Cousin Ryan Came to Play

I am so thankful that my children have cousins that are close in age to them. Growing up, I had a lot of cousins that were close in age and some of my fondest childhood memories involve them. I look forward to all of the many memories that my kids have with their cousins.

Ryan is 4 months younger then Leah, and he is pretty much the same size as she is and I think that they both realize that they are close in age and meant to play with one another. I watched Ryan this morning and I had so much fun watching him and Leah play together. They would "talk" to one another and it was as if they knew exactly what the other one was talking about. They went into Leah's room and played together with the same toys...and they shared too! Amazing! Leah wouldn't leave Ryan alone, and I have a feeling that Ryan wanted a little space from her, but he put up a good face and went along with what she wanted to do. He even let her give him hugs...one right after another. Too cute! I have a feeling that these two are going to be good friends :).

Hugs! This picture makes me smile. Ryan just let Leah hug him over and over again. What a good cousin :).
They would take turns pulling each other around in the wagon...as soon as they went down the hall, they switched places without a word. Leah loves being pulled around in this wagon, but Noah isn't really into this game so I am sure that she was thrilled when Ryan played along with her. They really must understand one another!

Dear Summer ~

I miss you already!

I woke up this morning and it was so chilly outside that I had to dress the children in pants, a long sleeved shirt, socks, and shoes. I don't think we have worn any socks this summer...I know that I haven't! I'm a flip flop kind of girl and I was a little sad when I had to wear socks and real shoes today. I know that's silly, but it's true. Summer, please come back soon!

I am going to miss...

...going to the Sno Shack every other day and sitting outside and eating it in the warm sun. Red Raspberry for me...Watermelon for the kids.
...blowing bubbles outside until we literally run out of them. {I don't even want to know how much $$ I spent on bubbles this summer. It was worth it though :) }.
...going to birthday parties at the park and eating cotton candy to our hearts content. That was fun, and yummy!

...taking the children on runs in the jogger almost every day, AND eating lots of popsicles.

...giving the children two baths a day because they got so dirty from playing outside, going swimming, eating popsicles that melted too fast, etc... It's a good thing that we like tubby time!

...going to the splash pad and/or the pool every day.

...having BBQs with the family and running through the water with the cousins. Good times!

...being so tired from all of the joys of summer that you literally crash on the couch the moment that you decide to wind down {which doesn't happen often enough!}.

The Killers

Oh how I love going to concerts...it really is one of my favorite things to do. Hearing one of your favorite bands play live is amazing...I love it! We don't go all of the time, but if one of our favorite bands is coming to town...we're there. We both love The Killers, and we have already seen them play live two times, but we weren't going to pass up seeing them again when we heard that they were coming again! We have been looking forward to this concert for four months...it was really SO good! A part of me wished that Noah was there with us because he enjoys their music and knows a good number of songs {it's pretty cute to watch him sing}. I'm sure that we'll go and see them next time they come...I look forward to that :).

Leah at 18 Months

Today our sweet little princess turns 18 months. 18 MONTHS! I, for one, can't believe that this little gem has been in our lives for a year and a half...it has gone by way too fast.

• She has a little obsession with shoes. In fact, she LOVES them and spends a good portion of her day in the closet pulling them out and bringing them to us. When it is time to go somewhere, she will go and pull hers out and bring them to me to put on. I love her face when she finally has them on and is all ready to go. She definitely a girl!
• Lately, she has been incredibly clingy to either me or Doug. Seperation anxiety has definitely entered her world and she does NOT like to be around people that she doesn't know without her mom or dad. There are certain people that she is comfortable with, but all in all, she pretty much stays by my side when we are somewhere unfamiliar and won't let anyone hold her who she doesn't know. Otherwise she will cry, cry, cry.
• She is SO strong willed! Oh my...I've never seen someone so small be so strong willed. If she doesn't get her way, then watch out! We're working on it.
• She used to be a really picky eater, then she hit a point where she ate pretty much anything and everything, and now she is back to being a picky eater! It can be so frustrating sometimes when we sit down for a meal and she doesn't eat anything that we give her. Or she will grab her food and throw it on the ground and give me this look...a look that says I just don't care what you do, mom, but there is no way I am going to eat that. Again, we are working on it.
• She and Noah have such an amazing bond with one another. Noah looks out for her and they really play so well together. Noah is starting to share with Leah, and Leah is all over this because she would much rather play with his toys than her own. I love it when they are playing and chasing one another around all while laughing so hard that they can hardly breath. It makes me smile every time!


• She is starting to say so many words and copies us when we ask her to say words back to us. I am amazed at how well she has been communicating with us lately. If we ask her if she wants something, she will either say "no"or nod her head for yes. Other things that she can say: I want more, I want down, bubbles {which is so cute!}, shoes {of course}, Mom, Dad, Noah {sounds like No-nah}, banana, hello, Elmo, cup, bowl, etc... I love hearing her cute little voice say actual words...love it!
• She knows all of her body parts, and I especially like it when you ask her "Where is your belly?" and she pulls up her shirt and sticks her little finger in her belly button.
• She is still and amazing sleeper, and I love her for it!
• She takes after me, Doug, and Noah and absolutely LOVES music! We pretty much listen to music all day every day, and I love it when she hears a song that she likes and she stops what she is doing and comes over to me and dances. I think I have a little dancer in the making!
• She has discovered the garbage can is puts everything in it...not good!
• She has a GREAT sense of humor and loves to do things that make us laugh. Whether it be walking around with a basket on her head, or putting the bubbles in the tub all over her face {this is a good one!}, or making funny sounds at the dinner table...she loves to get a smile out of us, and we love to see what she is going to do next to get that smile!

Leah ~ You have changed us all for the good and we couldn't imagine our lives without you. You make us all smile with all that you do and you have each of us wrapped around your little finger. You are so, so, so cute and we really can't get enough of you!

The Zoo {again}

The zoo is such a wonderful and fun place to go with kids, so why not go again? I have been wanting to take the children to go and see the new baby elephant, so I was thrilled when I found out that Doug's MBA program was having a family day at the zoo! So today we spent our day at the zoo admiring all of the beautiful animals and enjoying our time together as a family. It was fun to walk around with Noah because he had so many questions and was so curious about each of the animals. I love this age! He especially enjoyed seeing the baby elephant, as did Doug and I. She is so tiny and so, so, so cute! She stayed close to her mommy and was just like a little kid...kicking the ball around and playing in the mud! It was a good day :).

Watching the baby elephant.

She was so tiny and so amusing and fun to watch!

My little turtle.

Of course, we had to ride the carousel. It was the perfect way to end our day :).

Leah's a Little Taller

Look at what Leah can do...

Noah was 13 months when he figured out how to open the doors {see here}. Now that Leah has figured this out, she is getting into EVERYTHING. I better start keeping a closer eye on this girl.

Play-Doh

Noah LOVES playing with play-doh and insists that we play with it every day, and we do! I have so much fun coming up with fun little creations with him. He has such a fun imagination and I love seeing what he is going to come up with next. We usually play with it when Leah is asleep because she tends to eat it...not good! His favorite thing to make is a yummy play-doh dinner...noodles and meatballs, carrots, and peas! Yum!

Concentrate...

I thought that this was cute...he said that we had to pray before we ate our food. It just made me smile :).