Beating the heat

It's been in the upper 90's here for weeks. Wouldn't be all that bad except that our air conditioner is broken. Good times. We survive though. How? By enjoying some time outside... seeing as how it's usually cooler outside than it is inside. This morning we had snack out on our picnic table.
And then after our nap Mommy filled up our swimming pool, and we had a field day.

Again... I'm not all that quick on the whole when and when not to hold my nose. :)

Emma Grace didn't so much like my skills.

1 and 3

Saturday morning we went to a birthday party at the park for our friends A and L. A turns 3 while L just turned 1. It was a lovely day, and the temperature wasn't all that bad... after all it was only 1030. :)

A and L's mommy made these SUPER YUMMY vegan cupcakes... they were awesome. Along with them, she made 3 types of frosting that we were allowed to use to frost our own cupcakes.

They were awesome to say the least.

No cupcake for Ems... she enjoyed watermelon rind.

Later in the day we ventured out to Abingdon for their annual Highland Festival. It was uneventful to say the least... except for the AWESOME tye-dye shirts Mommy bought us. Oh and the GIGANTIC blow out Emma Grace had in the car. She was crying, I was gagging, and the poo was oozing. Em managed to get it ALL OVER HER FACE. It was super. :)

13 months

Rachel here. There's our girl at 13 months. We won't have a well visit again until 15 months, so there are no statistics for you, however, she is wearing just a few of her 12 month clothes and has moved into her 12-18 monthers.

She spends a good chunk of time crying because of injuries. This kid is as balls to wall as her sister is. In the above photo she was climbing up the stairs and managed to get stuck... ON THE FIRST STEP. OY! I came into the living room the other day because she was screaming bloody murder only to find that she had climbed on top of a chair... then on top of the coffee table. She was sitting in the middle of it criss cross applesauce. Talk about a heart attack. We have to watch her like a hawk.

She's getting really good at communication. In the last update post, I mentioned she was saying: mama, dada (which she can now differentiate between and often uses them for the correct person), nigh nigh (night night), ahduh (all done), she occasionally signs "more", and ALWAYS signs "hungry"... the kid can eat. We're adding ball to the mix this month... very exciting! Emma Grace also says something that sounds like "what's this" when she wants to know what something is. We're able to ask her where her milk is, and she crawls with lightening speed to get to it.

We do have a walker. We're definitely in the drunken frat boy stage where she looks more than intoxicated trying to get from here to there, but she's walking nonetheless. I can't wait until it's in larger spurts. So far I think we've topped at 16 steps in a row. Yes, I'm psychotic like that. :)

My Two Loves

Rachel here. The girls and I ventured over to a friend's house today for a play date. It was super fun! Here are two shots I got of the girls that I love. I played with the saturation a bit on these but honestly know nothing about editing photography. I will say though that saturating the photos really makes the colors pop, and I'll probably be doing this to the majority of my pix that we hang in the house.

W-2s

Someone earned their first ever allowance yesterday!

Chocolate Mush Cake

Rachel here. Ever since our trip to Iowa, Reese has been obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake... or as she calls it Chocolate Mush Cake. Why? I don't know... she's almost 3 is my only explanation. :) Anywho, Daddy got the supplies from Kroger to pop little mini shortcakes together for our dessert last night.

We enjoyed them. :)

Orange and Maroon

After the Farmer's Market, we took a little walk around Downtown. We went to one of our favorite stomping grounds... and Mommy tried ONCE AGAIN to get Daddy to agree to buy these AWESOMELY PHENOMENAL shoes. For a whopping $34.99 (times 2 mind you), he kindly declined. Mommy then kindly ignored him until she got over it.

Mommy would not feel defeated for long though. While these are HARDLY the most amazing shoes God has ever created, Mommy is happy with them, and I LOVE THEM!

Emma Grace's

Mine

Daddy was pretty happy with the outcome as well.... instead of $70, we bought EG's shoes from Target for $10 and mine from Payless for $10... Mommy already had the paint... because let's be for real... who doesn't have orange and maroon craft paint handy? ;)

Make It Happen

We ventured down to the Farmer's Market yesterday to visit an art show that was going on. While down there, we made our way to the Children's Museum's tent to help out with an art project they were sponsoring... the finished product will be on display at this year's Steppin' Out festival.

