June 2012

It has gotten H-O-T!  The last couple times we have been to the zoo, I have thought this is the LAST time till fall, but when sweet little voices say, "Can we go to the zoo today?", it's difficult to use heat as an excuse.  Hey, they don't get too hot, they have the luxury of riding in a canopied double stroller, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells as I swelter behind them.  One day, I satisfied them by building them their own zoo at home.  It was quite fun.  We used couches, underneath chairs, tents, blankets and blocks to build habitats.  We carefully placed animals so they would not be eaten by their predators.  We even made a petting zoo!  That would be the part they are examining below.  

We have been visiting the library often this summer.  We love our library!  The ladies in the children's department are great!  There are computers, puzzles, and puppets to play with.  Not to mention all the books.  We generally get 14 books to last us 2 weeks.  Adam and I like variety :)  Even though we have so many new choices, the girls usually pick one or two as their favorites and we read those daily.  I have just started choosing several non-fiction books and those are often the favorites.  Animals of any sort create lots of interest for both girls.  

We took a road trip to Memphis last weekend to visit with some of Adam's family. The time in the car was mostly enjoyable.  Autumn just does not like to ride for very long unless she is eating!  Adam got in the backseat for a while and that was such a treat, that they were happy girls most of the way.  We stayed with Adam's cousin who has a 3 yr old little girl and a 7 month old little boy.  Chloe had great fun with Georgia and is still talking about the things they pretended.  At worship on Sunday, she was telling everyone, we had gone camping and had picnics.  We had not, but Georgia and she pretended they did :)  Being around a 7 month old who eats every 2 hours and wakes several times a night made me wonder, are we really thinking about doing THAT again?!  Note: I said THINKING not doing!!

Oh, the joys of raising a toddler...the fit throwing has begun.  I'm thinking the terrible twos will exist with Autumn.  She has begun communicating and though Adam, Chloe, and I understand a lot of it, Autumn still becomes frustrated.  Mostly, the foot stomping begins when I tell her no, she can't have/do something.  Admittedly, stomping is what I want to do sometimes, when I don't get my way.  I was taking pictures one day and she wanted me to stop.  Before the training, I tried to snap a quick photo of the stomping.  Though I didn't get the feet, I DID capture the face :)

Yes, they will be upset with me when they are 16, that I have this moment, BUT Autumn is only 19 months old and has successfully used the potty!  I know it was a fluke, she just happened to be sitting there when it occurred, but all the same, excitement ensued.   

Our house has been showing like CRAZY (9 times in 2 weeks) lately, so I have been doing all kinds of things to keep the girls entertained and not making messes across the house.  This was some "messy fun".  I squirted shaving cream all over the bathtub and invited them to explore.  Chloe is always apprehensive about getting dirty.  Once it's done, she's fine, but the digging in usually takes a little time.  I actually had to squirt some on her and smash her hands together to get her to play.  Autumn, on the other hand, got right in and spread it all over.  This has been a trend of hers lately.  One day, they were sitting at their little table playing with some small pieces of paper and an ink pen.  Chloe got up, but Autumn stayed at the table for quite some time.  Finally, she got up and ran in the living room, saying "ook, ook!"  She had marked all over her left arm, quite artistically.  Wonder if we have a tattoo artist in the family :)  She did the same thing with a marker the next day.  Guess I need to watch a little more carefully!

The girls and I are looking forward to enjoying a few extra days with Adam.  He's continuing to work like crazy, but is taking the couple of days before the 4th to have some fun.  Not really any plans, but I am sure happiness is in store!