Lanford Life Is Just So Daily

X's and O's

2012-02-13T17:37:00.000-08:00

Valentines Eve 2012

(Kessler 7 ~ Ellie 4)

New jammies, sweet heart baskets, and awesome books ~ love Mimi & Pop

A New Year

2012-01-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

FRESH & NEW!!

Big plans to do fresh, new things!

More flavors in the kitchen, new nooks in the house, special time with good friends, exciting trips with family, a booming business, auditions and scores of sheet music to tackle.....

and fun - lots of fun in 2012!!!

Dandy Meyer Lemon Cake with Candied Chocolate Meyer Lemons

So Yummy!!

Lanford Girls Silouettes - from top clockwise

Kessler Gail (7), Beila Rose (5), Elisabeth Anne (4), & Juniper Mae (8)

My first 2012 auction purchase - a gorgeous collection of tea cups

The much anticipated and very chic monogrammed iPhone cover

All our new Christmas toys - organization is a beautiful thing

Big Jake watching the playoffs - we're officially Ravens fans!!

Life is good!!

2012-01-14T17:54:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS 2011

Holiday Fun

Sweet Sisters

Merry Mommy

Lovely Belle

Goofy Gail

Happy Daddy

Silly Daddy

Obsessed Auntie

Grateful Grandaughter

Very Grateful Grandaughter

Three Snow Peas

Daddy's Scout

Merry Christmas

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

We bought a live tree this year so we can plant it in our backyard before we go to Pop & Mimi's house for Christmas. The girls named the tree "Merry" and they are so excited about the whole thing. We're busy with preparations for the holiday. Cards for teachers, winter performances, a visit to American Girl Doll in DC and our annual visit to see Santa. Kessler is all about Advent this year so we have a beautiful wreath on our kitchen table and she reads to us each night from Scripture. It's really fun having two growing girls who are still little but beginning to show signs of big.

Fall Fun 2011

2011-10-29T13:30:00.001-07:00

Apple Picking At Baugher's

Kessler's 7 Birthday

2011-10-10T18:14:00.001-07:00

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First Day of School 2011

2011-09-08T08:48:00.001-07:00

Back to School

Both girls are Bryn Mawr Girls this year.

Kessler is a big First Grader and Ellie is in the 5 day 4's program.

So excited!!

Oklahoma Lovin' - Had Lots of Fun!!

2011-08-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our 2011 Summer Visit to Oklahoma

Granny had these awesome spinner wheels ready for the girls - as it was 105 degrees in the shade - they rode down the sidewalk through the sprinklers and spent several hours getting soaking wet. It was dark before we were able to get them to come inside :)

Since they were babies this has been their favorite spot to watch movies together - all four of Granny's beauties lay out in birth order across her giant bed and watch "The Wizard of Oz".
So sweet!! We discovered our hometown has more than one hidden gem. This spot is an acoustic phenomenon upon which your voice sounds like you are in a giant tunnel when in fact you are standing out in the open on a bridge that sits along side the Tulsa Railroad Station. Very cool!

This is Ellie Belle's face after eating Queenie's (one of my favorite spots in Tulsa) breakfast :) She is definitely my child!! Nothin' like those cheese grits and delicious bacon. And then of course a piece of their Mexican Chocolate Pie. Now that is our kind of breakfast!!!

And of course our goof ball showing off her new boots - Granny outfited the girls at Drysdales.

Our last day we went to Blue Hole outside of Salina, OK. Another hidden gem we didn't know about. So much fun hunting for crawdads, slipping through the rocky falls, and jumping of the rocks into the big Blue Hole!! The cousins introduced Popi to their annual black olive tradition - they all become tree frogs with fingers topped with olives and Popi figured it our on her own. She's officially part of the clan now!!!

Four little Lanford girls making a memory!!!

Summer 2011

2011-08-10T16:26:00.001-07:00

What a great summer!! Ellie turned 4, we had a great two weeks at RVR, the girls went to Camp Mimi, and we just got back from a beach birthday for Daddy. We have four weeks left and we're gonna savor every minute!!

34 & handsome as ever!

no more training wheels

My Photo Book Jun 29 2011

2011-06-30T06:41:00.001-07:00

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5x7 Folded Card

2011-06-19T12:51:00.001-07:00

Birthday Colors Plum Birthday 5x7 folded card

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View the entire collection of cards.

Kessler's Spring Piano Recital

2011-06-06T12:43:00.001-07:00

Skip to My Lou

18th Century Dance

June 4th, 2001

2011-06-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the Edible Arrangement Mimi & Pop - we've already made a yummy smoothie

No more tonsils!!

Spring Came In Like A Lion!!

Granny sent special presents for Ellie's upcoming surgery Sissy is a little worried about Ellie getting her tonsils and adenoids removed - notice Ellie's face, "What is all this fuss for"?

and here she is home from her surgery - smiling and ice cream in hand.

And Out Like A Lamb - Hello Summer!!

May Happenings

2011-05-16T16:41:00.001-07:00

May Begins with MANY Events

Ellie's Art Show

Kessler's Scary Tumble
Mimi & Pop came up to help - She's Okay!!!

