Another Fun Day!

We are loving this weather!

Walking to the park...


There is a momma duck that seems to be living under the slide at our neighborhood park. I don't know much about ducks, but it appears that she might be in the process of laying eggs, or something like that.



I did some minor research (because I am a little concerned about her) and this is what I found:

Ducks lay an egg every day or two until they have a full clutch (usually 8 to 15); only then will the mother start to sit on them. It takes the eggs 28 days to hatch from when she starts sitting all the time. When they hatch, she will soon lead them to a nearby body of water. The father takes no part in caring for the eggs or young.

So, maybe she is in the midst of that 28-day process of sitting on the eggs? Anyway, we have visited her every day since we found here there and we bring her some bread to eat. She barely moves, and never eats any of the bread until we are out of sight. Caleb loves going to see her and is concerned for her as well.



M never tires of swinging!


Tonight, we met up with some friends for an impromptu visit to the splash pad....summer has "officially" begun!

Run!!!


She enjoyed using her new crawling skills...


Caleb and his friend Coralyn...


She did not enjoy the water so much, but did enjoy playing with this bucket for at least 2 minutes.

Planning Mode

I am a planner. It is true. I like to plan ahead...sometimes way ahead. I like to be organized and I like to be prepared. And, sometimes, I am just so stinkin' excited about something that I can't help but act!

Meredith's 1st birthday is coming up in a little over 2 months...and, while I am not too eager for my baby girl to become a little less of a baby (sniff, sniff), I am pretty excited to celebrate her first 12 months of life. I love my kids and I love to celebrate them in any way that I can. Birthdays are the perfect opportunity to do this!

So, I have gotten myself into planning mode for her birthday party. We've reserved the location. I've decided on a "theme". The menu is pretty well set, as are ideas for favors, decorations, and invitations.

I know, I know...it is over 2 months away!

But, I can't help it! I am excited.

Oh, and I am a planner...remember?

On the Move

Just before Meredith turned 9 months, she figured out how to get onto all 4s, and though she would try to move forward, she could only rock back and forth. Since then, she has been army crawling and rolling to get from one place to another. But, in the past few days, she has started crawling in the more traditional way.

While she is has not perfected it quite yet, she is getting better and faster by the second!

M's New Favorite Pastime

Meredith loves to pull out the basket of DVDs that we have under our TV, and take them all out. And yes, sometimes taste them to see what's worth watching.

Another Fun (and HOT) Day!

Today was a hot one! We had our friend Jack over, and Caleb had a great time playing with him all day.

They ran back and forth through the sprinkler...



...and played in the itty-bitty baby pool....so not as cool as the pool that Jack has at home, but he didn't seem to mind too much!


Meredith enjoyed the pool much more than she did yesterday. It helped that we made sure the water was a little warmer.



Drying off in the sun...


After naps, we went to the park...although we only stayed a little while, because it was so hot!


Practicing good safety rules and holding hands to cross the street...=)


And, just because I think she's cute.


The boys were so sweaty by the end of the day....I was able to put Caleb's hair in a mohawk it was so wet!

Hooray for the Sun!

Today was hot and sunny and perfect for some fun outside. I turned on the sprinkler and Caleb had a great time. He also loved the itty-bitty baby pool, even though he barely fits in it anymore. Meredith did NOT like being in the pool so much....I am guessing that the water was just too cold. She loves splashing around in the bathtub, so I am sure that she'll enjoy swimming eventually, as long as the water is not too frigid!









And, just some silly shots of the kids "wrestling" after dinner tonight...Meredith may be in the "feather-weight" category, but she can hold her own for sure. =)

Silly Words

As most mothers-of-toddlers probably know, kids this age say the cutest and funniest and most random things. I wish that I carried a notebook around with me all day so I could write down all the cute things that Caleb says.

Anyway, today, after his nap, he appeared to have something in his mouth. I asked him if he was eating something, or if he had a "yucky" in his mouth (not sure what a "yucky" might have been in that circumstance...).

He looked at me, and said:

"It's my tongue. It's just hanging out."

Ummm....okay.

Just thought I would share.

=)

Planting

My mom came over today, and she and Caleb planted some flowers along our front walkway. It is pretty shady there most of the day, so they planted impatients.

Let's hope I can keep them alive.

Cuties

Saturday Sweetness

Driveway Art

Lately, Caleb has been more intentional in his drawing efforts. As opposed to just scribbling, he often has specific things in mind when he draws....some of his favorite things to draw are ovals, circles, lines, and airplanes. Granted, these do not always look exactly textbook, but it is so fun to see him working hard to create something! And, you can be sure that we praise him for his efforts as if his works of art were as "good" as those of a professional artist.

Anyway, he loves to draw with sidewalk chalk. Here are a few examples of his latest driveway art:

"Moon"
He made about 10 moons. Here's 1 of them.


And, we have been working on writing the letters of his name.

"C"
He is pretty good at making a "C"....he made a bunch of these all over the driveway as well.


"A"
This was a bit tricky, but once I told him where to draw the lines, he did pretty well!


"L"
He got a little scribble crazy after making his "L"...can you see the "L" in the midst of the scribbles?


We'll work on the "E" and "B" another day...=)

As Much Time Out as In!

Meredith turned 9 months old yesterday. She has officially been on this side of my womb as long as she was on the inside.

I didn't get the chance to take too many photos yesterday. Although, here is one from the day before....

While she isn't able to crawl just yet, she sure is trying!


We took her to JCPs to get her photos taken....and, while she wasn't in a horrible mood, she was definitely a bit tired. My fault...I shouldn't have scheduled the appointment during her morning nap. Oops.

Anyway, they did not turn out fantastic, but here's a few...

The Greatest Job in the World

I can't imagine any greater job than the one that I have. I love my kids more than words can express. While being a Mom definitely has its challenges, I am so thankful for the blessing of having Caleb & Meredith to love.

Not the greatest picture of any of us.....but this was taken on Mother's Day.

Goin' To School

Caleb put on his backpack, grabbed his blankie, slipped on mom's sandals and said...

"I'm goin' to school. See you later guys. Have a nice day!"



I told him that he would need to wear pants to go to school, but he didn't think they were necessary.

Wordless Wednesday: Walk in the Park