The McPherson Chronicles

When Kevin moved out the girls' cribs to make way for their new beds, he found a perfect little (dirty) baby footprint on the wall behind the cribs. It was so sweet to see that tiny footprint on the wall as a reminder of how much they've grown (and also why I bathe them every night).

The girls came home to a big surprise last night... their big girl beds all set up! Kevin got the cribs taken down (sniff, sniff) and the new beds all set up just in time. Here's how it looked when the girls walked in We called them into the room and as soon as they turned the corner Olivia said "My bed! It's wonderful! Oh, thank you!". Lucy was all smiles and giggles and kept saying how wonderful it was too and that she loved it. They immediately wanted to climb, jump and roll around on it. They laid together on the top bed then moved everything down and laid together on the bottom bed. Lucy brought in the play clock for some "clocking" aka pretend sleeping. We all had to pretend to sleep on the bed. This lasted a few rounds before they decided to jump on both beds for awhile and then roll from the top down to the bottom bed. They were so excited about the whole thing and their reactions were adorable. They didn't even notice or care that their cribs...

We made it back from our Thanksgiving trip last night. We had a really nice Thanksgiving and the girls had a lot of fun with some of my family they don't often get to see. We definitely made use of our time there doing and seeing lots of things. It made the weekend fly by! Our car ride out there was mostly uneventful. It was a quick and easy 5 hours with only 1 potty stop. The girls ate lunch, read books, played with their Magna Doodles and took naps in the car. They were so easy going and didn't seem to mind any part of the trip. They kept repeating that we were going on a trip to Arizona and would often tell each other, "we're going to Arizona, sister... we're almost to Arizona". It was very cute and they didn't quite understand after we crossed the border and told them we were in Arizona. Only once we arrived at my Grandma's house did they announce we were actually in Arizona. We had a vacation rental with my parents and sister that worked out p...

I've been meaning to share this for awhile but kept forgetting. One afternoon at my mom's house, about 45 minutes into naptime, Olivia woke up calling my mom. She went in there and Olivia said, "I can't sleep. A dog woofed me up". My mom explained that it was still naptime and she would have to ignore the neighbor dog barking and go back to sleep. So she did. Almost everyday since then, when Olivia wakes up from a nap she announces what woke her up. Usually it is a dog "woofing me up" but one day it was a duck "quacking me up". When I ask Lucy if a dog (or duck) also woke her up she answers, "no, I just waked up myself". Hopefully we don't get any lions roaring her up anytime soon...

I told the girls we are going on a trip in a few days. They went in their room and came out like this. Apparently they think it's going to be very cold. Suitcases, hats and mittens- we're ready!

We're spending our Thanksgiving this year in Arizona with some of my extended family. I can't wait to get out there and hang out with my cousins, shop and just get a mini vacation together! We have some fun stuff planned like the Zoo, visiting a childhood friend of mine and of course, Black Friday Shopping. Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday to Christmas. It's especially exciting when you get to spend it with family and friends you don't often see. We're hoping for a quick, easy drive and long, relaxing days once we're there. While we're in Arizona, we're (finally!) going to pick up the girls' new big girl beds. My aunt/uncle were kind enough to save their daughter's old trundle bed for us and it will be perfect for the girls' room. I can't wait to get it all set up and get those cribs out of there. I still can hardly believe they're already old enough for beds. Those cribs were the last "baby" things we had in the...

The girls are Disney-crazy! They absolutely love any Disney movie, their princess dolls and dress up clothes and any song or food they can associate with a movie. "Lady and the Tramp Spaghetti" is now the #1 most requested food at our house. Hakuna Matata is sung at least 2x a day and the girls are constantly talking about Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Nala, Pumba, Timon and Peter Pan. None of these movies scare them, either. They even sit through Pinocchio, which I still don't understand or enjoy (I tried asking Lucy why he gets donkey ears but she couldn't explain it either. I always thought Pinocchio was just the long nose?) This morning when I was leaving for work and the girls were cuddled up on the couch with Kevin, they were tucking in their princess dolls and telling them to sit up and watch Sesame Street with them. Such good little duckies! Anyway, we definitely need to plan a Disney trip before their 3rd birthday (the age when Disney feels it...

Last night Lucy had a LOT of water during my aforementioned birthday party. Well, turns out she's a pretty heavy sleeper and slept right through the urge to get up and go potty. By the time Lucy woke up and said anything she had a pretty big mess. Kevin cleaned her up in the bathroom while I changed her bed. Olivia was sleeping while I stripped down the bed and threw everything in the wash but when I came back to put the new sheets on Olivia woke up. She sat up, rearranged her pillow and stuffed animals and then spread her blanket over her legs before laying back down. She didn't even notice me. I went back to making Lucy's bed and Olivia looked over at me in the dark and said, "Sister, how you get out there?" Poor little thing was genuinely confused by how "Lucy" was standing on the outside of her crib. I had to go over and explain that Lucy had an accident and was in the bathroom. Olivia decided she wanted to go potty too so I sent her off to the bathr...

Yesterday was my 30th birthday! I managed to stretch out the celebration from Saturday through yesterday. It's been a great couple of days filled with food, fun, gifts and memories. I was able to spend part of my actual birthday at a day spa relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous weather. We finished the night with a pizza picnic. We cleared out the living room table and piled blankets and pillows on the floor. Kevin brought home my favorite pizza and we all watched Cinderella together. The girls LOVED my birthday party and so did I. It was the perfect end to my celebration. Thanks for all the love everyone, you really made this one special! I've been trying and trying to upload some cute videos for a couple of days now but my computer is not cooperating. This explains the lag in posting. I've been too frustrated (and busy) to put too much effort into it. Hopefully I get caught up soon!

We had quite a bit of Halloween fun this year! Fortunately, the girls got lots of wear out of their princess costumes. First, we had a Halloween party at the library, then costume story time the next day, Trunk or Treat at Church and then Halloween trick or treating. In that time we also painted/carved a total of 6 pumpkins. I think we thoroughly covered all aspects of Halloween. Thank goodness this is a once a year thing. The girls loved dressing up as Snow White (Olivia) and Cinderella (Lucy). I had a few different ideas for costumes but I am glad I went with princesses since they are definitely in the Disney stage and loved dressing up. The library story time was the first time they got to put on their costumes and see the other dressed up kids. It was quite crowded and the girls were a bit overwhelmed but they liked playing the games and getting prizes. Trunk or Treat was fun for the girls as a warm up to trick or treating. They loved seeing the other kids dressed up and kept...