- Out of the mouth of babes: VOL VIII -

As we were pulling out of the driveway with everyone in tow:
"Mom!  Put Emma more underneath the seatbelt 'else the police off-sirs will see her unbuckled and get mad and take us to jail!"


As we were pulling up to our new house:
Me:  "They got quite a bit of brick put up today!"
Harper:  "Yeah, but the house still looks junky."

As we were driving past the golf course:
"There's the golf players!"

While gazing at the sunset:
"Mommy, did you know there's orange sunsets .....blue sunsets .....yellow suh-sets .....purple sets .....green sets .....red sets .....and SOMETIMES there's rainbow ones?" 

After spotting Fr. Jeff at Mass after several weekends in a row with Fr. Rob as the celebrant:
"There's Fr. Jeff!!! He doesn't really go to church much anymore, does he Mommy?"


After having dinner at Uncle Matt's house and playing with his two dogs:
"I don't think we should get a big dog, but do you think that little skinny dog would be a great size for us?  Think when we move into Uncle Garett's house we should get free [three] dogs or two dogs or just one dog?" 

Randomly:
Harper:  "When I get older, I won't need a mom and dad." 
Me:  "Whattttttt?! Yes you will!"
Harper:  "Well, I just wanna live by myself." 


Randomly:
"Mommy, whenever we have another baby, you will have to go to God and ask for the baby.  And then you have to get a surgery and get the baby into your tummy.  But whenever you see God, you need'a ask Him for a GIRL baby! Ok, Mommy?"


Randomly again:
"Mommy, remember when you had Sissy in your tummy and you were REALLY ginormous and you couldn't walk?  And you were always walking into stuff?  Then remember when Scarlett camed and Daddy and me had to take care of you?"

After she got scolded for scolding Scarlett:
Harper:  "How old am I gonna be when I'm Scarlett's boss?"
Me:  "Ummm, you are never going to be her boss. Mommy and Daddy are." 
Harper:  "No, when I'm older I am.  Because then you will be a Grammy when I'm older." 


While driving by a rather large house in town:
Harper:  "There's that HUGE house again. Did they cost all their dollars to build it?"
Me:  "I don't know...maybe so..."
Harper:  "I fink so."

While riding in the car:
"Mom, you needa take your car to the washer today because this window back here is a BEE-saster [disaster]! There is two birds flying and I just saw 'dem poop RIGHT on the window!"


While playing with her Barbie Dream House:
"Come on Scarlett, we gotta get out of here.  A bird just pooped on the window and it smells deeee-custing."

While playing hair salon:
"Your hair is kinda silly today from laying down all night, isn't it Mom?  WOW, you have a lot of hair!  You needa get your hair cut, girl!"


While wrapping up her bedtime prayers:
"...and THANK YOU, God, for makin' me.  I 'preciate it."

<3

- Dynamic Duo -

For 2 years and [almost] 10 months, we strolled through life as a family of three. We enjoyed so many laid-back outings with our sweet little firstborn. Harper was soft-spoken and shy around strangers; she was [and still is] the most nurturing, gentle little mama with her slew of baby dolls and stuffed animals. She was a rule-follower like no other, usually conforming and rarely rebellious. When Harper was a toddler, I never understood why other families had childproof contraptions on their cabinets/doors/toilets... "Just say, 'NO!' a couple of times, and your wild kid will learn to stay out of things!" I thought. "I have this whole parenting thing under control, and I'm actually pretty good at it!" I thought...

...
...
...and then, insert Scarlett!  

Oyyyyyy vey, Scarlett is the polar opposite of everything we'd grown accustomed to. Bold and brave with a little glimmer of "bad girl" mixed in, she has an unmatched confidence and isn't scared to let her presence be known.  This beautiful girl doesn't know a stranger, but it's always a tossup of whether she'll shoot you a smile or a scowl.  I've lost count of the things she's thrown into the toilet over the past several months [a thermometer, multiple TV remotes, several of Harper's L.O.L. dolls, a Baby Alive passport, bath toys, and a toothbrush -- just to name a few!].  If she isn't throwing something IN the toilet bowl, she is often found unraveling the toilet paper roll all the way down to the brown cardboard or throwing the contents of bathroom cabinets/drawers onto the floor. And then! When one of the three of us discovers the mess and swoops in to clean up, she sneaks off to the kitchen to dump the Tupperware drawer and empty the spice rack.  Last week, she opened the cabinet and flicked on the garbage disposal switch as I was rinsing Harper's long sudsy locks in the sink and the tips of her hair were hanging in the drain.  Between frequent fat lips and one terrible incident of ripping her frenulum on the corner of a dresser drawer, her teeth/gums are no stranger to blood [and I do NOT tolerate blood in the teeth/gums region and have already had to consult the dentist a time or two].  Her colon has passed so much Play-Doh that it probably doesn't even try to recognize or digest it as something nutritive anymore.  She colors on the floor [and her skin] with any writing utensil she can get her hands on, even eyeliner.....  And last night?  She jumped up and clapped furiously for fireworks as most of the other small kiddos were running towards the house for safe shelter.  This girl is fearless ...rough and tough ...and ALWAYS on the move!

