LEGO® rockstars

Those colorful building blocks are favorites in this family!  Chad's childhood collection - which sat in the basement of his mom's house for many years - has been given a new lease on life!  And now that we have the Lay-N-Go, I love LEGO even more ... and my feet don't suffer!

Even Charlotte gets in on the fun!  While she appears to be sitting so angelically here; deep in concentration on her latest creation.  Don't be fooled!  Her specialty is throw-and-destroy!

This is my favorite recent build.  A rock stage complete with performers and instruments!  Look closely and you'll see a backstage door and dressing room!  There's even elaborate lighting and sound systems.  And that blur in the front ... stadium seating!

just a strummin'

This guitar belonged to Chad's father.  

Daddy knows a few chords and fakes the rest.  

He makes up the best silly songs.

The girls love it, and sometimes

they get the chance to "play" too!

flat stanley

Look who arrived at our house today!

All the way from North Carolina!

{throw your hands up}

Chad brought in the mail just as the girls were settling in for afternoon snack.

Flat Stanley appeared and Charlotte started asking for "guy" ... he's laminated so I handed him to my yogurt-eating two year old ... and started taking pictures (that's normal, right?) ...

 

We had to have a conversation about 

not eating our new friend from afar :)

Natalie was very intrigued by the idea of this little man traveling in an envelope.  She immediately started dreaming up adventures for him and drew him into a {story}picture.  And, yes, tutus and tiaras are typical attire around here!

Special thanks to my former 5th grade student {who is now in college studying to be a teacher} Lindsey for sending Flat Stanley to us in the NW.  First order of business ... make this little guy an umbrella and get a copy of the book from the library - Natalie wants to know his story :)

it's just a walk in the park

it's officially fall in the NW

is it rainy?  yep.

chilly?  of course.

beautiful?  that, too!

Those hours between end of nap and dinnertime are perfect for walks to our neighborhood park!

 

CJV is happiest when walking sprinting down the sidewalk with reckless abandon. She giggles non-stop ... except when she does stop to pick up a berry or a rock-y or just to examine a crack in the sidewalk.  In that regard, my little peanut is such a typical toddler!

She also loves to chase after her big sister ... and crunch the leaves with her {fake} Ugg boots!

 

My sweet daredevil will attempt to CLIMB anything in her path.  She is fearless and dangerous and just so cute!

On the rare occasion I catch her sitting still, her bright blue eyes and sweet smile just melt my heart!

And then there's my crazy, silly Natalie.  It seems I take a lot less pictures of her these days.  Mainly because she is so aware of the camera.  I love this shot because it is so her ... wild tufts of hair, bright blue eyes, and mouth open because she is saying something ... probably telling me a story or asking me a question (or 12).

While the girls played, I occupied myself with a little project ... using leaves to form the first letters of their names ... and now my goal is to do something like this for each season!

 

There is nothing like watching my girls grow up together!

the happy - sad game

CJV is a toddler of few words.
I mean it, she says very little ... and even less that we can actually understand.

The same cannot be said for her repertoire of expressions! Which is, largely, why we don't have a problem communicating!

I especially love when we play a little game I like to call "the happy-sad game" ... I know, clever, right?

I did this with NHV, too. I say, "Happy!" And make this exaggerated happy face. Then I say, "Sad!" and drop my face into a pout. Everybody laughs (including Chad).

Charlotte is so good at this game! She cracks me up everytime!

And ... much to my delight, she has started to say "happy and sad" before she makes the different faces!

book nook

The girls are enjoying their new sunny book nook!

The new chairs - pink and personalized - were birthday gifts from Mimi.

I love them and so do the girls.

The girls sit in them. Climb on them. Make forts out of them.

I love spending an hour in the late afternoon

with both girls in our new book nook ...

