The Daintys

We took another trip to our little local zoo today with one of Leah's good friends.  It was a fun morning of seeing the animals, visiting the petting zoo, and getting bright blue lips from a snow cone!  In other news, Baby "Bruiser" has not decided to make his grand arrival yet...today was his due date, so like his big sister, he is most likely going to be fashionably late.  We are looking forward to his arrival!   

Last week, we attempted to introduce Leah to the wonders of sleeping beneath the stars.  And by we, I mean Ryan, because though I love camping there's no way I'm going to attempt to "sleep" on the ground right now...  So, Leah put on her finest Ariel costume and helped Ryan set up the tent.  Then Leah changed from her Ariel costume, to an apron, and there were sparklers! And S'mores for dessert. Yes.  Ryan is enjoying both a s'more and a pipe at the same time.  But, alas, it was just too hot out.  And there was some kind of air advisory that went into effect, so the tent was transported to the basement and Leah's first campout took place in air conditioning. 

So the best $8 I've spent lately was on a slip-n-slide from Kohl's.  It has already provided us with great amusement, and I'm sure it will continue to do so until it is inevitably ripped or broken as these things almost always are...  Though I bought it with Leah in mind, it turns out Lucy LOVES the slip-n-slide most of all!  She ran down the length of the slide every time Leah or Ryan went down and seemed to get a big kick out of the whole thing, but then I couldn't get her to play fetch with me for all the treats in the world.  She's such a goofy dog...

Summer has officially begun for us!  Ryan and I are both done with school until fall, and the beginning of summer is such a good feeling.  All that time just stretching out in front of us...which will go by in the blink of an eye, but we are blessed to have it.  Having the summer as a family is unique, and one of the perks of both being teachers. Personally, I am looking forward to nesting like crazy now that school is over.  Linen closet...here I come!  Ryan just had to talk me out of going to the store at 9pm in order to buy Tide Free so I can do a load of baby clothes in the laundry tonight.  He claims this task can wait until tomorrow.  In other news, our backyard is now the host to a lovely swing set as of this past weekend, and Miss Leah couldn't be happier!  The girl loves to swing, and has recently learned how to pump her legs and get going "high up to the sky" all by herself, so we've already had lots of fun using it.  The...

Our Leah is about three and a half now, and somedays we just can't believe how big she is getting!  She is incredibly independent.  I don't even try to pick out her outfits, or open up her granola bars.  She likes playing games like Sequence for Kids, playing at the park (especially on swings), helping Mom cook and clean (hoping this hobby sticks around for a while!), make grocery lists, color, and of course play dress up.  She enjoys "reading" stories to us, and being read to.  She also likes to make up songs, which I should really record so I can listen to them forever.  She is also getting very excited about becoming a big sister, as her little brother is due to arrive in about a month. I acquired an extra set of caterpillars for us to watch grow at home - one of the many perks of being a science teacher - and Leah was really into it.  We watched the caterpillars get bigger, and then they made their "caloons," and became beautiful butterfli...

Technically, it is still the Easter season, so these really aren't that late, right?  Well it's about time for a new post...as I've been reminded by a certain Auntie on facebook...so here's a little flashback to our Easter.  Leah really got into painting eggs, and the Easter egg hunt, which was fun. Easter Morning    Making Easter Cookies Decorating Easter Eggs  Baking Fun! 

Can life get any better than eating bacon while relaxing near a tropical fountain? No, my friends, it cannot. We just had a wonderful weekend in Miami where we celebrated Danny and Danielle's wedding and saw lots of family we don't see nearly enough. It was a fast trip over the weekend, but we managed to lounge by the pool and eat slow drawn-out breakfasts which was wonderful. Lots of fun pictures below...I tried to put them in order, but that didn't work out and I wasn't about to re-upload them! Dancing with Daddy Still has the dimples! The weekend involved lots of twirling with Uncle Greg, who apparently never gets dizzy. Grammy and Papa with Leah All 8 of us! I think I've got him by quite a bit by now... Danny as Danielle was walking down the aisle. The ceremony was beautiful! Auntie J.J. and the Kook. Leah stayed in the pool until absolutely pruney every day! Sleepy in the airport on the way home... Congratulations Danny and Danielle!