The Mitchell Sisters

Has it really been almost 2 years?

Well...I am back.  After a nearly 2 year hiatus from the girls blog, I am realizing that their childhood is zooming by at lightening speed, and I feel as if I am not capturing all of the little details.  So here I am.  I have done most of my kiddo updates on Facebook, but think I will channel my efforts back to this forum.

Well since my last post we have had a lot of changes in our lives.  Abby is now 6 1/2 and in first grade. Natalie is 4 1/2 and is in her second year of pre-school. They are both amazing little people!

We took a family vacation down to Walt Disney World in Florida in early November, and were lucky enough to have Uncle Chris, Aunt Misch, and Grandma Sandy join us! It was a fantastic vacation with memories that will last a lifetime.

 

 

 

 

 

Natalie turns 3!

Well it's official.  I have no more babies. :(  My little Nattie turned 3 on April 16th.  We actually spent the whole day moving from Fairfax to our temporary living quarters in Lorton (while we await our new home being built on the lot next door).  It is a much smaller space, but the girls have the luxery of having Aunt Kitty (who watches them during the day) three doors down the street!  (Not to mention the HUGE yard to play in!!!

Since it was a very busy (and rainy) day on the 16th, we actually celebrated Nat's b-day on the 17th with a small party at our new "home sweet home" (as Nat calls it).  We ordered some pizza, had a few gifts and a Dora birthday cake.  Here are some pictures from the celebration!

Happy Birthday Nattie!!!  We love you.

Play Ball

We took the girls out to Nationals Park today.  The weather was beautiful, the company was divine, but the Nationals...well....need I say more? Here are some pictorial highlights from the day. 

  _{The girls with life-size bobbleheads}

 

"If your happy and you know it, clap your hands"

CLAP! CLAP!

Well I am very happy that winter is drawing to a close.  Although I do love seeing the girls bundled up in their winter gear, I cannot wait for the weather to warm up and allow us more "outside time".  The cold weather tends to make the natives restless.  

February has come and gone.  Abby had a Valentines party at school, for which I was able to volunteer.  All of the children made their own Valentine's and "delivered" each valentine by matching the names on the cards to the names on their valentine bags.  Each child also brought one cup of their favorite fruit and we mixed them all to make a "friendly fruit salad".  Kinda cute.

Abby had her annual liver ultrasound at Georgetown and had a great report.  The liver remains happy and healthy, and we will follow-up with the Transplant clinic for her annual in July.

Natalie, Abby and I went to a Disney Magic Show at the Patriot Center with some of my fellow NP's and their children.  They had a blast, especially when the various princesses took the stage!

We put our house on the market last week, and are getting closer to finishing up details on the plans for our new home.  It is kind of bitter sweet.  I am exicited about building our home, but our little townhouse holds a lot of memories.  The girls are very excited for the move to their "new house".

Mark took the girls down to D.C. last weekend for his annual February Jefferson Memorial trip.  For the past three years, he has taken them to the Jefferson Memorial and snaped their picture in the same spot. I will see if I can post the past three years, so everyone can see just how much they have changed!

Oh some things I need to record before I forget:

*Abby's new saying, "You are kidding me!"  or holding a "microphone" up to your face and asking, "How do you feel about that?" * Abby and Natalie are currently obsessed with Hello Kitty and re-enact scenes from "Hello Kitty Becomes a Princess". * The girls putting on ballet performances for Mark and I in the living room. Natalie telling me, "You are the best Mommy ever!". Natalie saying, "Chill-out dudes!"

Here are some pics from the last month.  Enjoy!

 

 

Happy 2011 And a belated Merry X-mas

So much for New Years resolutions.  I was going to resolve to be a better blogger.  Um...that has not started off very well. 

We had a very busy Christmas season, and a wonderful holiday!  We started a new family tradition called "Elf on the Shelf".  The story goes that an elf is sent directly from Santa at the North Pole to reside in your home.  Every night when you fall asleep, the elf goes up to the North Pole to report to Santa.  In the morning he hides in a different location in the house, and thus begins a month long game of hide-and-seek.  The girls have named our elf Henry.  Unfortunately, Henry goes back up to the North Pole Christmas Eve, but will hopefull come back to visit next December. :)

It is so hard to beleive that it is now 2011.  Abby will be turning 5 and starting Kidergarten, and Natalie will be turning 3, and starting pre-school.  Abby continues to defy the Biliary Atresia odds and is down to labs every six months.  She will have her annual liver scan on Valentines Day.  Hopefully we will not have any unexpected surprises. 

Well enough chatter.  On with the pictures....enjoy.

 
 

"And that's what you missed on Glee...."

I am not sure if any of you watch Glee, but I am a self proclaimed "Gleek".  At the beginning of each episode they do a recap of the major events to bring you up to speed.  Because of my super-slackness I must now do the same.

So, here we go....

