Brewing with Daddy

The girls had sooo much fun playing outside while Bryce was brewing this morning/afternoon.  I took some great pictures of them outside.  Lilly only came inside because it was her nap time but Abby was out there for over 8 hours!

Kirk, Ruby and I have enjoyed looking back at our old baby pictures and I've always loved the ones of us when we were small and in front of the house we grew up in in Pasadena.  And I love when there happened to be a picture of one of the old cars my parents used to drive.  Because in the future, those seemingly boring background shots become vintage and very noteworthy as an adult.  So I can't say that I have always intentionally taken pictures of the kids in front of the house or a car but today I did just because the cars happen to be parked outside so that Bryce could brew in the garage and our yard actually looks nice since we recently raked the roof and the yard was just mowed.  :)  So here we go.

Abby has seen doodle bugs before but really got into playing with them today.  She let them crawl all over her hands and arms.  We now have a small doodle bug habitat (in a plastic container) on our kitchen counter.

I like taking pictures of the girls when their Daddy is brewing.  It's something they hopefully will enjoy looking back on when they are older.  They've both grown up with it their whole lives.  

Lilly insisted on smelling the hops.  She asked so she received.  She really liked the smell and said "OoooOooohhh!!!"  :D

Lilly loves anything her big sister loves.  ♥

This picture reminds me of my nephew Elliott.  Always the belly button picker.  :)

 

Kids in front yard.

Everyone got into doodle bugs today!

Abby was so sweet and collecting extra doodle bugs for her little sister.

Look at the shear excitement!  I got a great video of her screaming with delight too!

I just love this picture because her mouth looks cute.  She makes this face fairly frequently and I just love it.  Makes me want to kiss her 'til she smiles.  :)

We have a picture of Abby doing this exact same thing when she was Lilly's age.  They love the help out in any way they can. 

Except for Abby - today she was all about the doodle bugs...still.

I'm so glad I got this chair.  They absolutely love it and they refuse to sit alone.  They both call out for the other to sit together.  So darn sweet.

Aww....sweet Lilly baby.  ♥

"What's going on Daddy?"

I was lucky to get this picture at the right millisecond.  Lilly is always brushing her hair out of her face and I got this mid-swipe.  For some reason she won't keep her pony tails (aka pony hair) in when she needs it most.

 Can you tell it was getting close to nap time?  But she was a trooper.

Abby's STILL messing with the doodle bugs.

They both LOVE picnics in the garage or just eating outside in general.  I think all kids do.

A day in the life of the Bakers

Every once in a while, I try to take pictures of us just doing regular ol' daily stuff.  Instead of being cute posed pictures, it's more of a documentary of our daily lives.  I think they will be fun to look back on when the girls are older.  And there are, of course, just regular pictures of our random doings/outings throughout the week.

But I'd like to add a quick note on Lilly.  She's 23 months old and in the last month, her vocabulary has really blossomed. I hear at least 4-5 new words a day and I just stopped being impressed and just go with it now.  I guess what they say is right: the second kid really absorbs a lot from big sister/brother.  With Abby, we sat her down and taught her the alphabet but somehow, Lilly learned it on her own.  I just quizzed her on all the upper case letters and she got all of them except for N, J and V.  And she knows some shapes too: circle, triangle, heart, star and square!  And she knows some colors too: pink, red, blue and green.  My favorite thing that she says right now is "pony hair" instead of pony tail.  It's just so cute to hear, for some reason.

Looks like regular old pigtails, huh?

There were actually 3 pigtails - per her request!

She asked, so she received.  Don't worry, it didn't last long before she lost all interest.

A picture of Abby eating at the dinner table.

A picture of Lilly eating like a big girl at the dinner table.  She just started doing this a week or so ago.  No more washing the tray - yay!!

They were in jewelry heaven!!

She looks like a little person in this picture.  And that's her favorite doll on the bottom left corner.  It's name is Cheep Cheep.

How many Bakers can fit in a wagon?

Lilly eats so much faster than Abby and this is her trying to eat Abby's share after already finishing her share.  And Abby doing her best to protect her food.

Still trying....

I just thought they both looked cute.

Abby insisted on putting Mei Mei's diaper on.  She said "I can do it!  I've seen y'all do it so many times!"  But alas, she was too slow so we gave her an A+ for effort.

And last but not least, this past Tuesday was Go Texan Day at school so they both got all dressed up in cowgirl attire.  We got 2 uses out of Abby's Halloween costume, which was an added bonus.

Happy Valentine's Day

Abby doesn't have school on this Valentine's Day so we went to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather today!!  It's FINALLY warmer and the sun has come out.  I don't know about most mom's but taking my two girls to the park by myself is a lot of work.  I've got a big kid who's a scaredy-cat and always needs my help and a crazy little dare devil who is all over the place.  I'm working on making Abby do things on her own and it paid off today at the park.  I was very impressed with her new found bravery and independence.  It was VERY windy today but it didn't bother the girls at all.  Here are some cute pics!

We started the morning off with strawberries while watching Sesame Street.  These girls could both eat their weight in strawberries.

Mei Mei exploring...

This may not be a big deal to other parents of 4 year old's who are 44" tall but for our little Abby, being able to walk across these steps unassisted today was a BIG DEAL.  Our cautious baby is setting new records every day.

These things always remind me of my childhood pictures at Herman Park.  Kids love them.

Somewhere I have a picture of Abby wearing exactly what Lilly's wearing at this exact same spot.

She's so tall.  That's all.

Happy Lilly!

This deserves a second picture.  Good job, Abby!

Some where I have a picture of Abby sitting in this exact spot too.

Both were so excited: Abby to push her sister and Lilly to be pushed by her sister.  ♥

Of course, Lilly loved this slide.  It was just her size.

She even mastered climbing back UP this slide.

It was so windy!

Check out her hair!  Reminds me of her mohawk when she was a baby.  :)

Abby was ready to go home.

The fun continued at home.  A wagon ride around the block whilst eating Cheerios.

This is my new favorite picture of Abby!!!

My littler poser.  :)

I still can't get Lilly to smile into the camera.  We're working on it!