Fun with Friends

There is nothing like a little outdoor summer fun with friends!  The warm summer days will soon be coming to an end.  We had to squeeze in a little more fun with our friends from next door.  A few weeks ago I stopped at the dollar store to pick up supplies for Em’s birthday party, and I picked up a few cans of shaving cream for finger painting.  I don’t remember where I read that suggestion {most likely from HP/PAI friends} but it was so fun.  I brought out my camera, but was making quite the mess myself, so Kristy was kind enough to take pictures while we all played.

The kids were all a little unsure with the idea at first, and poked at it with one finger, but the warmed up quickly.

Lilly wanted to finger paint too.  But she bounced on the horse instead. :)

Tate (I think?) decided to move from finger painting on the table to finger painting on himself.

And Hudson decided to finger paint on himself too.

Then there’s Em.  I’m not sure what she was doing, or how she got the shaving cream on her forehead.

They all smelled manly fresh when they were done.  I’d say it was successful summer fun with friends!  We’ll have to do it again sometime.

So, what is your favorite thing to do with toddler and pre-school age kids?  I’d love more ideas.

Guilty…

I’m guilty.  I will be the first to admit I do things that make my life easier that probably aren’t the best for my daughter.  For instance I over child proof.  Emma has clear boundaries in our house.  There are three baby gates and a fence inside our house to keep Emma in those boundaries.  She’s just such a busy kid that I would never get anything done for all of the no-no’s.  It’s easier for her, and best for my relationship with her to keep her within an area that is safe for her.  I built a cabinet to house her multi-part toys, and put child locks on them it, so that we can get one or two of them out at a time.  She has other toys that she can get to all the time.  I just got sick of sorting little people and building blocks and musical instruments, and legos, etc, after they had been dumped all over the living room floor.  She would probably be better served to learn these boundaries without child locks and baby gates, but for now, we  will keep them in place, and we’ll work on it when I can reason with her a bit more.

So this morning I got to thinking…  I know she can drink out of a cup without a lid.  She does a pretty good job of it when she wants to.  She’s often rather drink out of my cup than her own.  Sometimes that is because I have something different to drink (pop).  But other times I’m drinking water just like her, and she’d still rather drink from my cup.   She’s had a touch of a cold, and was having trouble drinking from her sippy cup so I took the lid off of it and gave it back to her to finish her milk.  It took all of 30 seconds for this to happen…

I give up.  We’re keeping the lid on for now.

On Second Thought…

On second thought, purchasing a toy called “Gripper Blocks” may not have been the best choice for my curly haired girl.  She figured this out all on her own.  She’s actually quite proud of herself.

Two Years? How is that possible?

I have several blog posts started.  I’m going to finish them up and get them posted… eventually But first, PICTURES!!!  No, wait, let me back up.

When we first moved into our home, we got to know our neighbors.  But people have come and gone since then, and I didn’t make an effort to meet the new ones.  Through our years of infertility, I managed to isolate myself quite well.  It was hard watching happy little families, when we had a family of two, and I got tired of explaining repeatedly why we didn’t have kids.  Then we did have a baby, but I had already built my lonely little walls—that and I was SO stinking tired.

Fast-forward to about May of this year.  I was out working on pulling some weeds when the next door neighbor and her adorable twin boys were walking across the street to check the mail and they stopped to say hi.  We had a great conversation and made friends.    She later sealed the deal by bringing over the most amazing cup-cakes I have ever tasted, and we’ve been friends ever since.  What does this have to do with pictures you ask?  I’m getting there!  Kristy is an amazing photographer!

I asked Kristy if she would take some family pictures for us this last weekend.  She did that, and Emma’s 2 year old pictures.  It’s true, in just a few days Emma will be two years old!!!  It seems impossible, but it’s true.  So here are the amazing little gems.

Thank you again Kristy.  These pictures are truly more than I could have hoped for!  You are truly gifted, and I am blessed!!