But then! Add Thing 1 + Thing 2, and you'll find the most perfect pair of personalities.  Maybe I'm biased or maybe I'm not, but I've truly never seen two humans adore each other more than Harper and Scarlett do; and the feelings are mutual between the two!

Harper is the sugar to Scarlett's spice, and Scarlett is the twinkle to Harper's star.

One is the milk to the other's cookie, one is the peanut butter to the other's jelly. 

Harper is the blue to Scarlett's sky, Scarlett is the apple of Harper's eye. 

She is the milk to her shake, she is the icing on her cake. 

Harper is Scarlett's calm, and Scarlett is Harper's crazy.

...And BOTH of them are the beat to my heart and the smile to all of our faces! :D 

Because it really doesn't matter whether they're a) well-behaved and teaching me to be a confident mom or b) wilder than ever and teaching me not to judge other moms...  The truth of the matter is this: I've never been more thankful for both of these sweet babies and everything that their polar-opposite personalities bring to our family! 

So cheers to this dynamic duo! Keep on keepin' on, silly sisters... Sassy and sweet and everything in between, Daddy and I love doing life with you!!!

- Cecilia Clare & Co: Daddy Day -

...I said it alllll here, so I won't waste yo' time rehashing everything again...

But! Cheers to a new year with no new beginnings; Christmas 2.0 lives on and on and on! 

Happy Father's Day, Brian!!! We love you! 

Harper entered a drawing in her daycare's Father's Day contest, and she was a winna' winna' chicken dinna'!!! She scored a book out of the deal and was practically doing cartwheels in excitement to tell Brian what she'd won.

Kisses and hugs and Father's Day love to each of the fathers and grandfathers in our lives who we adore! You love us so well, and we are blessed by you! :)

- Cue the angel choirs.... -

.....spray foam insulation is DONE!!!

Not to throw down a dramatic vibe, but I do actually just need a minute to be a little bit of a drama queen here ...because coordinating this piddly portion of the house construction was Brian's biggest headache by  -  F A R  -  ...and anyone who knows the ins and outs of the situation can attest that having spray foam successfully executed and permanently behind our backs is a straight up MIRACLE!!!  Holy run on sentence woahhh, but I don't even curr 'cause I'm just SO happy for Brian to wash his hands of this messy messy mess forever and ever AMEN.

Shout it again for the people in back:  SPRAY FOAM IS FINISHED!

Empty promises --> followed by --> weeks of unanswered phone calls and no response to texts --> followed by --> no-shows here, there, and erry'where.......this is our problem no mo'!

Phew! 

#byefelicia
 
Alas, I won't waste my time droning on and on with the bad and ugly...

Enjoy the pics of the progress!!! :)

After the spray foam trailer was packed up and gone [ha..ha..haaaaa for the people who can pick up what I'm layin' down], Brian spent a few evenings stuffing this fiberglass insulation in every nook and cranny of the garage...

...and this sound-proof insulation around the bathrooms [can't imagine why we'd need that??!]...

...and voila!  

The house is ready for DRYWALL!

Woooooo!

- What is Summer? -

It may not be the "official" start of summer...

...but Memorial Day WAS the start of summer in our books, and we hit the ground running and haven't turned back!  While Daddy constructed a new deck at the old house on Memorial Day, the girls and I filled up the water table and played the day away! 

Enjoying the holiday cannot go without remembering all the men and women who have defended our freedom through the decades.  Thank you!  We may not know them all, but we owe them all. 

And then! What exactly is summer?! 

Summer is lunch at the brand new Freddy's!

Summer is exploring the zoo with Mrs. Ashley!

Summer is splishing and splashing at the splash pad [Scarlett's first time!]!

Summer is indulging in the ice cream social uptown!

Summer is dominating the pool at Kate's hotel!

Summer is staying up past bedtime to play just oneeeee more game of Uno!

Summer is planting [and keeping alive...] a flower bed at Uncle Garett's! 

Summer is interviewing nannies at Annie's [more to come on this later..........]!

Summer is being invited to [really nice] pool parties!

Summer is riding the Gator through the yard with Grammy!

Summer is this!

Summer is that!

Summer is OUR FAVORITE!

I had myself prepped for this to be a super hard summer without Daddy around every evening and weekend, but the three of us are taking it day by day [sometimes just hour by hour!] and actually really enjoying it! 

We love you, sweet summertime!!!