Outside Fun

We've been trying to enjoy the outdoors before the dog days of summer begin.  Unfortunately I think they are upon us!

 Ellie and her friend, Brooklynn

 "I'm a tunnel!"

 Passing the torch...or cozy coupe.  Big girl Ellie can barely fit in her cozy coupe any more, but it's perfect for little sissy.  

 Multitasking with a little hopscotch.

 Ellie is doing her best to learn to tie her shoes, but for now she practices by tying up her sissy.  

Virginia Trip

 

Josie's brush with the Law:

Mama accidentally locked Josie in her room during nap time ;(  Luckily I realized almost immediately what had happened and she had just eaten, had a clean diaper, and was fast asleep.  After trying unsuccessfully to enter the room ourselves, it was time to call in the big guns.  The police were very helpful and seemed genuinely happy to be serving grateful citizens rather than arresting hooligans. 

Our Heros: Officers Riley, Smith, and Kesterson of the Lexington Police Department

Play Date with Cousin Frankie.  We also got to go to the city pool with sweet Frankie.

Ellie had so much fun visiting with Mommy's college friends.  Here she is with Christopher and Matthew Sanders.

GRUMPA!  We sure wished we had more Grumpa time, but we were glad to be able to love on him while we were in town.

 While in Tennessee...do as the Tennesseans do!  My cowgirl...

We've got a little talker...no, seriously.

 

I know this seems a little crazy, but Josie is talking!  And not just goo goo ga gas, though she does plenty of babbling, too.  For about a month now Seth and I have agreed that she uses "ma-ma" and "da-da" discriminantly.  There were too many instances where she properly referenced one of us with the correct sound to consider it all a coincidence.  Then about a week ago I noticed that she was saying "no" when she was mad or frustrated.  This morning while Seth was leaving I was making her wave while saying, "Bye bye, Daddy!"  She clearly said, "Ba-ba, da-da!"  Here is a little video evidence of her waving and saying "Hi."  She did this for about five minutes in her crib after nap.  She's definitely trying to imitate our sounds :)

Busy Bees

The end of May has been a busy time!  Ellie finished up this year in dance and PDO and we took a family trip for Memorial Day.  On top of that, Josie had a major stomach bug that kept her from eating for a good five or six days.  Little sweetie is doing much better now and is eating more than ever.  

 

Ellie was a little nervous to perform in front of all the parents.  Her beginners class doesn't have a place in the recital, so Miss Arlyne had a Parents' Night for the kids to show off their new talents.

Here LilyGrace and Ellie show off their twirls:

Thankfully Miss Arlyne will continue to be her teacher next year!

That same evening was PDO's farewell Spring performance.  Here are Ellie and Lila before the big show.

Little Jose was all tuckered out.

Things started out well.  Ellie was front and center and singing SO LOUD (Lila put her hand over Ellie's mouth).

During the second song things took a turn...

We ran around a lot on Memorial Day (details in the earlier post), but found time to relax with sissy and play a little golf with her new clubs.

Yes, she even has a MATCHING YELLOW putting glove!!!  Not pictured, unfortunately.

Learning how to celebrate a good shot!