Fun Day

 The most fun these girls have had in a while was last week when I filled up buckets with dish soap, and let Leah be in charge of the hose. They had so much fun taking "bubble baths" outside. The funny thing is that real life bubble baths are very scary to Miss Leah Bean, and she wants no part of them. However, a bubble bath outside is nothing but fun! 

 Like usual, Miss Juliet tried to eat the bubbles. We go through this every bath time with the Mr. Bubble foamy soap that Leah loves. I'm surprised she continues to try to eat them--it can't taste good! 

 Look at these smiles!

 We ended the afternoon with ice cream cones. These girls LOVE ice cream cones. I really wanted on Monday, so badly that I made us all go to Target as a family at 9:00 at night for supplies. Since then, we've had one every day. 

After our fun afternoon, both girls came inside and took 3 hour naps! Score! 

Dress Up

Leah and Jelly Boo love to dress up in their dress up shoes and other assorted accessories. Juliet puts on her own shoes, too! She can walk okay on the carpet, but cannot handle the wood floor at all. These two girls give us so much joy! 

Canton Library

Leah was so excited to go to the library. She loved picking out her books, and perusing the large selection of books. I took her picture on the way out. She was looking at this picture yesterday, and said, "I love everything about me in this picture. My hair, my smile, my dress, my necklaces, my books, and my shoes. I looks SO good!" I fully agree! 

14 Month and 47 Month Update

These 2 girls. Now that I don't have the monthly badges for Jelly Boo, I didn't do a 13 month update for Juliet, and I've REALLY been slacking with Leah's updates.

This isn't the best picture, but it's one of the few I have of them together from the past 2 weeks.  

Here's what I've got:

Leah

You are such a girly girl. Life is not complete if you are not wearing a dress (preferably one that twirls really, really well), at least 2 hair accessories, a necklace, and have your nails painted. You are always looking in the mirror making adoring faces at yourself. 

That's not to say that looks are the only thing you are interested in, though. You LOVE to learn. A few weeks ago you decided that you wanted to learn to read. We went down stairs and brought up books from my time as a Reading Recovery teacher. You are now reading level 3 and 4 books, which makes me so proud, because a level 4 is the benchmark level for exiting kindergartners in our district. I always knew you would be an early reader, because of how much you love books, but it's really fun to watch it come together for you. You look forward to our "reading lessons" and get really proud when you tackle a particularly hard word or book. Books are always scattered all over our house, and if I can't find you, I know you are on the stairs or in your room reading a large pile of books. You are also getting better with counting, and can get to 60 now with no help. You can count to 100 by 10's, but have lost interest in learning to count by 5's or 2's. 

You love going to school, but were sad when your best friend Lauren didn't come for summer camp, too. This summer you've rode a horse several times at camp. A few weeks ago, you even rode the BIG horse, which you were quite proud about. You are taking swimming, which you enjoy, but sometimes it pushes your comfort level. You are happiest with your princess donut in the pool, and aren't sure about going under the water or letting the teacher loosen her grip on you. You are looking forward to taking dance and gymnastics in the fall, and often ask if it's time for those lessons to start. 

You are really, really looking forward to our trip to Disney that we are planning for when you are 5. You often ask about the trip and say, "I hope all my dreams come true at the castle!" You are such a good traveler, and had so much fun on our recent trip to Virginia Beach. You are easy going, and go with the flow well. 

You love music, too. After listening to the Beach Boys Greatest Hits over and over and over for the past few months, we've finally got you to expand your musical selection. Right now you are really into the Let It Be album by the Beatles. Last night, you said, "Song 3 goes, 'Nothings going to change our world', and nothing is going to change our world, either!" Daddy and I just melted. 

