Heaven?

Shawn puts Elsie Anne down almost every night - it is their special time, and I love that THEY love it:)  Tonight Shawn came downstairs in tears.

They read one of EA's favorite books right now, Ten Little Ladybugs and one of the pages says, "Eight little Ladybugs, staring up at Heaven..."  He asked EA, "who's in Heaven?"  She thought for a second, and remembered, "Tony!" {our friend who just passed away from Cancer}.  Then she said, "what heabin daddy?"  Thankfully he had a beautiful answer waiting for her.  "That's where we go to be with God.  And everyone we love is there."  "Okay." was her response, and they continued the book.

Throughout Tony's illness, she knew that Daddy visited 'Uncle Tony' in Vail to make him happy, because he was sick. And our last visit with Tony, EA knew we were all there to make him feel better.  She gave him hugs and blew him kisses.  It was very evident she knew something was wrong, because of her empathy towards him.  We've had several conversations on how God made Tony all better by bringing him to Heaven, he will always be watching us and keeping us safe - Tony is our Angel.

Shawn was teary not only for his dear friend Tony, but was also in disbelief  that his Baby-Girl was asking him this question.  It hits us at random times - didn't we just bring Elsie Anne home from the hospital, where has the time gone, how has she grown to be so incredibly perfect right before our eyes??  It scares us that we won't remember every precious day of her life.

BLISS!

I have seriously been waiting for THIS DAY for months!!  Shawn left for his friend's wedding on Thursday, so Elsie Anne and I had the weekend to ourselves - to do whatever we decided.  Once I heard that Denver was supposed to be in the 80's on Saturday, we immediately made plans for a quick trip of our own!  My excitement for sushine, grass, & warmth on our skin rubbed off on EA, and she was soon talking about "wear tutu (s)kirt in Denver."  We called up our girlfriends, 'Ms.Taneil' and Nadia, who were quick to take us up on the offer!

Saturday morning rolled around and the first thing out of EA's mouth was "Zoo Time!!!"  We ate our breakfast, packed our snacks, got dressed & loaded the car - off to pick up our girlfriends!!  Nadia was anxiously awaiting her buddy, Elsie Anne to arrive.  A 'round' of potty time before driving away on our hour and a half three hour trek to the Denver Zoo! 

The girls couldn't have been in a better demeanor as we drove - laughing, talking, playing peek-a-boo, and singing with each other!  Taneil & I were notably impressed by their excitement.  About 45min into our drive EA belts out "tinkle time!!!"  Thankfully Georgetown was right around the corner, and we made stop #1.  While walking to and from the potty, I noticed EA limping.  When I asked her what was going on, she said, "shoes huut my feet!"  I knew this was going to add time onto our trip, but getting some new shoes was a MUST at this point.  I kinda figured this might happen, since these were her last summer/fall's tennis shoes! 

As we drove down the foothills and into Denver, we made stop #2 at Colorado Mills Mall!  The girls were definitely ready to stretch their legs, and had a ball running down the wide halls, holding hands & laughing!  We found the Crocs store and picked out the perfect style for Elsie Anne's little feet!  $35 dollars later, she walked out of the store with them on - good thing she LOVEs them, because they'll be the only pair we buy her at that price!!  I remember buying a pair for myself a few years back (at a boutique in Breck) for $25, when did the prices sky-rocket??!  Another stop off to the potty, and we made our way back to the car. 

Oh, yes, that's a Crocs accessory that Elsie Anne picked out - purple ladybug!

We had another 20min drive before making it to the Zoo, and long lines of car traffic trying to find a parking spot... so I was very glad for stop #3 at a gas station just before the Zoo, since EA could not have held her poops for that much longer:)  I know, I know...the potty talk is kinda gross, but it is seriously what our life revolves around right now - I'm sure it will wear off!!

After getting super lucky to follow a family right to their front row parking spot, we made it into the Zoo by 12pm!!!  Not bad for leaving at 9:30am - hahaha:)  This was our first animal viewing searching...where are you Lions?!  The girls were just happy to be out of the car & on their feet!

Elephants are always a big hit - and this time they came up nice & close!  We were all captivated as one sucked up water in its trunk, then sprayed it all over his back.

Who wouldn't be captivated by this enormous creature.  They are incredible to watch!

Look at that SKY - so blue, so beautiful, so PERFECT... it was admired by the young and old younger:)  Many times we talked about how there is no snow on the ground, and everything is dry in Denver!  We all agreed the snow needs to melt at home!!  Elsie Anne kept saying "SPRING-TIME!" as she remembered the story of a little chick hatching out of her egg.  Love that memory of hers!

The happy Mommas enjoying our girls, the day, and some adult conversation!  Taneil & I met last year while training for our half-marathon.  She continues to train and do races, I on the other hand, rarely even work out!  I need to get my butt back in gear.

The girls played the Bongo Drums & danced around like little Rock Stars:)

Sweet little Loves!

