Sorry no pics...

I took a few days off from the camera this week but thought I would give a little update about how our week has been going. Ted was on his annual golf/camping trip and the girls and I had some fun times! We went to the Lake and played in the water on Monday. Tuesday we had a playdate with our friends Emma and Hazel. Weds we went to the local movie theater for their free kids movie. We saw Wallace and Grommit. Not my fav but the girls liked it. Next week I plan on bringing my ipod with the new Weeds episodes downloaded and ready to go. That way I can watch my own thing and not have to suffer through another kids movie. Thursday we went to Library, had another playdate with Emma and Hazel and then tonight we headed to the appliance store and bought new appliances. Hip Hip Hooray!!!! Friday will hopefully be a quiet day at home with another playdate I'm sure. The girls can't seem to go a day without seeing their buddies. :) Hope everyone has a great weekend! I will be back in the swing of things next week with my camera ready.

The "question"

So I was asked the infamous question this morning. You know the one. Where do babies come from? We talked about this before in very simple terms. The baby grows in Mommy's tummy, etc... This has always seemed to pacify her. But no-not this morning. Mind you I was a bit groggy. We had gone to a wedding the night before. I had a few glasses a wine. I had only 5 hours of sleep and I was snuggling with Kyla in bed at around 6:30am. Out of the blue she rolled over and asked "Mom, how does the baby get inside the tummy?" Complete shock. I said " You know what I need to research that a little bit so that I make sure and tell you the correct information." Really I just wanted to stall so I could converse with Ted and we could decide together what we were going to say. And actually I was completely caught off guard and didn't really want to discuss that in my current state of drowsiness. But that was not good enough for Kyla. So she said "How come you can't tell me. I know you have done it before!" Then I said "Yes, you're right but I want to google it so I can make sure you get all the right information." We have been googling everything lately so I thought this might work. Thankfully she was satisfied with that and has yet to bring it up again. I will be spending my evening tonight reading online about the right way to tell her. Though I do not dare bring it up until she asks again, I will be prepared when she does!

Brown Bag concerts

On Fridays during the summer, the local library has a brown bag concert series. Today we met our friends there for lunch, music and fun. Jill especially got into the grove.

Computer Games...

Jill has started to show a lot of interest in playing computer games. She oftens steals Kyla's leapster and hides in her room to play it. Kyla thought she could teach Jill a thing or two and the two of them worked on Sesamestreet.com for over an hour. Kyla was quite proud of herself and Jill was tickled pink having so much attention paid to her. They actually worked quite well together. I am going to enjoy this for as long as it lasts!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

This afternoon the girls wanted to bake something using the raspberries we picked earlier this week. We went online and Kyla picked a muffin recipe because that's what the girls love to have for breakfast. They turned out pretty yummy. We froze the rest of the berries to use for smoothies. I think that's what we will be having tomorrow am. Muffins and Smoothies.

A visit from the Koser Family

Today we had a special treat. Our friends the Kosers came to see us after the had spent a few days at Semiahmoo Resort. The girls were thrilled to play with Hope and I always love catching up with KC and Robert. They officially broke the record for the most visits to Bellingham. Thanks for including us in your vacation plans!

Happy 8th Birthday Bookgroup!

So I have been lucky enough to be part of an amazing bookgroup for the last 8 years. We have gone through a lot in those years. Marriages, Divorces, Loads of babies, new homes, etc... We started out with great intentions and actually read some pretty amazing books in the beginning. Now we have moved past the books and on to bigger and better things. Those things I can't share with you all but just know I have learned a lot! I just want to say thanks to my group for sticking through it for the last 8 years. I can't wait to see what the next 8 years brings!

Lunch and a treat....

After picking the berries we stayed at the farm and had lunch and then some ice cream. It was a beautiful place and they had some yummy ice cream. The girl's only complaint was that they were given too much ice cream. Kyla didn't want to finish her cone but would not give it up since Jill was finishing off hers. The competitive spirit is in full swing!

Berry picking

We headed to Boxx Berry Farm to pick raspberries with Mount Baker in the background. The girls had a blast and did a great job collecting the ripe berries. Jill told me she had been working on her colors at home so she could find the dark red berries for picking. Blueberry season start in a week or so. I can't wait to go back for those.

In the kitchen...

I have been really trying to get the girls into the kitchen to help with meals. They both love to help and actually do a great job! Kyla was in charge of the fruit salad the other day and here is her work. I am also happy to report that she is finally making some progress during meal time. As most of you know we have struggled for the last 3.5 years with an extremely picky eater. Kyla survived on pb crackers, yogurt, milk and applesauce for close to 3 years. That is no joke. She has added many new items to this list and we are thrilled!