You love all things princess. You would live in your large collection of princess dresses if I let you, but I told you we have to save them for Princess Camp. Lately, you've gotten back into Sesame Street, which is  fun to see back in the rotation. You still love Dora even though she drives Daddy and I insane. You have a huge collection of Dora books, which are very badly written. However, you love to read them. You make Daddy read you "Dora and the Crystal Kingdom" every day at bedtime. Daddy has plotted many times on how to get the book away from your clutches, and into a safe hiding spot, but hasn't had the heart to go through with it. 

You are so into weddings, too. You always want to pick flowers for your wedding and ask if I want to marry you. You ask Juliet to walk you down the aisle, and ask that I "say the words" that make you married. You get the shyest, sweetest look on your face when we play that game. 

You are such a great kid, Leah. Daddy and I often remark on how GOOD you are. You are a good listener, you are emphatic, and you are so, so loving. You stop me several times over the course of a typical day to say you love me and to give me a kiss. We love you so, so, so much!

Juliet

And now we are on to our stinker stanker girl. Just kidding! Juliet, you are the smiliest, happiest baby that ever lived. Your main goal in life is to show off how cute you are to everyone who could possibly notice you.  When you make eye contact with a new person, you smile big and say, "hi, hi, hi!" over and over. You have the best smile! 

You love to walk around and destroy the house. You open all the cabinets, and pull down everything from the refrigerator. When you are tired, though, you strongly believe that the only place for you is your Mommy's lap. You cry hysterically if I can't make it happen for you. When you are really, really sad, you melt into the ground in the most defeated position imaginable. Then you cry with great sadness. 

You can say many words, but you don't use them often. The words you say most are: Mom-EEE (mommy), Daddy, doggie, duckie, quack, squl (squirrel), kitty, and hi. You are working on saying Leah, which sometimes sounds like EE-Ah, La La, or Li-a. 

You still suck your favorite 2 fingers (pointer and middle of your left hand) when you are tired and intermittently through the night. You sleep in your crib for naps and in our bed at night. Your nap time sleep has got bad since vacation, and you insist on being held for most of your second nap. 

You are also very much a girly girl. This morning you were pointing to your hair saying "B?! B?!" I asked if you wanted a bow, and you ran excitedly to your room to get one. You are always putting necklaces and bracelets on your self, and are always rummaging through the toy chest to find a purse. You also always try to put on different shoes of your mommy's, daddy's or sissy's, and laugh at your greatness when you get them on. Lately you've been going around the house singing "bippity boppitty boo!" and hitting things with a "magic wand". 

You love to swing and get SO, SO sad when it is not your turn to swing. You stand and watch Leah and cry and cry. When it is your turn, you get so happy! You LOVE to play outside. You are happiest 1/2 naked in the backyard covered in sand, water, bubble solution, and chalk dust. 

You are still a peanut wearing mostly 6-12 month clothes, with a few 12-18 in the mix. This month, you got your 2 top molars. 

Juliet, you are such a delight. You make us smile and say "awwww!" many times each day. We love you so, so, so much! 

Independence Lake

 I am not a lake person. I think they are pretty gross. With the exception of the Great Lakes, I've never wanted to plan a trip (day trip or otherwise) to visit a lake. I think they smell and are basically dirty pools of poop. Leah has been working hard on her swimming and her confidence in the water, and I knew a lake would probably be a big hit with her.

 We packed up to spend the afternoon at Independence Lake. I was pleasantly surprised with the short drive and availability of reasonably clean bathrooms. We played in the lake, ate a picnic lunch, and played in the lake some more.

 Both girls had a great time. Leah had the best time ever. She loved it! She was so sad when we had to go home. She played "mermaid" and "Dora" which basically meant you had to call her "Ariel" or "Dora" and do whatever she told you to do.

 Juliet loved playing in the sand and had a great time walking deeper into the water than I was comfortable with. She even went face first into the water at one point. I was so worried that she would be freaked out, but she was laughing uncontrollably when she got up.

 Happy Girls, Happy Weekend, Happy Life. It was even happier because Chris and I went on our first date in a  LONG time. We went to Costco and PF Chang's. Then we drove around and looked at houses and potential neighborhoods. It was a perfect date! 

