Stop and Smell the Lupins

I often joke about setting up an arranged marriage

for Piper and "Nayson".

After watching these two together again

during the last visit,

I'm not sure I will have to do that.

I think Piper is already in love!

Now to find a husband for Elliotte...

xo

xo

Happy little campers after picking "unicorn flowers".

Elliotte thinks that the idea of Mommy finding her a husband is hilarious.

Thank you for my pretty dress Nanny and Poppy Lynch!!

Here's a little bit of extra info:

First of all, Elliotte had her 4 month checkup with her doctor today. "Little" Miss is now 15.5 pounds and is 24 inches long!!!! She's in the 85th percentile for her weight and the 97th for her height. In other words, she's a big girl! Healthy and wonderful, but big! Our little pork chop is growing so quickly. Where does time go? She is still the best baby in the world though. She rarely gets fussy, goes to bed every night without a single issue and often sleeps until 6 or 7 am without waking for a feeding. Then when she does wake, I nurse her for about 30-45 minutes before I put her back in her crib where she sleeps again until 8:30 or 9:00. What more could anyone ask for in a baby. She is a dream!!!

And we can't leave out Elliotte's big sister. I will use the first photo in this post to tell a Piper story. Miss P love, love LOVES Dora the Explorer. We watch an episode each night before bed. In one particular episode, Dora and her friend Isa grow different kinds of flowers. One kind that they grow is called a Unicorn Flower, which looks like a unicorn's horn. Piper has often asked me if we have any 'unicorn flowers' growing in our garden. Since I honestly have no idea what is actually growing in my gigantic garden, I was honest with her when I said I wasn't sure. Well, you can imagine Piper's excitement last week when we went for a bike ride and passed a patch of lupins. They look just like the unicorn flowers on Dora, except that they are pink and purple (Piper's favorite colors)!! Piper just about jumped out of her skin exclaiming "unicorn flowers, Mommy"!!! Needless to say, some came home with us!! Talk about stopping to smell the roses lupins. :-)

Summer of Visitors Part 2

Look who came to visit!!!!

Piper's boyfriend!

She was beyond excited to have 'Nayson'

visit for a couple of days. 

Those two have a LOT of fun together.

Elliotte had fun too.

Sometimes watching P and N run around,

but mostly just hanging out

and sucking her thumb!

xo

xo

Pretending that the Minnie couch is a car!

Using Nayson's daddy as a comfy place to suck her thumb and have a nap.
Life is rough!

Dolly Delight

Piper is a girly girl through and through.

She loves pink and purple,

flowers and tutus,

dancing and singing,

hugs and kisses,

hats and raincoats,

makeup and nail polish,

earrings and dresses,

princesses and glass slippers,

holding hands and skipping,

etc.

etc.

etc...

If it's girly she loves it.

Not to say that she doesn't also love trucks, buses and tractors,

and playing with rocks and sticks,

but she just loves the girly stuff more!

And then there's Miss Elliotte.

She is definitely showing signs of wanting to be just as girly as her big sister.

She gets giddy when we show her Dolly to her

and will coo and talk to her in between the biggest smiles!

I feel like it will only be a blink of an eye

and they'll both be asking to get their ears pierced.

Don't grow up too quickly my little princesses!

LOVE!!

xo

xo

Nanny Lynch gave Piper this doll who's cheeks glow red when she's sick.

Piper calls her DONna,
(after her Aunt Donna)
and loves to take care of her!!

Elliotte has her first little doll
and she just loves to talk to her!

She wants to cuddle her as well,
but her little hands still won't do what she wants them to do!

Crazy (and Creepy) Bath Time Hair

Both of my girls have had crazy hair

from the very beginning.

But some days it's crazier than others!

xo

xo

The crazy...

... and the creepy.
Admit it.
Something about this photo is definitely a little creepy!

Determined Kiddos

With my computer back and partially up and running,

I should soon be able to post about our trip to Newfoundland.

It's a little delayed, 

but better late than never.

