Busy weekend

FRIDAY

It was bring a toy or picture of a farm animal to school.  Ani Rose has been smitten with this particular cow for awhile now.

 I picked the kids up early and we went to the aquarium...yes, again.

                                                       
 
                                                            SATURDAY


Playing in the bathroom sink seems to be one of the many chaotic and messy activities these two like to participate in.  It does my heart good to see them play...even when there's a mess to clean up afterwards.

                                                                    SUNDAY

Ani Rose woke up and wanted her cow in her arms right away.

We went to a neighbor's 6th birthday.  It was at a community center and it was scheduled for 4 hours, which seemed like a lot, but there was a game room, a movie theater and we had the whole gym to play in.  Ani liked sitting in the movie theater and eating popcorn.

 Norrin sat in the front, ate three bags of popcorn and kept peeking at us...just to make sure we hadn't left without him.

 Ani didn't make it very far into the movie before she was snoozing in my arms.

 Norrin played some pool.

 And he played some video games.

 He payed absolutely no attention to the bossy kid trying to arrange them into actual hockey teams.

 When the bossy kid finally gave up, Norrin was able to play however he wanted.

 The fan was one of the most entertaining things to my child.

 He sang happy birthday to Elysia.

 Ani Rose watched sleepily.

 While they were handing out cupcakes, Norrin did some bowling.

 Then, he loaded up on some of the most sickeningly sweet cupcakes I've ever tasted.

 Ani sampled the frosting and took a tiny nibble of the cake...

 But what she really wanted was a ring pop.

 Mmmmmm.

Ani Rose's First Day

Today was Ani's first day at the YMCA.  She has visited many, many times when we've gone to pick up her brother, but this is the first time she has been left there.  So, some of the routine was the same.  Todd and I went together.  Todd got them both a pretzel at the front desk.  Then, we dropped Norrin off in his classroom first and he gave us all hugs and kisses.  All of this was familiar to Ani.  Then, we walked to her classroom (about ten paces away).  She was handed off to Miss Star and I said a quick goodbye because Ani was already getting anxious with all the adults around her.  Todd stayed to take a quick photo with his iPhone.  Then, we slipped out the door, sat on a bench and I cried...because that's what I do any time there is any big event in our children's lives.  And any time I cry, Todd is there to hold my hand, to offer words of reassurance, to guide me through the scary changes that seem to happen so quickly.  I am blessed.  My children are amazing people and I am truly honored to be their mother.  It can be so overwhelming to see how fast my babies are growing up.  I love them so fiercely and would be perfectly happy to hold them in my arms all day long, every day, but Todd is there to remind me.  He's there to help me see that they have to move forward, that we have raised them to move forward, that they are independent people because we know when to hold on and when to let go.  And even after I dropped my babies off, I was able to look up through my tears and see the man who helped create those beautiful children and know that in the end, he is there and everything will be alright. 

  

July 4, 2012

We started our day with breakfast at Bob Evans.  The food is okay, but mostly I like it because its similar to Friendly's.  Our kids can be a little unruly and no one seems to mind, the backs of the booths are higher so there's a minimal desire to climb or fling themselves over the side and they have high chair style booster seats, so Ani Rose can sit next to her family and join in on all the food.  Norrin gets mad when I sit her next to Todd, but he also gets mad when she starts stealing food off his plate. She's better behaved next to her Da.  She has a lovely bond with him and when they share a meal, its like watching a well choreographed dance. 

 After breakfast, we decided to make the trip to Grounds For Sculpture.  This was a very last minute decision, but we had a bottle of water, some sunblock and a couple of hats in the car, so we just decided to go for it.  We were all flushed and sweating and we must have gone through ten bottles of water between the four of us, but this place with all its beautiful sculptures and gorgeous landscaping seems to make us quite happy.  Todd is getting better at finding the most amazing angles to photograph both the art and our children, which made it virtually impossible to choose just a few pictures. 

Mama and the Wild Ones...Norrin with butterfly net in hand...as always.

 Ani Rose showed me exactly where she wanted to go.

 I love how Norrin just decided to stick his feet in the fountains- shoes and all.

