Weekend Adventures

This weekend was not different than any other, lots going on in our household! On Saturday we had a sort of science experiment with the girls. We decided to take advantage of the heat and melt some crayons down and then paint with them. Every part was lots of fun and the paintings in the end were really neat!

 

Right when we put them out.

 

About 15 minutes after being put out.

Sunday morning Natalie and I got up to attend Ethan's baptism. He did great and was such a ham.

After we lunch we surprised Natalie with an overnight stay at a nearby hotel. I needed to spend some one on one time with her and Jeff and I thought it would be a great opportunity to have Julia at the house without me. First time we haven't been together at night since she was born! I won't lie, there were tears, but in the end we all had a great time.

First, we all went swimming in the salt water pool. It was great! Julia was a fish and Natalie finally started going under!

 

 

 

Here is a little video of Natalie going under.

After swimming, we went back to the room and Jeff and Julia got dressed and headed home. This is Julia enjoying a Twizzler before they go!

 After Jeff and Julia left Mi Mi came up to check out the pool and join in the fun.

She also got Natalie to be even less afraid of going under!

After Mi Mi and Natalie swam, we went back to the room and Natalie ate one of the many candies that I brought for her.

After Mi Mi left, Natalie and I hung out eating candy and watching shows. At around 9:30 I told her it was time to go to sleep. She fell asleep next to me while I was reading.

Natalie is not fun to sleep with, she sleeps horizontal in the bed and even fell out at one point!

Our wake up call came in at 7 and we went and enjoyed the free breakfast! I love this smile from Natalie. The night before she rolled over while watching a show and told me that she was having a great time. Love that kid.

Natalie wanted me to take some photos of our "vacation" room. So here they are!

Monday night I made the girls some corn on the cob and they just love it. I think it is so funny to see them eat it!

Happy Thursday!

Natalie has a new trick. She can suck her nostrils in and make them stick. Isn't she talented?

 On Wednesday Natalie had her first eye exam. She did a great job and passed with flying colors.

Here is a little video of her at the appointment.

And while I had my appointment Natalie "babysat" Julia. They both did a great job.

 Tonight after dinner we were just hanging out and I thought they girls were being super cute. What is new about that? Anyway, while I was cleaning the kitchen, Jeff was giving Julia a class in Play Dough and she was having a blast. She loved the rolling pin.

 

 

Natalie was just hanging out on the couch listening to a story with her Tag reader. She is getting really good at making it work!

 

 

Julia has started trying to jump and it is hilarious. I have some video of it on the other camera and I will download it soon, but I think you can get the idea from this video.



 

Natalie come's up with some real good ones sometimes during our conversations. Here are some of my recent favorites.

Natalie: I have nipples.

Me: Yep.

Natalie: You know what they do?

Me: Nope.

Natalie: They help me do chin ups.

Me: Great.

Me: I wonder how I got lucky enough to have two beautiful little girls?

Natalie: Well, God made us Mom!

Me: Natalie get your PJ's and get in here.

Me: Natalie, get in here!

Natalie: Mom, I am doing the best I can. I only have two hands.

Me: Stunned. She sounds just like me!!

Terrific Tuesday

As we approached a record high today in Wichita, the girls and I tried to find some fun things to do inside!

Natalie was catching pretend butterflies, but had a small net malfunction!

You know you can buy your kids all kinds of toys, but they seem to have the most fun with common everyday objects!

 

Random Happenings!

If you are not aware Natalie has had a compound hemangioma on her back since she was 2 months old. When it first started growing it looked like a spider bite. In fact Jeff and I actually took her to the er.

Here is the birthmark in 12-19-2007

As she began to get bigger, so did the birthmark. The coloring changed to a bright red with a bluish background. It also started to be raised off her back. Here it is on 9-1-2008. We were always being asked how she got injured. It really did look like it was an injury!

And here it is again 5-27-09

And here is the latest photo, taken on 7-31-11. It is almost gone! I really didn't believe the docs when they told me that it would grow rapidly and go away almost just as fast. I don't even notice it any more! Now it looks just like one of those "stork bite" birthmarks.

 I am running low on indoor activities as the heat is still in full force outside! I thought it might be fun for Natalie to show Julia exactly what play dough is. I only had to keep Julia from eating it, oh, about 50 times.

So, we tried the chocolate avacodo cookies and they were great! Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try.

Chocolate Avocado Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup avocado (was a normal sized avocado)
1/4 cup coconut oil (i used vegetable oil)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves (this flavor was pretty strong, I might use half next time)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips, I use organic semi-sweet

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. With an electric mixer, cream together the avocado, coconut oil and agave nectar until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla, until combined.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon onto lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove and let cool on the pan for about 2 minutes. Place them on a cooling rack and allow to rest until cooled completely.

So here is Julia enjoying the cookie. I also have been enjoying editing in Photoshop. Lots of googleing, you-tube and actions. It has been fun and here is an example. Left is before and right is after.

Here is Natalie just sitting at the table with her beautiful smile!

On Sunday I got the opportunity to photograph my cousins son, Braden. He is getting ready to turn nine! After the taking the photos I put my new editing skills to good use. I hope that they enjoy the photos, he is such a handsome boy!