Ellie's Dance Recital

Baby Braden Visits Baltimore

All of these things happened in a weeks time...lots of emotions, lots of special times,

and lots of love

The Hunt

2011-04-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

The 2011 BIRD ON A WIRE Farm Egg Hunt

While the girls' dashed around hunting for eggs the Easter Bunny hopped by the farm to leave delicious goodies and fun toys on Mimi's new front porch.
Baby Braden made this an extra special hunt.

eASTER & bRADEN cRAZY!!

2011-04-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Springtime fun

2011-04-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

Springtime Fun

Kessler decided to get out her recipe book and make smoothies - they were delicious!

Ellie took her class stuffed animal to the Circus. His name is Che Che Koolay and it's a very big deal to bring him home and then take him on adventures with your family. Cotton candy, snowcones, and some very cool elephants (these were Ellie Belle's favorite parts of the circus). Kessler loved the clowns and the trampoline guys.

The girls being bunnies - here comes Easter 2011

Kessler and Friends Read for Jacksonville Elementary Live News

2011-04-09T07:09:00.000-07:00

Robins in Spring

Mrs. Fink's Star Readers

April 2011

Happy St Patty's Day

2011-03-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patricks Day

from

The Snowberry Court Girls Club

Happy to be 6 and 3!

2011-02-24T15:48:00.000-08:00

Lovin' Life

Happy Valentines Day 2011

2011-02-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

I always make a special Valentines breakfast for The L Crew and this year we did it for dinner.

So yummy!!

I LOVE my family

Auntie Nan's Baby Shower

2011-02-14T13:35:00.001-08:00

Natalie's Shower was so fun!

Excited for our upcoming baby boy!

Lots of presents
Special guests

Fun games thanks to Auntie Whit

Our first boy onesie ;)

A Bees Knees Cake w/ Anna's Scrapbook Talents - Owls and Flowers

Excited Sisters

Can't wait for Baby Braden!!

More snow, more love

2011-01-26T10:05:00.001-08:00

Enjoying our snowy winter

Loveday 2011

2011-01-25T13:45:00.001-08:00

Heart Stripe Red Valentine's Day Card

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January Snow

2011-01-13T14:50:00.001-08:00

The first snow of our winter season.

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T08:58:00.000-08:00

Top gifts this Christmas...Pillowpets!!

A real microphone for Ellie and a yellow Mini Cooper for Kessler

A South Carolina Christmas

Getting ready for Christmas Eve (we open presents from family before church)

Kessler got everyone something from her school Jingle Shop this year (very cute)

Jake and I cooked a special dinner for everyone - The Pioneer Woman's Braised Ribs

We had them at Thanksgiving with Granny and had to share them with everyone for Christmas...SOOO yummy!

Auntie Nan made delicious dessert ;)

We had carolers

and then the girls gave us their own version ;)

Auntie Whit & Auntie Nan (Baby Braydon is in that big striped belly)

Kessler loved her new bathrobe from Mommy

Ellie went crazy over her microphone from Uncle Chewi and Auntie Nan - Kessler got a little keyboard with a mic and the girls did a dozen shows for us over the next three days :)Kessler and Ellie sat right down to finish the Polar Express after opening gifts on Christmas morning - they were pretty exhausted.

Santa brought Ellie a Ladybug Pillowpet, a fairy barbie, a double stroller for her Bitty Twins, and lots of awesome stocking stuffers.

Santa brought Kessler a Panda Bear Pillowpet, a new American Girl book and matching Pjs for she and Molly, and she got a real Sewing Machine.

The priceless moment when Ellie realized Santa had eaten the cookies and drank the milk :) Granny got Ellie bunkbeds for her American Girl Doll Bitty Twins complete with handmade pillows and quilted blankets in blue and pink. She was so excited!!

Granny handmade matching outfits for Kessler and Molly and gave Kessler the compete set of Boxcar Children Books - she is already flying through them!

It was a really nice holiday with many gifts, fun family time together, adventures with Pop and Mimi, and some special kicks from Baby Braydon for Auntie Anna

This coming year we anticipate much excitement as we throw Natalie a baby shower and welcome our first boy into the family (Baby Braydon), Jake and I celebrate our 10th anniversary, and we know we will continue to watch the girls grow rapidly before our eyes!! We are so grateful to God for all He continues to bless our family with and we trust He will provide many ways to extend that blessing to others through the New Year!

A Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!!

2010-12-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

Annual trip to Kenilworth for the Train Village and a special visit with SANTA!!

Kessler's 2nd Holiday Recital

2010-12-12T13:34:00.001-08:00

Kessler's 2nd Holiday Piano Recital

She sat right down and figured out where she was in the order - she was #6

She whispered each players pieces to us - even her's :)

She played Christmas March & Jingle Bells

Feeling very accomplished at her piano after the recital

You'll want to pause our playlist before watching the video ;)

Good Job Kessler Gail

Video still to come...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

2010-12-09T06:33:00.001-08:00

Our Annual Tree Party

Every year we get together with The Gieslers and a group of our friends and we go out to cut down a Christmas Tree . Then we go out to dinner with all the kiddos - this year we also celebrated Keyne's birthday - Jake picked our tree and it's fabulous!!
All the kids

Happy birthday to Keyne!

The night after we got the tree, we had our family trimming nite

Let's trim the Tree!!