I'll get the photos uploaded as soon as I have some free time.

(Ha! Like that ever happens.)

For now I thought I'd quickly post about my determined girls.

When they set their minds to do something,

they tend to do it. 

Mark still argues that Piper is stubborn.

I stand by 'determined'!

We're pretty confident Elliotte will be just like her big sister!

I think their parents show a lot of stubbornness

just discussing this. 

;-)

xo

xo

Check out our newest form of entertainment in the background.
A good old fashioned sprinkler!
Piper wasn't too sure about it at first...

... but after a few jumps through with mom...

... and dad...

... she realized just how fun it was. 

And after getting both mom and dad soaking wet,
she was finally brave enough to go through all by herself!
Cautious...
but determined!

And then we have this little trouble maker
who is determined to do something that mama isn't too keen on.
Her arms should be swaddled down by her sides
to keep her comforted and help her sleep better,
but somehow she found the little hole where the velcro folds over
and managed to bust one hand out through.

She seized the opportunity to do what I knew she would...

... she jammed that little thumb straight into her mouth.
Determined!!!

Monkey Business

I'm much too tired to blog today.

Just a couple of photos that I'm too tired to even explain.

I'm not even sure there is a proper explanation for Piper.

Somehow she managed to get Boots the monkey stuck in her hair.

It ended up being hilarious.

Best part of her day.

What makes her happy, makes me happy!

And then we have our content little Miss E 

wearing her very first hoodie ever. 

Her mother thought it was super cute at first,

but then started to get a little emotional about her growing up too fast. 

I can't describe in words just how much I love my girls.

I love sleep too.

Off to bed I go!

xo

xo

My monkey has a monkey in her hair!
It took a LOT of shaking and dancing to get him out! 

I will try for a better pic of Elliotte wearing this super cute hoodie another day.
Too too too tired today!

Foreshadowing Ambitions

I'm not sure if your interests as a child (or baby)

foreshadow your future career,

but if they do I know my girls are aiming high.

Perhaps a little too high?

Elliotte cannot even walk yet,

and Piper...

well if you look at the result of her first photo shoot,

you'll understand. 

xo

xo

Aspiring to be a professional soccer player!

I am very serious about this!

And a future photographer??

Ummm....
good job Piper?
For the record, she take a photo exactly like her Nana Pope!
Well, the way that Nana takes a video anyway. ;-)

Mommy's Little Cheerleaders

I'm stealing the spotlight from my girls for part of this post!

When Elliotte was six weeks old

I decided that I had to do something about my tremendous weight gain.

So I joined a running club.

I knew I had to set realistic goals,

so I joined the

Learn-to-Run-5k group.

It was a ten week program that builds up your endurance

until you are able to run a 5k race without dying.

And today I did just that.

I ran my very first 5k race since having my babies. 

AND I did it with my best time of the year!!

To top it all off, 

I have also lost 50 lbs of the 85 that I gained.

Yes.

This momma is feeling very proud of herself today.

But it's funny.

After the race was over,

it wasn't my time that I was most proud of.

Nope.

I was most proud of the fact that my wonderful husband

and two beautiful daughters were there to cheer me on 

when I crossed the finish line.

I couldn't wait to show off my girls and my husband

to my fantastic group of running friends.

So proud of my little family.

xo

xo

My little group of running friends.
We're always at the back of the pack,
but we always finish!!

The start of the race.
You can just barely see me over the shoulder of the guy in green.

Grabbing some water at the halfway mark!

The home stretch!

So very proud!

Soggy Bottom Girls

I'm backtracking by a couple of days.

There was a photo of Piper that I couldn't resist sharing.

Being 2.5 now,

she's starting to become much more aware of pooping and peeing.

Potty training will be right around the corner I hope.

For now,

we'll settle for amusing moments of her exclaiming in public

that there is pee in her diaper!

Elliotte,

on the other hand,

needs no grand announcements.