(Rachel here... is this not the cutest thing!?)

Hopefully the project turns out lovely for the festival. We had a monsoon blow through about an hour after we left the Farmer's Market, so we hope the art project survived!

The Frog Pond

Mommy and Daddy have lived in Blacksburg now for over a decade. I've been alive for almost 3 years. We've never been to The Frog Pond, which honestly seems like a crime. Daddy's company has a Summer policy that allows them to leave work at 3 on Fridays. Daddy NEVER takes advantage, but he did this Friday! We packed up and headed to The Frog Pond once he got home, and I won't lie to you... we had a blast... even if I didn't want to venture too far out in the deeper water.

Here I am preparing to go deep sea diving in the baby pool. Funny thing is... this is as deep as the water got, but it's like I always say... it's better to be safe than sorry. ;)

And here I am making friends. I was being that weirdo kid that continually went up to strangers and just stared at them until they acknowledged me. Mommy was a little creeped out, but my new friends giggled at me nonetheless.

Oh hey there guys! Emma Grace here. :)

Would you believe there was another little girl there wearing THE SAME bathing suit as me?! The audacity! For the record, it looked much better on me. ;)

We knew it was time to head home when I nearly drowned. Right under the water I went. It was a sad time. While I nearly lost my life and there were bigger kids there who were not so nice, we'll give the Frog Pond 4 thumbs up. :)

Ima soooo sad!

Well, as sad as a proud mama can be. Rachel here. Last night for the first time our Emma Grace walked. I laughed, I cried, I nearly vomited. Someone slow this kid down... please.

Home Sweet Home

Rachel here. We've been home now for 3 whole days, and it's been amazeballs! I am in no way trying to complain of all the great trips and visits we've had in the last month, but there is something about the charm of being home that we were missing. I don't feel like we've done a whole lot around here, but we've done enough to keep us sane. :)

Sunday (after naps!!!) after returning from Brett's Bday Bash, we headed outside for a family walk to a park that is close to our house. We traveled in style.

Emma Grace is paci free... which is AWESOME and liberating. COLD TURKEY... as much as it sucks to hear your baby cry that first night, I wouldn't take it back for the world because it works, and it's quick.

We've been doing a lot of playing.

A lot of art making.

Some dressing up... Reese is taking my picture here. ;)

A lot of mess making.

And some attempts at cleaning up.

Speaking of cleaning up... I bought this "responsibility chart" like 2 years ago for Reese. We've finally busted it out and are using it in full force. Bryan thought it was about time for Reese to start making a living... earning her keep if you wish. That's right folks... Reese will be earning an allowance. :) Can you tell her daddy is an accountant? Basically she'll be getting $3/week (for her age) for completing her "chores". As of right now they are pretty simple things, but she's totally excited about her chart and has managed to get everything done each day, and as of right now she has no idea money is involved. Each day she has to make her bed (i make one side, and she makes the other... which I'm not gonna lie is pretty funny), brush her teeth, get dressed, put toys away, take a bath, and get ready for bed. Simple enough. We do these things anyway, but now she's learning that these are her responsibilities each day and not just something we make her do. And she's all about putting her magnets on there once she's done. AWESOME!

We're also giving her more responsibility and teaching her routine because... drum roll please... in the fall I'll be doing preschool with her homeschool style! After much discussion Bryan and I have decided that I'll work with her this fall with a preschool curriculum I found online (it's nothing serious, but with some tweaking I think it'll be awesome), and then we'll aim for private preschool starting next fall. Because her birthday is in October, she doesn't meet the state's requirement for starting preschool "on-time"... meaning her birthday comes after the cutoff for her same aged friends. We're hoping to put her in a private kindergarten and then start her in public first grade with her friends... but that's still a couple of years down the road. We're VERY EXCITED, and I can NOT wait to get back into the teaching niche. I even found a cute little curriculum to do with Emma Grace!!!! NERDO. :)