Lovely Weather

With the nice weather continuing into the week we have just been trying to be outside as much as possible.  LittleL.G. and I skipped out on our library class to take a walk in Congress Park while MiniM.E. was in school.  After nap we went for a bike ride at the Zim Smith Trail and played at the playground where we ate picnic dinner before dance class.

On Tuesday we met our Tuesday playgroup at the state park for a playground lunch and a walk to the Geyser.

And today we were at West Side Rec where LittleL.G. decided she wanted to be a big kid and swing "HIGH!" on the big swings.

Hunting Salamanders

Since the weather is so nice we HAD to spend time outside after church so today we took the girls to Moreau Lake to hunt salamanders.  

rockin' the Babiators

 LittleL.G. was so excited to see the water that she ran down the beach to touch it.  To her surprise it was really cold.  I guess toddlers are less than agile and while attempting to stop herself from taking another step she did a full on face plant into the lake.  Despite being a little wet, she really enjoyed watching the salamanders swim from afar.

MiniM.E. was much more excited to catch them and we ended up with a whole bucket full!

While MiniM.E. and Daddy caught and released salamanders, LittleL.G. practiced her shoveling and bucket filling.

MiniM.E. really wanted her to be as excited about the salamanders as she was so she brilliantly thought to have LittleL.G. "feed" the salamanders some sand.  I love watching them play together.

What a great morning at the beach! I think we're all excited to come back when we can swim!

An Early "Summer" Weekend

A weekend of temperatures in the 70s?? Yes please! Though crazy to think just a couple weeks ago we were playing in the snow.

Lots of playing outside:

Taking out the powerwheels:

And BBQ season has officially begun!  Our first BBQ guests of the season brought their six month old baby and the girls were over the moon to hold and cuddle and play with her.

Art Show

Yesterday was MiniM.E.'s school art show. She was so excited about the art show last year that when it ended she didn't want to leave and just wanted it to keep going. She was just as excited about it this year, but another year older, another year wiser and she knew that it was just a one night thing.

She did have a great time and was extremely proud of her artwork. We saw some friends and ate some snacks and did a little playing on the playground.

This is just one of those times when I look back, just a year, and see how much she's grown.

(even though she is obviously still four!)

I am so proud of her.

Happy One and A Half!

I'm HOW old??

It is hard to believe we have been a family of four for 18 months.  I have to say that LittleL.G. is the best thing that happened to our little family of three.

She is the one who wakes up smiling and laughing and always wants to say "HI!" and "pat" everyone and everything.  She's the first to brighten a dull moment with a funny dance, some spinning, jumping or running and can make all of us giggle with her "funny face".  She loves Elmo, Mickey Mouse, stickers, drawing, macaroni and cheese, being naked, slides and going "AH-SIGH!"

(the "funny face")

She is sweet and loving and takes expert care of all her dollies (though they are almost always naked).  She can also be headstrong and can definitely hold her own against MiniM.E.

At times she is daring and independent and will run off to play by herself at a playground,  but she can also be a mama's girl and has spent many hours cuddled on me like a baby koala.

There is no telling her she isn't four and a half like her sister and she loves MiniM.E. fiercely.  She imitates all that she does and wants to do everything MiniM.E. can even if she's too little.  She asks for her when she isn't around and gets excited to see her when they've been apart.

If I thought it was fun to watch my first little baby grow into a little girl, it is even more fun the second time around... even if I don't have as much time to document it or talk about it or sometimes even realize it is happening.

A Happy 5th Birthday Party

Today we celebrated our friend H.'s 5th birthday.  Which feels almost unreal.  Five?? We all celebrated H.'s very first birthday together.  And every birthday since.  It is a nice tradition and it is fun to see the girls grow together, but sometimes it seems like it's all going by much too fast!

I think what makes the 5th birthday party a bit hard to swallow is MiniM.E.'s excitement to grow up faster.  "H. is five today! I'm almost five too.  I can't wait to be five.  Can you believe I'm almost five? Don't I look like I'm six today?? You know how now I wear size five.  I bet when I'm five I'll wear size six!!" ...and it goes on.  But I think today she understood just a bit how I feel because in the car on the way to the party she said, "Mommy, I'm a little sad that LittleL.G. is going to be two when I turn five.  I think I want her to stay one.  Does that make you sad too, Mommy?" And of course, it does make me a little sad that my babies will be two and five. But as much as I want them to stay this way it is so rewarding watching them grow.  And at least I have another six months to prepare!

Swimming Lessons

MiniM.E. had her second swimming lesson today.

Which is a huge deal. First off, because she repeatedly told me that she DID NOT want to take swimming lessons, and secondly because she has to get in the pool with someone else while I AM NOT in the pool.

But she totally blew my socks off by getting right in the water with a college student on the day of swim evaluations.

Then at her first lesson I was worried things weren't going to go well because she was paired with a male instructor and she takes much longer to warm up to males than females, but again- got right in and did a great job!  She was one of the only ones in her class to put her head under and she even jumped in at the end.

Today I was worried again because her instructor was different than the class before.  But again, she did a fantastic job.  I suppose after her first two times at the pool I should have known not to worry. Today was an especially great lesson for her because the other girl who shared her instructor refused to get in the water, so MiniM.E. basically had a one-on-one lesson.

Hoping to have a swimmer by the summer!