Week with Gramma and Gramps

We had a great week seeing our family in PA. Willow definitely soaked up all of the attention and put big smiles on everyone's face!

Willow helped Gramma paint the bottom of her to-be-made-bed-frame. She painted delicately at first...

...then jumped in feet first!

What a messy messy girl!!

Willow's response to "Show me your belly."

The finished product:

Willow loved playing at the park briefly with Shaila and Meara. She doesn't get a chance to play with kids their age much, but they loved following her around and kicking the ball.

She just can't keep her eyes off those fun girls!!

Just plain being silly:

Thanks for a great week!! See you soon!

Weekend Visitor

We had a good time during Kim's visit to see us this weekend. Of course it was too short, but we look forward to the next time we get to see her. We enjoyed playing at our favorite Inflatable Palace and eating lots of food!

It's fun to see how much confidence Willow has gained during our numerous trips to Inflatable Palace. Here's my best "snapshot" of her diving in the ball pit.

The jumper in action:

Temporary Residents

After Alli had her kittens I was pretty sure we'd never have the chance to play all summer long with such cute tiny kittens. I was wrong. A little girl in our neighborhood found 2 kittens (approximately 5 weeks old) down the street whose mother was hit by a car. The girl's mom wouldn't let her keep them so I told her we'd keep them overnight and find homes for them. We put them in a box and closed the door to our spare bedroom so Alli wouldn't freak out (she's very territorial). Two days later our neighbor came over with another kitten of the same size, so now we have three! Unfortunately we haven't had any luck in finding homes for them and the vet clinics and foster agencies I've spoken to are all full since it's "kitten season." While we continue to seek out homes for these adorable little guys (leave a comment if you're interested!!!) we've thoroughly enjoyed playing with them.

At first Willow was content to watch them from afar and would tense up if they walked between her legs:

But clearly now she's fell in love! She's very gentle with them and will hold them on her lap or against her chest to pet them. She was even giving them kisses while they laid on her belly. The first thing out of her mouth when we get her from her nap is to play with the kitties. I have to continually remind her that they're not ours and we're trying to find homes for them.

Mommy and Daddy enjoy them just as much as Willow!

Silliness

Baa Baa Black Sheep

We love hearing Willow wake up in the morning and from naps and start singing. Since she would most likely never sing this song while I video-taped, here is the monitor version:

(Not sure what happened to the master and the dame, but the lucky boy down the lane gets all 3 bags of wool!)

Cow Appreciation Day

We scored some free Chick-fil-A again this year for Cow Appreciation Day. We were joined this year by Willow's sweet friends Mckenzie and Cadence. They were the cutest cows I've ever seen!!

Multi-tasking

Poor girl has so much work to do she has to bring her computer with her to the potty.

Art Developments

Willow hasn't ever colored for an extended period of time, although she does enjoy art projects. This was the first time I've colored with Willow when she's shown any interest in coloring a specific part of a picture vs. randomly coloring with lines of all colors everywhere. We went to a different library for storytime and the theme for the day was alligators. She (I) made a cute accordion alligator, then they got to take home a coloring sheet. She intentionally colored the face green, the tail, body, and arms purple (?!?), and the feet red. She also matched the little circles onto the colored flowers without any prompting. We named her alligator "Ally" and she put the stickers on herself =) Way to go, Willow!

We were in the art area at the Children's Museum and tried out scissors for the first time. I didn't figure she'd have the hand strength to do well but she absolutely did, so I went out and got a pair of scissors for her. Here's the project we made out of her "first cuttings" (not the fish):

And here's Willow in action. She's found more success with me holding the paper (I think I've scared her with how many times I've warned her about watching her fingers). I love watching her focused face while she cuts =)

First Trip to Auntie Kim's

We are selfishly soooo sad that Auntie Kim has moved 3 hours away but were happy to be able to spend a long weekend with her to celebrate the 4th. We had a GREAT time together and Willow slept really well on her napper (we've officially out-grown the pack-n-play), which was a huge relief. Mountains, cows, horses, and hay were regular words out of Willow's mouth while enjoying the scenery on the drive there and back. She held together pretty well during both treks.

We went to this beautiful pick-your-own berry farm and picked a ton of yummy blueberries:

Willow's position during most of our stay: hand-in-mouth. The guide in the field joked about how they should weigh the kids before and after...not a bad idea...

YUMMY!!!!

This was Willow's favorite spot...

...at this FUN water park!

She was not as interested in the pool as her mother and father hoped she would be. We even tried going two different days! Not interested.... She mostly enjoyed stepping up and down the ledge pictured above (?!?!?), playing in the 1-ft baby pool, walking through the spray from the fountains, or sitting on the edge of the pool and kicking her feet.

We drove out to see the land that Kim and Chad will build a house on. Willow enjoyed test-driving Chad's tractors:

...and playing in the hay...

Future farmer??

We had a nice cookout with Chad's parents and picked wild raspberries by their land:

YUMMY!!

Willow enjoyed the playground within walking distance from Kim's place:

Willow thoroughly enjoyed Auntie Kim's stairs. Maybe that they're carpeted? Maybe that they don't turn like ours? She loved to "go fast" while holding our fingers. She's figured out digital cameras and will say "see that?" after we take a picture or video.

Chad made delicious pancakes with some of our blueberries and raspberries!

Helping Auntie Kim with the corn husks:

We didn't stretch Willow's bedtime with fireworks this year but enjoyed a great local fireworks display ourselves. It was a great weekend!

We can't wait to see you again Auntie Kim!!