Personalized Tote Bag

I got a request to see the back of Lily's school bag so I'm adding some pictures. We found out that the preschool wanted the kids to have tote bags that are open at the top instead of backpacks so we decided to personalize Lily's. Her two favorite things are probably hello kitty and pirates so we got a pink bag and ironed hello kitty onto the front. Then we put her name and "pirate girl" patches on the back. As incongruous as this might seem, it actually suits Lily quite well. She has a fierce little personality and is both sweet and sassy :)

Lily Starts Preschool

Lily started preschool this week and she loves it! She goes three mornings a week and would probably be happy to go every day. She didn't seem nervous at all (Juliet was the one who cried when her sister left the first day without a backward glance). Lily has made friends with a few little girls but she informed me that they don't play with boys. She has also started taking gymnastics classes once a week, which I think will be a great for her.

Lily Meets Super Why

Our local library recently had a special event where a surprise character came to storytime. Lily was thrilled to meet one of her heroes, Super Why, in person. When it was her turn to meet him she didn't want to stop hugging him! Juliet, however, didn't want anything to do with these larger than life characters. More hugs for Lily.

One Earthquake, One Hurricane, and Two Stir-Crazy Kids

So, as you may have heard, we have recently had some unusual natural disasters on the east coast. First there was a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that briefly shook the house and had the kitchen lights swinging. It woke Lily up from her nap crying, "Mama, something is shaking our house! My bed is shaking and I don't like it. Who is doing that?"

Then came Hurricane Irene that sent everyone into a panic preparing for widespread flooding and power outages. We did what we could to get ready and were relieved when our basement didn't flood and we didn't lose power. We were very lucky!

Of course, this has meant that we have been stuck in the house quite a bit, where the girls have been running around like wild. Yesterday we went outside to clean up all of the branches and debris from our yard. It was still pretty muddy and Lily decided that she and Juliet should play pirates and dig for treasure (they found a few rocks). They got so dirty I had to carry them both straight up to the bathtub as soon as we were done. But it was good to get outside again!

Two Tea Parties

Lily and Juliet had their first official tea party together the other morning, complete with ketchup and crackers. Then that afternoon Juliet was playing by herself in the living room. When I went in to check on her she had her Dora doll on one of the little chairs and they were having their own tea party! (The doll was meant for Lily but Juliet has claimed her. She has added a new word to her vocabulary, too: "Dora".)

Nana's Visit

Michael's mom visited over the weekend and although it was 100+ degrees each day, it was good to spend time together. We went to the aquarium, took Lily to her first movie, "Winnie the Pooh", and celebrated Nana's birthday.

Lily's Lullaby