Our favorite treats - homemade pistachio shortbread cookies and eggnog

Lists are ready to be mailed

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T16:53:00.001-08:00

It's was an Oklahoma Thanksgiving and a GREAT one!!

Granny and Kessler's mac n cheese went FAST!

Granny's Girls
Number 1

Number 3

Number 4

Number 2

Home from their girls day with Granny - They saw Tangled at the theatre complete with popcorn AND candy (Ellie likes to emphasize that they got BOTH)

The girls climb in their Daddy's climbing tree

You cannot have Thanksgiving without Jake's Aunt Sandy. She officially welcomed me to the family years ago in a way that will be imprinted on our minds forever. She loves completely, honestly, and genuinely - and we love her so much - she is what we were most thankful for this Happy Thanksgiving!!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T18:06:00.001-07:00

We had a great Halloween!! The girls chose their favorite dessert as their costumes. Kessler was an ice cream cone with a cherry on the top and Ellie was a sprinkle donut.

Two buckets full of candy in 30 minutes and they were ready to come in and hand out our treats while they gobbled down all their loot. Pretty darn cute our two little sweeties!!

The carving commenced after breakfast.

Kessler brought home some pretty cool art work from school.

This was Mommy's personal favorite!!

Ready to hit the sidewalk

Waiting for their friends so we could walk the neighborhood together.

Our Welcome Pumpkin

The aftermath

Happy Halloween!!

Anybody want some candy??

Our Little DIVAS!

2010-10-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

Kess6BDay

2010-10-16T18:15:00.001-07:00

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Fall Fun

2010-10-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

Fall began with Kessler's first day of Kindergarten - Crazy!!

Ellie had her first day of preschool as well.
Then we headed down to SC for Labor Day Weekend

Pop took the girls to the Charleston Aquarium

And on our day in Charleston Kessler lost her first tooth - the tooth fairy gives out a lot more cash when you lose a tooth at Mimi's house!!!

Pool Day with our neighborhood friends

2010-07-24T09:11:00.001-07:00

Our friends moved this past Spring and have a great new house with a pool. So all our neighborhoos pals wanted to visit Gavin and Collin for a swim and it was a really great day!! Thanks Murrays - we miss you on Snowberry Ct.

River Valley Ranch 2010

2010-07-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

River Valler Ranch

This year I spent two weeks directing drama camp at River Valley Ranch. The girls were able to come up the second week and spend time there as well. They both had a wonderful time and RVR has become a special place for our family!

Ellie's "Mingo" (Flamingo) Birthday Party

2010-06-17T10:45:00.001-07:00

Ellie's 3rd Birthday Party

She's a true Bawlmur Hon now!!

We gave her a super sweet flamingo party, complete with a slippy slide runway, deco sunglasses, boas, and a flamingo parade.

SO CUTE!!

On June 27th Ellie Belle will be 3 years old - how time does fly!

One more year of FABULOUS

Our big 3 year old girl - Elisabeth Anne

Kessler's Second Recital

2010-06-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Kessler had a great second recital.

She really loves piano and after 9 months we're very impressed by all her skills!

Indian Drums & Rocket Ship

JUNE 12, 2010

( you'll need to scroll down and click pause on our blog playlist so you can get the full effect)

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day Weekend

Kessler's Mother's Day Program at school

Auntie Nan and Uncle Chewi came to visit

Face Painting

A Giant Bunny named Uncle Tom

A Tired Ellie Belle at Matthew's Pizza

Flowers from my parents

(and sunflowers from Fanny and Big Pa...can't get the picture to rotate so I can include it in this post)

Espresso and Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato from Fells Point - my favorite treat

Mother's Day Brunch at Miss Shirley's

I am one lucky Mama!!!!

Starting May off right - Red Sox/Orioles

2010-05-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ellie's first Red Sox game - Don't the girls look precious in their B4B shirts and bows ;)

Daddy poppin' peanuts
Cheese

Gooooo Red Sox

Sisters

We had such a great time at our first game of the season.

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

A Big Easter Weekend

Our holiday started with Mimi and Pop's visit and Ellie getting her big girl bed.

On Good Friday we went downtown to our favorite gelato cafe
Granny and Big Pa sent awesome baskets on Saturday

Thank you Granny!

EASTER MORNING

The girls got their dresses on before we even came down to find that the Easter Bunny had in fact bounced by to leave us with plenty of great goodies. He even took our decoed eggs off the windowsill and hid them in the front yard before he left!

After church we headed to brunch and the girls loved being fancy

Those bags were full of the candy the Easter Bunny hid at the Club - we had a great hunt after brunch (see the live action below) and brought home as many ants in our chocolate as we did actual candy.

Happy Easter

Ellie sang us a praise song on the way home "We love Jesus, we love Jesus, yes we do, yes we do, He is risen, He is risen - hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray!!

The hunt ;)

Daddy Date Night

2010-02-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

Date Night with Daddy

Jacob took the girls to the club for dinner on Friday night. They were so excited. Very cute!!

Happy Valentines

2010-02-14T18:59:00.001-08:00

Valentine's Day always begins with a special breakfast - this year we had pink chocolate chip pancakes, applewood smoked bacon, and I Love You Peeps.

Valentines Treats

And Treats

Then Daddy and Mommy went out for their special Valentines date - The Oregon Grille

It was a great love day!!

