Water Fun

With warm weather comes outdoor water fun. 

I was thinking about getting the girls a water table, but before I could get one, they discovered this deck chair with rain water on it, and proved to me that a water toy would be a must for the summer!

~splash~splash~splash~

Splashing and licking water off dripping fingers can provide endless entertainment!

Sticking fingers in a sister's mouth is also incredibly fun!

After some shopping and Craigslist searching, I found this great water toy in Highlands Ranch. It was well worth the $5 and two hour car ride!

Can It Be? Claire is Three!!

On April 9th, Claire turned three years old. This was the first birthday party the girls have attended while mobile, and it was fun watching them watch the big kids.

Popsicle stick craft time!

Playing with Claire's big girl toys

Beautiful Mama with her little girl...and another one coming soon! :)

Towel Tents

Early last month, Dad made a great towel tent in the family room. What fun!

Wagon Rides and Bucket Swings

We've found a new park by our house that has two baby swings, bonus! The girls really enjoy riding in their new wagon, and it's our preferred mode of transportation to the park.

Mirror Fun

We have a large mirror that has been living in our basement for a couple years after it was replaced by a fancy Pier One mirror in one of our bathrooms. The mirror made its way upstairs for the eight month photo shoot when we had a professional come to take pictures.

The mirror then went back down to the basement, until it came up for some fun last month. We have a couple of small mirrors in the toy box, and they are among our favorite toys. Emily is especially entertained by her reflection these days. One morning, she was really getting a kick out of finding me in the reflection of her little mirror, so I decided to see how she would react to the big mirror. Both Emily and Addison were amazed to see themselves and so much else reflected, and we played for a little while but then I put the mirror away to wait for Daddy to come home so he could join in on the fun. DeeDee happened to come over that evening as well, so we all had a grand time playing music and watching the mirror.

Emily was giving herself the biggest smiles!

Our stander

Watching the shaker move in the reflection

Hey good lookin'!

Music time!

Addie does some fancy kick moves

Drum solo!

Playing with a Mirror

Chris discovered that the girls would follow the light reflected from a mirror. He thought it was pretty neat to watch their heads bob as he made the light dance on the wall. But then he also discovered that they were able to make the connection that the light was coming from the mirror.

Amazon and its Boxes

As Christmas was approaching, we were getting lots of packages from Amazon as presents came in the mail for Emily and Addison. This box was just the right size for pulling around two excited, fabric-scrap-eating girls. Later that day, the box ended up in the recycle bin and the scraps ended up in the trash, but first they provided lots of entertainment!

Addison: Why are you stopping, Mom?
Emily: Weeeeeeee!

Picture pit-stop!

A Lady and the Tramp moment with the fabric

Thing 1 Thing 2

Put Thing 1 and Thing 2 on the couch and see what they do...

We'll sit still long enough for this one, mom

But then Thing 1's on the move

Thing 2's chillin

Thing 1 gets her attack face on

Nah, I won't attack you, Sissy, I love you.

Thing 1 explores her new tooth with her tongue while Thing 2 tries to catch the spots of sunlight

Down on the floor, what should we do?

Thing 1 decides it's time to stand

Thing 2 likes exploring behind couches and chairs...can she fit back there? Thing 1 wonders how to get to those buttons

Thing 2 wonders what her sister is getting into this time....

Table Toy

Chris and I were just commenting tonight that this toy has been a huge hit and it hasn't gotten old at all for the girls. It started out on the ground (you can take the legs off) when they weren't standing, but now it's a table toy and they will both stand at it forever, pushing buttons and pulling levers to make the lights and songs go. 

Hey Dad!

A few of my favorite pictures of Chris and the girls from last month....

Chris bought these Kodak shirts back in 2004. We never would have guessed they would be worn at the same time!

The girls enjoy some Radiohead

Addie wants Dad to teach her how to play

Emily claps along

Backyard Fun

We don't always have big weekend adventures that take us far away from the house, sometimes the farthest we make it is out to the backyard. But on a beautiful fall day, the backyard can be a wonderful place!

Chris soaks up some sun while the girls chill in the shade

Addison stands in the grass

Emily chats with Dad

Exploring the grass...it's mesmerizing

Kitchen Playground

Playing in the kitchen while Mom's making dinner can be lots of fun!

With Addison pulling up on pretty much anything she can reach, we've learned to keep the dishwasher closed when she's around!

Wooden spoons are delicious!

Can I climb this?

it sure does

Chairs make great jungle gyms