fun at grandma's--part 1

The girls and I are at Grandma and Grandpa's house this week because Daddy is gone for the week.  Here are some pictures of the fun things we've done so far:

Rebecca's first ice cream cone of her very own!

She kept trying to eat it from the bottom!

I think it's safe to say that she enjoyed it!

A trip to the lake

It was 100 degrees this day, so the beach was PACKED!  The sand was too hot to put Rebecca down, so she spent the whole time like this:

And in other news, Rebecca took four steps all on her own yesterday!  She's sooooooo close to walking, and could do it if she wanted to, but she needs a little more confidence before she'll let go of whatever she's holding on to.  But she's getting there, and I was so excited to see her take those steps yesterday.  She had her hands full, so she didn't notice that she wasn't holding on to the wall or furniture or anything before she took off.

Who knows what other fun we have in store for us this week!

outside

Playing outside is one of my girls' favorite things to do.  Here are some pictures from a recent morning on the deck.  Doesn't Rachel look so tall??? 

Happy 4th!

We don't have a single good picture from the parade we went to this morning, but oh well.  Rebecca wants to play peekaboo whenever you point the camera in her direction.  Rachel didn't want her picture taken for some reason...so here's what we got.  This first one is the best of the bunch, and it's not even good.  They're all downhill from there....

Look at the background of this picture....yes, they're carrying their dogs in baby bjorn-esque carriers. 

 It started to rain, so we put this cover on Rebecca's backpack for the first time.  She was in the backpack in the first place because she was fussy and sleepy, and she loves this thing, so it kept her happy and quiet, which the stroller wasn't.

first haircut

Before

During

After

I don't really like it...I think it looks like a boy.  I just wanted it barely trimmed because it was in her eyes, but she cut a lot off.  :(  But it'll grow, and with a bow, hopefully no one will think she's a boy!

And here she is playing peekaboo while I was trying to take her picture.

ten years

Ten years ago today I was doing this....

And ten years later, I'd do it all over again.

I love you, Brian!  The last decade has been my favorite adventure ever! Happy Anniversary!

13 months

Rebecca's learning so much these days.... 

*Her favorite word is, "HI!" (though it sounds more like "eye" when she says it.) 

*She now signs "more" whenever she wants something, and points to the thing she wants.  It doesn't exactly mean "more," it means, "I want that!"

*She's completely given up the bottle and is down to three sippy cups of milk a day.  No more rocking her before bed with a bottle, which I'll miss...though it hasn't exactly been relaxing for many months, since she'd always sit up every 10 seconds anyway to see what was going on around her.  Now bedtime consists of reading a book, but she sits still for a few pages to listen and then starts trying to turn the pages by herself so I can't read the rest. 

*She climbs on EVERYTHING.  Her favorite is the rocking chair.  The other day she climbed up on Rachel's stool, which was right next to the coffee table, and then climbed up onto the coffee table, the little stinker.

*She's FINALLY taking real naps!  For the last week or two she's been taking two naps a day of about 1 1/2 hours each.  The queen of the catnap finally knows how to nap!  YAY!

*Her favorite thing (besides her cups of milk) is food.  She's happiest when there's food in front of her.  I don't know where all the food goes.  I swear her legs must be hollow.

*Another favorite thing of hers is riding in the Kelty backpack on Daddy's back and going outside.  Daddy said yesterday, "I know Rebecca loves this thing, but it's killing my back!"  We've been using it a lot lately for going on walks/hikes.

*And yet another favorite is going outside.  I don't know how many times a day she signs "more" and then points to the back door, wanting to go outside.  She likes to swing, eat sand, leaves, or anything else she can get her hands on, and play with her outside toys (a slide, water table, and little tikes garden). 

new bike

Rachel's princess bike was way too small for her, so we've been looking at new ones for her.  Today we walked into a big bike sale without even planning on it, and walked out with a new Barbie bike for Rachel!

Daddy was teaching her to brake--he's been trying all spring/summer to teach her, and she finally got it today.

We went for a short family bike ride, including Rebecca in the bike trailer--her first ride in it. 

Next step....getting rid of the training wheels.  We're thinking it's going to be quite awhile before she learns that, seeing that it took her forever to learn just to use the brakes! 

long lost friends

Yesterday morning we met our dear, dear friends (who moved away three years ago....one of the saddest days of my life) at a park in between our two houses.  Even though the weather didn't cooperate for an outdoor playdate (it was cold and drizzling much of the morning), we still had a great time being together.  We haven't seen them since last summer, so the kids had all changed a lot, but most of all Rebecca, who was still a newborn when they last saw her!  Here are some pictures from our fun morning.

Rachel talking Miss Allecia's ear off....as usual

Rebecca enjoying the attention from Kaden and Marin

Kaden and Rachel used to be the best of friends...so glad they still enjoy

each other, but sad they can't be as close as they once were

Rachel and Marin found a cozy spot to look at books (the back of our van!)