A Day at Gran and PopPop's

Well, our weekend away continued after the reunion/egg hunt with an visit at my parents' house, where we started things off by watching our Bulldogs play basketball and unfortunately not continue on to the Sweet 16. We had a good time anyway, and I got to catch up with "the other J," my dear friend since high school, which always makes me happy.

The next day the girls got to harvest the first vegetables they ever planted themselves: turnips. Gran had helped AG and LL plant the seeds in her flowerbed back at Christmas, and I don't think she expected them to actually grow into three gigantic turnips, right there next to her flowers. Here's LL pulling one with a hand from Gran.

Here's SJ pulling one with a hand from AG. Just kidding, I just got my pictures mixed up.

Here's AG's turnip. How cool to grow something you can eat! Or grow something at all, actually...I did not inherit my mother's green thumb, so I am glad AG has two grandmothers (and a Mimi!) who can actually keep plants alive and thriving. I'll just take care of the cooking...we roasted the turnips when we got home!

SJ had her first visit to the Bunny Yard...I don't know what else to call it. This is our third year to go there; it's in my parents' town and these people have decorated their yard with hundreds of rabbits, eggs, and various other Easter/Springish decor. It is quite a spectacle.

Rabbits on a train, they got 'em. Rabbits having a tea party, riding bikes, ferris wheels, swings, climbing ladders? They got 'em.

Girls who had a great time visiting their grandparents? We got 'em!

We chugged on back home later that day and they slept later the next morning than they have in...maybe ever. Thanks, Gran, PopPop, Nana and Grandpa for a busy, fun, special weekend!

Family Tradition

On Easter Sunday, after church, we went to a family reunion/egg hunt I've been attending all my life. Some of my grandfather's siblings were there, who've also been attending all their lives! It was fun to see a new crop of little egg hunters carrying on the tradition. LL paired up with PopPop...here they are heading toward the big pasture where all the eggs are hidden!
AG and Gran made a good team, too. AG found some plastic eggs and some real...which she'd pick up and say, "This is the cracking kind!"

LL's extra-tuned sight kicked in and she was really good at finding the eggs. She would pick one up, take a few steps, and be on her way to another one. She shook them all before depositing them in her basket.

Jackpot! With her basket overflowing, LL called it a day. Notice the egg with a stick on top...it was "lawlipop" and was LL's favorite!

It was a wonderful Easter day with family and friends!

Our Visit at Nana and Grandpa's

We got to spend the weekend with grandparents! First stop: Grandpa and Nana's house. The girls had lots of fun playing and got to go to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Nana was a great hunting partner!

Finders, keepers and candy eaters!

LL had some good storytime with Grandpa.

SJ sat up in a high chair for the first time to eat her first avocado!

Between bathtime and bedtime...

It was a great weekend to relax and celebrate Easter together! More photos of our weekend events to come soon...

Spring Chicks

Western Day

A few weeks ago, AG's school had "Western Day." They had covered wagon rides, games, special storytime and crafts, sloppy joes...you get the idea! Here she is twirling her "lasso" after storytime. AG and LL petting a baby goat held by "Ms. Heavens" (aka Ms. Evans), one of AG's teachers.
The little Texan in AG came out as she lassoed the longhorn with a little help from a real cowboy!
LL had lots of fun, too!
Yeehaw!

Reading, Eating, and Sliding

LL loves to read. She is not always in the mood to sit through a whole story being read to her, but she is always in the mood to be the one "reading" it. When I suggest that we read a book (with me being the reader), she says "I want to read it to you!" Anyone who's around when she gets the urge to read has the privilege of hearing her tales. Here are just a few of the lucky ones: Apparently bears love Curious George.
She picked PawPaw to share a Clifford story with, and he listened attentively for a LONG time while she went through every page. That day, she also read to cousin Lily, her grandparents, and anyone else who was within view and earshot.

