More Park Fun

Just a few pictures from our fun at the park over the last week or so. It's gotten chilly here again (more like the real March we all know!), but we're still enjoying getting fresh air now and then even if we do have to wear coats again.

I have a feeling that a certain little someone will be absolutely fearless on the playground this summer! That girl will try ANYthing and nothing will stop her!

These first few pictures were taken at the "digger park" that we have sort of nearby- it's a little bit farther than we usually go when we go to parks, but it's still within walking distance and of course Daniel loves it because of the digger.

Even Annabel had fun checking the digger out!
(And no, she can't move the thing- it's actually really heavy and awkward!)

What a cute picture of Annabel!

Another night out at the parks with Daddy...this time at the "sand park" close to us.

Yes, my little girl is in desperate need of a haircut...at least for bangs!
Disney World Main Street Barber Shop here we come!

Daniel likes to try this swing out from time to time. I love his smile here!

Fun trying out Daddy's hat! Another great smile!

The other day, after our morning at Nature class and lunch at home, we headed to the "other park, not the sand park" that's also close to us at Daniel's request. It was very windy, but we still had a great time! Annabel LOVED climbing all over the toddler playground- she climbed up the stairs, walked on the bridge, crawled in the tunnel and figured out how to get out too, and then tried to crawl down the stairs...I'm telling you, she has no fear!

Cute hat! Unfortunately it was SO windy, it didn't stay on long! Well, that and Annabel took it off pretty quickly, too.

Daniel was all over the whole playground, and even braved the bigger structures on his own (a first!) while I played with Annabel. Daniel's eyes look SO blue in this picture and I love that great smile again!

This picture cracks me up...Annabel clearly had to find the farthest piece of mulch to reach for, like there weren't any right at her feet! I love how she's stretching as faaaar as she can reach while still holding on!

SO windy!

It was so windy...it blew Annabel over, literally; she couldn't even walk without holding onto my hand and believe me she tried! You can kinda tell how she's about to tip over here!

She's ready to play!

Checking out the tunnels!

Figuring out how to get back down from the tunnel!

We're off to buy Annabel some real shoes this weekend so she can enjoy the parks a little more because, as you can see, she's ready to join the fun with Daniel!

Meerkat Love

Daniel's favorite animal at the zoo on our recent visits was the meerkat. Ever since then, he's talked about the meerkats all the time. We even got books and a video (one of the Meerkat Manor series) from the library about meerkats. Grandma Cheryl found a stuffed meerkat for Daniel- and well, let me tell you, this meerkat is now part of Daniel's lovey family! Lion and kitty cat are no longer just a pair- they're a trio now that meerkat has joined them. The three of them go everywhere with Daniel- all over the house and in the car on errands with us, and any one of them (we only allow one to leave the car usually) will end up in my purse while we run our errands or attend classes. Daniel just loves his new meerkat! Thank you, Grandma Cheryl!

Congratulations, Aunt Christina!

My sister Christina will be thoroughly embarrassed I'm posting this on here, but we're all just so excited for her...she was honored today at work as Employee of the Year for 2011!! We all surprised her at the awards ceremony they had this afternoon- she didn't know she was receiving this award and she certainly didn't know we were coming! It was such fun to be there for her. Daniel really wanted to come when I told him Aunt Christina was getting an award, but instead, he and Annabel helped me make a card for her. The card turned out super cute! I made little posters that said "Congratulations" and "Aunt Christina" for the kids to hold...you can see how that turned out- exactly as I had thought and hoped it would, seriously...it was perfect! I had wanderers, spellers, tasters, you name it- it happened, and that just made it all so cute!

Congratulations, Christina!

Videos!

Thought I'd share some cute videos and some stories! Videos first...stories below!

This video was taken about two weeks ago. I was just trying to get some cute crawling videos of Annabel before the crawling days are over and she moves on to walking. This is just me feeling nostalgic and missing babyhood already...

I mentioned before how Annabel loves to play with Daniel's cars and drive them around. Caught it on video a couple weeks ago. So cute! I love that she even knew to flip the car onto its wheels, too! Smart girl! We think it's a good thing she likes to play with cars, because we sure have a LOT of them!

Just some cute laughs to show how ticklish Annabel is! Daniel loves to tickle her, too, because it's so cute and such fun.

