Those Pesky Bars......

I remember when I was a little girl watching kids do all sorts of crazy tricks on the bars at school. They would hang upside down, then flip off. Or hang by one leg and swing around. I like to imagine that I could do that too, and maybe I did. To be honest I can't really remember, and I'm certainly not going to try it now! Oh, how Lizzy wishes she could do those tricks! She looks longingly at the bars at school, or at the park, and grunts and pulls and jumps and stamps her feet in frustration trying to figure it out. Let's just say..........bars aren't her long suit- at least not yet. But, she's making progress! On a good day, she can figure out how to swing her legs up to boost herself up and sit on top of the bars. Pretty cool! But with every success, comes a set-back. About one minute after this picture was taken, after Lizzy was still tasting the sweetness of her triumph, she fell backwards and landed hard on the ground. She was shook up, and definitely deflated, but was ready to try again a few minutes later (I'm not sure I was ready for her to try again). I know she'll get it one of these days. She is a very determined girl.

Girls!

We've got a new girl to add to the gang! Baby Reagan has joined the world, and Lizzy and Paige are very excited to add her to the girl club. Reagan is so adorable- very peaceful, calm, and totally cuddly. Lizzy and Paige loved getting to take turns to hold her. Lizzy, ever the wonderful big sister, could have held her all night! It's pretty wonderful to see that little pink bundle, and we're so happy for Matt and Amy:)

Big Boys in the Back

Trevor and Connor came over while their mommy was in the hospital with their baby sister. We decided to hit the town and visit the little zoo and grab some dinner. Usually, when we're driving friends around, Lizzy and the other "big" kid get to sit in the very back. For some reason, this is an extremely exciting place to be. Peter always complains that he has to sit in the middle, and shares his disgust with lots of moaning and crying. Poor guy, he never gets a chance to be the big guy in the back. This time, it just made more sense to put the bigger car seats all the way in the back, and have the boosters in the middle. You can't imaging the look of surprise, then excitement, then pride on Peter's face when he realized he was getting to sit in the "way back" this time. It was priceless! He kept saying, "See mommy! I'm a big boy!" Everybody gets their day to be the "big" guy.

This Is For You!

The other day I could hear Lizzy getting upset over a picture she was making. It wasn't turning out just right, so she started yelling and crumpled up her paper and threw it away. I decided to steer clear of this drama, and an unsettling quiet descended. What was she doing now? What was going on in there? A few minutes later Lizzy came walking into my room with a big smile on her face. She was carrying a try with a muffin and a handmade card that said, "I Love You Mom" on it. She said, "Here mom! I made this for you!" I'm not quite sure what sparked the turn around, but I loved her thoughtfulness and the darling gesture- too cute!

Happy Birthday, Caroline!

There probably aren't too many people in your life that you have attended all of their birthday parties (since birth). It's pretty cool to think about actually, because you got to be one of the people celebrating each milestone with that person, enjoying them all along the way as they grow from baby, to toddler, to little girl. We were so excited to get to ring in Carline's fifth year with her. She is our special cousin, and Lizzy's closest friend, so it was super special to get to spend a wonderful day with her splashing on the water slide and eating yummy cupcakes.

Ladybug Forest

Have you ever had a magical moment in the middle of an ordinary day? Perhaps if you didn't stumble upon a particular path, or look in a certain direction, you would have missed the most amazing sight! When we were walking home from our picnic, Lizzy wanted to look at some trees we had enjoyed earlier in the day. The kids were walking through some tall grass, when all of sudden Lizzy became excited at spotting a ladybug. We all bent down to admire it, when we found another........and another........and another. There were dozens, if not hundreds of ladybugs hanging on the tall pieces of grass. It was truly breathtaking and amazing! I've never seen anything like it. The kids go bananas at finding a single ladybug, so seeing so many, really stumbling over tons of them, was like hitting the lottery. I was so thankful to Lizzy because if we hadn't walked through this particular section of grass, we would have missed the whole thing. What a lesson in keeping your eyes open, exploring the offbeat path, and soaking in the wonder that is all around.

Gorgeous Day

Sometimes, the best day can be right in front of you. Sometimes I need to be reminded that we don't always need to go to a museum or flashy spot, just exploring the outdoors can be so wonderful. I'm blown away by my kids' ability to be fascinated by combing through dirt. Seriously, they have the most wonderful way of finding beauty everywhere. Our friend Kelly suggested going to Stanford and having a picnic on the grassy field in front of campus. Super simple, right? Why didn't I ever think of that? We brought our scooters and picnics and the kids had the best time scootering all around and enjoying their food on a gorgeous sunny day. It was awesome. Then, when we went "exploring," Lizzy and Peter loved all the amazing rocks they found. Two of our favorites were these heart rocks that were just sitting there, waiting to be admired.