In August we were lucky enough to have a visit from Uncle Chris. The girls went to a great water park, opened up a tattoo parlor (well fake-tattoos), helped re-create a smurf village, went to a petting zoo, and spent lots of QT with their fantastico Uncle.

September marked a milestone in Abby's life, when she started pre-school.  She LOVES her "ladybug" class and her teachers Mrs. Gerber and Mrs. Welch.  She especially loves painting, drawing and music class.

 


In September we also went up to the Maryland Renaissance Festival and got to watch Mark "pull" a plane for charity with his company at Dulles Airport.

October was filled with festivals, pumpkin patches, and LOTS of candy.  We went to Fall for Fairfax and Clifton Days.  The girls went to pick out pumpkins from the local pumpkin patch.  And last but not least, we went on our 3rd annual trick-or-treat outing with our good friends the Latham's. The girls and I dressed as witches, and Mark went as Slash from Guns and Roses.

November has thrust us into the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a busy holiday weekend, although poor Mark was sick for the majority of the long weekend.  We had Mark's family over for Turkey Day.  I took the girls to see "Despicable Me".  The girls and I also went out to get a Christmas tree, while Mark recouped at home. 

We have so many things to be thankful for, it is sometimes overwhelming.  We have the love of so many friends and family, the gift of good health, and look forward to exciting things to come in 2011. But most of all, I am so thankful to be the Mommy of 2 extraordinarily amazing and beautiful little girls!

Happy Liver and a Sweet Treat

Abby had her annual liver clinic appointment last week.  I am thrilled to report that her liver is still very happy at this time.  They could not palpate her liver, nor her spleen (an enlarged spleen is ominous of portal hypertension).  A direct quote from Dr. Little, "You are not a typical kid with liver disease. Come back and see me when you are five."  We also are down to labs every 4 MONTHS, and an abdominal ultrasound once a year.  I cannot express the amount of joy that fills my heart. We are so blessed to have her good health continue.  Abby definitely has a few angels watching over her.

Abby was a superstar at the visit.  Aside from her comment to Dr. Little, "You have big boobies just like my Mommy.", the visit was quite smooth.  As a special treat after her doctor's visit, we made a pit-stop at Georgetown Cupcakes for a sweet treat.  Here are some pictures from the day.  (Oh, and a random cute one of the Nat).

 

Duck 2010

I can hardly believe that we are almost half-way through July!  We have had a very busy summer.  We spent last week in Duck, NC, for the third year in a row.  We had some of our good friends (Chris (Uncle Shrek), Jyl, and Lila) stay with us this year.  It was pretty much a perfect vacation. The weather was beautiful, the beach was beautiful, and the company was glorious! The girls LOVED swimming in the pool this year (big change from years past, where they would cry every time we tried to get them in to the pool).  They also enjoyed playing at the beach, although Natalie wanted to wash her hands and feet every time she got sand on them.

We celebrated Abby's 4th birthday at Aunt Kitty's beach house again this year.  It was princess themed, so lots of pink.  I cannot believe that my little girl is 4!  We are so tremendously blessed to have her here with us, and extremely fortunate that her liver has remained happy the past few years.  Abby had a princess cake, and Castle pinata.  She received a leap pad tag reader and books, a jigsaw puzzle and scooby doo pj's from her Mommy, a "My First Science Kit" from her Grandma Sandy, Scooby-Doo iron on t-shirts from her Daddy, Princess jewelery, spin-art kit, and some Tag books from her Ammom, Papap, and cousin Vanessa.  She also got 2 new leap games from "Ma", a Yo Gabba Gabba kite, play tunnel, and baseball glove and ball from Uncle Shrek, Jyl, and Lila. She is such a lucky little girl!!

Enough...the pictures do speak for themselves!  Enjoy.

 
 




 

Mother May I

Well, here we are again.  Another month passing at warp speed.  Let's see...updates on the girls.  Abby is still taking ballet classes, is learning how to write (and can draw her name), and continues to have a very active imagination.  She is into Scooby-Doo as of late, and prefers to be called Daffney, rather than Abby. (For the record Mark is Fred, Natalie is Scooby, and I am Thelma. I think I preferred being the Wicked Witch of the West).  Her liver remains happy (as do we), and she will have her annual liver check in July.

Natalie just had her two year check-up and measures 36 inches tall and 29 loveable pounds.  She is getting into jigsaw puzzles, coloring, can count to 10, knows her ABC's, and is speaking in 3 to 4 word sentences.  Example:  As I was watching American Idol last night (I know, I am a dork), Natalie (who was supposed to be asleep) wanders into the room and says, "Can Idol on Momma. Rock-on. Rock-on".  (Yes, that is verbatim).

Below are some of the most recent pictures. Enjoy.

Natalie Turns 2!

Well, it's official. I have no more babies.  Natalie turned 2 yesterday, and we celebrated with a "Dora" themed party.  We had a taco bar and lots of balloons, pinatas, candy, cake, and wonderful company.  Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate Natalie's special day. (And Heather...thank you sooooooo much for cleaning my kitchen!!!)