Caught in the act

With mobility comes mayhem.

We're usually pretty good at monitoring the Magster, but on this day, she took a liking to our plant.

Poor plant.

Maggie is like a magnet to this plant, we've actually had to barricade the thing from her reach. She doesn't really try to eat it, she just likes ripping it to shreds.

I'm sure if the plant could talk he'd forgive you, Maggie.

Who could stay mad at that face?

Morning at the park

The weather is so nice this time of year, so we must take advantage. We've been cooped up all summer trying to stay cool; now's our chance to visit all of the parks we've been longing for.

Here are a few photos from one of our favorites

Claire hung on for dear life while Lilly spun her round and round.

The girls liked this spin-me-around stick until I swung it a bit too fast. Oops, sorry Claire.

But Lilly liked going fast... Feel the force!

Big smile, it's all over.

Who doesn't love the tire swing? My girls do!

 Action shots- just for fun.

During all of this excitement, Maggie patiently watched from her comfy stroller.

Just wait, Maggie, your day of fun is coming soon.

New venue

One afternoon last week, out of the blue, Lilly moved her play table to the entryway. She announced she wanted to eat dinner by the front door. Okay, I thought.

So she started with a snack- an apple.

Maggie caught sight of Lilly parked at the door and crawled to investigate. Maggie looks more like a customer ready to buy a latte.

So Lilly decided to make Maggie happy by sharing her apple.
Maggie was pleased.

I would have been super pleased if Lilly really would have had a latte to sell.

Mid-day caffeine- the perfect treat for mom. :)

On the crawl

At times I will hollar across the house, "Maggie's on the crawl." That's Z code for "Maggie is coming, so pick up your stuff." My little warning has caught on; even Lilly will yell it from time to time. It's simply amazing how fast Lilly and Claire will move to pick up once they see their crawling baby sister headed their way.
Maggie is, indeed, on the crawl- and a fast crawl at that.

She stands too... quite well, actually. Whenever given a chance, she pulls herself up.
Though she hasn't tried walking or cruising the furniture, we know it's coming soon.

And when not crawling or standing, she's still on the move...in Claire's homemade car.

Lilly still delights in playing taxi, and Maggie is her favorite passenger.

Weeeee!

Pumpkin Heaven

We love fall... football, cooler temperatures and everything pumpkin. I finally found pumpkin for sale at Sam's... the local grocery store hadn't carried it until now. 

So, this afternoon, Claire and I made our first batch of pumpkin bread. YUM!

We were eager to take it out of the oven, and she was even more eager to try a bite. Once the perfect loaf cooled, I gave her a small piece. Obviously, she wanted more. I left the kitchen, and upon my return, this is what I found...

Well at least I know she liked it!

Pumpkin bread for everyone!

Pet gecko?... well almost

Every time we see the Geiko billboard near Rob's work, the girls start talking in an English accent, mimicking the gecko commercials they've seen on TV. Geckos of all sizes live in our yard; we are happy to host them since they compete with scorpions for food. So, to Claire's delight, a baby gecko was trapped inside the screen door this afternoon. Notice his nice, long tail.

The girls were excited to pose with the gecko for a photo.
If you look closely, you can see the little guy directly above the girls' heads.

At first I told the girls they could watch him through the glass, but Claire was insistent on holding her new friend. So, I carefully opened the sliding glass door and picked up our friend. He fell to the ground, but the girls chased him down.

And, unfortunately for our gecko, Claire got him by the tail... and then his tail came off.
So, we were left with a Bob, of sorts. Poor little Bob.

Fearing he would be squished to death, I encouraged the girls to place Bob in the garden...

Notice Lilly's layered dresses and pink boots? Nice.

After the girls disappeared, Bob's heart rate decreased a bit, and he was able to get some rest.

  I hope his internal injuries aren't too severe. I'm sure Claire will return to the strawberry patch soon to check on her little friend.

To the Zoo??

We woke this morning and announced to the girls, "We're going to the zoo!"
Maggie was excited.

With the weather a bit cooler in the mornings, who can resist spending time outside?

 Once we arrived, Claire was insistent she and Lilly ride the camel, so we did just that.
A 6 year old camel named Isaac took the girls for a spin.

 What a great way to kick off fall break!