Sidekicks

I love these girls...

Will I ever find the right words to describe how much?

Impossible.

But... I can try.

My sweet, spunky, independent, yet shy girl. I love your unquenched thirst for life and adventure, as well as your cautious and careful nature. You are so kind and loving, yet very aware of your personal space and will not be afraid to let us know when we're too close. You love Princesses, Ponies, and really... anything covered in pink. You could live off of milk, meatballs, corn, and bananas. You love your Father in Heaven and offer the sweetest prayers, when you're willing to give them. Preschool starts on the 30th and I couldn't be more excited for your learning adventures and opportunities that await. I'm so proud of you.

You are my lovely little helper, Daddy's goofy playmate, and Gwen's best friend and entertainer... and much more.

I love how you always give me hugs and kisses when my nerve pain acts up and always insist that you've made it all better. It's really the cutest thing.

My sweet, petite baby girl.

I didn't know it was possible for babies to be so mellow and easy going. You are content and genuinely happy with life as it is. Your silly expressions add spice to our days, whether it be a HUGE grin, the saddest pouty lip you've ever seen, or that scrunched smile, we love how intensely emotional your facial features become. Independent like your sister, cuddling is on YOUR terms alone, although you never like Mom being too far from view, and HOW DARE she walk past you without picking you up. Your nasal laughter is extremely contagious and we'll do just about anything to hear it. Baths are heaven, graham crackers are your favorite indulgence, and Layla is still your best girl.

You are my precious little baby (extra limb at times) and I couldn't imagine life without you.

I love how Gwen lights up, wiggles when I enter a room, even if I was only gone for a minute.

Love her.

"The Guitar"

Remember this...

Now Playing: The Gwennie Guitar...

The "Layla Guitar" was such a hit, Tanner decided to recreate the magic with little Gwen.

Too much fun!

The "Pretty Places"

Today we collected as many pennies as we could find (maybe 9) and headed to the school gardens to make wishes in the ponds.

The minute we saw the first pond, Layla chucked her whole handful of pennies into the water, yelling, "I wish! I wish to go to Disneyland!!"

So that was that.

We found some more "pretty places" and took a few photos, it was lovely.

(Don't even get me started on how difficult it is to get both girls to look at the camera)

As we were walking out to the car, Layla immediately exclaims,

"And now we're going to Disneyland!"

If it were only that simple.

Early Birthdays are best.

Layla's actual birth date is the 31st of this month, but because Nonna is here this week, we decided to celebrate it now! She's had her heart set on a Cinderella cake, ever since we saw a doll cake on a friend's blog. So... I gave it a go...

(and it turned out okay! Cakes are fun.)

Here's Princess Layla this morning, seeing her cake for the first time.

Her castle

Here she is, blowing her candles out... with everything she had.

(The cake looked quite banged up as the afternoon arrived. Layla loved her so much, she wiggled her around and picked at her dress until it was bare.)

I love the way little kids look when you sing Happy Birthday to them...

And of course... pink strawberry cake inside!

Yep, early Birthdays take the cake.

Backyard

This is our backyard...

Okay, so we share it with a few other people, but it's still ours.

Sometimes when we've found ourselves inside for a little too long, doing too many chores, or just being bums, we like to jump outside and run down our stretch of grass...

Okay, so Layla does all the running, but you get the idea.

I put Gwen in the pool so she won't escape and eat all the grass.

She's wild.

Have you seen eyes as blue as this?? Seriously... no touch ups!

My girls are my world,

and what a Lovely world it is.