The Taggart Threesome: March 2007

Monday, March 26, 2007

A Visit Down South

In January (yes, two months ago), Lindsay and I went to Southern California to visit family and friends. It was an extra bonus that Grandma Bobo and Poppi were visiting at the same time.

Lindsay and Poppi playing in the water.

Grandma Bobo and Lindsay playing in the sand.

Lindsay, Poppi, Uncle Ken, Pop and Grandma Bobo enjoying the sunshine.

One of my favorite memories is my 93 year old "Pop" playing the harmonica with Lindsay.

Lindsay bird watching at the Wild Animal Park.

Lot of love between Lindsay and Aunt Chris.

Some people thought this was child cruelty, but I thought it was pretty entertaining. This is Lindsay chasing after a laser light.

More beach photos....

More Birthday Photos

Ella playing Lindsay "Happy Birthday" on Lindsay's new keyboard from Grandma Bobo and Poppi.

Ella LOVES games. She has more games than we have hours to play them. If you come for a visit, be prepared to play Uno, Apples to Apples, Memory or any other assortment of fun games--she will not let you leave the house until you do!
This beautiful sweater was knitted for Ella from Neenie (Bill's mom). Ella chose the pattern and yarn while we were visiting New Jersey at Christmas.

The girls were thrilled these hullahoops from Grandma Connie (who was in town to help celebrate their birthdays). Even the adults got in on the action, but we weren't as good at shaking our hips.

This new dollhouse from Neenie and Papa is getting hours of use from the girls and pretty much any other child who comes over to visit.

What does it mean when your kid loves to hear herself sing into a microphone? Thank you to Grandma Bobo and Poppi for this "lively" gift! :)

Out for a birthday breakfast with Grandma Connie.

Ice cream cake all around!

Ella turns SEVEN!!

Although Ella is still a young girl who loves to climb all over her dad and play with her sister and swing at the part, we are definitely experiencing the emergence of a pre-teen. From whispering and giggling with her best friend in the back of the van, to rolling her eyes when she doesn't think the silly thing we are doing is quite so silly, to questioning our authority ever so slightly and with just a hint of n attitude (which is highly unusual for Ella), we sometimes shake our heads in anticipation (or fear) of what future years may be like.

Ella is enjoying learning to play the piano and speak Spanish. She is eager to get in the water these days, whether it's the Bay or the pool, which is such a nice change from previous years.

What do you want, Dad?

Princess Ella!

Cool!

I am going to get you

From little girl to beautiful girl...

Lindsay is TWO!

Lindsay enjoyed nearly a week full of birthday celebrations. It was so fun to see her actually get what was going on. Her eyes lit up when she saw the pile of presents and she was eager and excited to get the paper off so she could see what was inside. And the best part was that as she opened each present, she actually wanted to play with each present. She truly enjoyed every aspect of turning two. From singing "Happy Birthday" to herself, to wearing a crazy flower hat (which she has never wanted to wear before), to eating cupcakes and cake and ice cream, she was a very happy little girl.

What a fun age this is! Not only for her, but also for us. When she doesn't want to doing something or doesn't want something, instead of saying, "no," she says, "How 'bout not."

"Let's get dressed so we can go to Lula's today."

"How 'bout not."

Lindsay's first ponytails.

Who? Me?

Birthday celebration #4.

Playing on a pier in Southern California.

Ready to play a little tennis?

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

A Visit from Uncle Ries

We've had a couple of great visits from by brother over the past few months. This was a sunny (but cold) weekend in January where Uncle Ries was in full family mode going to the Exploritorium and playground with us. Lindsay is so taken with her Uncle that when asked the other day, "who is your boyfriend?" she said, "Uncle Ries"!