While standing in the line-up to buy ice cream at Cows,

she proudly filled her diaper.

Very loudly.

Obviously not with pee.

And for a very long time. 

Actually,

she was still doing it as I walked out of the store.

I'm pretty sure Sarah was impressed!

I'm not so sure about the other customers!

My little ladies!!!!

xo

xo

Because the world needed to know!

This photo was taken just before the never-ending poop.
You can see by her concentration that something was 'brewing'.
Sarah got lucky that she was in Mommy's arms for the big show!

Touring PEI

Today we joined Sarah and Kiel 

for a drive around the western shores of PEI.

It was beautiful!!!

But like just about any other sort of traveling that Mark and I have done over the years,

it is the food that captures our attention the most.

We found a fabulous little restaurant

that served fantastic fish tacos and fish & chips!

We'll take you there if you visit us!!

Our girls were both rock stars for the entire drive around the western loop!

I was so proud of them!!!

xo

xo

Kiel and Elliotte shooting the breeze...

... and then taking in the beautiful view together!

Who cares about breathtaking views or fantastic food...
the princess had nail polish!

I thought this photo was cute.
Piper's beverage and her daddy's beverage.
(Count yourself lucky that I didn't post a photo of Elliotte's beverage. Ha!!)

Piper blowing bubbles for Kiel and Sarah.

Piper and Daddy standing next to the 'heart' of a windmill. 

And then standing next to one of the windmill's blades!

One of a few windmill farms that we passed.
Piper let us know that they all "liked her".
?

High Tea

If you aren't visiting us in PEI this summer,

then you are missing out.

Piper is hosting High Tea each day at noon!

xo

xo

Miss Elliotte's very first tea party!

Miss P being a gracious hostess and stirring Miss E's tea!

Piper even gave Elliotte a snack to have with her tea.
It's looks like a sweet act,
but I have a feeling it was a little mischevious!
She gave her a LEMON!

The Summer of Visitors Begins

With this being our first full summer living in PEI,

we have had many friends and family ask to come and visit.

People will be arriving from all over the country

throughout the summer 

and we look forward to each and every guest!!

Our first guests arrived last night from beautiful Vancouver Island!

They are friends that we met

(and Mark worked with)

while we were living in Yellowknife. 

If you look back at the early EARLY days of my blog,

I'm sure you will see Kiel and Sarah

featured in a post or two.

Sadly we had to say goodbye to them when they transferred to BC

when Piper was around 6 months old. 

It's funny, hey?!

The last time I saw Sarah,

Piper was only a wee little thing.

Now I see her again and Piper has turned into a little lady

and Elliotte is the wee one!

I seem to be in the exact same situation as the last time she saw me,

just with a different kid. 

Hmmm...

same same but different!

xo

xo

Eating al fresco while touring Cavendish.

Double Daddy's Day

It is a pain in the butt to blog from my iPad,

so this will be short and sweet.

Hopefully my computer will be back and running again soon,

so I can start blogging properly again,

This was Mark's first Father's Day as the dad of TWO little princesses.

He now has two little girls

who think that their daddy is the greatest guy on earth!

What more could he possibly want?

xo

xo

The little Lynch ladies loving their daddy.

Put Me in the Zoo

Yesterday we took a short day trip to Moncton

to visit with Kelly-Anne and Nathan

who were there for the weekend.

Focusing our attention on the kiddos,

we decided to take a trip to the zoo.

While Piper was beside herself with excitement over the animals,

she was just as excited to chase Nathan around 

and copy just about anything he did.

Adorable!!

And very convenient for mr,

since I have pre-arranged their marriage to each other

for about 25 years from now.

Elliotte also had fun.

She didn't care as much about the animals,

but she did pretend to be a koala bear 

and cling to her daddy all day!

xo

xo

Koala cuddles

Little Love

Feeding the deer with Kelly-Anne.
(Mommy may have been too afraid to go near.)

A rare treat.

A photo of the four of us together.

One of the cutest tigers I have ever seen

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