day 207 - bug-a-boo

I have always called my girls by the nickname bug-a-boo. It's not just a nickname for one of them, I say it to both of them equally. I can't remember if I use to call Alyssa this before Cayla was born or if it came after Cayla joined our family. Either way, it's one of the many names I call them. So while reading Alyssa the Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad tonight, I was quite surprised that they had "bug-a-boo" in there.

 Ever since Alyssa got her ladybug pillow pal she has been talking a lot about ladybugs, which is why when I saw this book at the library I knew she would enjoy it. She liked the original book just as much. I know there are others in the series, so I'll have to be on the look out for those too.

These photos were completely last minute! I had gone all day without taking any photos. It wasn't until Alyssa picked what story she wanted me to read that I thought to take these pictures. I propped the camera up on a pillow and set the timer to get the one of us. This is where you'll find me every night between 8:00-8:30. It's one of my favourite things to do!

day 159 - shhh, princess sleeping inside

It's very rare in our house that any of us are awake before Alyssa. Some morning she is awake so early that the sun hasn't even come up!! One thing I have noticed is during the week she does tend to sleep in longer than on weekends...which of course is the opposite to what we want :)

This morning was one of those mornings. Everyone was awake, including Cayla and Alyssa was still sleeping!

She has this sign hanging on her door. It came inside a birthday card. Every night before bed she changes it to say this and than every morning she changes it to, "The princess will see you now". I think that's what it says :)

She eventually heard me taking pictures and opened her eyes. And because she knows it's a week day, she takes her time getting up! I can only hope this isn't a sign for future years where I'll need to wake her to get ready for school!!

Tonight was a nice night, so we were outside while Jason was barbecuing dinner. Cayla was playing with some dinky cars. I love how they love playing cars. If I remember one thing from when I was little, it was my love for playing dinky cars with my brothers. We would build roads and little towns in the the dirt. Good times.

Loving the beautiful weather and what comes with it...looking forward to hopefully a great summer!

day 150 - sweet dreams

I really need to get in the habit of taking a camera with me to work! I have missed out on so many "life" moments because of it!! I kick myself at least once a week for not having a camera handy! My cell phone camera works as a last resort...but the photos typically suck!! I do have a little point and shoot I could take, but again, the photos aren't the greatest! I just feel strange pulling out my big camera! I never use to be that way! When I did Project 365 in 2009, I took my big camera everywhere...even to the grocery store!! So it boggles my mind why I am so self conscious about it now! Need to get over that and fast!

Like for instance today when I picked up the girls from daycare, they were in extremely happy moods! This is not an everyday occurrence for both of them. Typically one is, the other isn't, or they are just in okay moods. But today their moods were happy and loving, even towards each other...which of course for a Mom, it's the best kind of mood to see them in together! 

They were running ahead of me with their little back packs and they were running together, not away from each other, they were side-by-side and laughing the whole way!! Seriously, a wonderful moment that I wish I could've captured with a photo and not just my memory of it. Memories are great and for the most part I do remember a lot, but what makes me remember a moment and be able to recall it with great details is by seeing a photo! I remember so much more if I've taken a photo! It's as if my brain registers the memory twice. Maybe there is proof that if you take photos you remember events more, who knows! I just know for me that it's so true. So even though this little moment in time was not captured with a photo, it's something I felt I needed to be captured through words. Because even though a photo can trigger a memory, it's the stories we write that make the memory come to life!

So because I missed out on taking a photo of this sweet moment between the girls, I found myself trying to think of something to take a picture of at 8:30 at night! I had just put the girls to bed and Jason was coming home from work. He worked till 8:00. Of course I knew this meant that one, if not both girls would be awake because they would hear him coming in! Sure enough it was Alyssa. Cayla was still awake, but since she's still in a crib she didn't come downstairs. Alyssa wanted to give Daddy a hug. It's hard when he works this shift because he doesn't get to say good night to them. So he came upstairs to say good night. Of course by this point she was all wired and didn't want to sleep! Not to mention the fact that it was still light out!

I made it brighter in her room by opening one blind, so it wasn't really this bright in her room, but I needed the light to snap a few pictures. Of course, me taking pictures got her all excited too, especially when I set the timer for a photo of her and I. 

The reason I snapped this photo was to document this little piece of life that happens every night. Every night after we've read a story and I've put Cayla down, I come back into Alyssa's room to rub her back. Not for long, maybe a minute, sometimes more. It's something I use to do when she was small, but eventually she grew out of it, or at least she did until about a year or so ago. She use to want Jason to sit in her room until she fell asleep. Which wasn't ideal, because it usually meant Jason would fall asleep!! 

So I started rubbing her back for a few minutes and then say good night and leave her room. It seemed to work and she wasn't begging me to stay in her room. It's such a small part of the day, but it's these little moments that we take for granted. I use to want her to go to bed without me having to rub her back, but I quickly realized that it's such a small thing and something that won't last forever! Once I realized that I started to enjoy that few little minutes when all I can hear is her breathing. She's even fallen asleep in that short timeframe! That's when I know she's had a long day! Because typically when I get up to leave, I give her a kiss on the head and say sweet dreams and then we blow kisses to each other and wave. The blowing of kisses and waving is a new thing that she has added to the routine. But some nights, I just leave and she doesn't even notice as she's out like a light!

Note to self: Find a way to get her to take the Leprechaun and other stuff off the back of her door!! Also, make a point to put up some pictures above her bed...the walls look a little too bare, at least on this side of the room!