Hanging Out

the three redheads-Kate, Sophie, & Abbie

smiley Sophie

Sophie & Abbie are having a picnic with their babies.

Many days, we find things to do outside of our home with other people. Sometimes however, the girls have a blast just hanging out at home and using their creativity to do all sorts of things. A couple of weeks ago, Abbie had a little virus so we were somewhat "forced" to stay around the house and play until she felt better. One day, we enjoyed going to play at the Clifford's house with Kate and Harrison. Sophie & Kate had a great time doing crafts together while Harrison mostly hung out with his mom and baby Merritt. Abbie just enjoyed hanging out with everybody.

Day Out with Dad

The slide is so much fun!

Sophie finally got a turn to drive the ambulance!

Abbie with the school bus scene.

This past week, our family headed to the Adventure Science Museum. We bought an annual pass a couple of months ago and Sophie seems to be at the age where they really start to enjoy it. Matt was able to get off work for a couple of hours and go with us. The girls loved climbing to the top of the tower with their daddy and then coming down the slide! Sophie always enjoys the area of the museum that is about the body too. She really enjoyed being able to "drive" the ambulance. Abbie got a turn too.! They also enjoy the area that's for younger kids. We're still trying to get Abbie potty trained though (boo!) and when she had a big accident at the museum, I decided we'd better head out. From there, we headed to Otter's for lunch. Then, Daddy had to go back to work. We enjoyed being able to do some special things together. =)

A Silly "Zucchini" Story

Abbie in her "zucchini" =)

This past Saturday, we decided to head over to the pool and swim. I pulled out this bikini that I had bought for Abbie a month or two ago. Well, it's been a while since she's worn a bikini. I put both parts of the swimsuit on her and she immediately starts pulling down on the top part like "where's the rest of this suit?" She was frustrated because it just wasn't going to cover everything. I was starting to get tickled as I watched her trying to pull it down. Finally I said, Abbie, "that's how it's supposed to fit. it's OK. It's a bikini. Your tummy is supposed to show." Then I told her that she looked really cute, etc and she calmed down after I showed her what she looked like in the mirror. I managed to take a few pictures of her. Anyway, I thought it was pretty funny. I got both of the girls changed and then I headed upstairs to change while Matt kept an eye on the girls. As I reached the top of the stairs, Sophie calls out, "Mom, don't wear your zucchini- OK." I just laughed and said, "It's called a bikini and don't worry-I'm not." I don't own one anyways. A tankini is as close as it gets. =) Kids are too funny!

Summer Fun

Abbie & her doll with their matching outfits

Sophie at the "baby pool" at our neighborhood pool

This summer is just flying by and we've been staying busy. The last time I posted, I had mentioned that Sophie was going home with her grandparents to Virginia for a few days and that I was going to try to potty train Abbie. Potty training pretty much consumed a good part of that week for me. I gave it 3 solid days. Now it's been almost two weeks. Abbie goes to the potty willingly but she doesn't always tell you when she has to go. She only has occasional accidents though. We still use a kitchen timer quite a bit so that we set it for every 30 minutes or so. That way, we have less accidents. Abbie goes and at least tries to use the potty when the timer goes off. I think (or at least I hope) that she will be telling us more and more when she needs to go because it is still kind of stressful to go places when you are worried that she might not make it to the potty in time. I pretty much just put her in panties though and that's what we have stuck with. We gave her a lot of little rewards at first but now we are backing off. One thing about Abbie is that she uses a lot of potty language and we have to stay on her about it. I've washed her mouth out a few times and Matt even put a hot pepper flake on her tongue one time but we're still working on it. It's kind of funny sometimes because if she gets frustrated she might say, "poopy diaper" with a good bit of anger in her voice.

Sophie had a great time with her grandparents and her Aunt Leia! They went to Busch Gardens and to a water park while she was there. We've enjoyed going swimming a lot this summer! This week, we were able to get together with 2 of my longtime friends, Erin and Stephanie and their children. All of the kids enjoyed swimming and eating pizza together. A few days ago we went to story hour at the library and it ended up that Snow Bird (a penguin from the Channel 4 news) came for a visit. Sophie really enjoyed seeing him but Abbie was kind of scared. This week, we were also able to go to Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. We donned our cow spots and earned a free lunch. Yay! This has become an annual event for us. Sorry that I haven't taken too many pictures! I just can't believe how this summer is flying by. We're going to try to squeeze in some more play dates and visits to fun places that we may not have time for when Sophie's in school!