 Norrin also felt free to open his mouth and drink the water coming out of the misting walls...yuck.

 Norrin looks for green signs that say you can respectfully touch the artwork...or as his four year old mind has translated it- climb all over it like a little monkey.  Ani Rose has decided that if he can do it, so can she.

Lots of trees to climb...when he wasn't climbing the sculptures.

 Ani Rose liked the sculpture you're encouraged to bang on with metal sticks.

 A little nursing break- gotta keep hydrated on a hot day :).

The kids passed out in the car and as soon as we got home, we piled into our little pool.  Todd grilled some burgers and hot dogs for dinner then we went to Sesame Place to see if we could see the fireworks.  We had an obstructed view of 5 minutes worth of fireworks, but the kids enjoyed it.  I got glow bracelets and glow necklaces at the dollar store and Norrin decided that Ani Rose wanted him to wear them all :).  Norrin snuggled with me while Ani sat in a lawn chair all by herself.  She is such an independent girl.  Sometimes I feel like I should mother her more, but she's like a cat...she decides when she needs something from us. We packed a lot of stuff in one day and my body was not happy with me the next day, but it was so wonderful to spend that much time together as a family.

Random Pictures

Summer Sweater Knit Along

Yes, I just can't resist all the KAL's that the lovely Shannon from luvinthemommyhood puts together.  I made a sweater last year during her KAL...

This year I'm knitting a pullover and this is the first time I knit a gauge swatch to make sure that the measurements of the pattern will match with what I'm knitting.  I hate knitting gauge swatches.  They're boring little squares that seem to take far longer than they should.  But they are important boring little squares.  I have high hopes that this pullover will fit me better than any of the projects where I just kind of winged it. I picked a gorgeous rust colored yarn that will be perfect for the fall.  And maybe I'll pose with Ani Rose again.  She's not quite as small any more, but she gets cuter every day :).

Happy Baby

Ani Rose loves a good game of peek-a-boo.  Whenever she sees my phone in my hand, she comes over to sit on my lap because she expects to see either pictures of herself or a video. 

Yardley Canal Festival

Saturday was the Yardley Canal Festival.  We went last year when Ani Rose was just 2 months old.  Its a small festival with music and just enough vendors to keep the kidlets entertained for a couple hours.  Last year, Ani Rose slept through most of it while Norrin threw about a million rocks in the water.  This year, Ani Rose dragged me up and down the path, screaming and pointing at every dog, dancing to the music that was played and being the main source of entertainment for the vendors sitting at the table.  She stole the show.  Everyone was impressed with how well she held up.  So much walking on a hot day, but she was pleasant with smiles for everyone.  Norrin just wanted to collect as much as he could.  Catch bugs, get a balloon, get some bubbles, make some crafts.  Todd's bank had a table where they decorated visors.  Norrin put as many stickers on his hat as it could hold and he wore it proudly. 

Customers Bank was one of the sponsors.

Customers Bank's fearless leader :) and my handsome husband.

Their table that was also our main camp.  We made frequent stops for water, juice, snacks and candy.

The decorated ducks table.

This would be about the 20th walk to where they were playing music.  It was bluegrass and Ani Rose loved it.  I have to get the video of her dancing off of Todd's phone. She stole a million hearts with her fancy dance moves :).

Norrin...making one of his many demands of the day.  This is when he wanted to find some kids to blow bubbles with because apparently, he believes that is a team sport.  The little turtle in his hand is actually bubbles.  The head pops off and that's where the wand is.  Pretty cool.

The boat parade:

Banana split boat.

Dragonfly boat.

Popeye and Olive.

Flower boat.

Yellow submarine.

And this one was just cute to me :).

Convincing Norrin that it was time to go wasn't too hard at this point.  We had visited every table five times and he had a balloon and bubbles. 

I just had to throw Ani Rose on my back and gather up our stuff.

Pack mule mama.

It was a long walk back to the car because someone had to blow bubbles the entire way.

Ani Rose looks peppy here, but she actually passed out on my back and was sleeping when I slid her off my back and into her car seat.  She slept for 3 and a half hours after this busy day.