hometown pride

four months old

i have to admit i'm more than a little obsessed with hellie belle. she's just such a pleasant and gentle soul always ready with a smile, laugh or joyful shriek. plus she smells so good! this month she has grown a lot. lately it seems she's constantly hungry and new rolls and folds appear on her body every day. girl, don't you know it's almost bathing season?!

buds

thea has two imaginary friends. first came jack, and - i kid you not - jill came shortly after. they both love matzo ball soup, which thea orders for them from jerry's deli [the one in miami] almost every day. they like it delivered and with no whipped cream, pleash.

below is a photo of thea [looking very much like my all-time favorite tv mom] with jack and jill. that's jack to her left and jill to her right.

mrs. sparkly eyes

not to be confused with mrs. sparklenose, also a regular at our house.

new tricks

both girls learned new skills this week. in what is becoming more and more evident in their personalities, one child is a little more understated:



and one is...um...not.



helen rolled over this morning from back to front while i was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. there was no fuss or fanfare on her end, she was just happily on her tummy listening to some tunes when i returned.

thea has been extremely complimentary lately. is this a normal stage of a child's development? she tells me 'good job mommy!' for any number of things throughout the day. just this morning she complimented zack, 'good parking daddy!' and me, 'good laundry mama!' [we've become mommy and daddy now. she has pretty much dropped mama and dada unless she's sad or tired.] carley taught thea the go bananas cheer and thea has really made it her own. she often substitutes 'bananas' for my name and i honestly feel like i am living with my own personal life coach. "go mama, go go mama!" i'm not gonna lie, it makes life pretty fun.

oldie but goodie

thea was looking at videos on my phone today and played this one which i don't remember ever seeing. it was taken when helen was just five weeks old. thea continues to be such a good big sister and regularly gives her little sis hugs and says, "aaaawwww, i LOVE her."



plus a couple pics of thea and my parents, taken that same week, just before they left san diego. i regret not getting a photo of them with both girls but hopefully they will be back out here soon [hint, hint].

she found her voice

happy birthday aunt becky [yesterday] and cousin william [tomorrow]!! we love you!

the time has come

i go back to work on tuesday [boo hoo!!!] so i'm trying to eek out every last second with the girls while i can. we've had a busy week dancing, dressing up, playgrounding, blowing bubbles, painting, putting together puzzles, tummy timing and more.















after spending the weekend watching all the devastation in japan and learning about a tragic incident at one of our stores in maryland, i feel very unsettled. please be safe everyone. life is precious.