Another Snowstorm

2010-02-07T10:47:00.001-08:00

We've got snow and lots of it!!

Kess and Daddy took the snow off our cars, sidewalk, and stairs and helped the neighbors build an awesome sledding hill.

This was when everyone decided to bundle up and get out in it for the first time - Jacob had to shovel the stairs several times - it just kept coming. We topped out at over 30 inches.
The girls had a lot of fun sledding

Ellie eating snow

Kess loved that hill - she went back countless times - definitely need to introduce this girl to a snowboard soon!

January 2010

2010-01-30T12:05:00.001-08:00

This month comes to a close with a weekend of snow and a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The girls loved The Jellie Invasion.

Aunt Debbie (Granny's Best Friend) sent the girls their Christmas gifts a bit late due to an enormous amount of time and effort spent to give our Ellie a handmade elephant - which she has fondly named "Jelly Bean" and obviously adores - thank you Bubbe!!
Kessler was just a little bit excited about her gift - an American Girl "Molly" cookbook which we had to use that day of course ;)

We took the girls down to Fells Point for some of our favorite Gelato and got to see a giant tugboat - fun times!

My new found love - French Cooking

My Julia Child's Interest continues - Jake is holding up my successful Salmon Souffle - mmmmm!

And we're off to Georgia to surprise Mimi

We surprised Mimi with a trip south for her birthday!

Special Pals

Ellie & Heidi

They love to get bagels together after their gym class

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T13:21:00.001-08:00

Getting Ready to head downtown for the New Years Eve "Milkshake" concert at

The Maryland Science Center

Kess had to get her new Webkinz poodle logged into her site online

Should I fix your pony before we go to the show Ellie? "No Mommy, my likes it dis way"!!
Watching "Milkshake" perform from our spot right above their heads (literal backstage passes)
MILKSHAKE
The girls were jammin' to all the tunes we sing in the car

Back home - Kess helped Mommy fix waffles and bacon for the girls breakfast for dinner on

New Years Eve

The girls were not sure about the lobsters Daddy brought home for Mommy to cook

Julia Child's style

Lobster

My fifth recipe - thank you Julia Childs - we can now open the bubbly and

toast to a great New Year

The ball drop at The Science Center - 2010!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

The Day After Christmas

2009-12-29T07:07:00.000-08:00

The Science Center

(Granny and Big Pa helped us renew our membership for another year - we could go twice a week and never get tired of all the fun things they have to do).

Silly Mommy & Daddy
Auntie Whit and Jonathan spent Christmas With us - so special!!!!
The cute couple

Ellie & Daddy having a moment

Girls' Gifts Galore - Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning - We had so many presents we went from 7:30-10am opening, squealing, playing, and opening another.

It was a magical day - when we ate Christmas Dinner Kessler said - thank you Jesus for all my presents and for being born - we love you!!

Kess: Dad, he really came - look, he ate the cookies and brought my Molly Cabinet and the stuffed bee I asked for. He is real!!!

Ellie: Sissy, of course he came - I told you he would. Did you see the bed and quilt Granny and Big Pa made me?
Kess: OK, everyone listen while I play "Jingle Bells" - I just put on the matching dresses Molly and I got from Granny.
Kess: Ellie, you got the Barbie Dress you asked Santa for!! It's so beautiful!

Kess: Mimi has special Santa connections and she even sent us special bags on his sleigh - they had real cotton on them!!

Kess: Pop got me the Molly puppy - I love it!!

Ellie: My StrawKorcake - Thank you Mimi - my love her!!

Our Big Snow of 2009

2009-12-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

We really enjoyed this snowstorm. We even went out for lunch yesterday in the middle of the storm so we could get Kess new boots and snow pants since Ellie claimed the set from last winter. Today we shoveled out the truck and went to see The Princess and the Frog - then we came home and made a snowman while Daddy dug out his car and helped shovel the road (Ellie is taking a much needed nap - sorry no pics of our baby snowbunny). Yay for LOTS of snow and only 5 days until Christmas. Now for some hot chocolate and football.

Kessler's First Piano Recital

2009-12-13T16:39:00.000-08:00

Kessler's first piano recital.

She played "Mary had a Little Lamb" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".

Ellie was a great cheerleader.

Christmas Pictures 2009

2009-12-13T16:18:00.001-08:00

We had a photographer come take some pictures of the girls but before she showed up Jake got a few good ones too.

Jingle Bells - We put up our Tree!!

2009-12-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Tree Hunt - two unsuccessful tree farm attempts and we landed at Home Depot

Merry Christmas

On this trip to the farm we got rained on and Kess said the trees were too prickly.

One this trip to the tree farm we were determined to pot our tree (no one digs up a tree for you - they give you a saw and say cut it down yourself)

And this is the girls in front of our Home Depot Tree - Yay!! We found it.

While Ellie helped Daddy with the lights....

Kess & Mommy sang their rendition of Jingle Bells (Kessler had several great "nose itching" moments in this one - priceless)

Happy Preparation to All!!

Jingle Bells

Thank You Big Pa!!

2009-12-03T20:01:00.000-08:00

Big Pa sent Ellie & Kess special gifts and we had to give him some special blog love !!