Jill's eye appt update

Thursday we headed down to Redmond for Jill's eye appt. Her eyes are still responding well to the bi-focals which is extremely positive. We did talk a lot about what the future holds for Jill. There has always been talk about a possible surgery to correct the eye turn. The doctors have determined (and have been saying all along) that the eye turn is a result of very poor vision in the one eye. As Jill gets older she can possible gain more control of the eye but will most likely always have one eye that turns in. The surgery would only help if her eye was strong but the muscles around her eye were weak. That is not the case for Jill. As Jill gets older she will be able to wear contacts and also use reading glasses. We are very pleased with her progress.

So now it is time for me to jump on my soap box and tell all of you out there to get your childrens eyes checked. Find a eye doctor that specializes in children in your area and make an appt today. They now say that eye exams should start as early as one year. Do not assume what your pediatrician does at the well child appts is enough. Your child needs to have their eye dilated and thoroughly checked by an eye doctor. There are so many conditions that can be treated and cured in the first 5-7 years. It is amazing what they can accomplish in those early years. So this is it. My one and only time I will plead with you all. I hope someone out there listens. It is so important to protect your childs vision. It is your responsibility as their parent. I made an appt for Jill based on a conversation I had with a friend one night at dinner. (Thanks Annie!) I will be forever grateful that she shared her experience with me which motivated me to make the call.

Sweet.

This picture makes me smile.

Fun activities

Lately we have been coming up with a lot of fun activities from the books we have been reading. It is so fun to read a book and then have Kyla and Jill come up with an activity to do that relates to that particular book. Today we decided to combine two stories. Pinkalicious and Helpful Tips for a Happy and Healthy Life. Our activity today was to make cupcakes. We made pink cupcakes in honor of Pinkalicious. After the cupcakes were done we brought a few down to the neighbors and ended up staying and playing until dinner time. I can't wait to see what the girls come up with for tomorrow.

Weekend pics....

We spent the day at Lake Padden soaking up the sun and playing in the water.



We also turned the backyard into our very own waterpark. Even Maddie took a turn on the slip and slide. She loved it!

Another helpful tip....

Find someone you can always tell your troubles to...and who can tell you theirs.

Read.

This is the mess I came up to after I got out of the shower this morning. Today (Thursdays) also just happens to be our library day with a trip to the library along with story time and a picnic lunch in the library lawn. We met our friends Emma and Hazel there today. When I opened up our book today to see what our tip was this was the page I found.

Pretty amazing.....

Another tip accomplished.

Today at the park we met a very nice family. It was a perfect match for one of our tips we needed to accomplish. We met Linda and her son Kirby at the pirate ship and exchanged numbers for a future swim/playdate. It is amazing how easy it is to meet new friends if you just put yourself out there. I didn't get a picture of them because I thought that might just be a bit too forward. Maybe at our playdate we will try to sneak in a shot or two.

Boulevard Park

Today we spent the day at Boulevard Park. It was our first time there and we had so much fun. The Bay was so calm and peaceful. After a snack and a walk along the pier we had lunch and hit the Farmer's Market in Fairhaven for some fresh cauliflower, snap peas and strawberries. We enjoyed all of these yummy treats at dinner. So good!

Our first tip.....

Some Helpful Tips for a Better World....

Kyla received a delightful little book for her birthday called "Some Helpful Tips for a Better World and a Happier Life" by Rebecca Daughty. It includes some ever so simple (and oh so helpful) ideas on how to make the world-your world-a better place. We decided to bring this book to life by acting out the tips. We will try to achieve one or more a day. We plan on sharing our experiences on our family blog. Stay tuned for our first tip tomorrow. We hope you enjoy it.

You can find more of Rebecca's books at http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Rebecca%20Doughty&page=1

Attention all Moms....

Here is a great blog for all of us.

http://www.laugh-learn-love.blogspot.com/

Happy Fourth of July!

The entire family

Singing Happy Birthday to America!

Kyla's face painting.

Enjoying great food!

The Post Cousins.

Half the family

More face painting!

Lil' John Lennon

Kyla, Katie and Jill

We went to the DeGross annual fourth of July b-que with family and friends. Thanks Mom and Gerrie for all of your hard work! It was great seeing everyone and the girls had so much fun playing with their friend Katie. Hope everyone had a "safe and sane" day!