Wish I could have captured the girls' excitement when we told them it was time for ICE CREAM!  They could barely contain themselves!  Elsie Anne thoroughly enjoyed her vanilla "iii-ceeeam cone"!  We found the perfect shadey spot right by the penguin exhibit - it was great entertainment for our special treat & break!

The 'Concrete Safari'.  It always makes me a little sad seeing the animals in captivity, but I know the Zoo did them a favor by rescueing them?!  Funny seeing all the animals with the 'big city' in the back ground.  If you look behind this precious fellow, you'll see 2 baby giraffes!

Elsie Anne has always liked giraffes - they are such strange, interesting & unique creatures!

I made sure Taneil got a picture of me with my Missy Moo.  I hope we never forget the fun we had together on this special day!

The last animal we saw was the Leopard!  The girls were on their tippy-toes & climbing up the fence to see it.  What a beautiful cat - it didn't move much, but its coat was shiny & thick!

The best part of this FABULOUS day was the stories the girls kept telling us, as if we weren't right beside them the whole time:) 

"Gou-illa tinkle in his house!!"  Going right along with our obsession with the potty - the huge gorilla peed right in front of the girls, as their noses were smashed up against the glass.  EA had a real hard time taking this in.  I had to explain that "animals don't have diapers or potties & it was no problem he peed in his 'house' because the zookeeper will clean it all up."  After my explanation, she would repeat "Zookeepa ceeean it uup?!" to make sure she understood:)

"Dat monkey has pink booteee!"  One of the grossest things I've seen!  We learned that this specific monkey's bum swells up & turns pink when it is mating season?! YUCK!  The girls were very worried about these monkeys, because it really looked like a booboo.  This one was a little harder to explain, so we took the 'high road'!  "Thats a colorful monkey with a pink hiney!"  Thank goodness they took it - we quickly moved on to the next exhibit!!

When anyone asks about EA's time at the Zoo, she tells both of these stories right away!  I guess these experiences were a little traumatic for our TWO YEAR OLDS!!

If you've made it this far in this novel of a post - CONGRATS & THANK YOU!  It was truly an amazing day - PURE BLISS.  So many PERFECT moments!  Elsie Anne is becoming a big kid before our eyes.  I love watching her learn and experience new things - watching her little mind work is incredible:)

Risotto!

**I made EA's favorite 'Butternut Squash Risotto' for dinner tonight**

As I backed out of Elsie Anne's room, after saying good night and leaving her in Shawn's lap for books, she looked up and said, "thank you risotto Mama!" with the most angelic smile on her face.  WHAT!??!  Shawn & I shot a look at each other in disbelief, and all I could get out was "your welcome princess, I'm glad you enjoyed it." and they went right back to reading their book!  She absolutely MELTS.MY.HEART!!  I love hearing manners come from her little mouth, in her little voice - more & more she busts them out all on her own:) 

How is my 2years, 3weeks, 5day old verbalizing her thoughts, emotions, and feelings?  Where has the time gone?  I no longer have a toddler, but a BIG KID, as she likes to call herself!

Little Chef :)

Most of you know I've always said that 'cooking is generational' - mainly to give myself an out, on the reason I barely even try to cook!  Well, this week that Memoo spent with us, completely proves my point!!  ONE of the many things we love about having Memoo here, is the home-cooked meals - uumm,uuuum!  And Elsie Anne took a major liking to preparing each one!!

Learning to 'scramble' the eggs for the Vegetable Fritatta (not sure how to spell that)!

Letting the apprentice do it all on her own!  Every drop stayed in the bowl, she was extremely careful as she maneuvered the spoon around & around:)  She then got to help stir in the sauteed veges & pat them down into the egg mixure!

While our Dinner Fritatta was baking, we had time to play on the deck...AGAIN!!  EA never gets tired of it!  She is looking through the hole that melted on top of the SNOW CAVE - I stuck the camera inside to capture it, turned out pretty cute!!

Pulling her sled all around!  We tried to sled down the snow pile on the deck, but it wasn't thrilling enough for our little dare-devil, so she stuck with pulling:)

We had a lovely dinner together, EA went to bed early (6:50pm), so Memoo & I got to watch TAKEN with William Neeson!  Its an action-packed thriller that I highly recommend, but beware, it will make you even more neurotic about letting your children do anything on their own!!!

We had to clean-up, pack-up & head-out the next morning - Memoo to the airport, and EA & I back to Breckenridge.  It was sad, but a short good-bye & EA made us both feel better by saying "Memoo sad?? Be happy Memoo!" then same thing to me!  Instead we said "Love you Memoo.  See you soon.  Memoo fly on aaiplane see Big Daddy!"  Great visit with my Momma, its never long enough. 

We'll get to see my parents & all of Shawns family in a few weeks at his sister, Dana's wedding, in Oxford, Ohio!!  We are so excited for all the family time:)

Quandry!

After a long (but fun since Momma was here) work week, Memoo treated us to dinner!  We chose a spot we haven't been to in a while, but holds wonderful wedding memories - QUANDRY GRILL!  We hosted our 'Welcome Dinner' here, the Thursday night before our wedding:) 

I love how this picture captures my Colorado Child weathering the snow much better than my Florida Momma - no hood, hands in her pockets, just powering through the wind!!