Annabel was just so cute playing with her toys one day. It just struck me how big she's getting and how much I just love to watch her play. She's so expressive and just such a cutie.

Caught! Annabel is escaping...

This video is from the first day of Spring when I took Annabel outside for some fresh air during Daniel's nap. We had so much fun playing with the ball and getting some good vitamin D from that sunshine!

One last video- this was taken this past weekend when we went to Best Buy. Daniel loves to go to Best Buy because they have the demo games he can play. Last time we went they had a Lightning McQueen race car driving game that he LOVED. So of course he was looking for that this time (yes he remembered that game all this time- and it's been months since we've gone to Best Buy!), but this monkey game had to suffice. He LOVED this one just as much. I think Daniel's little "bop" is too cute!

That's all for videos...just be glad I didn't share Daniel's first video that he took with you. It's a bit nauseating because it's so crazy all over up down all around- you'd get dizzy! It was fun to let him play, though.

And now for some things we've heard around the house lately and other cute stories:

Daniel spent a couple weeks talking about "soccer school". He really wanted to go to soccer school. We have no idea where he got this idea, but, in fact, I had been considering a "soccer school" that we have in the area anyway. We're just not sure how much he'd play because he tends to just watch rather than jump in and do...so we'll see. Anyway, it's just cute that he was all of a sudden interested. This may also be more proof that the kid can read my mind, because like I said, I'd been (silently, I tell you) thinking about it, too.

Daniel got sunflower seeds at Asher's 1st birthday party. He's been talking about planting them ever since. We kept telling him that we had to wait until it got warmer. Daniel simply replied, "Yeah. I don't want frozen flowers." Too funny.

"Pantses"- I had to mention this one for the record. I cannot get Daniel to just say "pants" for the life of me...he always says "pantses" as in "Here are Annabel's pantses" or "I need to put my pantses on." Cracks me up!

"Bescape" is another one I loved- I think Daniel's finally starting to say "escape" instead of "bescape." There was a video I shared a while ago where Daniel shouted at a car "don't bescape, car!"

"I will never..."- Every now and again, when Daniel is being contrary like any three year old can be, Daniel will say, "I will never..." and of course it's something he's done before and will do again probably later that day, if not in the next ten minutes, such as "I will never play blocks." Silly boy.

"Course she can have that" "Course you do."- I love it when Daniel says "Course..." something about the slang and the sureness coming from him cracks me up.

"That's why..."- Daniel is always explaining random things to us. "This is a red car. That's why he can go over there" or something like that. Love it!

"I guess I should..."- Again, for random things while Daniel is playing, he will just say "I guess I should..." His expressions are so cute, too.

Daniel went through a "Have you ever ___ before?" phase for a while. He'd ask us "have you ever" questions all the time, and they were always for things he knows we've done before (like "have you ever played this game before?"), but he'd still ask them so earnestly and seriously. And if we said no just to toy with him, he'd say "course you did." Or he'd say "That's why I'm playing this game right now. To show you." I love the way all his expressions come together this way sometimes!

Other cute phrases I've heard recently are "actually" and "so"- Daniel will begin sentences these days with these phrases. "Actually I need a blue block." "So, I want to read this book."

About two weeks ago, all Daniel talked about was "I wish I had a puppy dog" or "I wish I had a monster truck button" (in our car- to turn our minivan into a monster truck). It was pretty cute the way he was wishing for things. I can tell you right now the puppy dog wish (and the monster truck button for that matter) will never happen- we are not dog people! Thankfully he moved on.

I love it when Daniel says "I'm excited for..."- it's so cute and such fun. His current excitements...a trip to the beach (he talks about this ALL the time), Easter (he really wants to paint eggs!), and recently our dinner at Grandma Cheryl's.

Daniel has a new member of his very-well-loved lovey family- a meerkat (thank you, Grandma Cheryl!!). Let me tell you- This. Boy's. In. LOVE! So, lion and kitty cat are no longer a pair...they're a trio with meerkat, too. Anyway, Daniel was nuzzling his meerkat the other day and I said "oh, are you doing nosey-nosey?" and Daniel said "No. I'm doing facey-facey!" Too funny!

