Summer Already?

Kara finished with preschool, but has been keeping very busy with classes and camps.  She has a weekly ice skating lesson on Thursdays, Vacation Bible School (going on this week, only been to one, but she had a blast), and weekly farm camp.  She's also starting swim lessons next week. So much fun to be had!

Emily's new favorite game is sticking things in her mouth (like dirt and rocks) and then sticking her tongue out to show Mommy and Daddy and have us wipe it off.  Let's just hope this is a phase.  Emily seems to pick up a new word every day, but she still mostly relies on the old tried and true method of pointing and grunting.  She also shakes her head no.  Sometimes it's actually when she means no. :-)  She's becoming quite confident in her movements.  She can climb and go down the slide by herself.  We've even seen her dribble the soccer ball all over the yard.  Check out the videos!

Emily has long periods of just wanting to be carried around and essentially crying/whining because we're not doing what she wants.  This might have to do with not being able to communicate well with us, and teething.  Still, she's generally a very sweet toddler.  Mommy was putting her down for a nap and they both heard Kara crying (she had bumped her head on a table corner).  So Mommy and Emily went down stairs to check on Kara.  After seeing Kara crying, Emily walked over and gave her a big hug (complete with pats on the back) and kiss (puckered lips and all).  It was about the sweetest thing Mommy had ever seen.

Kid quotes:
Kara - "I'm sure Uncle Trey is the biggest person in the world" (shortly after stating she had the longest hair of any kid in the world)

Mommy - "I love you with all my heart."
Kara - "I love you with the middle of my heart, Mommy.  In the middle, I love our family. On the left side, I love everyone at Mimi and Papa's house.  On the right side, I love Grandma and Grandpa. In the bottom tip of my heart, I love stuffed animals and toys and things."

Kara - "I just want everyone for every second to play with me."  Shortly after complaining about having to help out with chores around the house like brushing her teeth, washing her hands, and pulling the plug after bath.  Ah, kids.

Kara - "I wish I was naked all the time. I could pee better, I could eat better, everything would just be better."

At a birthday party, Kara stopped to help a boy who had dropped his goody bag.  He replied with, "Now I know why they call you Kara.  Because you really do care."  Don't worry, Daddy has his eyes on that smooth talker...





Link to pictures

Summer 2014 Visit from Mimi and Papa

We had a nice visit with Mimi and Papa the last week of May.  Kara really enjoyed the extra attention (of course), and Emily warmed up to them very quickly this time around.  By mid-week Mimi (and sometimes Papa), was getting giggles and big belly laughs out of Emily.

The weather was a little hot, but we still managed to get out to the park a few times and play in the backyard everyday.  This was made extra special with the addition of a jump rocket the grandparents brought (see pics).

We also took the girls to Dinosaur Ridge one morning.  It's an area where you can check out dinosaur tracks on the side of a mountain (and a few fossils).  Kara enjoyed the tour, while Emily loved the plaster dinosaurs in front of the visitors center.

At the end of the week, Papa, Mommy, and Kara went to visit Daddy for family day at work.  There was ice cream, which was a huge hit with Kara!  Daddy also arranged for a simulator tour for Dream Chaser.  Kara's favorite part was one of Daddy's coworkers who has his cubical completely decked out with Hello Kitty! decoration.  Daddy also took Papa on a factory tour, but couldn't check out the Dream Chaser spacecraft since it is currently being overhauled.  Oh, well, next time!

We ended the visit with a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion.  Kara's favorite part was holding Rosie the Tarantula, but she also enjoying looking at all the cool bugs and butterflies. Kara was quite disappointed, however, that she couldn't get a butterfly to land on her.  Meanwhile, Emily treated us with saying her first word, or, at least, the first word that sounded exactly like it was supposed to.  She was watching the bees in the beehive and shouted "Bee!"  Other than the bees, she also enjoyed walking up and down the stairs and watching the butterflies.  We had so much fun that we got season passes, so let us know if anybody wants to hit the Butterfly Pavilion with us!

Link to pictures