Scrubs and a Lab Coat for Molly & A Princess Castle

Ellie Belle

Kessler Gail

Can we be two weeks away from Thanksgiving?

2009-11-15T17:23:00.001-08:00

Kessler was my star assistant at the Buttons for Babes Events this fall

Baltimore Inner Harbor

Big sis comforting Lil sis

We love feeding the ducks

More snuggle time

Her best funny face

I'm going pee-pee in the potty!!

The ZooBoo & My Gym Halloween Party

2009-10-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

Practicing for the big night - we're Cowgirl (with no hat - we got a big fat NO when we tried to put it on her) and Indian (never has she been so content in costume) this Halloween

Let's go get some candy
Pumpkin patch

The indian princess on her Daddy (the under cover agent)

Hayayaya - Hayayaya (A little powpow of her own)

So much fun at the ZooBoo

On to MY GYM

Big Indian, little Indian

She loves her some My Gym

Catching "Ghosts"

LOOK! The cowgirl and indian decided to have a peace treaty

Balancing

Jumping

HAVING FUN!!!

We have been cowgirl and indian twice already and it's not even Halloween

We went to the Zoo on Sunday for the ZooBoo and Ellie had her Halloween Party at My Gym. Trick or treating is going to be a ball this year - I just have to keep Ellie from eating all her candy before she gets back to the house.

Kessler Playing Soccer

2009-10-22T10:48:00.001-07:00

Kessler has started soccer at UKElite

She is loving it.

Coach Dan is from England and he has the coolest accent

Getting ready to launch that ball

Getting the ball out from under the boys - go Kess!!

She almost made a goal right after this little pass.

October in Georgia

2009-10-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

Their own personal wagon ride at Bird On A Wire Farm
Special time with Mimi and Pop

Girl Time
Having a Fall Festival at Auntie Nan's new house

Kessler did all the face painting

Ellie had to look in the mirror at her face paint

Kessler was amazingly good at face painting - check out Auntie Nan's Bumble Bee

Games and Dancing

It rained the day we were supposed to go to the local Pumpkin Festival - so Auntie and Kess went out and got everything we needed to bring the festival back to the house - we had so much fun. We painted and carved pumpkins, painted faces, played games, and had a dance party. Then we baked apple pie and the girls' played American Girl Dolls together (Auntie Nan and Auntie Whit brought their American Girl dolls too)

Piper and Daddy at the farm

Pop took the girls on a ride around the property - they checked their trees, went scouting for deer, and looked for purple rocks (Ellie's request). They checked the guys' deerstands for the hunt before we roasted marshmallows. Then we headed for Athens to see Auntie Nan's house and have girl time while the guys hunted. Pop and Uncle Chewi both got a doe - Daddy is still waiting on that buck ;)

Kessler 5

2009-10-12T13:07:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Kessler Gail is 5!!!

2009-10-10T19:31:00.001-07:00

An American Girl Movie Night - Complete with pajamas, dolls, a popcorn maker, and the American Girl Movie - Kit Kittredge

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KESSLER
American Girl Paper Dolls and doll/girl matching necklace making

The birthday girl with "Molly" - her American Girl Doll

Special friends, special gifts

The dolls watching the movie together

The girls watching the movie together

Blowing out 5 candles

Mommy made a special pillow for everyone to sign

The CakeLove Cupcakes - Raspberry Lemonade & Strawberry Vanilla - Mmmm

It was a great party!!

Back to school

2009-09-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Comfort under one arm and she is ready to go back to school!

Oklahoma..where the wind comes right behind the rain, rain, rain

2009-09-18T16:55:00.001-07:00

The rain didn't stop us from having a great celebration. Lots of food, a sweet ceremony, and an Irish kind of party.

The girls had a ball.

Congratualtions Parks
Uncle Parks is SILLY

The morning after the party - breakfast in bed
More to come...

The Fall Line - Buttons for Babes

2009-08-29T13:45:00.001-07:00

Candy Corn Pizzazz
Back to School Button

New Initial Design

Orange & Black for the holiday

Hootie Hoot

(I have two BOY shirts in the works - "Biker Buddy" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

... just waiting on my models ;) ) More to come - jaklanford.esty.com

Buttons for Babes - A Creative Fall

2009-08-25T06:02:00.001-07:00

I'm going to expand things a bit this fall. I am applying for a few craft shows, I'm adding some great American Apparel long sleeve t's, hair bows, and new fall/winter colors. Spread the word - jaklanford.etsy.com.

Our 4th Lily Pad - Oregon

2009-08-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Our 4th LilyPad - The Kessler Family Reunion - Bend, OR

We arrived in Seattle Airport so excited to see everyone. After getting our giant green bags and a rental car we hit the road to Portland, OR to pick up Auntie Whit from the airport there. Our drive down was beautiful. We got Auntie Whit and headed to find Stumptown Coffee. When we got to the coffee shop Kessler insisted she wanted to have her own coffee - so we got choclate milk and they gave us a special mug for Kess. We enjoyed our delicious coffee and headed to the Lebanese restaurant where we stuffed ourselves with amazing food. After that we headed for Bend, OR and Sunriver Resort.

The next morning we headed to find the horses. Ellie road all by herself and Kessler led the way like a pro. They were both very cute about wearing the helmets and bragged about their riding the rest of the week. Ellie rode Blueberry and Kess rode Patches.

