skating

Several weeks ago we tried a new portland adventure and took rory and her friend eli roller skating. they have preschool time at oaks park and it includes skates, a little lesson, and milk/cookies afterwards. i was shocked at how well the kids did and how much fun it was. the best part was that they allowed shoes and strollers on the floor so the mommies and babies could participate too. both the kids did really well and rory even ventured off by herself a little bit.

she was very into using her arms to balance

and even had the sahnow tongue out to help her concentrate.

lucy loved the music and they all loved the hokey pokey and the other songs. totally brought back memories of the skating rink in corvallis (can't remember the name). i was most proud of the kiddos ability to try something new, not be very good at it, practice and get better. they both took some good falls and there were very few tears, just lots of 2 year old determination. overall a very sucessful playdate and something i would recommend to all you portland moms out there.

shamrock run 2010

the maloney clan showed lots of spitit at this years shamrock run. it is a fun tradition and we even added a brunch at pat's parent's house afterwards. the only down fall this year was that it was the morning of daylight savings so getting the kids up, fed, dressed and out the door by 7am, which to them feels like 6am was tough. we logged about 4 miles and kept a good pace this year. this event combined with an afternoon at the kells tent rounded out our st. paddy's day celebrations. on the actual day we ate dinner at chevy's. I also had my first attempt at being a room mom. I led Rory's classroom in making st. patrick's day crowns out of paper plates. I was too busy (by busy i mean completely overwhelmed at how difficult it is to lead 15 2-4 yr olds in anything) to take any pictures, but the end result was so super cute and rory was really excited to have me in her class.

funny conversations part 3

the last couple of days rory has been really funny. i think she is just figuring out this sense of humor thing and is starting to say things to get a laugh. of course, the first time it's funny and adorable and the 900th time, not so much. so here are a few roryisms from the past week...
1. we have only been to toys r us a couple of times, and not in her memory. we walked in looking for owen's octipus i promised him for his birthday (optimus prime the transformer) and rory said, "OMG, mom- look at this store!"

2.we were at a friends house and i told her to go get her shoes on. she says, " i will do it by myself, cuz that's how i roll." the best part was the swagger that came with it.

3.) pat and i were sitting one evening discussing how totally and completely lucy can destroy a room. we were describing how messy she is and calling her a grubby baby and rory pipes in with, " guys, welcome to my life."

and last, but also my fav. we were driving down i-5 and rory literally gasped and yelled, "mom, stop the car!". i, a little panicked, asked, "why?" she replies, "because i just saw cinerella's castle!"
yep, or the morman tabernacles- same thing.

to be continued this week i am sure as she pops off with more funny stuff. excuse my horrible grammer- still no shift key.

diaper suprises.

With Rory, you opened her diaper and you knew what to expect. Lucy is a different story. yesterday i found a cheerio, some carpet fuzz, and part of a toy. not sure how that works, but it is always amusing.

Lucy's 1st Birthday Party

Lucy celebrated her 1st Birthday on Sunday with a little shindig at our house. I realize now that I was so busy I didn't get a lot of pictures taken of guests, but I think Madi took a few of the important moments. Lucy was pretty delicate with her cake- and wasn't as into opening presents as Rory was at 1, but did enjoy playing with her new things and liked the singing. I hope to get some time to write a little reflection about who she is at 1, but that will be seperate. Several people couldn't make it and asked for lots of pics, so that is why there are so many of the table/decor etc. Overall a fun day and Lucy so far has been a terrific 1 year old.

Tired baby- too many presents!

Her new Lucy golf t-shirt!

A very proud big sis!!!

Birthday girl and Grandma

lucy time

now that Rory is in school for longer hours, Lucy is getting some much needed only child time. Since the weather was simply amazing on Thursday, Aunt Madi and I headed for the zoo with Lucy in tow. SSshhhhh, don't tell Rory. It was fun, we got a good walk in, Lucy got some outside time with undivided attention, and she even started signing elephant and lion. We then picked Rory up from school and enjoyed a little picnic outside- makes me so excited for this coming spring and summer- and the sun that comes with it. The pictures are courteously of madi.

as her first birthday approaches

she embraces her inner super hero.

sick days

multiple new posts- so scroll down.

We have had a sick house this last week. rory and i have been diagnosed with walking pnemonia and lucy i fear is not far behind. This has come with it's share of sleepless nights, cranky babies, cranky mommy, ridiculous coughing sessions, and generally no fun. It however has also come with a few really sweet moments.Yesterday Rory decided to read books to her dolls- it was just the sweetest thing. She made sure they could all see the pictures and checked in with each of them periodically to see if they were okay and liking the story. I like that all the dolls are dressed in pink, but she is rockin' her blazer pj pants. nice.

Then last night aunt madi came over and helped rory and i make cupcakes for today. It was super cute how rory just sat in front of the oven and waited for them to be done. we did the mini-muffin size which is perfect size for her. she loved all the measuring etc, she is getting to be a great cook.

lucy had to wash her blanket this week due to vomiting all over it from couphing so hard (i know, your jealous of my life) and rory offered to share her orange blanket while it was in the wash. for those of you who may not have seen rory in person lately- that is a huge offer- she is pretty attached to orange and usually gets mad if lucy even looks at it- so we were impressed with her generosity.

For those of you who are wondering where the sweet lucy moments are and where her pictures are- let me just be honest. it has been a rough week. before she got sick she just moves too fast to capture on film- i have lots of blurry streak photos that aren't worth posting. and since she has been sick she has just been too miserable to even function. she did fall asleep last night sitting up in my lap and clinging to my shirt- so that was sweet. looking forward to healthy kids next week.