Last funny story- Daniel and I were "exercising" the other night by running laps. I was running slow and Daniel was running fast- he told me he could run fast because his legs had more power than mine! Annabel was just happily playing away while we did this. When she finally wanted me to pick her up, I kept running with her and every time we saw Daniel (we ran the opposite direction as Daniel) I'd say "BOO!" and they would both crack up- it was hilarious. Daniel finally told me not to say boo. So the next time we ran into Daniel I said "pickles" just to be silly and Daniel said I couldn't say that either. I asked him what I could say and he said "nothing." So, I was about to start running again with plans to literally say "nothing" (aren't I funny?!) when Daniel turned around and said "No, don't say ANYthing. No talking." Smart kid! I had to laugh. And again...he read my mind!

Step by Step...More and More!

Annabel is closer and closer to officially walking! Well, she IS walking, she CAN walk, she just doesn't choose it as her main means of getting around just yet. But each day, she walks more and more often- still little steps, over small distances, but you can tell she's getting braver each time. And she can even walk sideways and will even take steps backwards if she's backing something up. Annabel can stand on her own for a long time, and even that gets longer and longer each day. Annabel has also gotten strong enough to stand, crouch down, and then stand back up. I loved noticing that the other day for the first time!

Of course, Daniel is very excited for her! Just yesterday, he and Annabel were in the loft (stair gate closed, don't worry) and I was in Annabel's room getting something, when Daniel called out, "Mommy, Mommy. Annabel is walking!!" There she was, walking toward Daniel of course! I asked him how it happened and he oh-so-cutely explained, with gestures and a big proud smile, "She just stooood up, and then she took her first steps." I love it!

All in all, it's just SO cute to watch her little steps! Annabel's walking journey has been such fun to watch as it unfolds daily. I'll keep you posted!

This first video was taken the day we went to the zoo (the first time)- almost two weeks ago. Annabel had at that point been just taking a couple steps here and there, and I finally caught a little snippet on camera! Don't mind her (cute) nakedness- I was changing her clothes!

These next two videos were taken over this past weekend. Now Annabel is finally walking for longer distances- about two or three feet maybe- and more and more lately these steps are away from us, towards toys usually. Slowly, but surely she takes step by step. So cute! This video was actually the first time she'd walked this far! Aren't you glad I caught that on video for you?!

This video shows you how Annabel can stand up after crouching down. She's getting so big and so strong! (And check out Daniel's latest Goodwill store find- that wooden parking garage and the Cars Toon Tales Monster Truck characters, of which Mater is one- he LOVES these!)

March Nature Fun

We're still enjoying our Nature Classes on Wednesdays. Of course the warm weather has made our hikes and activities even more enjoyable and we've been able to stay outside to do our projects, too. And now that Annabel has gotten a taste of exploring on the ground outdoors, she really wants to participate these days, too! Keeping her in the K'tan is not as easy when it's so nice out and all she wants to do is play and explore! So, down on the ground she goes, playing with the sticks, leaves, grass, and all things nature. And of course Daniel loves class- he enjoys the hikes, loves finding sticks, LOVES feeding the animals (they spread birdseed all over the forest) and he participates in most of the role play activities, too. The projects are always a hit and lately we've been getting extra projects to bring home and make and he thinks that is just awesome. So, all in all, March has been a fun nature class month!

Daniel pretends to sprout.

Daniel makes a fairy garden.

Raking and using garden tools is always a hit with Daniel!!

Annabel loved checking out Daniel's fairy garden. She also had fun holding onto an acorn cap throughout the whole class- you can see her fist holding it here while she checks out the garden.

This week the theme was birds. Annabel wanted to be free to play with Miss Connie and she had fun checking out the bird picture cards.

Annabel is smitten with Miss Connie!

Miss Connie had this neat little gadget to share with the kids called an "identiflyer"- it makes bird sounds when you push the buttons. Annabel was clearly tickled by this! That's her cute/shy/i like it/tickled expression with her chin tuck, shoulder up, and a smile to boot.

Daniel LOVED the "identiflyer" gadget just as much!

Daniel pretends to be a bird that eats bug while it flies. He really got into this!

Mommy/baby snuggles!

Annabel was very happy to be free to explore at last!

To the Zoo...x TWO!

We went to the zoo twice in one week! And we had a great time both times!