(More pictures to come here)

After an awesome week of family fun, lava adventures, and a birthday canoe trip for Auntie Nan we headed to Mt. Hood and the Timberline Lodge for hot cocoa and an amazing view of the Cascade Mountains. This was before Ellie's first drink....

This was after ;)

Our Family on Mt. Hood

This was our night in Seattle. The girls slept in a very comfy "big bed" together and Ellie thought she was SO big sleeping with Sissy. They did great and we all got a good nights sleep. We got up the next morning and went down to watch them throw the fish at Pike Place Market and we got a Starbucks Coffee from the original location. Then we got our bags and headed for the airport. It was an awesome vacation.

Happy Birthday Daddy

2009-08-07T18:33:00.001-07:00

August kicks off with another birthday for Jake. Our cake was not a success, so we went to Cheesecake Factory instead. And as is our tradition we ordered all of our favorites - then sadly had no room for... cheesecake. Nevertheless we sang a thunderous "Happy Birthday to Daddy" for all the people around us to hear and went home happy as clams ;)

Kess & Ellie Painted A Giant Birthday Card for Daddy
Then they moved on to our gallery pieces on the kitchen cabinets - titled "Pooh and Friends"

Loving it!

Concentrating

Einstein's Bagels - Mmmm

At the White House - yes, THE White House

After the White House and some much needed chips and guacamole!

Our Third Lily Pad - OBX 2009

2009-07-30T14:01:00.001-07:00

The Outer Banks is always fun for us. This trip to see my family so extra special. We only had a few days but Auntie Whit came along and we stayed at Nani's house. They had new puppies which was really fun for the girls. Summer's kids and mine are very cute together. Since Summer and I grew up like two peas in a pod it's fun to watch our kids loving eachother just as much.

Creef Kennel Lab Puppies (there are two girls left if anyone wants one) - so cute!!

Ellie, Julia, Kessler & Wyatt
Papa looking at the peacock on the roof with Kess & Ellie

Wyatt and Kessler are very special buddies - they are inseparable

Julia and Ellie bonded this time - it's so fun to watch our kids playing together at the same beach we grew up enjoying together

Summer Lovin'

2009-07-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

A snapshot that gives me great hopes for this sisterhood

We're having a pretty special summer together!

Our Second Lily Pad

2009-07-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

Our Summer Visit to OklahomaThe girls had a very successful lemonade stand with Granny to raise money for the animals and we did some sparkles with Big Pa and the Daddys to celebrate the 4th of July.
The girls at Woodward Park
A random guy gave the girls each a pair of sunglasses - obviously that thrilled Ellie Belle
My Big 2 Year OldTha Classic Lanford Pose (we only got one - they were not in the mood to take pictures)

The Birthday Girl
I just cannot believe we celebrated Ellie's birthday and now she is 2! My Baby is growing up SO fast. She is talking and walking up and down stairs, amazing us every day with her impressive coordination, and even potty training of her own interest. She is a special little gal!!

Eating Mac'n'Cheese with her birthday buddies

The cousins were all dressed in special outfits compliments of our friend Janice

The Goodie Table

Doing Sugar Art

Uncle Parks was the candyman - the girls all got to fill their bags with every kind of candy that we could find - Ellie was in truly in her fantasy Candyland

Happy Birthday Elisabeth Anne - We love you!!!!!

(you'll want to pause my playlist above so you can watch this birthday video)

My niece, Beila, also had a birthday - she turned 3. We went to Bounce U - it was so fun!

The first thing Granny and Big Pa did was get a pool for the girls - they had SO much fun in that water the entire visit - it was the best idea for our 103 degree weather.

Ellie BDay

2009-07-01T15:27:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Ellie's first Carousel ride - she's almost 2!!!

2009-06-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

She's almost 2!
Elisabeth Anne

Pretty in Pink!

Shared photo book from Anna

2009-06-16T12:08:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Our first summer Lily Pad - Mimi's House

2009-06-12T17:38:00.001-07:00

Kessler caught four fish and a crab - she was so proud
Mimi took us on an adventure - we saw birds, fish, and even an alligator

After he crossed the road in front of us we pulled off to give the girls a better look

Ellie loved the Peach Cider at the Cider Co.

No smiles for Mommy - the girls were all business with their cider

We had so much fun on our first summer getaway (what we're fondly calling lily pads). We went to the beach, played at Mimi's pool, went animal watching, went fishing with Pop, ate at all our favorites, and even saw Auntie Nan and Uncle Chewie - it was so much fun!

Anna ran the Maryland Half Marathon!!

2009-06-01T11:07:00.001-07:00

We're waving hello as we come into the kids view
The second time we passed Jake and the girls, Kess passed me a GU and gave me a big "I love you Mommy" - the best motivation!!
Hooray!! 13.1 miles - I did it!!!

Kessler got glasses!

2009-05-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Pink Wire Barbie Frames with a Patent Leather Carry Case and Cleaning Spray

She was so excited

(and I am really glad because this was a big deal for us!!)
Kessler wants to be a Zoo Keeper so when we went to the Zoo this time and she had her glasses she was really excited to see the animals better.

This is a classic Lanford Cheese Pose

Happy Graduation Aunties!!!

