Baybay & Baybee: Week 99 (6/26-7/2)

99 weeks old!

I know this blog is mostly about Maya and Ella, but I'm starting this week off with a series of photos of my garden. I think this is one of the most beautiful times of year and I have so many lovely pictures of plants that are blossoming right now. I feel so happy when I'm out in the garden surrounded by all my flowers.

 Echinacea starting to open.

Day lilies.

 They're ripe!

 Gooseneck.

 Black-eyed Susans.

 Peas!

The front garden.

Canada lily!

I dug this lily up a few years ago, from plants by the side of a back road in Worthington. Since then, it has multiplied and I look forward to the blooms every year.

Top view.

More lilies on their way!

Okay, so a few photos of the girls snuck in with the flowers.

An early morning walk around the house to pick some peas and smell the flowers.

Sleep has been up and down. We've been closing the door to the girls' room for naps and at night, so that we don't have to deal with them running out while we're trying to get them to go to sleep. One of us, lately it's been mostly Brett, has been sitting with them and singing until they fall asleep.

All week long, both girls have stayed dry for naps and night-time sleep, using the potty when they wake up!

Morning snuggling in our bed sometimes result in everyone falling back asleep, except me. Somehow, I managed to extract myself from between those two!

Maya consistently wakes up earlier than her sister. After cuddling in bed with me for half an hour, she's usually ready to start the day. What does she want to do once we're up? She'll excitedly say, "Mama cook help!" This means that she wants to cook breakfast with me. "What do you want to help cook for breakfast?" I will ask her.  On Monday, her answer was, "Muff! Boo-ber!" It's hard to be in a grumpy mood about being up so early when you're with such a happy, excited, little person, who loves to cook breakfast with you!

Early morning blueberry muffins, made by Maya.

Speaking of blueberries, we found this bag of berries tucked deep inside the chest freezer this week!

The girls are getting easier to be around, while also getting things accomplished during the day. They have been playing with each other more often, for longer stretches of time, without needing one of us to be right there. By longer stretches of time, I mean sometimes 10 or 15 minutes, without having to help resolve a dispute over a toy, or help with something. Not great, but it's a start!

Maya, reading to her sister.

Stay above the "Stop" line while riding bikes in the driveway!

Ready for a wagon ride.

Video time.

Eating black raspberries and swinging while I do some work in the garden.

Ella, at the YMCA playground.

Maya decided to bury herself in the sandbox.

Drawing at the library.

The Lego table is always a big hit when we visit the library, as is the playhouse in the background, as Ella demonstrates.

Maya built a train.

Long video, but fun!

On Saturday, we had some great tag sale finds! We went all together and though the girls got very tired towards the end, we all had fun and found some great things.

Trains and tracks! My turn to play with them, while the girls nap.

I love this toy. I got it for me. I will share with the girls, sometimes.

Fun with a new toy after tag sale-ing.

Sunday was berry picking day! We all went together to pick strawberries. We never know if a family outing will be a good idea. Sometimes it just ends up being a stressful, whiny, tiring affair. This trip turned out to be just the opposite! Everyone was pleasant, helpful and happy the entire time. We picked enough berries to freeze and ate lots, too!

Sitting down in the strawberry patch.

Happy Ella.

Strawberries are better when you share with a friend.

"Here Dada, I found one!"

Lots of berries!

This picture sums up how much fun we had.

Baybay & Baybee: Week 98 (6/19-6/25)

98 weeks old!

This week, Ella learned how to bug her sister. Pretty much all she had to do was touch her. This is how it goes: Ella will reach her hand over, ever so slowly, and barely touch her sister's hair, shoulder, nose, anything - doesn't really matter. Cue Maya's immediate turn away, accompanied by a very whiny sounding, "No thanks!" Cue Ella's smirk. Repeat.

They may bother one another sometimes, but Maya and Ella really are best friends.

Another new thing this week is the girls have started walking up and down the back steps without holding on to the railing! They are getting really good at it, but my heart still skips a beat when I watch them do it. Maya also picked out and put on her shirt all by herself when we were getting ready for bed on Friday.  They have known how to get pants on for a while now, but I think this was one of the first fully unassisted shirt accomplishments.

We did a lot this week. I also took a lot of pictures!

 

Starting the week of right - I picked strawberries again!

We had some beautiful days outside.

Here is Ella giving our plants some water.

Of course, Maya did some watering, too.

On Thursday afternoon, while Brett was busy, the girls and I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Leyden. 

After playing on the slides for a long time, we took a walk down to the river. I love this photo of Ella with her Grandpa Craig.

It was lots of fun to dig in the sand and make "soup".

Grandparents with grandkids.

On Tuesday, while Brett was doing his Pedal People route, Maya, Ella and I went together to vote in the election.

After the voting, we went to visit the animals at the farm. There happened to be some other little kids we knew there!

Watching the sheep.

There were some great playground times this week. We discovered that the Safety Village playground in Florence has a great play structure. The slides are fast, but not so much that the girls fall off at the end, and there are also swings there!

Maya, about to go down the tube slide!

So happy!

Ella's turn!

Down another slide.

Playgrounds are the best.

On Saturday, we went to Look Park to meet up with the group of kids who are all around the same age as Maya and Ella, for the annual picnic. Look Park is large and we didn't end up in the right spot, so we never actually met up with the group. But, we had some fun anyway. There were so many people at the park, and so many other children on the play structures, so I had a hard time not being too overwhelmed trying to keep track of both girls. Brett was helpful, but busy playgrounds still just make me nervous.

Walking over a bridge at Look Park, in search of the picnic spot.

We ended up at the slides instead.

Maya climbed up really high.

Taking a break.

After the playground, we walked over to the splash pad.

A sweet picture of the girls with their Dada. There were too many kids running around for Maya and Ella to feel comfortable on their own in the splash pad. They were also pretty nervous about the water fountains.

On Sunday, Spartan, Hannah and Max came for a visit!

We went swimming. Spartan took pictures.

This is a ridiculous photo, but I love it.

Brett took the girls on a couple adventures without me this week. I am always thankful to have the time to be by myself for a little bit. And I love hearing about when they did when everyone comes home.

My cool thrift store find this week. 

Maya, trying to convince Ella to share some of her snack, while at the park with Dada.

Helping cut up potatoes for breakfast.

Maya's turn.

And here are a couple extra cute pictures to enjoy!

Playing a game together.

Ella, wearing her Uncles Guy's hat and looking adorable.

This one loves her pacifiers.

Ella with her necklace and scraped knee, going for a ride on the tractor.

Fun with hair ties.

Maya with Pinky Dog and pacifier, standing on boxes and signing 'nurse'.

Ah, asleep.

Something was funny.

Learning that you can't always get your sister to eat your food when you want her to.