Cute Things Abigail said - Part Ten

I posted yesterday about how Annika was enjoying her new book.  Abigail also liked her book, I think mostly because it was pink!  While she was coloring in it, Tyler walked into the room and so she invited him to color with her.  After a little while, Abigail got tired of sharing and told Tyler to go away.  She explained it to him this way.

"Tyler, I'm a fashion sister, and that's what we do.  We tell boys to go away."

Cute Things Annika Says (Part Sixteen)

I bought the girls little books today.  Annika was so excited to see hers.  She's been busy writing words down in it and drawing pictures.  Tonight, she grabbed it and sat on the couch and told me she was busy reading a story.

"Walnelia walked across the ocean.  She didn't fall into the water.  She doesn't poop in her pants."  All of a sudden Annika stopped reading and said "Doesn't poop in her pants?  Who wrote this book?"

What a kid.

When they're sweet without prompting.....

Do you ever have parenting days where you're out with your monsters children and everything they do makes you cringe on the inside, because you know that EVERYONE is judging your parenting?  Yeah.  I have those days.  Quite often.

Then there are the days where your little angels do something that you want them to do with prompting and people think they are so sweet, and you just wish that they would remember to say "thank you" to the Wal-Mart greeter when they get stickers from them, since they get stickers EVERY TIME we go there, but can never seem to remember their manners until I remind them.

Then there are days like today.  We went for Slurpees this afternoon and as we were walking in, we passed a girl waiting outside the 7-11.  I'm not quite sure how old she was.  Probably late teens, early twenties.  I can't seem to tell how old people are the older I get....everyone looks young to me.  Anyway, she was standing outside looking a little bit miserable when my dear sweet Abigail walked by her, noticed the huge tattoo on the side of her arm of Snow White, stopped walking and said to her, "I really like your picture.  Snow White is one of my favourites."  The look on the girls face....her face transformed into a smile and she told Abigail, "Nobody so little has talked to me about my tattoo before." 

When we left the store she was still standing there, but as soon as she saw Abigail, she broke into another smile.  I like to think that Abigail maybe made her day a little bit brighter, and I'm quite proud of her, since she did it without any prompting.

Disneyland - The Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique and meeting princesses

I think this was the highlight of the whole trip for our little Abigail.  Poor Annika gets sucked along for the ride even though she wasn't a fan.  I feel a bit bad for her, but I know that looking back on it, she'll appreciate that I make her do things she might not want to do, right?

This was Abigail's fairy godmothers-in-training.  The one doing her hair was so nice to her, she didn't rush her and let her get all the willies out of her body before she started doing her hair.

Annika's fairy godmother-in-training on the left of the next picture was my most favourite part of the whole experience.  Annika's hairdresser was hurting her a little bit, so she was crying because she didn't want her hair done, and her make-up girl kept trying to make her laugh.  She would sing just like the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella and tell her jokes just to make her laugh.  I wish I had gotten her name, because she was wonderful.

 

After they're done with the hair and makeup, the fairy godmother's use their magic wand and sprinkle pixie dust on the girl's hair.  Abigail did NOT appreciate that part.

 

 

Then they turn the girls around and let them see themselves in the mirror for the first time.  A photographer from Disneyland is there to capture the first look in the mirror.  This was Abigail's.  Her fairy godmother told me later that they have a book in the back where they write down the best thing that happened to them that day, and she wrote about Abigail's face when she saw herself.  She told me that it made her day to see her so happy with her hair and makeup.  I think she was pretty beautiful myself.  I might have teared up a little bit when my girls were finished getting dolled up.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think this picture is reminiscent of a pose they would do on Toddlers & Tiaras?

 

My so-not-a-girly girl cleans up really nice, doesn't she?

 

 

 We originally didn't plan on getting our pictures taken in Cinderella's carriage, but Grandma decided we should take the opportunity, and I'm glad we did.  The girl's took some cute pictures.  By the end though, I think they were just sick of getting their picture taken.

 Once that was done, we headed down to the newly renovated Fantasy Faire and the Royal Hall to meet some princesses.  If you have a little princess yourself, then this is the place for you!  Things I loved about it.....you got to meet three princesses all at the same time, they each had their own little viewing area so you weren't rushed, and they didn't rush you, so Abigail got to have quite long conversations with some of her favourite princesses.  I LOVED that!  Also, they had Disney photographers there on hand to take pictures, and let me tell you, they got some great candid shots, ones we wouldn't have been able to get on our camera!


First up, Princess Aurora.  I was hoping that the first one would Ariel, since "My Little Mermaid" is Abigail's favourite princess, but she seemed pretty excited to meet Aurora as well.  After getting her autograph, Aurora took the time to twirl with the girls.

