fire hydrant fun

Late this afternoon we discovered that the fire hydrant at the park across the street from us was being drained. After awhile the neighborhood kids started playing in the water and CJ thought it would be fun to join them. So we got him in his suit and joined the fun. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids playing in the water. Yes, even CD tried walking in it.

a day at the park

Today we went to play at a local park called "Ryan's Place Park". It is a really fun park for the kids with lots to climb on and play with. CD even enjoyed climbing the stairs as high as she could. Grandma Allen was with us (she's visiting for the week) and had fun watching the kids play. Yesterday CJ insisted that Grandma buy him a lunch box from Michaels, so today we packed the lunch boxes (CD got one too) with some snacks and had a picnic after playing in the park (CJ's idea).

CD climbs up the stairs

CJ climbs up a rope ladder

CJ and CD show off their lunch boxes

heads up - name change

Just so you know, I am now going to refer to C1 as CJ and C2 as CD. For those of you who know my kids, I'm sure you can figure out why I'm doing this. And for those of you who don't know my kids as well, those happen to be their initials.

who could resist such cuteness

Okay, so CJ and I made cookies today. It wasn't planned, but CJ insisted that he wanted to make cookies and then went ahead and started getting out ingredients for the cookies. He got out flour, shortening, brown sugar, and chocolate chips. Since he was accurate and helpful in getting ingredients, I gave in and we made peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips. The real reason I gave into CJ's demands for baking cookies is shown below. Who could resist such cuteness!?

new tricks

So C2 has had a very busy week. She has grown so much in her development in one week, it has been crazy. Besides starting to walk with a push toy on her own, she also has learned to pull herself up finally. She started by pulling herself to her feet on low surfaces (like a couch cushion C1 decided to put on the floor to crawl over) but by the end of the week she is now pulling herself up to the couch - and other objects. She has even scared us a couple of times by getting up unto our little kids picnic table when it is next to the couch and then continuing up onto the couch. Here's a little story about that... After church we left the kids in the family room to play while Jon and I went to change out of our church clothes. When I came back into the family room to change the kids, I found C2 on the couch and trying to crawl up the arm of the couch. I did something I shouldn't have and I ran and got the camera quickly. When I came back seconds later she was all the way up on the arm and trying to crawl unto the next couch. I quickly snapped the picture and then caught her as she fell over the side. Crazy girl! Now I'll never be able to leave her alone!

In addition to all of her new physical abilities, she is also getting closer and closer to talking. I am pretty sure she has tried saying "ball", "car", "dog", "mom", and "bye-bye". As soon as she uses them on a regular basis, I'll know that she for sure knows them and she'll have her first words! Yeah! Our 19 month old baby girl is finally starting to transition into a toddler!

surprise!

Look who's getting even closer to walking on her own! She started doing this on Monday and has been getting better each day. Way to go C2!!

fun filled weekend

So I finally decided that it was about time to write a post about our fun filled 4th of July weekend. And boy was it a busy one! On the 4th our family was in the local parade thanks to Grandpa Parker volunteering us to advertise with Daddy's car. The parade part was okay (C1 loved throwing out candy and honking the horn), but the hour and a half wait before was pretty tiresome, especially for C2. After the parade we went to the canyon to join the rest of the Parker clan for dinner and fun. Here Daddy is teaching C1 how to fish. They didn't catch anything, but C1 definitely loved reeling in the fishing line.
Besides fishing we also walked in the river. C1 even got in and had some fun. In fact, he had a little too much fun. He wasn't at all afraid of the river which really scared Mom knowing how dangerous the river can be. But we all enjoyed skipping rocks and just getting our feet wet.

C2 didn't play in the river at all. Instead she sat on the grass playing with her cousins. She still did have a good time. She played on the grass a lot more than she ever has (until recently she didn't like the feel of the grass).

Our weekend didn't end with the 4th. Nope. On the morning of the 5th we went to Rupert, Idaho to attend Mom's 10 Year High School Reunion. The best part of the Reunion was Mom being able to see her friends that she has kept in touch with for the last 10 years. The real fun started after most people left. Then Mom's group of friends got crazy and played on the toys around them.

We had races up the rope wall and even tried running on the log (sorry no pictures of that). Mom tried the log thing once and didn't do so well. (In fact, I didn't even stay on long enough to get a picture of me doing it!) But all in all it was a good weekend with lots of fun!

time flies

Wow! Time sure goes by fast! I decided it was about time to post again and give everyone an update on our little family. Not too much has been happening. We have had opportunities to visit with family and friends - that's always nice. Unfortunately C2 was sick for a week and a half with the flu and ear infections for the first half of June. So that interferred with some fun. She was quite miserable and we are just now getting our little, playful girl back. Oh, did I mention she is 18 months old now! Crazy!

The kids and I always try to go on a walk a day. But lately C1 has decided he likes bike rides. He just figured out how to pedal his tricycle this summer, so he's pretty excited about it. With him riding it slows down our walks, but we still enjoy being outside. C1 is silly and one night he decided to fall off his bike. That is why he is on the ground. He is getting much better though - and braver!

We don't have too many plans for the rest of summer. I have a 10 year High School Reunion the weekend of the 4th of July (boy, I'm getting old!). And some of Jon's family will be around at that time too. So soon we will once again be spending our time with family and friends! We can't wait for the fun to begin!

toothpaste anyone?

C2 often crawls off and disappears during the day. When I go look for her, this is where I find her - in my bathroom playing with the "toothpaste drawer". Thanks to Uncle Joe we have lots of little toothpaste samples we keep in the bottom drawer just for this occassion - to let the kids play. C2 gets a real kick when you tell her "in" as she puts them in and "out" as she takes them out. She is so easily entertained!

Just to let everyone know - C1 is finally potty trained! He has been wearing underwear all week and is doing great. I am so thrilled! No more two kids in diapers! Hooray!

where's my hair

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!! Mommy! Where's my hair?! I don't like this hair!" -C1

So I decided to give C1 a haircut. Or maybe it would be more correct to say a buzz. I think he looks handsome with short hair (he's handsome no matter what). But C1 and Jon think otherwise. They like C1's hair long and shaggy. In fact, C1 started crying and screaming when he saw that all his hair was gone. Poor kid. He kept telling me that he just wanted his other hair. I just decided that shorter hair would be better for summer and the warmer weather. I think C1 is over it now though. We'll see.