Splish, Splash

Today we took the girls to a splash pad in Frisco. It was really nice because I didn't have to put on a bathing suit! We got there mid morning when it opened and it was really nice. There was a breeze and it wasn't too hot. The girls had a blast. It only took a few minutes for Lizzie to warm up and start running around but Gracie was a little more hesitant. Finally, Wes took her through a couple of fountains and she was hooked.
The girls snagged a couple of the other kids toys and were playing in the water. The only issues we had were some dirty looks from some OU fans. Wes was wearing his OSU shirt and the girls were in orange bathing suits!

Playing with other kid's toys

Gracie playing

Playing with another kid's bucket

Gracie liked to sit on the water

Lizzie trying to catch water

Hawaiian Falls

Today, we took the girls with some friends to a water park called Hawaiian Falls. Our church was going, but we went early to beat the heat. The girls did really well. They loved the wave pool and splashing around in the water. We tried some of kiddie slides but the girls were still a little too small for them.

We were a bit worried about Lizzie because of her fear of pools, but she was fine. She could touch the ground and loved the waves crashing against her. Both girls had a great time, but were so exhausted they fell asleep in the car and then took a nice long nap at home.

It was still hot while we were there!

Cooking with the girls

Tonight, we had a first. The girls "helped" me make chocolate chip cookies. We took two step ladders and I started the cookies while Wes did the dishes. The girls stood patiently on their stools and only fussed when they couldn't see what I was doing. They loved watching me stir the ingredients and when I sifted the flour I told them in was snowing. They both said snow and then we talked about the snow storm this past winter.

When the cookies were still baking we turned on the light and looked in the window and Wes counted down with them the last 10 seconds of the first batch. They were so excited about the whole process and loved eating the cookies. We all sat around the table eating our milk and cookies talking.

It was really fun to do with them because they understood what I was doing and what the outcome would be.

On the Road

Over the July 4th holiday, we went on a road trip to Alabama to see Wes's side of the family. It is a 12 to 13 hour drive so we broke it up over 2 days each way. It was an adventure. Wes and I worried for weeks about having the girls trapped in the car. They have been know to scream the whole back from Oklahoma City to Dallas.

Anyway, we loaded up the car with snacks, toys, the dvd, and a couple of videos. It turned out way better than we expected. The girls slept, watched the movies (they watched Up several times), and played with their toys. They seemed to enjoy looking out the windows at all the passing cars.
The trip in Alabama was good too. We enjoyed seeing all the family and swimming in Tutu and Papa's pool. They also fell in love with Cousin Sean. He's 12 and they thought he was wonderful. Gracie would drag him around by the hand everywhere.

The girls also saw fireworks for the first time. We kept them up and sat in a Kroger parking lot to see them We knew it was a good spot to see them because the parking lot was full and the store was empty!

It was a great trip and it made me realize that my babies were growing up. They did so many big girl things.

Big Girl Beds

We put the girls in their big girl beds the day after their birthday party. The beds are antiques that were given to us by Wes's grandma Harris. One of them was the bed I slept on when I first went to visit his family in Alabama. That's when he announced he was getting engaged to me. The beds have always been special to me and I couldn't wait until the girls were big enough to sleep on them.

The girls were very ready for their beds. They have slept great in them for the last two weeks. The only issue we had was when Lizzie fell off the foot of the bed. She ended up with a pretty good shiner. We think she was trying to play with the radio and reached too far.

Night Night, Lizzie

Night Night, Gracie

Our beds

First time to sleep in the beds for Gracie

Lizzie's first time in the bed

In other news, we finally met with a pediatric pulmonologist. He changed Gracie from a nebulizer twice a day to a puffer once a day. Meaning for us, no more 10 minute breathing treatments twice a day, only one puff on an inhaler once a day. Yea! The doctor thinks that it's more of a virual issue so we won't really know the right course of treatment until cold and flu season starts around October.

The party!

The girls party was on Saturday. I think we ended up having around 13 kids show up plus parents. It was a big crowd to put in our house. The kids went from inside to outside and back. They all seemed to have a great time! I stressed over everything and made some stuff myself. We had our house and our yard ship shape. Wes and I made the birthday banner, the invitations, pin the nose on the monkey and the square crayons. Making the crayons was really fun. We melted then together. The best part was that we had LiaLezon take pictures to help us remember everything!

The banner. My mom, the artist drew the monkey.

Banner

Pin the nose on the monkey

Crayons

Crayons hot from the oven

Babies Second Birthday

Today is the girls second birthday! We are so excited. The girls are staying home today with Grandma and Papa and celebrated with a McDonald's breakfast.

This year has been a blur. It was a difficult one for the family but we made it through. Wes is now happy in his new job.

I thought I would just try and keep a record of what we've faced and accomplished

• Stopped nursing at 12 1/2 months
• Transitioned to milk and all table foods
• Started walking at 15 1/2 months
• Started talking
• Went back to daycare
• Transitioned out of our bed room and into theirs
• Stopped taking a pacifier
• Started running
• Mommy and Daddy are always tired
  
• Gracie's seizure and ER visit making it necessary for us to always have a thermometer and Motrin on hand
• Gracie's breathing issues and ER visits to get it under control
• Lizzie's follow ups on the tubes in her ears - no new surgeries scheduled
• The girls both being on allergy medicine (we thought we were done with medicine every day after the Previcid but I guess not)
• The girls awareness of everything - the way they love their dog Molly and try to chase the cats
• Their love of family - they love their cousins, aunts, uncle and grandparents
• They can put on their boots
• They can take off socks and shoes in 2 seconds while sitting in the car
• They know "No", "Please", "Thank You" and "Milk"
• All stuffed animals right now are "Melmo" (Elmo) or "babies"

I guess that's a long list! Soon I'll be blogging about their birthday party tomorrow!