Multi-tasking

Problem: Bathtime and football playoff times conflict
Solution: Sink bath for a 3-year old so Daddy can watch the game!

Tiny Dancer

In an earlier post I commented on how the cutest sight in the world has to be a little girl with bows in her hair wearing a night gown. I think I have to amend that statement: the cutest sight in the world has to be a little girl with bows in her hair wearing her first leotard for her first dance class. Siena was lucky enough to be in those shoes this weekend, and loved every minute. Here are some highlights:

At attention, ready to go. And no, the girls didn't get in such a perfect line by themselves! There are little yellow squares on the floor for each girl to stand on. Clever.

Toe taps. Check out Siena's form! What precision!

On to ballet now, which was followed by 20 minutes of playing in the tumbling room (Siena's favorite part, I think). Don't you love that the dance class is held in the Little Gym's breakroom, fridge and all? :)

Sustar Reunion in Chi-town

We were lucky enough to join nearly the entire Sustar clan at Mary and Patrick's house in Downer's Grove shortly after Christmas. As always, the girls had a wonderful time with their fun aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. The highlight of the trip was no doubt our visit to the Shedd Aquarium, though Siena will tell you it was the donuts (we made one stop to Dunkin' Donuts and it clearly made quite the impression!). We can't wait to return to visit more amazing museums... Dino fossils, you're next!

Siena puts her beanbag-throwing skills to work at Mary and Patrick's...

... while Libby samples a pinecone.

Checking out some cool ice formations with Aunt Lizzy (who, by the way, is moving back to Chicago! Hooray!).

Snuggling up with Auntie Em and cousin-to-be

Checking out the penguin exhibit at the Shedd aquarium. We also spent a LOT of time admiring the beluga whales, and "Baby Beluga" has quickly risen to the #1 musical hit in our household.

Penguin Siena takes a dive down the ice slide. The exhibits were very toddler-friendly -- Siena could've played penguin all day!

And More Snow!

We had a "real" snowstorm last week, with conditions icy enough to give Daddy a snow day! Hooray! The timing was perfect as Siena was getting over a nasty stomach bug and definitely required at least one full parent's attention. Libby was the lucky survivor and had a great time checking out the white stuff with Mommy.

Daddy's New Job

No, he hasn't given up teaching, just added a volunteer firefighter job to his resume! Needless to say Joe is a busy guy these days -- teaching all day, taking a firefighting class one night a week, and being on call whenever he isn't at work (which means often having middle-of-the-night fire calls on top of getting up for crying kids!). Throw in finding time to run regularly and be a wonderful dad and you can understand why he's our own real-life superhero!

Star of the World

So tonight as I was putting Siena to bed she said to me, "Mommy, I'm the star of the world!" I responded, "Oh really? Why is that?" "Because everyone says I'm pretty." Oh boy -- here we go. So I launched into this long lecture about how the most important thing in life is to be nice to other people, to love one another, to share our toys, to forgive others, that being pretty isn't important, etc. etc. To which Siena responded, "Mommy, why doesn't Daddy like Mr. Noodle?" Sigh... Long lecture down the drain. Gotta love the thought process of a 3-year old.

(For those who aren't up to speed on toddler culture, Mr. Noodle is a clown-like friend of Elmo's on Sesame Street. Daddy thinks he's silly, which he is, but that's the point.)

Fun with Daddy

Joe and the girls ran the annual Way of Lights 5k this year, taking them through the thousands of Christmas lights put up by the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The mild temperatures made for a pleasant ride and the girls had a great time. Thanks, Daddy!