2009-05-11T07:40:00.001-07:00

She's gonna take the plunge!

Congrats Whit!

Congrats Nan!

Lolli!!!

We missed you Mom - Happy Mother's Day

Thanks for the lollis Auntie Nani!

Sister Sillies

2009-05-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

My Buttons for Babes Models

We got the sillies!

We're loving the warm weather!!

2009-04-26T12:08:00.001-07:00

We have so much planned for the next few months. We've been enjoying the warm weather and some down time at home. The girls love to go to the park and have enjoyed walks around the neighborhood and playing with our buddies in the "middle" (we live on a circle and there is a common area where all the ids play). In May Natalie and Whitney will both graduate - one from PA School and the other from UGA - Journalism. Jake and I are traveling to Miami together - our first vacation without the girls. And in June we will head to Oklahoma to celebrate Ellie's 2nd birthday.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-14T06:19:00.001-07:00

The Ice Cream Parlor on Easter Afternoon - Girls Club Only
Ellie's first hunt - SO CUTE!!

I just woke up - what is going on?

Check her out - she loves to hunt for eggs!

Sisters on Easter

She's a tree frog

Post Easter Baskets - time for a Sesame Street break with Daddy

Kessler and her Aunties built a fairy house

Our fancy Easter salads - all home grown in Mimi's new garden

Auntie Nani made the best Bunny Cake!

Easter was good to Kessler Gail and Ellie Belle. We had to make sure they got a good dose of the real meaning for Easter...in Kessler's words - Jesus Arose! Between Granny's package (so sweet), Mimi's egg hunt, and Mommy's loaded baskets, the Easter Bunny almost stole the show.

The famous hammock pictures continue

Ellie loved carrying her bucket everywhere we went on the beach

Now here is a true beach bunny - she loves the sand!!

Mimi and Pop are crazy about these girls

What a special Easter vacation - it was such a great trip.

Anna Turns 30!

2009-03-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

I love my family!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I look like Dizzie Gillespie blowing out thirty candles!!

(I should mention I did blow them all out with one puff)

This was such a great birthday!!!

My baby girl playing bubbles with the kids

Party planner extraordinare

The women who make life special for me here in Baltimore

Mmmm, Mimi is in town!

I have to say - this was a great birthday weekend! My parents came into town and we had a really special time together. Jake planned an awesome birthday party with all our friends, lots of yummy food including a homemade favorite Hummingbird cake. Lots of cards, calls, and I am left feeling really like 30 isn't so bad after all!

The Little Mermaid on Broadway

2009-03-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

I had no idea The Little Mermaid would be as good as it was. It really was the perfect first Broadway Show for Kess to experience. Her backstage experience was SO great! We got to stand on the stage and look out at the theatre first, then Michelle took us around and showed us all of the costumes - trap doors - make-up - and special stage props (she told us King Triton's trident cost more than her car) - and the best part for Kess was her chance to wear the Starfish headpiece. We were able to see friends and eat good New York pizza. We even fit in a visit to Toys R Us in Time Square. It's a short but sweet trip to the Big Apple.

We're getting ready for St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

Kess and I are off on a NYC adventure. We're going to see MY buddies and we've got tickets to The Little Mermaid with a backstage tour compliments of Julie and her great connections. We'll take lots of pictures - I can't believe I am taking MY DAUGHTER to a show on Broadway - SO COOL!

2009-03-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

Playtime in the basement
Kessler helping Ellie put her apron on - such a good big sis!
The girls have the funniest conversations - Kessler was giving Ellie a detailed list of ingredients for their menu. Look how serious her little face is - and Ellie is all giggles. They are a funny pair!

We've been spending a lot of time indoors - today we're having another huge snowstorm. I guess they say March roars in like a lion - so we're hoping it will go out like a lamb! The girls are growing like crazy, even Piper (10 weeks old) - Lots of new ideas, new words, new games.

Kessler's favorite word is "super" - she's super everything - super hungry, super mad, super silly, super tired. Ellie is loving Elmo so we watch Sesame Street in the afternoons and she is starting to sing the "Sunny Days" song - so cute!

February Fun

2009-02-19T12:23:00.001-08:00

At the end of a busy day the girls love to get a bath, brush their teeth for like 20 minutes, get pjs on, and jump in our bed for storytime - Kess likes to read stories to Ellie that she has memorized from "when she was little" as she puts it. I love ending the day like this!
Ellie had to put on her shades for our ride over to Kessler's preschool everyday last week - she loves to have them on when Kess gets in the car. Obviously this pair has gotten plenty of wear and tear.

My sweet and silly chickens

Kessler has always loved the rides at the mall - clearly Ellie is following in her big sister's footsteps :)

Happy Valentines

2009-02-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Our new puppy - Piper

Granny sent awesome Valentines packages for the girls

Ellie loved decorating jello hearts at our playdate

We got our new puppy - Piper - for Valentines and she is SOOO cute!! The girls love having her around and she's such a great dog. We had some friends over for a Valentines playdate and Kess had a great time at her Valentines party at school (she just couldn't believe she got a card from every single kid in her class - her words exactly) Today is Love Day - I made our traditional Valentines breakfast and we watched Kessler's new movie Madeline in our pjs. We love an excuse to love ;)

The girls play piano

2009-02-13T10:05:00.000-08:00

Kess and Ellie love to play tunes together. We just happened to have on our V-Day dresses at the same time - too cute!!

