Growth Spurts

Ever since Ellee was born, I always packed the clothes that she out grew in an empty diaper box.  I saved them in case we had another girl, and if we didn't, then I could give them away to some one who did.   I love my girls, and for the fact that we didn't have to buy a second wardrobe for a little boy, I love that we ended up with two girls!

The other day I tried to put Dani in some 4T pants, but they were too big and she has outgrown the length of 2Ts.  No big deal, I figured that when I got time, I would go through the two diaper boxes in the top of the closet and pull out the 3T pants. 

I sat in the girls' bedroom the other day with two boxes in front of me confused as all get out!  I had all 4T clothes, but no 3s.  Where in the world did I put them?  Then it dawned on me... Ellee NEVER wore 3T pants! She went right from 2Ts to 4Ts because she was so tall!  It's hard to believe that a child that young could skip one whole clothes size, but she did!  Now I get to go shopping!  =)

Leaves!

Some times it is easy to get caught up in your everyday life that you forget how to relax.  It seems like my nights after work and getting home with the girls leaves us with only enough time for dinner, baths, homework, and reading books before bedtime.

As we were driving down our dead-end street after soccer practice, I told the girls that next week we will make big leaf piles and take our pictures in it!  They loved the idea and wanted to do it tonight!  How do you explain to little kids that the lighting conditions aren't right? The girls jumped out of the car and ran for the rakes while I went inside to start dinner.

I went out to check on them and found they had a great leaf pile going! What the heck, why not have some fun... what will it hurt?!  Figuring that dinner will only take me 10 minutes to throw together (Grilled cheese & tomato soup is the best combination!), I got the camera, tripod, flash, & wireless shutter release and headed outside!

The were shot at ISO 1600 because of the rapid loss of daylight, but I'm happy with them!  I didn't have time to edit all the pictures I took of just the girls, so I went through and pulled the ones of all of us!

Dani is as much of a ham in front of the camera as she is aspiring to be the one taking the pictures!

Kayaking

A few weeks Ellee went out for the first time in an adult kayak! I loved the little kid kayaks that we had found a few years ago and enjoyed watching El learn new a new skill!  She was such a natural with it.

But all good things must come to an end and the other week I realized that she had outgrown her boat.  Nervous that an adult kayak was too big, I figured that the best way to find out is to put her in one and see how she does.  That kid never ceases to amaze me!  Some one gave me advice the other week and told me "Teach kids what you think they are capable of, then teach them beyond that!  They catch on quick and are eager to learn!"  And I think that boating is a great example of that!  She picked up on turning, going backwards, and even more.