One of her great aunts said maybe she'd be a teacher. She is definitely taking on quite an authoritative tone at times these days, pretending to be the mommy at home and often chattering in her carseat: "Speak to me , AG! We need to cooperate, guys!" Today she kept saying with great emphasis, "No! No! I said No! Don't do that again. It's dangerous. You may poke your eye....Mommy!" It's funny, scary, and humbling to have a little living, breathing mirror parroting back so much of what she hears! The other way she's been entertaining herself in the car is by watching out for "Old McDonald's"...I'm sure she must be confused as to why we sing a song about a farmer with animals but then there's also this place with burgers and fries by the same name!

AG eating her "Noah's Ark" quesadilla...

A few nights ago she way playing in the bathtub and had all the toy animals and mermaids lined up, reading them a story. I heard her say, "And then they got in the tambourine. What is a tambourine? It is a boat that goes under the water!"

Fun at the park

The Big Birthday Bash

Not only was Leap Day SJ's 1/2 birthday, but even more momentous, it was Mimi's birthday! Of course birthdays are always special, but even moreso when you only get one every 4 years! The girls have the "youngest" great-grandmother that I know of. We went over on Saturday to celebrate with Mimi, PawPaw, Nana, Grandpa, and lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Also included in the celebration were Uncle Francis and cousin Andrew, whose birthdays were on the 2nd and 3rd!

Reading with Mimi is one of AG's favorite pastimes at their house.


Cousin Annabelle, LL, and AG cuddled up!


It was a beautiful day, so we all hung out outside some. SJ discovered the grass!

SJ with cousin Lily (in a rare and brief non-grass-fixated moment)

Mimi and PawPaw have amazing citrus trees in their backyard, and everyone got in on the picking that day! Here's LL with fruit straight from the tree.

AG choosing her fruit...

and getting a little help from Annabelle.

We ended up with buckets of grapefruit, satsumas, lemons, kumquats, and oranges. But even more bountiful were the good wishes for all the birthday honorees and the fun memories we will take with us from this special day!

1/2 Birthday!

SJ hit the 6 month mark last Friday (Leap Day)! Here she is that afternoon, enjoying one of her first real stroller rides to the park.

How big is SJ? Sooooo big!
AG thinks so, too. The other day she was playing with SJ and told me, "SJ just said her first word! It was "boo"!" Glad to have extra little ears around to catch such milestone events!

Here's our sweetie having some sweet potatoes...

Happy Half-Birthday, SJ!

Tummy Times Three

Spoon Fed

SJ had her first cereal on Valentine's Day. T had the honor of feeding her, but sadly the event was not documented on camera since I was couch-bound with a tummy bug. However, in the last few weeks she's had more cereal, and here you can see how much she enjoys it!

In the last week she's also tried sweet potatoes and, yesterday, squash...both winners!

Yesterday we also went for her 6 month checkup. She got four shots, again, and weighed in/measured just above average for her age. I need to get some good pictures of her thigh rolls while she has them! I'll post some more "6 month" photos soon.

Two New 'Do's

We've had a few exciting "firsts" for the girls this last week. Last Friday, AG and LL had their first dental appointments. I didn't take pics because I wasn't allowed to go back with them, but no problem for them...they walked away with the friendly hygenist, holding hands with each other and AG declaring that she would go first. About half an hour later they came back smiling, with balloons and a photo and a bag of goodies. Anyway, I was thankful it went well!

Then this week, another simultaneous first for them...their first real haircuts (as in, not done by their Mama!). After almost four years, it was about time for AG! I had trimmed it many times, but it was so long and we all agreed it was time for a good cut. Here she is, before:
During:
and after!
Here is a (weirdly placed) picture of both girls later that evening, sporting their new shorter locks.
And here are LL's pictures, before:

Being shampoo'd...I still don't know why, but the girl cutting her hair wanted to do this. LL wouldn't lean back on the adult size sink and so she and the surrounding area got soaked, but that was all part of the experience! I don't think they get many two year olds at this salon!
Here is LL after the cut, getting dried. She is really skiddish of such things, and she squinted her eyes like this the whole time. Then she leaned so far forward that she fell off the booster seat she was on and slid all the way down to the floor! She wasn't hurt, thankfully, but of course she cried because it scared her. But she made a quick recovery...
and here is the final result!