Sam I Am

As many of you may know by now, I decided to stay home from teaching this year. While I am off this year, I decided to keep a friend of mine's baby boy named, Samuel. He is exactly one year younger than K and has the sweetest disposition. K loves having him around! She greets him every morning with "hi baby" and tries to get him out of his car seat~it's too cute. She enjoys entertaining him, annoying him, and even kissing him (which can be entertaining and annoying ;) LOL!) K has really "helped" him adjust to other children by squealing loudly right in his ear, taking toys away, showing him how toys work, sharing toys and other things, peeking in his crib right as he gets asleep, and many other helpful things. After a couple weeks, he learned to completely tune her out and not be as startled when she goes into LOUD mode (then again, I think we all have learned that to an extent). Having two around is not as hard as I thought it was going to be and definitely a wonderful learning experience for when we have our 2nd child (no...we are not quite ready for baby #2-we are just getting to the really fun stuff with K!)  

Marley and Me :)

My friend, Janene, and I decided to take our girls to the Botantical Gardens for the Treehouse Exhibit. They loved to climb, crawl, slide, run, and play on or around each unique treehouse. While we were there, we visited the Butterfly Exhibit, where Marley and K could see all the different types of butterflies, bees, turtles, and fish. Afterward, we went into the children's area and let the girls cool off by playing in the water misters and bubbling boulders. I think that was the icing on the cake! Both girls were drenched, but really seemed to enjoy their time together at the Gardens. I'm glad we were able to go and enjoy the day. K just loves her friends! :-D  

Bouncing, Bubbles, and balls galore!

We enrolled K in a toddler gymnastics class at The Little Gym and it couldn't be more perfect for her! She is constantly on the go, so she needed a place where she could release her energy and interact with some more kids her own age. In the last couple of weeks, she has learned to do a forwards roll, a backwards roll, walk on a balance beam, grasp and hold onto the bars, use the mats, and move on the tumble track (all with a little guidance, of course). We learn two new skills every time we go and she is so eager to learn each of them. I really like her teacher too! She knows the kids and understands their attention span, so she is always ready for the next step. So far, we have played some musical instruments, bounced balls, tossed scarfs, blown bubbles, tumbled, climbed, danced, and sang songs. What more could you ask for with toddlers?!?   

Sunny days, sweepin' the clouds away...

Well, as you can tell, we are definitely enjoying our summer and sunny days together! K and I are always finding great ways to beat the heat and still get outdoors. She is obsessed with water, whether it is from the sink, hose, or pool. I love watching her experience these moments in life and hope I can capture all of them! She is such a blessing and has greatly enriched my life -What did I ever do without her??? :D  

Oodles of fun at Bridgestreet

We took K to Bridge Street today to play in the pop up water fountains. I wasn't sure if she was going to participate so I didn't bother with a bathing suit and all that nonsense until she tested it out. BUT once she was in, there was no turning back or changing...She loved it!!! I figured next time, we will do it better and dress the part. ;) Also, I brought bubbles and then it was a party for all the little ones involved. My niece loves being a "little mommy," so she decided to blow the bubbles for me. What good family fun we had today. After we dried off and changed into decent clothing, we met daddy at Tommy's Pizza. Good place to go for pizza that is different. :) 

Splash and Play

I call it the Toddler Water Park...

The water was very cold when she sat down the first time. :)

Fun in the sun. She spotted a bird in the tree and was a little distracted for the photo. Too cute.

Mmmmm! That is good water ma-ma.

Okay, so our patio was finally poured and we couldn't wait to go out! So, I pulled out all the water toys, the new water play mat, and we played like there was no tomorrow! Even if the wall wasn't quite finished, we still went out and did our thing. I love that she loves water and playing outside! The only thing that worries me a little is how fearless she is. She will stick her face directly in the water, try to blow bubbles (or drink it-can't tell), and then do it again! Crazy girl!

(Yes, she takes after me...)

Party, Party, Party (well, just two really)

First, was our youngest nephew's (on Sam side)

What a good daddy! She wanted in so badly! It was sprinkling out, so not many of the parents were getting in to get right back out if it really rained.  

Second, was her BFF's 2nd birthday.

She looks sweet and innocent, but...

P showing K her new dolly and trying to share with K. How sweet!

K taking and running with P's new dolly. (Yes, we have the mean child...ha, ha)

Daddy interfering and giving P's new doll back to her. :)

Today was a busy day! We had two birthday parties to go to and one short nap in between. Whew! Poor K, she really thought that the doll was hers because we have the same one at home. She didn't understand why P kept it. It ended up okay though, she was fine when we left. We had to distract her with a cookie to get her out of the clubhouse. :)

She just couldn't wait!

Well, here is Little Miss in the pool in the beginning/middle of May...we walked out on the back deck to watch her daddy work on the patio wall and she spotted the pool she had from last year...Needless to say, she won this battle! Oh well, all parents win some lose some, right??? So, K played for a while in the cold water as she watched Opa and Dada work. I can't wait to get her in the big pool! SHE IS A WATER BABY! :)