Camping Countdown

We normally don't give Danielle a lot of notice when we are planning a trip. Now we know why! On Monday we told her that we are going camping with a group of friends and she cannot wait. I finally brought out the calendar and had her put a sticker on the day we go camping. Every day we look at it and see how many more days. I think this has been the longest week of her life. Finally, today is the day. Of course I'm bringing the camera and will try to take lots of pictures. We are excited to spend the weekend with our friends! (Approx. 14 adults and exactly 19 kids ages 7 and under)

The picture I posted is Danielle on her Uncle Tim's motorcycle. I don't plan on her riding it anytime soon (if ever!) but it made for a cute picture!

Well, I better get back to packing, feeding the girls, and all the other stuff.

Another Fun Weekend

Look how close the giraffe is to the car in front of us!

Danielle got to pet "Shell" the tortoise.

This weekend we went with my parents in their motorhome to an RV park in Oregon. There is a Wildlife Safari place about 1 1/2 hours from there so we took the day on Saturday to visit there. You drive through the park and the animals are just walking around you! Zebras and giraffe crossing the road in front of you. There were 5 bears playing in their ponds and putting on quite a show. You just watch from your car windows as they play together. The tigers, cheetas, etc, are in fenced areas but it was still neat to see them so close. We watched monkeys and elephants, too! Danielle says her favorite was the tigers. After the drive thru we went over to a little petting zoo where we pet goats and even a tortoise! I got lots of great pictures but I'll just post a few of the best ones. My favorite pictures are always the ones with people in them.

Samantha's checkup and 1st meal!!

Of course they don't share the bed, but Danielle wanted Samantha to lay by her for a few minutes before nap. Don't they look like they love eachother?! For the most part they really do.

If you double-click on the picture and make it bigger you should be able to see the messy face!

Danielle is helping.

Samantha did great at her 6 month checkup. She now weighs 14 lb. 4 oz. which is a little on the skinny side but she's so tall (27 inches) that the doctor says it's normal for her to be thin. This week she will start eating her rice cereal which is very exciting for Danielle. I told her Samantha could have cereal now...she says "Is she bigger now?"..I said "yes, she is bigger"...so she says, "Can she talk now?". I got a good laugh out of that one!

Anyway, she wanted to help me feed Samantha her cereal. Luckily Samantha did well but it's tricky letting a 2 year old feed a baby her first meal. Thankfully Danielle got tired of it quickly so I was able to finish up. She ate it all! I was expecting her to need a little time to adjust but I guess not.

I know it's the right thing to let Danielle be so involved but it's definitely more work for me now. I am already reaping the rewards of letting Danielle help, though. She feeds the dog all by herself, takes her dishes to the sink, puts her laundry and shoes away, and once in awhile picks up toys without being asked! I know I'm bragging but I guess I'm allowed to do that on my own blog. Thanks for understanding.

Visit from Great Grandparents

Last weekend we had a really nice visit with Jeff's grandparents. We love it when people come our direction to see the girls in their own home. They sure got a taste of what everyday life is like for us. Danielle warmed up right away, played tea party with them, and even asked them to come in and pray with us before she went to sleep.

Happy 1/2 Birthday Samantha!

Today Samantha is 6 months old. On the way to the park this morning Danielle and I sang Happy 1/2 Birthday to her and then we all sang again when Daddy got home. This is mostly because Danielle is totally into birthdays these days! I was glad I remembered to take Samantha's picture with the frog. Here is a picture of her at 3 months, too, so you can see how much she's changed. Amazing. She's starting to roll from her tummy to her back all the time but not the other way around yet. Not too much else is new except that we are having more fun every day.

6 months old! Growing so fast.

3 month old picture with the frog.
The best picture I could get of the girls. Yes, Danielle is hugging Samantha's leg! Samantha is pretty used to getting pulled in all directions.

Samantha is almost 6 months old!

I'm not sure where the time is going....how can our baby girl be almost 6 months old?! I feel so blessed to be her Mommy, the one and only person who gets to spend all day, everyday watching her grow and change.

Today while Danielle and I worked in the kitchen we put Samantha in the highchair for the first time. She looks like such a big girl! She seemed very comfortable in it. Later on she sat up all by herself long enough for me to get a picture. I really love the stage when they can sit up on their own. Of course it isn't for very long yet, but soon she will be sitting with her sister and they can interact more easily. She is loving her toys more and more. Today she figured out that this little toy rattles when she shakes it. So, she started doing it with one hand, then switched hands and did it with her other hand. The little things we get to witness as parents...amazing!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Yesterday we got a kite to fly while we waited for fireworks but there was no wind! This morning there was quite a breeze so Jeff and Danielle went out to fly it. Danielle's attention span is still very short but she thought it was neat...especially when Daddy let her fly it all by herself.

