Zebras in Bratislava?

Yes indeed there are!  And lions, tigers, and bears, too.

Oh my.

We loaded up last Saturday morning and took the girls to the local zoo.  It's a good zoo, but a good bit different from one you'd find in the states.  Particularly in the safety category.  There were giraffes and zebras just a few feet away from us and Elise could've easily (EASILY...see the first three pics) fallen in had we not been with her.

Kinda scary.  But still really fun.

That big girl there loved all the animals.  She was pretty enthralled the whole time (minus when she got scared by a crazy hormone-filled chimpanzee, poor guy).

And this little girl here, well, she just loved sleeping.  Though by the end of our trip she had decided to join us awake people :)

And I'll spare you all of our animal pictures but for my three favorite...

A fun family time it was.  And both girls conked out in the car on the way home...great way to wear 'em out for naptime (and mom too!)

This Is Them

I feel like these pictures perfectly represent our girls right now...

Pig-tailed Elise playing with her babies all while being dressed up as a butterfly in necklaces :) Sweet baby Nora just chilling, throwing out smiles here and there.  Ah, I love them.

There IS Still Time...

...for ART!!!

And that makes me happy.  Now let's be honest, it's not consistent chunks of time and projects take nearly double the time to complete...but, there is still time to be found for art-making :)

For instance, one early morning we decided to bust out the Crayolas.  Elise started practicing circles and I, on a whim, started drawing a sunflower (probably because the weather was drab for a June day and I was dreaming of the warm sun).

Well, E lasted all of ten minutes with her circle drawing, but I was pleased with where my flower was going.  So over the course of the next couple of naptimes and bedtimes, I continued adding color after color, layer after layer.

I finally deemed it finished.  And while I thoroughly enjoyed the process, I was reminded just how much I love my Prismacolors (colored pencils).  Crayons have far fewer blending capabilities and I couldn't get quite the detail I desired with my thicker crayons as I could have with the pointed colored pencils.

How's that for nerdy art talk!? :)

But I still think I'll find a place for it on our walls one day...

So there is still time after all for fitting in small art projects here and there...even when there's an active toddler and hungry baby to be fed ;)  Three cheers for art (and cute kiddos who keep us on our toes! :)

Is It Friday Yet!?

...that's what this face seems to be saying :)

Haha found this photo today and just had to post it.  Hope your Thursday (and Friday!) are smile-worthy!

At 21 Months...

...our Elise is a little stinker.  But the cutest, most joyful and fun little stinker we know.

I just wanted to get some of the random things she's doing out there for memory's sake (I've been known to have a pretty rotten memory and that's one of the reasons I blog so as to hopefully not forget quality life moments :)

*She's a solid sleeper this one...which is a blessing seeing as how she was a lousy nap-taker as a baby.  Glad she's gotten that straightened out ;)  She takes one two-hour (sometimes longer) nap starting right after lunchtime. 

*Girl repeats ever-y-thing.  And I love it.  It's pretty hilarious. She's also learned how to say how old she is, her name, and she can sing most of the ABC's, as well as count (though she needs some help with the counting).

Waiting on the water...she is obsessed with water.

 *Potty training has been an adventure, but I feel like she was pretty ready, so that has made it easier.  I guess we've taken the slower, process-based approach as opposed to the three day approach, but it's working for us.  She knows where to do both 1 and 2 and will usually go straight there to do so now.  However, if she's into an activity or watching a video, etc., she's much more reluctant to stop it and go to the potty.  So, we do still have some accidents.  When we go out I'm getting braver at taking extra pants and just leaving her in undies, and she's been doing well with it.  We're getting there!

*This little lady is becoming a great big sis.  She loves giving her kisses and wants to hold her more now.  She does have moments of jealousy still, but overall she's great at loving on her "Nory."

*There's not much E won't eat.  She's a pretty great eater, usually.  She doesn't love veggies, though she seems to be open to trying them (she downed cucumber today and will gladly eat carrots if there's dip around, haha).  She loves all fruits, of course, and will generally eat most of what we put in front of her...as long as she's not tired or cranky, as a rule of thumb.

*Music is her jam!  She will stop anytime she hears music (generally when we're outside...which she also loves) and break out a jig.  I love love it when she does!

*Two activities that she's in to currently:  jumping on the bed and playing mommy to her babies.  I think she would jump on the bed all day long if we let her.  And she loves nursing her babies (hehe), burping them, kissing them, and putting them to sleep.  Sweet girl.

*She seems to like art a good bit and I'm totally down with that.  She's tried crayons, markers, stickers, finger paints, real paints, water colors, stencils, and play doh.  At this point none of them really hold her attention for too long, but she'll ask to do them rather frequently.  Can't wait to see her creativity develop (whether in art or not!).

Oh, Eebs, we love you :)