Summer Life

 The van needed a big cleaning up after our long road trip. I got the girls ready to help, hoping they would help me as they did earlier in the summer. Seems that their enthusiasm is limited to cleaning the van only once per summer. Their enthusiasm never wanes for posing, though. 

 This is Leah, sleeping, holding Brain's hands. It doesn't get much sweeter. 

 What's more fun than pushing your sister around the house in a stroller designed for dolls? 

Little Miss Jelly Boo

Purse-Check

Styled Hair-Check

Necklace-Check

Huge Smile-Check

All is well in the world of Jelly Boo. 

American Girls on the Cheap

 OK--the first picture isn't an American Girl shot, but I just love the giant pink poof on Juliet's head. She doesn't think life is complete without a purse, bow, necklace, and sippy cup. 

 So, Leah had been religiously reading the American Girl catalog since we returned from Virginia Beach and she played with Lucia's Bitty Baby. Leah couldn't decide if she wanted a Bitty Baby, or a "big kid" doll. She was looking and looking and talking about getting both?! And all I saw was dollar signs. Then, I remembered, WE HAD AN AMERICAN GIRL IN THE BASEMENT! I had Kirsten as a kid. We went downstairs and started tearing though boxes until we found her. 

 Umm, Mom, I don't know if I ever told you this, but THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR THE DOLL, THE BED, THE TRUNK, AND THE SEVEN OUTFITS! Seriously, I was adding this up in 1989 dollars, and I have a feeling a great deal of money went into this doll and her stuff.  

 Leah is IN LOVE with the doll. She is so happy to dress the doll, play with her, and put her to sleep. She renamed her "Lilly" which she also thinks I should name a future baby sister for her. 

 Juliet was a little sad not to be in the act of the doll. So she tried to put on the dolls clothes. 

 She was so excited when she finally got to hold the doll! I think she will be a great big sister when the time is right. Look at the look of pride! 

4th of July Fun

 We had a great time at Aunt Nicole's eating Chinese and watching the fireworks. Leah loved playing with Hannah. She had to sit next to Hannah for the fireworks, too! Jelly Boo stayed up for the entire show. She enjoyed it, but we were devastated the next day when we saw that the buggies had gone to town on her face--she was all bit up! 

 The next day we went to the Sprinkler Park to celebrate the 4th. Both girls had lots of fun playing in the water and meeting new friends. 

 We had Cooper this weekend, too, which both girls thoroughly enjoyed! A great weekend! So happy we weren't potty training this 4th! Chris and I kept talking about the last 4th. The longest 6 days of our lives was definitely training Miss Leah to use the potty. What a difference a year makes! 

Grandma and Grandpa visit

 These girls had such fun with their Grandma and Grandpa. Both girls loved "beeping" Grandpa's toes and knocking his knees with a drum stick. These girls had a GREAT start to summer with their visits and vacation. Two very lucky girls! 

Princess Leah

 Leah LOVES her new princess dress from Grandma. Leah is excited to wear it to Princess Camp, as well as to her birthday party. I fought hard against a party, but Leah and Daddy won out. Leah has decided on a Princess party, with the option of making it a tea party. She has also decided to be Aurora for Halloween. 

On the Road to VB

 These girls rocked out the car portion. Juliet needed one of us in the backseat with her if she was awake, but she was easy to keep amused. We had a rough hour on the way back (which we did in 1 day, as opposed to the 2 down), but we got through it. Leah did a good job trying to keep Jelly Boo happy. 

 On the way down, we stopped at the Hanna Andersson Outlet. It is my Graceland. It was everything I hoped it would be. I was so excited the night before that I didn't sleep. #truestory. 

 When we arrived, the girls were so excited to go down to the beach. Juliet kept pointing at the ocean and trying to tell us all about it. It was adorable!

 This girl just rolled in the sand and played tag with Daddy. 

 Every night had such beautiful sunsets. 

 Cutest girls ever.