Fun in the Sand!

Okay, here’s a question. Does anyone know how much sand a person can safely ingest? Because we’re really not sure how much sand Morgan actually swallowed earlier this week. It’s funny all the little things you forget that you have to teach these little ones….for instance, if your piece of peanut butter & jelly sandwich falls in the sand, it’s best to just toss it & reach for a new piece instead. You assume that the child will see that it’s “dirty” and just hand it over like she does everything else that falls on the floor lately. But, to a hungry 18-month old child….all they think is “Okay, my sandwich fell onto that grey stuff…I’m hungry.…give me my sandwich back…..NOW.” So….said child reaches down and shoves the sand-coated sandwich in her mouth faster than we can lunge at her to grab it. Sigh. What do you do? Hope for the best it seems. And guess what…the mouth full of sand wasn’t enough to deter her either….the attempts to grab sand-coated food away from her resulted in a lot of screaming…but eventually she was so fascinated by playing in the sand, that she no longer cared about the food!

So the fun part….she LOVED playing in the sand! Macy was having fun searching for sea glass and throwing rocks in the water with Dad, but Morgan was all about the sand, the shovels, the bucket, and the mountain that we were making in the sand. And you know what…I really get why it was so fun. After snapping several pictures, I put away the camera, kicked off my shoes, and started digging right alongside Morgan. And you know what? It was so relaxing, and mesmerizing for some reason. We must have dug in the sand together for the better part of 45 minutes. Digging and digging, and scooping, and dumping the sand….we made some really big holes and some really big sand-mountains. Who knew that playing in the sand was so fun? Actually…I think I *knew* that it was, but sometimes it’s good to just jump in and get dirty, and remember just how fun it is to be a little kid. :) It was a fun afternoon.

Hmmm...I wonder why this tastes so crunchy?

What a pleasant surprise!!

This morning, I was looking around Morgan's closet trying to decide what to dress her in, and given the forecast for a cloudy & rainy weekend, I put her in a sweater and some pants. So what a surprise when she woke up from her morning nap, and it was already in the mid-70's! We did a quick change into a sundress, and it reached nearly 80 degrees this afternoon! Yay! We were going to put the boat in the water for the weekend, but decided not to, since it was supposed to be fairly cold all weekend - so what a surprise that we were still able to enjoy being outside all day. It was wonderful...and the girls played out on the deck all afternoon! It was so fun and relaxing....Gregg was actually home on a Saturday, we were able to enjoy lunch & dinner outside & we BBQ'd out on the deck tonight, and the girls were so happy playing outside all day....it was great. Here are some pictures from earlier today:


Okay, I have to share this next picture too, because it just makes me laugh. :) The girls were playing with their sand & water table for much of the day, and Morgan kept dumping water down the front of herself. She finally came over to me with a sad face and pointed at her drenched dress, and when I asked her if she wanted to take it off, she said "Yep." (Her new favorite response) So off came the dress, but she insisted on leaving her sun hat on...so funny...

Also...one of Morgan's new favorite things to do...when I bring out the camera, she thinks it's hilarious to charge at the camera and get her face as close as possible to the camera, and then she smiles, makes some sort of loud sound, like she's scaring me, and then laughs and runs off again. A couple of her "close-ups" from earlier this week (and I'm also throwing in a picture of her new swim suit/rash guard, which I think is adorable. :)

Pool Party!

Oh, how nice it was to have those nice warm, days last week! Aaaahh….to walk outside without a coat, to close your eyes and feel the sun on your face, and to just be outside feeling warm….so, so nice. Last week, we were getting ready for a little weekend get-a-way, so we quickly blew up the little pool and put it on the deck for the girls to splash around and play in. Last year at this time, we had done the same thing for Morgan – we were so excited to put her in her little swimming suit & get her first “pool pictures” – just as we had done for Macy. Well, Morgan was having none of that at the time. She screamed the second we put her little feet in the water, and screamed louder when we sat her in that cold water. So this year, we weren’t sure what to expect. We put her swimming suit on & let her run across the deck to the pool….she quickly stepped in, sat down right away without flinching, and started splashing around! She had SO much fun. And so did Macy…it was so fun to watch them…and of course I had to pull the camera out. Here are some pictures from their pool party:



Also….last weekend involved our big adventure to L.A. to the American Girl store….but that will have to be saved for a whole different post!

Who cares if it’s only 52 degrees outside?

“Let’s have a picnic Mom!” Yes, that’s what I’ve heard over the past two days, and Macy was bound & determined that she and her little sister were going to eat outside.

Perhaps I should preface this by saying that we have been waiting to “use” our deck this spring, because we always wait until Gregg stains the deck before we bring out all of our furniture. Well, with this rainy, cold spring we’ve been having, conditions haven’t been optimum for staining, to say the least. So, Macy has patiently waited…and waited…and waited….and finally this past week we got a break in the weather – and Daddy was finally able to stain the deck! Yippee! So, one of the first things he did was get out the girls’ picnic table and umbrella. They were THRILLED. We blocked off the stairs, and I think that Morgan has made approximately 50 laps around the deck over the past few days. She’s just so happy to be out there, and she just stomps around, and around, and then will check in at the door once in awhile to make sure we’re still watching her, and then she continues on her way. :)

So, this afternoon, when she got home from school, Macy bundled herself up, got her shoes on, and ran across the deck to block off the stairs for her sister. Then she set up their princess fold-out chairs, put up the umbrella over the picnic table, and starting going in and out of the house, over and over, carefully setting the table and remembering all of the details that they would both need for lunch. After this, she helped get Morgan’s coat & shoes on, and helped her climb into her own princess chair to prepare lunch. Then, I set up a tray full of food for them, which Macy was VERY excited about, and she carried it outside and “served” her sister lunch. It was very sweet, and cute, I must say.

On my way out the door to join them for lunch, I happened to glance at our thermometer, which read 52 degrees. But they honestly could have cared less. They were just so happy to be outside, and I think Morgan ate a better lunch than I’ve watched her eat all week! The rest of the afternoon involved dragging more and more toys out on to the deck, playing car races, and stomping around in circles yet again….here are just a couple of pics of the girls enjoying their picnic table this week.


I also have to share this picture. When I picked Macy up from school this morning, each of the kids came out, one at a time, with a present for their mothers. It involved a hug from each, and an “I love you Mom!”, and then they gave us each these little frames. Have I said that I LOVE Macy’s school? And her teachers? They are fabulous…and always have fun little surprises and great ideas for the kids. What a wonderful surprise….it has already made my Mother’s Day, just a couple of days early.

A Few Pics...

Too tired to write much tonight, but wanted to share a few pics from this past week. The girls are having so much fun playing outside, when the weather allows, and I brought the camera out to the big toy a few days ago to take these pics. Macy & Morgan are playing together more & more each day - it is so fun to watch! More to share...but it will have to wait for another day. :)