We got our snow!!!

2009-01-22T16:43:00.001-08:00

SNOW!!!!
The girls had so much fun playing in the snow - Kess has been practicing snow angels on the rug for months. Her real ones were pretty great!

Kessler & Ellie got a dollhouse from Big Pa & Granny

2009-01-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

Granny & Big Pa gave Kess & Ell a dollhouse complete with furniture and a Lanford doll family for Christmas - here is a bit of the unveiling. So special!

Winter Fun

2009-01-10T16:13:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Heidi Grace - 2 years old!!!

We made her a special cupcake t
Elmo Cake! (Keyne is the BEST cakemaker)

The Birthday Girl

Yummy Elmo Cake!

We had a great time celebrating with our Geisler Crew.

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

A day at the beach was part of our New Year celebration - the weather was beautiful and we had so much fun!! Kessler and Auntie Nan found some clay and decided to have a beach spa experience - their skin was silky smooth when they got done rolling around in it. You can also clearly see what it did to Kessler's top - "She pranced down the beach singing "I have a dirty dress".
Hunting Island Lighthouse (this is where we dedicated Kessler when she was 9 months old)

Ellie loved squishing her toes in the sand

Ellie & Mimi

Kessler Gail with her Auntie Nan - they were beach princesses

Auntie Whit and Ellie Belle

Kessler got a mermaid sand mold from Santa

A Christmas to Remember

2009-01-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning - Santa Came!!!!!!

Gifts from Mimi & Pop seemed to never end - so many nice gifts

Christmas Eve Dinner
Trains at Kenilworth

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

Off to Mimi & Pop's for the Holidays

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

2008-12-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

You'll need to pause our playlist (bottom left) to fully appreciate this!! Merry Christmas!!!

An entire new floor of furniture for Christmas - Thank You Mom

2008-12-11T09:41:00.001-08:00

Hoosier Cabinet, Pedestal Table, Wall Deco Mirror

Couch & Chairs, Curtains, Side Tables, & THE PIANO!!

We reorganized our favorite existing pieces and got everything put together last weekend. I am so excited. My most favorite new item is the PIANO!!! We are enjoying all our new furniture so much. We also got a few new pieces for the girls rooms and new bar stools in the kitchen.

2008-12-06T20:09:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Season has officially begun. We put our tree up today and we're enjoying some snow showers, egg nog, and getting famous with Santa (see our clip on Facebook - ABC News). Lots of cookies and carols at the Lanford house these days!!!

Fall Happenings

2008-11-21T12:58:00.001-08:00

Kessler and I went to the Science Center together one afternoon when it was still warm outside - we had a great time!!

Jake & Kessler went to Mimi & Pop's farm for a hunting/shopping weekend this month so Ellie and I were able to have some super special one on one time here at home - it was really nice (even though we missed our crew).

When it gets cold outside we get goofy inside - especially on Friday afternoons. We saw out first snow today (Nov. 21st). The girls were thrilled!

I love you to Big Pa

2008-11-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

I love you Big Pa - here are some extra kisses and silly faces for your day.

Kessler Gail

Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T18:24:00.001-07:00

Before she hit the sidewalk - Upon her fruitful return

Our greeter (she only made it half a block before she got cold & wanted to come inside)

Mmmm, skittles

Ellie at Music Together - The Monster Mash

The Kitty Cat & The Mousie Mouse

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

A Sister Weekend (The Kessler Girls)

2008-10-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

My Favorite Treat!!
Our Caramel was really intense

Chewi having trouble chewing ;)

The Folk Festival

This was the first time my sisters and I have ever planned a weekend for just the three of us.

It was SO much fun.

Baugher's Farm

2008-10-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood friends have been so special to our family we had to have a small birthday celebration for Kessler here in Maryland so they could all eat cupcakes together. We went to Baugher's Farm in Westminster, MD. It was a particulary cold day so what we had hoped would be apple picking and farm animals turned out to be jumping in the giant pumpkin to keep warm, eating kettle korn and cupcakes, getting faces painted, playing on the train, and then quickly loading up so we could visit indoors at Baugher's Restaurant down the road where it was nice and toasty inside. It really was a fun day.

Oklahoma 2008

2008-10-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Wrapped in quilts watching Sleeping Beauty

Juni & Kess

Feeding the squirrels at Woodward Park

The Birthday Girl

The final wack

Cousins

Eating breakfast on Granny's front porch - yummy oatmeal!

Hayride fun

Lil' Sis at the birthday tea party

Our Oklahoma trip was so much fun. Kessler turned 4 on the 8th and we celebrated with a tea party and a family hayride/bonfire. We had beautiful weather and lots of great trips down memory lane. Not to mention all the good T-Town food.

Kessler takes her birthday treats to preschool & Ellie figures out an umbrella

2008-10-02T05:27:00.000-07:00

Kessler will be 4 years old on October 8th. She had a great birthday at school - we brought in personalized pumpkin cookies - they were a huge hit and Kess was thrilled. We are headed to Oklahoma on Saturday!!! Lots of fun planned for our visit home.