Poppy & Melissa have spent the week in Breckenridge but met us for dinner in Idaho Springs. The girls both took a little snooze on the way up and we had dinner at Tommy Knockers. (They have the absolute best grilled cheese!!). The girls are maniacs and got a bit stir-crazy around the 1 hour mark. I’m glad we were all able to get together one more time before Poppy & Melissa have to head back to St. Louis.

GG is eyeing her mac and cheese
Miss Annabelle needed a little time to wake up from her nap in the car

After my hair was trimmed up today, to my surprise the stylist pulled out a straightening iron. Genius or complete waste of time? I get my hair cut on my lunch hour which means I’m rather pressed for time so I’m going to have to go with the latter. I asked “what’s with the straightening iron?” and she said it will “make your hair straight and shiny”. I replied “my hair is already pretty darn straight” to which she replied “this will make it straighter”. Hmmmm….

We are going through two big transitions at our house:

1. Annabelle has moved into the Toddler 3 class at daycare.
2. Gwyneth is trying to give up her afternoon naps and just wants to walk.

They are both going through some growing pains. Annabelle is missing some of her buds at daycare, especially Chandler, who doesn’t move up for 2 weeks. She’s making some new friends, but she’s ready for her gang to join her in her new classroom.
Miss Gwyneth has decided that she no longer wants to take an afternoon nap but she still needs it. She is a bit cranky in the evenings. Even if we can get her to nap for just 15 minutes in the afternoon it makes a world of difference. She’s a much happier baby. Today unfortunately she was not having it! She is desperately wanting to walk and keep up with her big sister. She is getting frustrated as she cruises around the furniture, uses her walker, and grabs on to her dadda’s fingers to make it around the house. She can stand on her own and is working on the courage to take those first steps. It’s hard to believe our little baby is going to be walking soon.

She walked in the door asking for pizza! GG had pizza, yogurt, and sweet potatoes for dinner.

She shoots….
She scores!!!

(And the crowd goes wild!!!)

After dinner we played in the backyard – the basketball hoop has become a big hit with Annabelle and GG enjoys playing on the climber. Gwyneth was in bed early and we spent the rest of the evening reading books with Annabelle. Her new favorites are “No Hitting”, “Excuse Me”, and “I Can Share”. I enjoy the “Excuse Me” book and watching her explain manners to her babies. She’ll tell them “that’s not ok, say excuse me”. We’ll see if the lessons she’s teaching the babies actually stick with her!

The Tyler family invited us over for an after-the-4th-BBQ. We stuffed ourselves with huge, and I mean HUGE, burgers and enjoyed a few tasty beverages while the little ones played in the pools. It’s always such a good time hanging out with Lance, Sheila, Wyatt, and Rhys! I love watching our little ones grow up together and my girls are never at a loss for lovin’ when momma Sheila is around. She’s a sucker for babies!

GG’s first time in the pool
Wyatt & Rhys keeping GG company

Annabelle sported her new Dora swim suit from Aunt JenAll the kiddos horsing around together

Going right for the sprinkler

GG was all over the pool and loved it!

The big kids feasting on fruit and hot dogs

The BBQ at the Tyler’s was a perfect ending to a fun-filled 4th of July weekend!

Annabelle’s class had an early 4th of July party and requested all the kids be dressed in red, white, and blue. She was decked out in her gear from YaYa and looked very cute. (she wouldn’t put Shmooze down so I could get a full outfit shot). She had a lot of fun at her party which included lots of good food and fun games.

We got the call from daycare that Gwyneth had pink eye so off we went to pick her up. We called the doctor and she called in drops for her. Since we couldn’t take her back to daycare for 24 hours I had to take two days off work but ended up with a 5 day weekend. Not too shabby, especially because Gwyneth was in a great mood and her eyes cleared up very quickly!!

I got the good camera squint out of my baby girl…GG’s eyes were pretty goopy and puffy. Poor baby girl.

Annabelle had her 2 year check-up with Dr. Brucker and she is doing great. She is right on track with her development – socially, mentally, and physically. She is still a small girl, but she more than makes up for it with speed and sass. She is finding her independence and wants to do most everything herself which includes dressing herself, fixing her own hair, picking out her own meals, and taking care of her babies and her sister. She’s so much fun despite a few tantrums here or there. Here’s how Annabelle is measuring up:

After an extended stay in California with cousin, Maeva, Shmooze the bear is home! It’s been a rough 2 weeks without him. Annabelle has asked for him everyday and begged for him in the car, at naptime, and at bedtime. I was so thrilled to bring him home to her tonight. Her little face just lit up when saw him, she screamed “Shmooze, Shmooze, Shmooze” and wouldnt’ let him out of her sight the rest of the evening.

So happy
She could hardly believe her eyes

Lots of love for ShmoozeShe slept so well now that is Shmooze is back home where he belongs.

I had to post this non-Shmooze related picture too. My goodness, how blonde is this girl? Playing outside this summer in the sun is just making her hair lighter and lighter. I can’t get over it. I’ve always had very dark eyes and dark hair so this is definitely from her dadda!