 

Around the corner, and we meet MY LITTLE MERMAID!  And, of course, the person taking pictures isn't there the first time we went to see her.  So, after Abigail talked to Ariel, we went to see Cinderella.  She was pretty excited to meet her as well.  I am impressed that Cinderella's dress and Annika's is so close to the same colour.  High five to Mommy!

 

See, what did I tell you about those candid shots?  I wouldn't have been able to capture the look of excitement on her face in a million years.

 

Cinderella was pretty enamoured with Abigail as well.

Gotta love a princess who gets down to the level of little girls.

 

Guess what we did after we were done meeting princess?  Yep, we went back in line to meet them again!  I think the second time around was even more magical then the first.  You'll see what I mean.

 

 

I love how they were so excited to meet and talk to Abigail.  And THIS next video is why I love Disneyland so much.

 

 

This is the million dollar picture right here.  There is definitely not a price you could put on that picture.  Abigail could not stop talking about her little mermaid after this meeting. 

 

 

After Ariel, it was back to meet Cinderella, who was joking with Abigail.  She just loved her to bits. 

 

What can I say to end such a fun filled experience?  I'm glad we did the whole princess thing, especially for my one princess.  She still talks about it.  In fact, today while grocery shopping, Annika spotted a plane in the sky.  She mentioned that she thought it was flying to Disneyland.  I told her I wished I was flying to Disneyland and in unison from the back seat, both girls said "Me too."  So, there you have it. 

 

 

Cute things Abigail says ~ Part Nine

Overheard tonight:
Abigail, to her stuffed animals:  Let's be fashion sisters.
Abigail:  No, I'm going to be royalty instead.
Abigail:  Royalty?  What's that?
Abigail:  You know what royalty is.  Let's be a princess.

And here she got interrupted by her Mama's laughter.

Some Disneyland pictures

My parents keep telling me that I haven't posted anything for a while...and I know.  I was waiting to get my CD of pictures from Disneyland so I could show you some of my favourite shots from our week...there will most likely be more since I am procrastinating from my real job today ~ packing to go see my best friend and her family!  We leave tomorrow after breakfast, so laundry is being done while I sit.....

Miss Abigail surprised me the most at Disneyland.  I was expecting her to be like her older sister when she was three.  Annika didn't like meeting the characters when she was three.  It was almost as bad as pulling teeth to get her to take a picture of her and Mickey Mouse!  Abigail was right in there meeting characters.  It was very fun to see.

 

Here he is signing Abigail's autograph book.

 

 

She wanted to give him a high five.

 Poor Annika.  I made her get a picture with Pooh.

 Here's Tinkerbell!  I think these are the only pictures I have of the girl's Minnie Mouse outfits that I sewed, they turned out so cute!  Although, Tinkerbell told Abigail that she looked like a lady bug.  It's amazing how in character those people are all the time!

 This was one of the highlights of the trip for Annika I think.  She loved the Monsters Inc. ride.

 

And here is the only family photo we got the whole trip.  We didn't plan that one very well! 

 

 Later this week I'll get the pictures uploaded from our trip to the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique.  That was definitely a fun experience!

 

 

Random Thoughts

1.  It takes me longer to get the lawnmower started then to actually mow the lawn.

2.  You don't need a weed eater.  It works just as well to use a pair of kitchen scissors.  Probably more therapeutic too.

3.  30 year old men look RIDICULOUS driving motorized scooters...like this one.
   ~ To clarify, it was NOT my husband on the scooter, just a couple of guys that live down the street from us.  I think they thought they were cool....but that was not the case.

She is such a good sister....sometimes.....

My favourite part is when she says :
"'It's so interesting.  What is that?'
 'It's called a baby.' Said the crowd."

AWANA Grand Prix

I think this is the last year we will be making cars for the Grand Prix.  The girl's cars turned out pretty cute though.

Annika:

She originally wanted her car to be an elephant, but I convinced her that Perry the Platypus would be better.  After it was all said and done, she informed me that she actually wanted Agent P, which meant I had to figure out how to make a fedora.  Not an easy feat, but I think it turned out OK.

She won a medal for the best animal.

 I was very proud of the tail.  It's quilted just like his real tail!

Abigail:

I went simple on hers and wrapped rainbow yarn all around her car.  She won a medal for most colorful.

Palm Sunday

It's Easter Sunday today, but I thought I'd post the pictures of the girls from last Sunday at church.  I just happened to have my camera in my purse, so I was able to snap these lovely pictures of them waving their palm branches.

One dress pattern, three different looks

Back story #1:
I was quite content to buy the girl's Easter dresses this year.  In fact, I was looking forward to not sewing something huge for the holiday.  However, when I went to pick up Abigail from Sunday school a couple of weeks ago, her teacher told me that another little girl had announced that her Mom had bought her an Easter dress from Costco, and I guess Miss Abigail piped up, "My Mom is going to sew me my Easter dress."  So, the challenge had been issued.  I'm sure that Abigail probably wouldn't remember if I hadn't sewed her a dress, but I think part of intentional parenting is to try and not let them down.  And besides, it might only be a couple of more years and they aren't going to want to wear what I make them.