Cheers to our fun Family evening!  Elsie Anne loves eating out & we love that she behaves much better at restaurants now, than 6mo ago:)  She hangs, talks, colors, orders her meal, checks things out around the table, tells us when its potty time, and eats like a champ when the food comes!!

Me and my Momma!  Loving our dinner, our dates & our time together!!

Elsie Anne hamming it up!  She was so happy to find that brand new tennis ball:)

Memoo put EA down for the night and gave Shawn & I a night out on the town!  Even though we didn't want to leave Memoo on her last night in Breckenridge, it was really special to have 'alone time' with my Hubby.  Thanks Momma for our date-night!!

Kiddie Adventure!

It all started when we decided to take Elsie Anne and Henry for a Gondola ride @ 4:45pm, when the Gondola usually closes just after 5pm.  We were just planning on doing a loop & head back to our car, but once we got to the top, one of the 'Mountain Information' guys told us it wasn't going to close until 6pm! 

It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day, so of course we walked around, taking our time & even stopped @ the T-Bar for a snack & drinks!  I thoroughly enjoyed my Bud Light, as Mom washed her portion of the quesadilla down with an Irish Coffee drink!  After the kiddos finished their snacks, they hopped up & started dancing to the hip-hop tunes.  They were quite entertaining as they hugged & danced around each other, even doing some break-dancing moves on the floor:)

When I looked up from them @ 5:20pm and realized the Gondola had already STOPPED, I froze!  It took a minute to figure out there was another way down to our car - the bus.  I asked the waiter what time the next one came - wouldn't you know, the LAST one came in 15min!!!  We quickly paid, packed our things up, and ran walked as quickly as 2 kids can, to the bus stop!  EA & Henry were smiling ear to ear when we told them we had to ride down on the BUS!!  They sat perfectly still together, and took everything in!  We sang the 'Wheels on the Bus' countless times, and once again, they were the entertainment for the Snowboarders that packed the bus at the last minute!

Pheeew, thank goodness we made it back to our car!  It was pretty exciting, but the moral to this story: NEVER trust the 'Mountain Information' guys again!!!

Granby Fun

Memoo, Elsie Anne & I went to Granby for the weekend!  Unfortunately Shawn had to stay back and work. :(  Us girls were able to hang out, play in the snow, eat delicious home-cooked meals, nap, read our books, play in the snow some more, eat more left-overs, & do a bit more relaxing!  Yes, it was just what the doctor ordered!  Nothing beats time with my Momma & daughter (well, Shawn would have made it complete)!!

The deck on the Granby house is awesome, for many reasons, but in the winter - it becomes the perfect 'play pen' for any aged child!!  We found that one of the last visitors made a 'SNOW CAVE' - after a bit of testing to make sure it wouldn't collapse, we sent EA in to check it out!!

Once inside, Elsie Anne could sit upright with plenty of room to spare!!  It was pretty impressive - we need to figure out how to build one!!

EA has a mouth full of snow in this one - she liked feeding us too:)

Memoo helped EA build her first snowman!!  I'm not depriving my child, its just that until now, the snow has been too 'powdery' to even make snow balls.  So now, with the warmer weather it makes it stickier & perfect for snowman-making!!! 

I thought this little Snowman face rivaled my own daughter's cuteness!!  Love the carrot-chip!

After almost 2 hours on the deck EA got a warm tubby & played all evening long in pajammas!  Memoo & EA liked racing her new 'bunny on a skateboard' toy back and forth between their legs!  In this one I caught them practicing 'point & flex' with their toes:)

Back to Breckenridge on Monday for our work week!  'Monkey See, Monkey Do' class on Monday morning, Adeline on Tues, Wed, Thur (9a-4p), Henry on Wed night, 'Tumbling Tots' on Friday morning!  I told Mom she should get half my pay this week, since she is such a big help:)

Mani/Pedi!

Okay, Elsie Anne may be a little sheltered - really its just because I don't pamper myself enough - but this is her very first manicure and pedicure!  And OH, how she enjoyed the entire process - including learning the NEW WORDS!!

She felt like such a BIG GIRL & sat perfectly still the whole time:)

Memoo chose the perfect color for the Spring, 'Lacey Lilac,' or "look my puuple polish!" as Missy Moo will tell anyone that listens!

Is she PROUD, or what?!!  Its amazing to witness the THRILL of a Prissy Princess turning the page to a whole new Chapter of Sassyness.

The finished product!  EA says "polish match my jammies!" :)  Everything is about comparing & matching at the moment:)

I think Memoo has STARTED something:)  I guess I should start practicing my brush strokes!!  I mean, she's only been 2 for three weeks, but it seems like a lifetime ago that EA was in diapers & toddling around - she is a full-blown KID!!  While Daddy read her books & put her down, EA told him, "I big kid Daddy!"