ended with an unexpected two day extension when the airline had to cancel and reschedule our flight due to weather. After a momentary panic, it ended up being a great blessing to have a little more time. Dorothy and Marty were back home safe and sound enjoying some one-on-one time together, and Lucy and I still made in home late Sunday night before school vacation ended for Marty. Thanks for letting us come, Taylor family! Let's try and have less than a 10 year break between visits next time!