Back story #2:
I have a friend named Janice.  She has a daughter who is the same age as Annika named Miss G.  Janice and I were talking the other day, and she had mentioned that she found someone to sew a pillowcase dress for Miss G and it would only cost her $30.00.  I looked at her like she had two heads and told her she could find a pillowcase for $2.00 at Value Village and I wouldn't charge her to sew the thing because they don't take that long.

Present story:
I raided my somewhat extensive fabric stash and found some pretty eyelet.  Pink for Abigail and a cream with purple flowers for Annika.  Annika took one look at it and turned up her nose, so I let her pick out what she wanted to wear.  She picked lace.  I also had a very pretty purple material that quite possibly could be taffeta.  I've had it for almost 10 years and had never put it to use, so I decided to make Miss G a dress that was NOT a pillowcase!

Do you remember the Christmas dresses I made?  Since I liked that pattern so much, I decided to use it again to make the Easter dresses.

Dress #1 ~ Miss G

 

 

If you remember from the Christmas dresses, there is a band on the bottom of the dress that is supposed to match the sash.  However, I didn't want the dress to look cheap, since the sash fabric is cotton.  I made the bottom band out of the same material as the main body of the dress.  The bodice is fully lined, and so I used the butterfly fabric for that.  I think it turned out really nice and Miss G (and her Mama) like it.

 

Dress #2 ~ Annika

 

 

 

 Like I mentioned earlier, Annika picked lace.  This is a bit of a surprise for her, since she is not my girly-girl.  I have never sewed with lace before, so I was up for the challenge, but it was quite frustrating at times.  I think half of it was from the lace getting stuck on the foot of my sewing machine and half of it was the lining was really slippery.  I persevered however, and the final project is quite pretty!

 

 

Dress #3 ~ Abigail

 

 

 

I think if I had to wear any of these dresses, I would pick Abigail's.  I have a fondness for eyelet, and since I was saving money and going cheap for this project, I searched my house for something I could use for the lining.  I had half of a white sheet left over from a different sewing project, but there wasn't enough to fully line the dress.  I used the white for the bottom band and lined the dress with a pink sheet that I had from my childhood.  I think I could safely say that it was approximately 20 years old.  It was still in good shape, and there's nothing like a well washed piece of cotton next to your skin.  It is so soft, I think it would be very comfortable to wear!

 

And then, because my Mom guilt set in that I wasn't making anything for Tyler, I'm going to be whipping him up a new bowtie and a pair of suspenders...but they aren't made yet, so I couldn't post a picture.  Here's a picture of Tyler though, that boy has a sixth sense when it comes to me pulling out a camera, he always wants his picture taken!

 

 

Cute things Abigail says ~ Part Eight

"Mom, I was just trying to show Annika and Tyler a trick." said Abigail when I was drying her off from a shower, since she had poured a cup of milk on her head.

Saturday snapshot ~ Let's play a game

 

Let's play a game.  It's called FIND THE DIAPER.

 

 

The first person to guess correctly wins a prize!

Ombre cupcakes

It was Moogie's birthday last Friday.  I thought that having breakfast with her on Thursday would be enough of a birthday celebration, but apparently I was wrong.  Friday night at 10 PM, a little girl named Abigail came out of her room in a panic.  "Momma, we didn't go to Moogie's house for her birthday party today!"  I told her that she could call in the morning, and if Moogie didn't have a party yesterday, we would throw her one at our house.  Abigail said "Will there be cake?"  Saturday morning, she called Moogie and asked if she had cake yesterday.  The answer was no, so we went to work to make cupcakes.

The problem with having my husband home while trying to do stuff like this is he makes more work for me.  Just as I was going to pour my plain boring white cake batter into the cupcake tin, he came into the kitchen and said "Couldn't you make them rainbow colored?"  I could, except apparently the only colors I have in my pantry for food coloring are different shades of pink, blue and green.  So, I jumped on the ombre wagon.

These are the five colors I decided to go with.  Two blues, two teals and a light green.  What a lot of work.  They kind of turned out.  I think it would have looked prettier if it had actually been a rainbow.

Too bad I had to eat half of that cupcake in order to get a picture on the inside!

A special gift

Our boarder went away during reading week to New York.  His uncle lives in New Jersey, so off he went for a visit.  The kids were so happy when he came back.  They were VERY loud during supper that first night, and I asked him if he was happy to be back in all the chaos.  He just smiled and said "Yes."

He brought me back a present.  It was very sweet.  He came into the kitchen and handed me a bag and said "I bought you something, but I am not sure you will like it."

This is what he brought.

Isn't that the coolest thing you ever did see?  I love how they come in a bread bag.  He was right, I don't like it.  I LOVE it!