The Royal Manning

It's all princesses all the time around here. Take your pick. Cinderella? Belle? Aurora? Tiana?Tinkerbelle? (well, that technically a fairy)

Took a photo with the Good Witch at Hallozooween.

Sleeping Beauty without the sleeping part.

Caroline is 2!

Cinderella

Jackie is soooooooo excited about her Halloween costume this year. I can't even tell you! She was originally going to be Winnie the Poo and her sidekick Ellie was to be Tigger. About 2 weeks ago, it became very obvious that deep down in her heart she wanted to be Cinderella. Colin and I couldn't resist and found an inexpensive costume on Ebay. She loves it beyond words. When she put it on, she tip toed around the house telling everyone that she was a princess and that Daddy was Prince Philip and they were going to live in a castle together and dance. It was just the cutest thing. What a fun Halloween age this is. So, we've got a Cinderella and Tigger combo. Kind of random, but cute nonetheless.

Saturday Mornings at the Park

Silly Jelly Belly Girls

It's fun to compare our kids at the same age. There are so many differences and lots of similarities. Most of all, lots of laughs and snuggles all the way around. :-)

Ellie - 3 months

Jackie - 3 months

Are we Jets fans?

Eleanor: "Do we have a choice?"
Colin: "No."
Jackie: "Might as well embrace the fun clothes, especially this hat."

God love football season.

Sweet Sisters

OverZealous???

Random shot I threw in here. I like it of the girls and I. I did a good job of hiding my arm in this self taken photo. :-)

Ellie and I, resting at Lafortune after a 5K.

If you don't know already, I looooove to take long walks. It is the best opportunity to talk about anything under the sun. I had the bright idea a few weekends ago to walk Lafortune as a family of 4. Colin looked at me like I was a loon when I brought up the idea. What's the big deal? It's only 3 miles!! He gave in reluctantly and I'm just thinking to myself that I will have to be the physically active leader in the family and I can't wait for Colin to be excited about it. We packed up and headed to 51st and Yale.

Ellie was in the stoller from the travel system and Jackie in the umbrella stroller. All is good. They were both happy, smiling children during mile 1. Colin was pushing the umbrella stroller and complaining away about pushing it through the gravel. I traded places with him feeling very good about my decision to take the harder of 2 jobs, but in my head thinking he was just a complainer. Well, it was actually a pain the rear to push that thing through the gravel trail. Did I mention, we weren't even past mile 1? Well, pretty soon Jackie was tired of the stoller. Colin put her on his shoulders. As most 2 year olds do, she grew tired of most scenarios pretty quickly. She walked, was carried, was forced to ride in the stroller and carried again for a 5K. The whole way we are promising her that the play ground was just around the corner....

We finally made it and I'm glad we went, but maybe next time we'll do a shorter walk and reach the playground a bit sooner. You just have to know your limits with kids and we are constantly testing them. It keeps life interesting, that is for sure!

Saturday Morning Ease

Jackie's petals - this reminds me of Zuzu's petals from "It's a Wonderful Life."

I love it that when I see my Dad's hands now, they remind me of my Grandfather's hands.

Ellie on her Belly

This gal is such a delight!! She's rolling from her tummy to her back, lifting and controlling her head and smiles so much. She just makes others happy. What a gift our little Eleanor is!!

Riding with Uncle Johnny

Abbey, patiently waiting for her turn

Caroline and Jackie

They really did like this, I promise. They didn't want to get out. Uncle Johnny took the girls for a ride on his bike this summer. My brother has always had admirable character, so as an adult, things are no different. He rides quite a distance every morning to work on his bike, so that his wife and children will have a vehicle in case of emergency and he feels strongly about being as green as possible. I'd like to think the extra exercise will add some longevity to his life with his growing and beautiful family as well.

Local Outdoor Fun

Our band groupie at the farmers market. Her loyalty is split between the band booth

and the crayon booth.

Since we welcomed Miss Ellie Paige this summer, we stayed close to home and made our outings to local venues, instead of making a beach trip. Oh how we missed the beach! We'll be there next year!!

hot night on the river

Colin and Tommy - he's such a cute chunk...Tommy that is. :-)

I love a blanket on the ground with kids all over it.

My 3 favorite girls in the world.

Spaghetti Night!

Her Best Attempt at the Monkey Pose

Humanasana may need to wait. But, with Kelsey around,

it could happen sooner rather than later.

Don't Let the Bed Books Bite

Jackie and Jason

(hangin by the chalk drawings on a hot Thursday night at Utica Square)

(Don't they look cute all dressed up?)

Our Newest Roman Catholic

Eleanor Paige was baptised August 7, 2010 in front of many who love her. Aunt Julia and Uncle Canon are her loving godparents. It was a special day!

It Takes a Village

(Colin and Larry fixing our front door)

During the first months of Ellie's life, we were blessed with family flocking to see our little one's. This is a very delayed thank u to all that helped do the laundry (Judy), clean our house when I couldn't (Mom), feed us (Martha) and fixing doors, leaks, drawers etc. (Larry). We love you and couldn't have transitioned into parents of 2 without you!

Togetherness

As my last week of maternity leave is here, I'm very reflective of how much great family time we've been blessed with this summer. There are pluses and minuses to being a working mother and one thing I've enjoyed about being home with both of my girls all day is never missing a learning moment. There are so many cute expressions they pick up and when you are home, you know when it was picked up and why they use it later. I thought that sending Baby Ellie to school would be a bit easier than the first time since I'd been through it before. The moment we decided on a date for her first day of school, I couldn't help but shed some tears. These girls bring so much joy to our lives and they are going to thrive anywhere they are, I just really like being a part of every last bit of it.

I am looking forward to getting into a routine and it will be great for Jackie and Ellie to socialize with other peers and do the fun activities at school. I miss my coworkers and look forward to catching up with them - I am very lucky to have such a great group of friends at St. John who all seem to appreciate stories about the girls, God love them. :-)

In the meantime, Ellie is becoming such a smiler and today, I think she even laughed at her Daddy a bit. It was a musical sound. She's such a perfect fit into the family and I feel so lucky to have had a smooth transition for Colin, Jackie and I. I just hope Ellie likes where she's landed. :-)