Running errands . . in February . . in Seattle

Rain gear is a must! As well as stopping along the way to splash in puddles!

Reading at the library

No self-help toddler books for layla today :) she stuck with the classics, Spot and Maisy!


i couldn't be blessed with girls who love books more than these two! they are bookworms in every sense of the word . . but they are cute as well so they've got the whole package :) beauty and brains!

Family fun day at Mount Rainier!

We woke up to a gorgeous day this morning so we packed a picnic, threw the girls in the car, and headed down to Rainier! The girls loved playing in the snow all afternoon and it was just the relaxing day we needed! the amazing scenery! snow bunnies! looking at the views from the visitor's center i know it's blurry - but this is what happened when we tried to go home. layla just sat on the floor and refused to budge! she's not one of the those kids who cares if you walk away and leave her by herself, either :)

TBA's first present!!!!

Baby #3 (aka TBA since we don't have a name yet) got her first present in the mail yesterday! Thank you so much to Joel, Allison, and Madeline! Ella and Layla were ready to claim it as their own :)




"this is my little black dress" - love it!

Another park day!

We've had a wonderful week weather wise so we've been taking advantage of it as much as possible! The weekend looks like it's supposed to be great so hopefully we'll get alot of family time outdoors!

good to know they don't have dress codes :)

Big girl bed!

Layla sleeping in the big girl bed! I guess at almost 2 it's about time?!?! I seem to not be pushing her as much as I did Ella . . but then again Ella already had a baby sister at 17 months so we felt she needed to get out of the crib ASAP! She'll get there eventually and if she doesn't . . well we have a king sized bed :)


Having a lazy day in mommy's bed!

Valetine's Day

another one come and gone pretty quitely in the brindisi home. danny and i love eachother . . we get it :) the girls got some balloons and candy and singing cards - VERY cool! and Ella enjoyed making homemade cards for everyone this year! She went crazy with the glue and glitter! i'm pretty proud of myself that i didn't freak out and allowed the messes to be made :)

I'll let Ella spill the beans!

The main question everyone has asked me? "How's Danny?" :) I'm sure there is some disappoinment - especially since I think I had him convinced it was a boy - but it's hard to stay dissapointed for long when your two already adorable daughters think the world of you!! Maybe we will have to be those people who keep trying for a boy - just joking!! Really, joking!!!
I, of course, am giddy beyond words!! I didn't think I'd get emotional but when she said "girl" I began to tear up! Now the shopping must begin! And of course, finding a name! There's one that we both really like but we haven't committed 100% to it yet! Here are a few of the pics . . do you think she looks like me?!?!? :)




The tech said that our baby has unusually large feet! I asked her if that meant anything and she just laughed and said - yea, expensive shoes!

Lesson learned?

Never! Even after the fiasco this year of trying to get the girls to take a holiday photo together I went back for more today :) All in all not too bad! I enjoy the ones where you can see Layla's true attitude show through :) Sorry if they are all crooked and small and the quality stinks - my scanner and I are not friends so I only posted a few - next time I guess I need to spring for the CD of all the photos to make blogging them less of a stressful event!







Tomorrow is the big day! We have our ultrasound first thing in the morning and then I have my monthly appt with my OB right after so I'm hoping by lunch time we'll get to spill the beans! I'm as excited to find out the gender of this baby as I was with both girls! I always am amazed at the conversations that arise when you're pregnant and how everyone has an opinion! The mall play area seems to be the hot bed for all these topics! I had a woman in a playgroup ask me the other day if I really wanted a boy so my family would be complete! I laughed and said, well I already feel like my family is complete because it's MY family and it's all I know . . I guess people assume if this one is a girl we will keep trying for a boy - NO - that's not how we operate! People also ask me if we plan on having any more - again, I just laugh and respond, well I'd like to get this one out first before contemplating any more, thanks! :) I think 3 is good, wise number for us - but I also thought and made the mistake of saying it out loud after Layla was born so I am trying to live without "my plans" for the time being and just enjoy all the blessings God has given us right now! Another mommy couldn't believe we were going to find out the gender - she said we were taking all the fun out of being pregnant! To each her own, I guess! Anyone who knows me, knows I am a planner and anyone who has has a baby knows there are sooooo many more suprises to come (will they sleep, will they eat, who will they look like, etc. . ) so I guess I don't feel too bad about knowing if it's a boy or girl! I also am in love with the idea of picking out the name ahead of time and really getting the girls used to baby "insert name here" before he/she actually arrives! But like I said, to each her own! Kudos to those who wait - I just can't and never have :) And to be honest, considering we got rid of all our baby things and clothes after Layla grew out of them - I am excited to start shopping for blue or pink . . I'm not really a neutral kind of lady!! Oh well - atleast no strangers have tried to grab my belly yet . . there's a pet peeve I could go on all night about :)

Please say a little prayer that baby #3 - boy OR girl - is thriving and doing well! I can't wait to see their little face tomorrow!!!

NO! not eardrops!

Well last Friday it was Ella in the Dr's office and this afternoon it ended up being Layla! After her ear began bleeding, I took her in to discover she has a torn eardrum - ouch! Because she had a low grade fever, our pediatrician was thinking it was caused by an ear infection/cold & drainage (I didn't know this could be a result of any of that) but she also said Layla could've just stuck something in her ear as well - we'll never really know I guess! I'm really hoping I'm not going to have the kid who puts beans up her nose for $1 :) And to make her really happy with me, now she gets 5 drops in her ear twice a day! NEXT Friday is when we are supposed to go in for our ultrasound and 22 week appt so here's hoping the 13th isn't so unlucky :)

Storytime

Friday AM's are storytime at the library and then the girls and I usually hang out and read for a bit. Layla immediatly grabbed some books off the shelf and went and sat in a corner. When I walked over to read with her she had picked out 2 books : one was entitled "Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry" and the other was "I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink so Much?" (I had no idea they made these books for toddlers!) . . I was laughing out loud wishing I had my camera! She was content to look at the pictures - my only concern, 20 month olds don't really know what their picking out, right?!?! :)

Family night at the EMP

Before Ella could speak, she always lit up whenever we drove by the Space Needle and EMP - I guess to a child (and an architect) they are the coolest things around :) Now Layla follows in her footsteps and gets so excited at the sight of that building - she calls it "P! P!" Last night was their live music and free adminsions night so we took the girls. You aren't allowed to take pictures in the actual museum but Danny was trying to get some in the "Sky Church" where all the cycadellic lights are on and the live music plays! It is by far the girls' fav room in the building!