Natalie "reads" one book after another

While Charlotte practices taking steps

sisterly love

 

hanging out in their new {super cute, pink pbk} chairs

playing in the sandbox and coloring pictures

visiting our local zoo and hanging out in the hammock

no matter what they are doing ...

they love each other ... at least for the most part

nhv can have a tough time sharing 

and demands time to play by herself - 

by hurrying to close her bedroom door

as cjv excitedly crawls toward it

but she also looks out for her and takes care of her

and makes her laugh like no one else can!

cjv absolutely lights up when she sees her big sister

she says naaaa-yeeee as soon as she wakes up

she is happiest when she's doing whatever

natalie is doing :)

check ups

I took both girls to see our family doctor today.

It was Natalie's four year check up and Charlotte's 18-month check up (purposely two months late because she's seen plenty of white coats recently).  Overall, both are healthy.  Charlotte, my little peanut, is still an enigma but "continued monitoring" is the current prognosis ... and one I will gladly take over bad news.  Natalie is going to participate in a sleep study to rule out sleep apnea, but otherwise passed her physical  with flying colors!

Natalie is 42 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds.
Charlotte is 29 inches tall and weighs 17 pounds.

I've never done back-to-back check-ups, but it went surprisingly well.  Each girl took a turn.  I got all of my questions/concerns answered.  And both girls handled their shots like true rock stars!

As is tradition, we walked across the street to see the fountain ... to ponder life, fade the memory of those shots, and celebrate!

popsicles at the park

I took the girls to the park for a concert this evening.  The weather is finally amazing - as it should be!

And treated them both to rainbow popsicles!  I initially bought just one, and the lady even asked me if I wanted another.  I said, "Oh no, my little one won't even notice."  Ha!  I opened Natalie's and handed it to her.  We turned to walk away and got about 10 steps before Charlotte was practically diving out of my arms to get to that rainbow of goodness!  So I returned to the booth with a big grin.  Said, "I should really know better" and spent another $1.

Best $2 I've spent in a good, long while!

you want some of this?

happy birthday, nhv

nhv at scenic beach

It took NHV a few minutes to warm up to the idea of the beach. She even pouted a bit. However, she still looked adorable in her new polka dot bathing suit and floppy sun hat!  And I thought the driftwood was so cool!

Eventually daddy convinced her to give the water a try ...

And then the good times began ...

cjv at scenic beach

Between the amazing backdrop and the vivid red and blue of Charlotte's bathing suit, I could not take enough pictures!  Of course, Charlotte wanted pretty much nothing to do with looking at the camera, and who can blame her considering the alternatives ... rocks, shells, and water!

Finally, she at least looked up - not at me, but up enough to see her cute face and blue eyes!

Stones, Angelina, and Walter

After sleeping in (all of us) and having a big breakfast, we decided to celebrate Father's Day at one of our favorite local attractions, the zoo!  We braved the clouds, loaded up the wagon, and had an interesting visit!

At the end of March, we purchased personalized paving stones as a fundraiser for the purchase of a new cougar.  And today we were pleasantly surprised to find our bricks had been installed just the day before!  I loved seeing the girls' names carved into the stone and nestled next to each other.  Natalie pointed to and named each letter.  Charlotte stuck her finger in the heart shape and proceeded to crawl around.
 

The stones were placed in an area that overlooks another part of the zoo.  It's directly above an exhibit of rather large birds called Emus.  If I knew what I was talking about or thought it would even help, I would compare emus to an ostrich.  Large.  Flightless.  Small head.  Large body.

As you can see from the photos above, Natalie is clutching a small animal in a dress.  Well, that's a newly-acquired (during yard sales yesterday) Angelina Ballerina doll - sporting a delightful yellow tutu.

We aren't entirely sure of all the details, but that well-dressed mouse took a nice, long fall into the emu enclosure.  Natalie screamed out and started crying immediately - fairly certain she was fearing for Angelina's life.  The crowds down below all turned to look. A nearby zoo intern radioed for back-up and tried to distract the emus.  Despite her efforts, several of the large birds trotted over for a closer look. And I grabbed the camera ...

Walter, in particular, was quite smitten with Angelina.  Thankfully, the zoo keeper was able to retrieve the dancing mouse!  She was returned ... dirty but all in one piece with yellow tutu still in tact!

another Saturday night

Honestly, I barely remember what I used to do on a Saturday night before kids.  Okay, that's a lie.  I do remember ... sort of ... but I choose not to think about the details of that carefree time of my life ... lest I get all depressed and stuff!  No, I am only kidding!  I won't trade this time of my life for anything!