Last Thursday, I decided to take the kids to the zoo to enjoy the weirdly warm weather we've been having. Just me and my two kids. We had a blast. It was so relaxing just walking all over the zoo. I loved it. I was so excited to brave the zoo by myself with the kids and I'll definitely do it again! We just really had a great time. We were there for a few hours and even had lunch there, too. Both kids were so good. Daniel seemed so grown up all of a sudden, just hanging out with me, holding my hand, and walking the WHOLE day with me. It was so cute and he seemed to really enjoy a day out with just me and Annabel. Annabel did great in the stroller for about half the time, then lunch was a much needed break from the stroller for her. After that, a toy helped and then she spent a little time in the K'tan, where she was quite happy. We saw a lot of animals, but mostly we just had fun walking. Daniel's favorite animal of the visit: meerkats. Go figure. He's been obsessed with them since and will tell everybody that's what he saw at the zoo and that he will take them to the zoo to see the meerkats. They were the last animal we saw and the most active animal we saw and it was dark in the building- something about all that made an impression on Daniel, I think, and so, meerkats it is. I love it! Anyway, we had a great time. And I can't wait to take the kids to the zoo much more often. Of course we always enjoy taking people with us, but this visit made me think how easy it is to just go myself, too- so we will do that, too!

And then yesterday, we took our friends, Delilah and Asher and their mom Patricia, as our guests. We had SO much fun! We were at the zoo a loooong time...and the kids all did great! We had GREAT weather again- up until about 3:15, just before we were ready to leave, when it just poured, and I mean poured, for about 10 minutes. Luckily we were just exiting the monkey building and walking to pick up our strollers, so we hung out under the overhang there, dragging our strollers with us so they would stay dry. Then we hustled to the car as soon as it stopped...of course, I think we were under the only rain cloud in the area, because it didn't rain again at all- but that's okay, it was time to go home by then anyway and we had no complaints since the rest of the day was just gorgeous! Anyway, we just had the most fun walking all over the whole zoo and we saw TONS of animals this time. And Daniel could not wait to have snacks and lunch; we'd packed a lunch this time and Daniel was so excited to eat lunch for some reason- maybe I should "pack" his lunch everyday if it means he's excited to eat! We rode the carousel, too, although both kids picked the bench to ride- still, that was fun, too. And of course, we took Delilah to see the meerkats. We were in luck, too, with our great timing- the zookeeper was just feeding them, so they were all out, very busy, very active, and up close and all. What a treat to see that! The kids had fun "being" animals, playing with all the exhibits that had buttons or flaps or phones, and they even played at the park for a few minutes, too. Daniel and Delilah held hands and walked together several times throughout the day. It was just so fun. I couldn't believe the kids all lasted as long as they did- we were seriously there for FIVE hours! I can't remember the last time I was at the zoo that long. And I had a nice quiet car ride home- both of my kids fell fast asleep, Daniel was even snoring...I made sure to take the long way home so they got a good nap in!

Can't wait to go to the zoo again!

Just me and my two kids

Daniel and Annabel share a quick snuggle!

Watching the kangaroos!

Next stop...camels!

Snack time!

I loved the way this bear was all snuggled up!

Daniel demonstrated a monkey for me! Too cute!

A FUN carousel ride!

Daniel was clearly tickled about something...love his giggle!

Annabel LOVED watching Daniel on the merry-go-round!

Back at the zoo with friends!

We had fun checking out the giraffes!

Annabel had the CUTEST giraffe outfit on!

Daniel and Delilah checked out the wolves.

This is as close as Daniel would get to the fish...he didn't want to get "eaten"!!

Watching the penguins while holding hands!!
Cue the awww's!

Happy to have some crunchies for lunch!

Daniel tells me everyday how excited he is for Easter...
I wonder if he knew he picked the perfect animal to "be"!!

Annabel and Asher chilling!

Group shot!

Time for the park!

Meerkats!

Daniel had fun playing a mini-game of "gonna getcha" with Asher!
Asher clearly loved it!

The three of us on the merry-go-round!

Daniel and Delilah waiting for the merry-go-round to start.

Last stop...Tropic World to see monkeys!
This phone is always a huge hit with Daniel.

Daniel helped Delilah listen to the phone, too.

Fast asleep on the way home!

Whew...those were two busy and FUN visits to the zoo!