Pictures from Renee

As I mentioned before, Renee has a great camera and took literally dozens of pictures while she was here. These were taken at Central Park.

Jordi has a new trick! Unbeknownst to me until the day this picture was taken last week, Jordi now has the ability to hang onto the bars at the playground. I happened to glance over, and there she was: feet up, swinging away! neat!

As you can see, Caroline still loves to swing! Of all the ones we took of her on the swings, this is my favorite; what a great smile!

Blogs Collide

Welcome back to Kentucky, Aunt Renee! We haven't seen my sister Renee since last July when she moved back to Colorado after living with us for five eventful months. We (especially Jordi) have missed her! So, you can imagine our excitement when we found out she was coming to visit!

She & her friend, Kate, arrived last Monday night. They had smooth sailing almost all the way... until, about 30 miles away, Kate unfortunately wrecked her car! (check out Kate's blog for all the gory details) We were all relieved to find out she she was virtually unharmed even though her car was totalled! She's a lovely person & we all enjoyed getting to know her. Here's a picture of Kate having some one-on-one time with Caroline:

Of course, when Aunt Renee's around, that means lots of active play time! Here's a picture of Aunt Renee with the girls, taken at Central Park. It was really hot & humid during Aunt Renee's visit, so we headed to the park each morning after breakfast to get our play time in before it got too hot outside.

Renee has a very nice camera and took a lot more great pictures of the girls... I'll show you some more in my next post! (if you can't wait, just click on Aunt Renee's blog to see the ones she put on there!)

Two Moments in Time

In case you're wondering what the girls have been up to lately...well, LOTS! But before I get into all that, let me share these two very sweet pictures with you.

This first one is of Caroline during one of her naps. Notice how she's got the baby doll on top and all the rest of her bed buddies gathered around, just so! (does that look like a comfortable nap or what?!)

And here's our budding music star, performing live in the bathroom one evening!

More Pictures from Caroline's Birthday

Here are a couple more pictures from Caroline's 1st birthday party, courtesy of Aunt Sharon. I think they really capture how happy she was during all the festivities!

This one was taken right after the birthday song & candle blowing out. Grandma Henri helped her get a little finger-full of icing. That smile shows you what she thinks about that!!

This one was taken after all the presents were opened. Who needs toys when there's all this crinkly tissue paper to play with??!

Caroline Turns 1!

Last Tuesday was Caroline's First Birthday, and we had a wonderful party over at Tim & Judy's house. The birthday girl seemed to enjoy the attention, and Jordi performed her big sister duties with enthusiasm: helping with opening presents, blowing out the candle, etc. I only took a few pictures; these are my favorites!

Caroline with her new drum, a present from Dad:

What's a birthday party without a fancy party hat & a piece of cake?

Eventually, the hat came off and it was all about getting as much cake into that mouth as possible. It was adorable to watch her get cake all over her face, but a little scary to see how intensely she went at it!!

I should have more pictures soon and will post more when I get them!

Hanging Out with Grandma

The girls are really enjoying spending time with Grandma, and vice versa, of course! But then, who wouldn't want to hang out with someone who just wants to play with you all day long, and likes to do all the things you like to do??! For example, Grandma loves to dig in the dirt and plant flowers, just like Jordi. It finally got nice again on Monday, so here is a picture of them planting some nice marigolds:

And here's a picture of Caroline "riding" on one of her toys; doesn't she look big! I guess that's to be expected since she's almost 1! Her birthday was Tuesday the 13th, and I'll be posting those party pictures soon!

Grandma's Here!

Yay! Grandma Henri's here! It's always a good time when Grandma comes to visit. Although the weather over the weekend was dreary, we had a nice day last Friday, so we went to the park to enjoy it.

Here's a cute picture of Grandma pushing Caroline on the swing. As you can see, she loves it! I think she would have been happy to stay in that swing all evening!

Here are the girls on one of the several teetering/bouncing devices available here. By the looks of it, I think they've got to be a little older to really get the hang of this one!

Waiting for Grandma

On Thursday, we picked Grandma Henri up at the airport. Each girl passed the time waiting for her arrival in her own way...

I took this picture of Caroline on the way to the airport. Looks like there's nothing better than munching on toes to help pass the time while you're strapped into a carseat!

We made a point to arrive early so Jordi would have time to do her thing before Grandma arrived. The play tables (in the foreground) are fun, but who can resist running full speed in such a big space??!

Inspired by Aunt Renee?

The other day, out of the blue and through no prompting by me, Jordi requested that she have both of her two current fave cereals in one bowl. Now, the only other person I know who custom-blends her breakfast cereals is Aunt Renee so, Sister, this picture's for you!

A Wonderful Sunday

Today was a wonderful day... not only was the weather was perfect, but we also had an afternoon of fun and a delicious cookout over at Tim & Judy's. These pictures will give you some idea of what I mean!

It's no secret why Jordi loves helping Grandad with his cake making! In her own words, "Mommy, icing tastes really, REALLY good."

After dinner, we spent some time on the back yard patio. This is a picture of Jordi combining two of her favorite outdoor activities: bubbles & spraying water. Does she not seemed genuinely thrilled to have a moving target to spray at? And Caroline got into the act, too, by saying a new word: "buh-boo" (translated: bubble!)

As I turned on the camera to take this, Caroline was crawling away from me, like she was on her way up the hill to get to Jordi. But even though she's turned around in the picture, I still like it anyway; I feel like she's saying "just wait... I'll get there... one of these days..."

A Family Tradition Continues

This year, we are carrying on a family tradition by becoming members of the Breezeland Swim & Tennis Club. It's been around forever, and is where Chris spent much of his childhood summers each year. It opened this week on Monday, Memorial Day. The weather was perfect for swimming, 90+ degrees & humid, so we decided it was time to get wet!

In addition to a really huge "big pool," they have a good sized kiddie pool, too. It goes from 1 foot to 2 feet deep, so (as you can see below) it's just right for Jordi & Caroline to enjoy.

Here's a picture of the girls in the kiddie-sized swing in their pool area. Additionally, there are also lots of other water toys for all the kids to play with as they splash around.

I know we'll be spending lots of time here this summer; it's a great place to stay cool! But... I just can't wait until the big pool warms up a bit so I can go swimming!