After a rainy, dreary day, CPV rallied the troops and took all three of his girls on a date.  Or maybe we took him since it is Father's Eve.  Either way, we were all presentable and left the house in a semi-not-chaotic state - always a good thing ... on both counts!

Daddy got to choose the restaurant, and no surprise ... he wanted to go to Stan's BBQ.

 Charlotte loves food with a little "kick" ... she gobbled up smoked meatballs and baked beans!

 Natalie tends to be drastically less adventuresome with her palate.  She opted for mac-n-cheese and whatever bread she could get her hands on!

Dinner was followed by ... drum roll, please ... dessert!  At our favorite local cupcakery, which just happens to be walking distance from the barbecue place.  Trust me, Chad's choice was most definitely not a coincidence!  We ordered two cupcakes: banana with whipped chocolate frosting and chocolate with cookies-n-cream frosting ... both were delicious!

I am super bummed that I didn't take a photo of the cupcake eating!  That would've been so much cuter than a bowl of processed cheese-covered noodles!  We did, however, have a delightful conversation with an older couple, who were there when we arrived.  They have 9 grandchildren living in three different states, which explains why they were so entertained by Natalie's journalistic sense of question-asking and story-telling!

We finished off our date night with a walk down the railroad tracks.  The rain had finally stopped, and despite a heavy layer of clouds, it was actually a very nice evening.  I especially love that I was able to get four good photos ... with my point-n-shoot!

Perhaps the best part, we were home and in our jammies by 9:00!  Now, that's my kind of Saturday night!

sweet sliding

CJV is officially hooked on sliding!

I love the anticipation at the top ... she holds onto both sides of the slide and carefully scoots forward, gives me her signature big grin, and let's go!

At the bottom, her face says, "Hey, look what I just did!"  She is so proud of herself!

And ready to do it again and again and again!

Glad to see our garage sale find from two years ago is going to get some more good use!

hair clippie

neither of my girls were born with a lot of hair.

heck, i've never had a lot of hair.

and their hair grows slowly ... just like mine.

natalie rocked a mullet for a good long while.

charlotte has a similar style with a bit more length in the front.

which explains why i feel the need
to put adorable little clippies in her "bangs.

if you are in the market for super adorable,
custom-made hair accessories ...
and if you have a daughter (or two)
you really should be in that market ... 
please check out Millie's Bows,
a local mama with the cutest bows around!

funny story, i actually ordered six new bows for natalie,
and this little flower clippie was included as a little thank you.
natalie loves her bows, and so do I ...
but she refuses to let me take a picture of her wearing them!

yum!

first farmer's market of the season

sad excuse for pig tails (i suck at doing hair!)

free sunglasses from some kids' event

natalie's favorite tanktop dress

mandated sweater because of temperature 

newly acquired, garage sale Minnie Mouse

scoop of heaven on a cone

being almost four is pretty much fantastic!

an afternoon at Clark Park

Another sunny day!  We are getting spoiled around here! 

We got a last-minute invitation to play at Clark Park ... that's the backyard beach of some very good friends of ours ... and just couldn't pass up the offer.  Not only did I desperately need to get out of the house, but also it's the best place to spend a sunny afternoon!  Thanks, Ashley and Morgan, for having us over to play!

 Charlotte loves the water!  

But she isn't crazy about being cold.

 Love CJV in her hooded cover-up!

This is the third season for NHV's ruffle-butt bikini!

And she has grown a ton in two years, which 

makes me wonder how in the world it still fits!

 Charlotte showing me a bit of "treasure" 

she unearthed while digging in the sand.

 Natalie and her best friend Cee-Cee

bravely jumping in the cold water ...

but only up to their ankles ;)

It did make for some good squeals!

Jordan & Charlotte looking a bit exhausted 

(and hungry) after all that sun and fun!

Same Age, Same Window

You know how I adore a comparison collage.  

My girls are so very different ... in many ways beyond their size.