June 24 = Roll Over Day

Oh Rosie...

Sleepy Baby:

These kids love playing in Daddy's truck:

We love hanging out outside in the afternoons- we eat dinner outside almost every night- it's so fun for the kids and for Rosie and Kayleigh loves it too!

Also, you know how infants are easy because you put them down somewhere and they stay there- well that's already expired for us:

May 8 = Bossy Malia Day

So Malia and Rosie are still really tight but Malia has found out she's found something she can boss around...

Liam had behavioral therapy this morning... Malia fell asleep on the way there.  She's so funny- she can sleep through anything!

Later, Zachary took the kids to the gym and I sat outside with Miss Rosie.  I brought my sweet tea and my Real Simple magazine and enjoyed the perfect weather and the fresh air!

June 18 = Playground Day

Liam doesn't take naps very often but when he does, he usually is slow to get up:

The weather was really nice this afternoon so we all walked to Liam's favorite playground.  We all had so much fun!

May 27 = Playground Day

We are still taking advantage of the warm weather with a lack of rain.  We went across the street to this little playground and Liam especially had a blast.  He's a huge fan of going up slides instead of down... I'm too impressed with his coordination to tell him to do differently.

On the way back, they held hands... so sweet!

May 26 = Play Outside Day

On Tuesday I ran to Babies R Us real quick to see if they had any alternate baby proofing solutions now that Liam has figured out how to open doors with the regular old knob protector.  I found something- we'll see if it works.  While I was there I also got him a car seat to put in Zachary's car so that some days I can bring Liam to Zachary and they can hang out and Zachary can bring him home!  Here he is trying out his new seat:

I got one other thing from Babies R Us- a kiddie pool!  We'll see if we have any more success with it this year than we did last year!

And when they were done checking out the pool, they returned to the trusty turtle sandbox!

We decided to strip them down outside before they brought all the sand in with them... Malia was a fan.

April 1 = New Backyard Day

First I saw this on facebook today and I loved it.  They're simple things that can help us be better moms.  At MOPS the other week, we talked about how it's hard for us to see ourselves as "good moms" and chances are, we all are.  If someone asked me, "Do you think you're a good mom?" the first thoughts that would come to my mind are all the things where I fall short.  The fact that I don't do my preschool routine every day.  The fact that I let my kids watch a little too much tv and play on the iPad too much.  The fact that we might eat chickfila too much.  Sometimes I forget to put their coats in the car.  Sometimes I let them go to bed without brushing their teeth.  Sometimes I sit in the locker room for an extra ten minutes to check my email and facebook and maybe play a game of Sudoku before going to pick up the kids from the gym's kids' club.  But in the grand scheme of things none of that matters.  He'll be in school soon enough... he doesn't need preschool every day.  I can't tell you how much he's learned from watching Caillou and it's hard to believe what all he can do on the ABC Mouse app.  Chicken nuggets and french fries once a week isn't going to kill anyone- in fact, both kids could use some extra calories.  Now the brushing teeth... I really want them to learn to take good care of their teeth.  I gotta work on that one.  The extra ten minutes in the kids' club- they need time with peers.  So why not concentrate on the tons of hugs and kisses I get and give every day?  The fact that they are kind and friendly to other people.  The love they have for each other.  The fact that they feel safe and loved and know when they're hurt or upset or frustrated they can come and sit on my lap and I'll rub their backs and kiss their foreheads and squeeze them until they start laughing and forget whatever made them come to me in the first place.  And I know I'm not the only one. This was a good reminder that it's the little things- things we probably don't even realize we're doing that make us all good moms.

 Speaking of using the iPad too much...

Anyway- what I wanted to talk about in this blog post is our new backyard.  Well it's not new but the "grass" is!  We put these outdoor carpets down today was our first day being able to play outside!

Liam's a fan... of the backyard and still a fan of his bow tie.  

March 30 = Kinder Farm Park Day

We started our day off at the gym.  I love doing that.  I love getting the kids up, getting them dressed, eating breakfast and then heading straight to the car to go to the gym.  By the time that's done we come home and it's time for lunch and a nap.  Everyone's usually happy and busy and it's just a good flow to the day.  I sent this picture to Zachary because while doing some lifting, I got a blister on my hand and I wanted him to see it so he'd think I was legit.  He was impressed.

 Then we headed to chickfila for lunch of course and then to Kinder Farm Park.  This was Malia on the way to the park... not ideal.

So in our hurry to get to the gym this morning, I forgot coats for the kids.  Thankfully I had an extra coat for Liam but I didn't have one for Malia so this is what happened with that:

After we got moving, there wasn't a need for coats or mommy's shirt so we were good to go.  This was our first time visiting- it's a little intimidating to take two kids to a park (or anywhere for that matter) by yourself because it's hard to keep up with one and much harder to keep up with two especially when they like to go in opposite directions.  So I thought Alexandra's visit presented the perfect opportunity for us to go!  Kinder Farm Park has walking trails and farm animals and a playground.  Here's the cow- it was huge!

As I said, it's hard to keep up with even one so I didn't get pictures of the pigs and piglets and the brand new baby goats that made the cutest little sounds!

After seeing the animals, we headed to the playground! I was so impressed with Liam climbing this wall!

And then he went across this rope bridge and I was blown away.  So proud!

Both kids went down a pretty long slide.  It was long but it was pretty hard to go down quickly so it was really safe.

 I mainly stuck with Liam while Alexandra took Malia.  Here they are on a dinosaur friend!

Toward the end of our visit, our friends Amy and Evie came- Liam greeted Evie with a hug:

 

All good things must come to an end.  Malia was not a happy camper on the ride home.

March 11 = Playground Day

I can't get enough of this weather!  We headed out to a different playground today.  I had gone to the gym and Malia didn't have her shoes but I figured she'd be okay. She hates shoes anyway.

Malia was clearly worn out:

March 9 = Go For a Walk Day

Here's a quick picture of my babies eating at their table in the playroom.  They had waffles and strawberries and both ate every bit that was on their plates.

Later we met two friends and their sons at a playground.  Both ladies have boys and are expecting boys in one month and three months.  We got there first so the kids played on the playground until our friends got there, then we went for a walk and then played on the playground some more before eating a picnic lunch.  On the way home, Malia and I dropped Liam off at his group session and the elementary school across the street.  We got home and I did a little cleaning and then decided it was too nice outside to be inside so instead of driving to pick him up, I drug out the jogging stroller and we walked about a mile to the school.  Liam got so excited when he saw the stroller instead of the car!  It was a great day with lots of fresh air and exercise!

March 8 = Playground Day

It was finally, finally, a nice day out so after picking Liam up from the CDC, we went to the playground.

Also, here's a picture of Malia putting on my shoes: