What was I like? - Introduction

I have often asked my mom what I was like when I was young. She could never give me the specifics I was looking for so I figured she must just have a bad memory. Now that a few years have passed and we are experiencing baby moments again with Adele, we realize that we don't remember everything we would like about when Delaney was younger. We think this will only get worse and want to be prepared for when she asks us "what was I like?"

So, I decided to start documenting moments worth noting here. They may not all be of interest to our visitors but I think that one day Delaney and Adele will enjoy looking back on them and "thumbing through the pages."

The Plank Girls' Bedrooms

The girls' bedrooms are painted but not done yet. The first two pictures are of Delaney's room. The inspiration is from the book Zin Zin Zin Violin. This book is great teaching instruments and counting. Delaney loves the book and so do we. It features 10 instruments but we picked three: Clarinet, Violin and Trumpet. All the walls are painted in a similar pink color with faux painting swirls a bit darker on top. Ideally, I want to hang instruments on the other walls.

Adele's room is orange and yellow with colorful animals and letters. The inspiration for this room is a painting we used to have in Delaney's room at the old house. It isn't hung yet but it is very colorful and features a dog and goldfish. The artist, Charles Houska, has done a lot of work locally.

The mural artist is Christina Hummer: http://www.sweetdreammurals.com/

Adele Telling it Like it Is!

Adele loves the sound of her own voice.

ABC's

Delaney is fascinated with letters these days. We will be walking or driving and all of a sudden she will start spelling out words she sees. She is putting together that the letters on an object spell an object like a stop sign but this isn't always true. She has a fork with the brand name Nuk. The letters NUK are on the fork. She spelled out N, U, K, and then said Fork. Makes me want to have items with the actual word on it everywhere like the cartoon Word World on PBS.

The other day we were in the car and she was sitting in a way that she could see the dashboard. I had the car on so the console had a bright D for Drive. I turned it off and she said, "No, I want D for Delaney back." Took me a minute but figured it out. Won't be long now before she is reading.

Adele Videos and Pictures

Smiles smiles and smiles

Adele is smiling a lot these days. Tonight at dinner, a big smile was on her face as she watched her sister sing and chat. The smiles and giggles have been hard to capture on video. I tried tonight but she saw a camera instead of me so stopped all the cute faces. We have a few cute shots that we hope to get online soon but in the meantime, here are more pictures of Adele from our friend Kate.

The Tall X

Delaney has really enjoyed learning letters and numbers. Currently, we are working on our new address. Our house number starts with a 3 and she always skips it. Seems to skip 13 a lot too...hmmm, what does she have against three? She likes numbers though, we use them to motivate her all around the house. She likes letters too. One of her favorite songs is "Now I know My ABCs". In our many trips between the new house and old, we pass the Bevo Mill on Gravois. The other day she pointed it out to me as a "Tall X." It sure is fun to see the world through the eyes of a 2 year old.

New Baby, check! New House, check! What's next?

On one of the hottest days of the year (100+), Greg and I moved from our humble 2 bedroom house on Lavern Place to a house twice it's size in Tower Grove South, a friendly neighborhood in the city of St. Louis. Thank goodness for movers. We were just shocked by how much stuff we have accumulated. The move was smooth but now, over two weeks later, we are still unpacking and organizing. Our dining room is empty waiting for new furniture and our family room still needs a couch. All in good time I guess.

Delaney loves all the extra space. She runs from room to room claiming "I'M RUNNING!" Her room is nice and big and has a big wall that will soon have a musically themed mural painted on it. Adele's room, although smaller, is still very nice and will will soon be filled with an animal theme.

Our neighborhood is called Tower Grove South. It is south of Tower Grove Park (imagine that!) This is where Greg and I were married. www.towergrovepark.org
There are two playgrounds, lots of green space, and a number of festivals and events through out the year. May through October there is also a great Farmers Market. They sell locally grown/raised fruit, vegetables, and meat. There is entertainment and a fountain that acts as a water park for the little ones. Wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning.

Our list of to do's for the house is long but we are eager to have it ready to show off. We will be ready for a housewarming party soon. In the meantime, check out these pictures of our beautiful girls.