Reese's 2nd birthday

My apologies for the brevity of this post. My volleyball team is currently in Wellington playing in our national tournament. You can keep updated on our results here. We are Massey Women. I'm writing this from a team mate's phone.

Short on words, but not lacking in content...here's Reese's 2nd birthday! It was a wonderful weekend full of love and smiles.

'lasagna cupcake' recipe

'mini macs' recipe

cupcakes baked into ice cream cones

{scroll about halfway down...actually, there are a TON of cool ideas on this page}

chocolate dipped oreo inspiration

fairy bread

90 second nutella cake recipe

{literally, 90 seconds from start to finish!}

Big A, little a

Since Daly started going to school, we have been looking for ways to get Reese out and about on her own. We know how important it is for the girls to have play time away from each other {besides the fact that Reese cries and screams, 'I GO TOO!!' every time Daly leaves for kindy.} So yesterday, Ryan took Reese to basketball. This meant some fun one-on-one time for Daly and me.

We had a mid-morning snack, played dress up, and skyped with my mom. Daly had so much fun performing in her 'ballet class'. She spun and jumped and danced around the living room...'Watch me, Gramma!' {I even had a chance to get dressed and ready for the day while my mom watched Daly...babysitting all the way from California!}

When it got to be time to leave for school, we said goodbye and got ready to go. Ryan had accidentally taken both sets of car keys with him, and it was a beautiful day, so we decided to ride the bike to school. It made me realize we should do this more often. Driving the car sure is convenient, and quick, and warm...but I never noticed how much I'm missing by strapping her into the car seat.

Daly asked about the flowers, the cars, the trees, that cat over there. As we drove past St. Peter's, the local Catholic school, Daly pointed out the huge cross that stands in front of the office.

'Look at that cross, Mom!'

'I see that. Who died on the cross?'

'Jesus!'

'That's right, Jesus died on the cross for us because He loves us so much.'

'Yeah, Jesus loves kids, and He loves me, and He loves my house. He comes over on His bike!'

I can guarantee we would have never had that conversation in the car!

In other Daly News, she's finally getting excited about writing. This has been a source of frustration for us lately, but parents hear over and over again, they'll do it when they're ready. 'No child goes to college with their binky, still sleeping in their crib, not writing their letters.' We found a super fun letter workbook with lots of pictures and places to color and we started on page one. Big A.

Ryan sat down at the dining room table with Daly, the workbook, and lots of crayons. I took Reese upstairs to play, but could still hear their lesson. It was pretty clear that Daly followed the arrows and drew a few 'A's, and Dad was a great teacher. Then she got to color in the big Alligator. That's about when the excitement ended, when the fun and new wore off and it was time to practice.

She was not having any more of it, and I could hear the frustration in Ryan's voice. He got one more 'A' out of her and they were finished. I'm pretty sure I heard him say, 'I don't know how anyone does this!' Blessed be those kindergarten teachers. He was sure she wasn't listening and didn't learn anything new.

The next morning, the girls were in the shower, and I asked Daly if she could remember that letter she had learned with Daddy yesterday.

'Yeah! A A A! One line down, and another line down, and one across!'

I know it's not easy to see, but she drew

her big A in the steam on the shower door.

Can you see it, right in the middle?

We were beyond excited. It made me remember exactly why I loved being a teacher...and Ryan was so proud. Even when you think they're not listening to a word you're saying, they are truly hanging on every letter.

Our little singers

Daly and Reese love to sing. Sometimes we sing songs together, sometimes they make up their own wild and crazy lyrics and tunes. A couple from our current playlist are 'Where is Thumbkin', 'Twinkle Twinkle', 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', and 'Happy Birthday'. {I've tried to get these captured on video, but they seem to prefer live performances...no video cameras allowed.}

We love hearing them sing the classics, but my favorite is when they get the songs mixed up. Last week, Daly was sitting on our bed and grabbed my Bible off the night stand. She said, 'This is the story of Jesus loves me,' then started singing:

Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me.

Here I am. Here I am.

How are you today sir?

Very well, I thank you.

Run away. Run away.

Yesterday afternoon, Ryan and Daly fell asleep on the couch. Reese and I were sitting on the other couch and she turned to me singing:

Daddy shweeping,

Day-day shweeping,

Wasshhhhh the shpidah out!

Since I can't yet attach videos of our little NZ Idols, here are some pictures of Ryan and the girls making pizza for dinner. They loved watching Daddy throw the dough in the air...and then trying to do it themselves.

I love that the girls' mini rolling pin is next to the big one.

It's so fluffy!

Say 'SNOW!'

I can finally understand why people absolutely love living where it snows. Ryan, the girls, and I had smiles plastered to our faces all afternoon. The news told us that snow might be falling in our region...no one believed it would actually happen.

We were in the grocery store when it started. The falling snow was an automatic mood-lifter. Everyone started smiling and chatting and laughing. We rushed home to bundle up so we could get outside, play, and take pictures and videos.

A few attempts at a Christmas picture...

The 'moos'.

As the snow started getting heavier, we had to get the girls dressed warmer. I wish I had a better picture of Reese all dressed up...she looked like she walked straight out of 'A Christmas Story'.

So cold, but so worth it.

Ryan and Daly moved to the front yard for more fun.

Snow angels.

Reese wasn't so excited about the cold...

she was happy to watch from the sidewalk.

Throwing snowballs at each other.

Then the fire was aimed in my direction.

{I was taking pictures from the comfort of Reese's upstairs window.}

Nice shot.

The girls had such a blast! Reese told anyone who would listen about the 'nooo'! Daly threw a fit when we told her she had to come inside to warm up. Her hands and nose were so cold, but she didn't seem to mind a bit, and she definitely didn't want our snow day to end.