“Florence and Julia were laying like this on the couch yesterday morning and I gave Lou to Flo to get a quick photo of the three of them together. I was trying to get them to laugh and asked them to say some silly things. Florence turned knowingly to Julia and said in a very matter of fact tone, “You don’t have to say it Julia, just laugh. That’s really what she wants you to do.” She then burst into over the top hysterics. A little over a month into this 365 project and I guess we’re officially on autopilot.”

“It’s like A Beautiful Mind, but palm trees instead of math equations.”

“All three in the bath! ?”

“Yesterday was new shoe day, but it was really all about the balloons. ?” | “For most of the year, Julia has accompanied me to Florence’s dance class and patiently waited for class to be over before heading home. About a month ago, she decided that she had had enough of that. After Flo’s class, she proudly walked in with the other 2-3 year olds that were about to begin class and announced “now I’m doing dance!” As all the other little girls watched, I pried her tiny hands off of the bar and explained to her that she wasn’t taking dance and we had to go home. “But I haven’t danced yet!!!” she sobbed as I carried her out of the room. It was kinda just a little bit heartbreaking. So needless to say, Julia takes dance now too.”

Bonus Photo

Louisa was not so sure about this whole doctor appointment business.

“These two do their fair share of fighting (Why do children who have thousands of toys always want the exact same one at the exact same moment? What is that?), but they also love each other so much. There is literally nothing in the world that makes me happier than seeing them play together like this. ??”

Bonus Photo

“Post-dance hopscotch. “

Bonus Photo (with fabulous blanket, hat, and sweater made by Grandma!)

“Can I share some honest thoughts here? I didn’t feel like taking a photo yesterday. It was a busy day, and under normal, non-365 challenge circumstances, I wouldn’t have touched my camera. But Flo floated into the kitchen in this number while I made dinner, and I grabbed my camera and made it happen. If I’m being really honest though, the kitchen was a hot mess when I took this photo, which is also something that tends to make me feel overwhelmed and uninspired. So, for the sake of complete transparency, I’m sharing a little “behind the scenes” moment in the swipe right. Real life…ya know? It’s not always neat.” (this is my swipe right…my favorite in the end)

“How yard work gets DONE around here. ?”

“Forget about Christmas. This is the most wonderful time of the year. ???????”

“Last night’s sunset was kind of awesome. ?”

Bonus Photo

“Last night, the unspoken agreement that kept Julia in the crib that she is fully capable of climbing out of, broke down. She no longer agreed and probably left her room (and was subsequently returned) no less than 15 times. It felt like it went on forever. She would escape, I’d chase her down the hall as she laughed hysterically, return her to her room, and before I even had the door closed she was working on coming back out. I tried putting a child-proofing door knob cover on and she just laughed maniacally as she whacked it off in about five seconds flat (if I’m being honest, I had trouble not laughing at that). Poor Florence requested ear plugs in case this starts happening every night. It didn’t end until I ignored her as she rolled around under my bed for 5-10 mins and FINALLY asked to be put in her crib. The worst part is it happened again tonight! Aaaaah! Obviously tomorrow she’ll be in a big girl bed, which we had actually told her we’d be doing this weekend anyway, but how do we keep her in her room?!?! ?”

“There were a few photos from yesterday that I liked, but this one captures the best memory from the day. Julia was so amazed when she saw this stilt walker (or in her mind, an extremely tall woman) that she chased her half way around the tent on her short little legs until she caught up with her. It almost made my heart explode with the cuteness. ??” | Bonus Photo

“This porch is my favorite place to be. We planted lilac bushes on the side and this is the first year that you can smell them wafting across the porch. On a day like yesterday, it’s perfect.”

“We are now fully in the mischief making phase with Lou. But on the positive side, a couple of nights ago she slept 12 hours straight. If she starts doing that on a regular basis, she can toilet paper the whole house if she wants.”

“Recently, balancing three kids has felt extra challenging. Not the physically caring for them part, but finding the time to give them each the individual attention they want and not just losing my patience. It’s just so hard when you have three people who are all needing something from you at the exact same time. And by the end of the day, all I really want is silence. But last night, we did something really fun, pretty much by accident, that I plan to make a regular thing. After Lou was in bed, Jason and I took turns taking the girls on a mini one on one trip for ice cream. I took Julia first and then Jason took Florence. Julia and I held hands while we walked there and she had me hold her like a baby in line. She ordered her own ice cream (strawberry with sprinkles), standing on her tippy toes at the counter, and then we sat on the steps of the post office while we ate. I kept trying to scooch over to take a better photo of her, but every time I moved, she moved with me. When we got home, she got her own bath (she still asked if she got the front this time) and her own bedtime with just me. I’d like to say that all of this individual attention resulted in a completely peaceful bedtime, without threats, but instead I will say that it only involved one time getting out of bed from her and one threat to take away all of her purses from me. All in all, I’ll go ahead and call that a big success.”

“Yesterday ended with dinner on the porch with these crazy people. It was a good day.”

“esterday, Florence wanted to stay up late enough to see the fireflies come out. She caught one in her hand and brought it over to show Julia and I took this photo just as it flew off and she said “bye bye, firefly.” Something about the memory of her sweet voice and the mix of awe and sadness on her face makes me tear up when I look at this photo. It’s hard letting things go sometimes. ??”

“Oh Vi, you crazy bubble killer, you. ??”

“Julia ??”

“The Katy Perry performance was taken up a level yesterday when Julia went into the sunroom and came out with a cat eye she’d created with black marker. Florence disappeared and shortly came back with a similar look. As I was lecturing them about making good choices and trying to figure out what sort of marker exactly they had used, I looked over and saw Julia standing with an open green marker in her hand. I said “don’t. you. dare.” She stared me right in the eye as she drew the green marker clear across her forehead without ever blinking.”

Bonus Photo

“Normal Friday. Nothing of note.”

“Florence and Julia turned in a couple of their library summer reading tickets for free ice cream cones from Scoops. Last night, we went to get the ice cream. Florence rode her bike there with two cat stuffed animals in the basket to match her cat helmet. Julia walked home eating sprinkles off of her dress. Both girls had to go immediately into the bath. I’d say their prizes were a big hit. ? ??”

“..When your friend comes over and borrows your favorite accessories.”

“I love when they get fancy for a walk around town. I did make Florence put back the parasol though (which is usually turned into some sort of sword). So I’m not that fun.”

“I think Halloween might be my very favorite holiday.”

“Halloween. ?”

“Julia was not impressed with sharing her dolls with Lou.”

“Winter vibes. Happy New Year everyone!”