The fancy white dress in the photos is kind of a long story. Yesterday she asked about a picture she saw of me in my wedding dress. She then remembered that she has a white dress and asked to wear it. That made me think of our wedding photos which she had never seen before. So, we had a good time going through the pictures. She asked where my white dress was and really wanted me to put it on. I decided we'll wait awhile before getting it out since we paid to have it cleaned and packaged all safely in a big box. Maybe someday when both girls are old enough to enjoy seeing it. Anyway, now she wants to wear her white dress anytime she's not wearing her bathing suit! Pretty funny combination I think!

I'm bummed that we have no photos from our 4th of July but I forgot the camera. Oh well. It was a really quiet but fun evening. We went to pizza and then to the park to watch fireworks. Danielle played at the playground (she had it all to herself) until it was nearly dark, then we settled down to wait. Danielle loved laying on the blanket and kept asking if we were going to sleep out there! The girls did great while we waited and watching the fireworks. I was impressed since it was several hours past their bedtime.

We munched on cookies and watched deer walk right in front of us and then while we were sitting out on the soccer field the sprinklers came on over by the picnic tables. We panicked thinking we were next to get soaked, but the fireworks were just about to start. We organized all our stuff so we'd be ready for a quick get-away and hoped they wouldn't come on until fireworks were over. Thankfully they didn't! We did have to dodge one sprinkler that was spraying on our car as we packed it up. We thought that made for a memorable end to the night. Then we got to the exit of the park....and the gate was closed (we were locked in!).

So, our night ended with a few minute wait for the friendly police officers to come let us out. I was happy that Danielle got to see the officers were helping us and she even said "Thank you very much" to them. It was a very good night of family bonding. We are so blessed. And as Danielle would say..."Happy Birthday America!"

Fun In The Sun

This week it's been very hot here! It finally feels like summer so we are thinking of ways to keep cool and have fun. Yesterday we went to the community pool and we all went swimming. Danielle loved jumping in from the side of the pool, floating on her back, and she even went under water with me! Samantha did great, too. She seems very comfortable in the water. I was bummed that I forgot my camera, but today I got some great pictures in the backyard.

We blew up the wading pool that has a slide of sorts. Danielle absolutely loved it. I think she spent about 2 hours in it. We started out helping her down the slide but by the end of the afternoon she was doing it completely by herself. She even slipped and fell with her entire head going under the water...she was startled for sure, but didn't panick. That was good to see.

I got the biggest laugh out of the following story. Danielle was enjoying the pool so much that we thought she should call her Grandma to tell her about it. We first called her home number and got her voicemail. Danielle heard Grandma's voice and then started talking, rambling about how much fun she is having in her pool. When she finally took a breath she expected to hear Grandma asking her questions or talking back...so she says "Grandma, talk to me!". I tried to explain that she was just leaving Grandma a message, but I was laughing so hard it was hard to make her understand. Luckily we called Grandma on her cell phone so they did get to talk!

Anyway, enough rambling...enjoy the pictures.

Praise God for ordinary days, too!

We've been home for a week and have finally recovered from our fun-filled trip. I was thankful for today being just a wonderful, ordinary day. It started out with Samantha waking up earlier than Danielle. I really don't mind that because I get to have some special one-on-one time with her. Then Samantha went back to sleep and Danielle woke up and we had our morning snuggle, breakfast, etc. We did all of our outdoor things right away since it's getting so hot in the afternoons. I love mornings in our backyard! Then we took lunch to Daddy at the office. It's fun to break up his day with the girls' giggles and some time to play together.

This afternoon we had an incredible thunder and lightning storm. It was actually a little scary how close the lightning was and how loud the thunder was as it shook the house. We still put on our brave smiles, though, so Danielle wouldn't be afraid. I loved just sitting in the living room with my family teasing and tickling in between the crashes of thunder.

Then it was bedtime and the girls settled into bed in the room they now share. Usually Samantha is so exhausted she falls asleep first and then eventually Danielle does, too. The picture I posted today is when Danielle wanted to put her little sister in her baby doll cradle. She tucked her in, sang to her, etc. As you can see Samantha just went along with it all! I was glad I thought to grab the camera!