Criminal Mastermind?

After reading this story, I began to wonder if maybe Grace will end up being a criminal mastermind after all.

New Scissors

Some people call it "making a party," some people call it "making a mess". The girls are really into shredding paper into little pieces of paper, and these new sharp scissors really do the trick. They absolutely love the confetti look!

Chicago Friends

We're so lucky to get to hang with our friends from Chicago lately. Colin and Jeanne have been down here (well, they live in Santa Barbara now, but we started being friends with them when we lived in Chicago) with their son Warren and their hopefully soon to be adopted baby Maddie who has been at the Children's hospital lately undergoing some pretty major surgery. This is a picture of Warren playing with the girls. They had an awesome time at the park and playing in general. It's so fun to hang out with them again- even under their stressful circumstances!

An Obligatory Belly Shot

For those of you wondering, this is what my belly looked like last week. I feel big, but not as big as the people on the street see me. I can't believe that the big day is so close. We're getting pretty excited (and tired already!)

Playing Favorites

Here's a picture of the girls with my brother Dennis. He visited last week and the girls had an awesome time. He's just their brand of funny, and they always love to play with him. I think he likes them too :)

Fancy Pants

My mom made these great dresses for the girls for my sister's wedding in August. They've refused to wear them until recently, but now that the girls are in princess mode, these dresses are suddenly in vogue.

Church Friends

Most of the kids the girls' age at church are girls. Here are a few of them. Aren't they pretty?

Keep It Down

The studio apartment adjacent to our apartment is up for rent. We have a unique apartment- up a flight of stairs, 2 stories, with the studio under the master bedroom, the bathroom, and part of a hall. The last two neighbors that we've had have been single guys who have been absolutely amazing at tolerating our noise. And we tolerate their noise, because they never ever complain to us about us.

The apartment managers have been showing the studio a lot lately. Usually it's during the girls' naptime, so people aren't getting the full picture of what it's like living by us. I always want to fling the door open with the pregnant belly jutting out and welcome our prospective new neighbors. They should know what they're getting into! That's why when the apartment was being shown today and Grace fell and started screaming, I didn't feel bad, even though Paul felt sorry for our managers. It's better to be forewarned...

Boy Named Sue

I presented Paul with a list of names that I liked. He only likes one of the names- besides his own, which is on the list because it is Camille's favorite. Paul things that the names are richy rich boy sounding. So, I present them to you, oh blogging world. What name would YOU pick for our male spawn due in only a few short weeks?

Bonus points if you can also name the one name on the list that Paul doesn't absolutely hate (besides his own):
Alcott
Alder
Ames
Art
Barrett
Blaine
Blake
Brant
Bryce
Clark
Craig
Glen
Grant
Hank
Luke
Mark
Neil
Paul

PS. I recently cut the list in half myself, but I thought you'd like to see it in it's entirety.

Hot Chocolate

Although of course it makes sense to make hot chocolate with actual, you know, chocolate, and not just a powder of some sort, I had never actually had the sense to try it until this morning. This recipe is just chocolate and milk, but it is oh so delicious, and now I fear that I can never go back to the powdery kind.

In addition, you really should check out David Leibowitz's book, The Perfect Scoop if you like to make your own ice cream. It's the best I've seen.

Sweet Dreams

In the middle of the night Camille climbed into bed with us. Sleeping with Camille is like sleeping with a cross between a squeeky puppy toy and a vomitous hibernating bear.