July Costume Party

The other morning, Evelynn pulled out a cow costume out of the costume tub that we have and decided to wear it....until lunch! Yup. We finally convinced her to take it off as sweat was dripping off her hair into her mac n cheese! Later that same day, she insisted that I tie a purple bandanna around her. Moments later she comes out of her room having taken off all of her clothes except for the bandanna. No, I didn't take any pictures of my little girl in a loin cloth...but it sure was funny (especially when she realized that her bottom was open and she could go pee without pulling anything down!)

I should mention that this costume is a size 18mo, which is why it fits a little snug.

Big Grins

Finally Figured it Out

So, we've had this cute little trike now for a while, but Evelynn could never figure out the whole pedal thing. She would get on it all of the time, but she would just use her feet to push herself around. Well, I look out yesterday, and much to my surprise, I see Brad and Evelynn outside RIDING the TRIKE! I run out there with my camera, and Brad proceeds to tell me that she has been doing this for awhile, he thought I knew. Grrr...I hate when that stuff happens. I stay at home! Shouldn't I be the first to see these things???!!!

I guess it is time to get a helmet!

Check out those ballerina tennis shoes...aren't they cute?

She was so proud of herself, I love that!

I was begging her to look forward, but she was too excited!

For the more committed blog followers (read: grandparents and other close friends and relatives) I have included a video you can check out.

A little love

Lyla Mae-hey-hey

Well, her little personality is definitely starting to shine through. She loves adventure, has no fear, and has a little bit of a silly side too. She is a Mommy's girl (nice change from my first born!), and loves her big sister! Here are a few pictures I took yesterday.

Lyla trying out Sammy's dog bed for herself. Yes, all you non-dog-owners may grimace now.

What was even funnier than the pictures was watching her get out of this little pose. It was a very graceful acrobatic dismount on all fours!

Some of you have asked if Lyla has a dimple. I honestly didn't know what you were talking about until I saw this picture. Apparently she does, but it doesn't show all of the time.

Take a close look, that's the first picture of the new tooth!

Fourth of July Parade, well actually the third

Our neighborhood had planned a parade for the locals, which unfortunately was cancelled. We had already put together our awesome wagon though, so we decided to make a loop around the boulevard before the rain started to really come down. Our neighbors joined us for our very small parade!

Because I Like to Compare

Try to guess before looking at the answer at the bottom!

Here's a hint, Evelynn's nose was orange from all of the carrots she consumed!

Answer: Evelynn is on the top, and Lyla is on the bottom.

Are We Out of the Twos YET?

Well, "the twos" haven't been easy on anyone in our family. Just when we think we are getting over this phase, we go through it again. It is exhausting. It is annoying. And there are days where I just want to tape her little mouth shut. But, if I sit back for a second and think, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Evelynn is super smart (and yes, I know I am bias!), hilarious, and very kind to others. Yeah, she is seeking independence and driving my crazy as I try to teach her obedience, but all in all, she is a very lovable kid. Her inquisitive nature ("why?") wears on my nerves, but I am thankful that she yearns for knowledge. Her unwillingness to just do as I say is a real problem, but I try to look at the future and pray that God will mold her into a leader who won't just follow the crowd. Her overzealous love for her sister causes me to be on the edge of my seat all day, but I know that God will use this to grow them in to best friends for life. The whining, well the whining needs to end!

Evelynn's nightly flying routine after bath!

This is a Potato Head piece for the doctor. Brad and I were cracking up! By the way, you have no idea how many times I have looked at the "MPH" on the miscellaneous potato head parts and though, miles per hour, what does that have to do with anything? It was only a short while ago that I realized that it stands for Mr. Potato Head. Yeah, a very l-o-n-g blonde moment.

Evelynn's best friend. Well, technically I think that Evelynn's best friend is Finley's mom (Mrs. Wassink), but she adores this little guy. I got to watch Fin while his mom went to the doctor the other day and the kids had fun with stickers. By the way, when it the right age to stop letting little boys and girls play in bed together?? HA!

Lastly, my little rabbit. Evelynn is still more vegetarian than she is anything else. We can sometimes get her to eat some meat, but generally she sticks to the vegetables and fruits. Last night we had tacos and Evelynn only ate the lettuce. I have to be really intentional about fixing her eggs to make sure she gets protein. Are we out of the twos yet?

Sammy Dog

Because our Sammy dog deserves a mention in the family blog. He puts up with anything and everything, and wiggles his stumpy little tail through it all. How we love you Sambo Rambo!

Lyla's Growing By Leaps!

Seven months old, really? Lyla is really starting to hit those milestones now!

The day after she turned seven months old, Brad decided it was time to take the baby chair out of the tub and let Lyla sit in the tub like a big girl. She LOVES it! Evelynn was never much of a splasher, but Lyla makes waves with all of her motion. Evelynn also loves that Lyla is sitting in the tub with her, outside of the restrictive chair.

Now that Sissy is free to roam about the country with her amazing crawling and pulling up skills, she has been getting into a lot more trouble. She loves to take Brad's magazines off the bottom of the coffee table, splashing in Sammy's water bowl (yuck!), and pulling up on Evelynn (quite a moving target!).

She also loves the sound table, and even Evelynn has had fun playing with it now that we put some new batteries in it. Isn't it funny how older children enjoy playing with the same baby toys they had only a short while ago? I mean, Evelynn is no longer using the teething keys for teething purposes, but she loves to grab them and pretend she is locking/unlocking all the doors in the house.

My little cutie! In other news, Lyla got her first tooth in, with little to no problem. She didn't have any trouble with the pain, but I had noticed that she was chewing on her thumb, so I was on the look out. Hopefully the rest will come in with no problem too!

Lake Arbuckle

The last weekend of June, we headed to Lake Arbuckle! Our sweet friends, the Suttons, allowed a group of friends to come and use their family's lake houses, boat, and Sea-Doo. It was so much fun! There ended up being 6 adults and 6 kids (we each have two children).

Evelynn LOVED the boat! This is a picture of the Dads taking the older kiddos out on the water for the first time.

Later on the kids all enjoyed watermelon! If you look in the background, you can see Daddy holding Lyla Mae.

All of the kids thought the watermelon pieces were so big, they should just bend down and eat them!

Lyla got to go out on the boat too! We had a get a picture of her in her life vest!

It was an absolute blast! We survived with no sunburns, but we did have some pretty sleepy children!

Father's Day

Brad's mom, dad, and sister all came down for Father's Day weekend. It was so much fun hanging out with them, showing them our zoo, and celebrating Daddys!

Lyla also decided to pull up on something, err, someone for the first time while they were here! Aunt Carrie got the honors!

Daddy with his girls. They got him an edger attachment for his special day and we all went to the pool. It was a lot of fun! We are so blessed to have Brad as the leader of our family.

The Kids' Close-Up

I know, I know, I haven't posted in forever. These pictures are nearly a month old, but I live by the motto that it is better late than never. So, I will do my best do you catch everyone up on the last few weeks in our home.

First of all, we got Sammy a new bed! Okay, so this was more exciting for the people who are actually in my family than outsiders, but it was still a big deal. Evelynn even "tried it out" at Petsmart. She wanted to pick the perfect one for him, and success! Sam loves it!

Here are my crazy girls!

Evelynn's close-up because she wanted me to take her picture. (This is rare, so I jumped at the opportunity!)

Lyla's close up, because Evelynn wanted me to take Sissy's picture. She looks so frightened at the whole idea!