Polka Dots

I have a thing for polka dots. Put them with the color red and I'm sold. This outfit was so cute & comfy. The third picture is funny. For some reason, Allie does this belly-showing thing whenever we take pictures. And, she pulled the red bow out of her hair (as usual).

Mimi & Grandad

We had a fun few days with Mimi & Grandad. The kids loved the Carousel:

...and Zachary specifically picked the black horse.

After the carousel, Grandad got them some ice cream and they played near the fountains. It was really nice outside as the sun was setting.

Allie loves her some ice cream:

Community ice cream cones:

SOOO very cute that the kids are looking at each other with those little smiles. Love it!:

Daddy Time

I've captured a few cute pics of the kids with Todd recently. I think they are both becoming more interested in their Daddy time than ever before. And Todd is really good at making it fun and a little crazier than Mommy time (crazier is good).

Working on updating the calendar:

Reading books (and apparently working on our balance as well):

Rain Rain RainRAINRAIN...

It has rained for for 5 straight days. Not just sprinkles. We're talking thunderstorms that last hours and rain that POURS all day. I have never seen this much rain. There are floods everywhere and all metro Atlanta schools have actually been canceled for 2 days! Anyway, 1 huge perk is that the kids got to enjoy their super cool raincoats!!

Yes, I tried to take Allie's blankie from her so that it didn't get wet. Of course she refused. Not only did it get wet from the rain, but she dragged it through that puddle and back into the house. Then she fussed at me because it was all wet. Oh what foreshadowing of things to come...

Stickers, markers, cardboard

We had a yard sale last weekend. While I was getting everything priced (with stickers) and making the signs (with giant washable markers & cardboard), the kids enjoyed themselves tremendously.

Because I needed to mop...

...without the pitter patter of little feet making wet footprints all over the clean kitchen floor.

Viewer Warning?

Dear Sesame Street,
Thank you for showing mildly graphic footage of a hen laying an egg, which prompted my 3-year old boy to ask the obligatory (albeit less common) birds & the bees question, “How does a baby come out of a mommy?”

The closest they'll get

Todd & I are not cat people. While I don't know if we'll ever have any pets, I am very sure we will never have a cat. Lately, there's a stray cat wandering around our neighborhood who has found a little connection with Zach & Allie. Through the front windows of the playroom.
The cat sits on the sill while the kids laugh, knock on the window and watch it. They LOVE it! The cat loves it too - he rubs up against the window as if he's being petted (or is it just "pet"? What's the proper word for cat-petting?). Anyway, it is super cute and makes me laugh.

Excessive hand-washing

Allie likes to wash her hands. And for her, hand-washing is a delightfully entertaining activity that requires no prerequisites (like having dirty hands).
Many times a day, I'll see her standing on the stool in front of the bathroom sink. She can't quite reach the faucet to turn the water on, but she has figured out a little solution. This is very funny to me, because she still tries to turn it on by herself every time, and then realizes she's just not quite long enough. Then she'll climb back off the stool, go get Zachary, and they'll waddle to the bathroom, where he turns the water on for her.
I have a little foaming hand soap pump that is easy for the kids to use and she calls it "...oap" (soap without the "s"). When Zachary decides that she's been washing her hands enough, he goes in and turns the water off for her (he is very responsible...so much like Todd). Then she'll dry her hands with the handtowel, turn off the light and crawl off the stool.

Too smart for his own good

Mommy: "Zachary, here's your popsicle. Would Panda like a popsicle too?"
Zachary: "No mommy, Panda only eats bamboo."

First Day of Preschool

Zachary came downstairs dressed like this for his first day of preschool. I love it!!! As we walked into the building, he was a little nervous and said, "Mommy, I think everyone will like my tie." I said, "Well even if they don't, you still look very handsome."
When I picked him up, he was still wearing it and as we walked out to the car he proudly said, "Mommy, everybody liked my tie."

...And Allie has clearly grown out of these pants...but I thought we could pretend they are meant to be cropped!

Labor Day '09

We took a road trip to hang out with all of my family in Florida. It was a fun weekend!!
Picture of Zachary ready for the beach:
(Yes, his sunglasses are upside down...and yes, they are flowery girl sunglasses that actually belong to Allie. As a blogger I'm being censored by Todd as far as mentioning anything relevant to Zachary's current interest in girl-themed stuff. As a mother, I'll tell you about it if you want to know. Just give me a call.)

We spent tons of time at the beach. It was fabulous!!

The kids got to feed the fun Florida birds that hang out behind Grammy & Grandpa's house. Most of the trip down to Florida, Zachary talked about the "storks, white ibises, and sand hill cranes at Grammy's house." Allie enjoyed eating the bread Zachary was using to feed the birds. She even picked up pieces he threw to the bird. This made me a little nervous, because I could see the stork thinking about coming after her. Clearly he didn't know who he was dealing with. When it comes to snacks, Allie will always win.

On the way home, we split the trip in half and stayed the night at a hotel. After four hours in the car, including the last hour of Allie screaming hysteria because she was mad about being in her car seat, the kids were a little wired at 12:00am in the hotel room:

First Choice?

Mommy: "Zachary, you may pick a pack of stickers from this shelf. Go ahead and just pick whichever ones you want."
Zachary: "Oh! Ok mommy, thank you!"

Zachary spent a few minutes digging through a wide variety of stickers. I was distracted picking out some birthday cards when he told me he made his choice.

When we got to the check out line, he put his sticker pick on the conveyor belt. I had to laugh when I saw the pack of Disney Princess stickers my 3-year old son chose for himself.