READ DAD!

The other night I was putting Allison down for bed and I told her stories about her and Amelia as babies. She said "read Dad as baby"

Me: When Dad was a little boy he lived on a farm...."
Allison: "Mooooo"
Me: "Nope, he didn't have cows or animals, just vegetables and lots of them."
Allison "Moooo"

I guess vegetables aren't as exciting as cows. I can only imagine their shock some day when we show the girls the farm that Dad grew up since where the farm used to be is now an urban, industrial area without even a tree or two growing in the vicinity.

Allison's Big Girl Bed

So we finally got around to switch Allison's crib. I realize this was a long time coming. We weren't in a rush to do so and dragged our feet for a while because we figured if it wasn't broke, don't fix it. Allison never complained about being in a crib or tried climbing out. We wanted to wait until we came home from vacation, as we were counting on Allison to sleep in the pack-n-play while on the trip. I was worried that once we switched her to a bed, she wouldn't want to sleep in her crib or anything that resembled a crib. However, while on vacation, Amelia developed "I want to do what Allison is doing" itis. Once back home, we were afraid that Amelia would be upset that her bed was still a crib and throw a fit. I can honestly say that Amelia is NOT ready for a toddler bed yet and she won't be for a very, very, very long time.

However a week ago, we decided to take the plunge. I took the girls on a walk to the fruit market in our neighborhood while Brian made the switch. Luckily I remembered to take a picture of Allison in her crib before we left. When we came home, we surprised Allison with her "new" big girl bed (e.g. her crib with the front side removed and a low rail added." She was very excited, and so was Amelia. They like to climb on her bed and look at books together or play. It is sweet watching them sit side-by-side on the bed. There have been a few times that Amelia has layed down and said "my bed -- night night." We usually just have to talk her into showing us "Mia's bed" and she is fine leading us back to her room.  It has made bed time so much easier, as I can now sit down with Allison in her bed to read her stories or rub her back, rather than leaning over the crib.

Labor Day Home Movie Festival

This Labor Day weekend it was my goal to get caught up on putting our family videos on DVD.  It occured to me that Allison hasn't seen any of the videos on the TV (She has seen a few clips on the computer or the camera screen). So we had a movie night to watch some of the videos and the girls loved it and got a big kick out of seeing themselves when they were babies.

City meets Country

A few weeks ago we took the girls to the County Fair. We headed straight to the animal barns and tents. Amelia had a good time, but we didn't quite get the same reaction out of her as we did when she saw the goats while on vacation. It was cute because she was walking by a goat pen and one "baa'ed" at her. I think she about jumped out of her sandals as she didn't expect that. She did good though and wasn't afraid of them after that.

We walked through one of the horse barns and several of the 4-H members were there taking care of the horses. The teen girls took a liking to Allison and Amelia and let them pet their horses. Amelia was in heaven and petted one particular horse for the longest time. She didn't flinch at all, even when she was face-to-face with the huge horse.

Even though we brought the double stroller along, the girls didn't want to ride in it. There were too many exciting things to look at. As we were leaving one barn, Allison stepped in some cow manure that was on the ground. Brian was telling Allison to stop walking and she was clueless to what was going on. I was trying to help, when I realized that Amelia took off. I went to get her, when I heard "OHHH JEEZ, DON'T TOUCH IT. GROSS. DON'T MOVE." and "WHAT DAD? WHAT?" I grabbed Amelia who was trying to sneak between the two barns and brought her back. Brian (who isn't a very happy camper at this point) is trying to clean up Allison's shoe. I looked up and saw a 4-H family watching the whole fiasco take place. They were all cracking up. Another gentleman walks by and is trying his hardest not to laugh. Yep....city meets country. We were that family. We were that family as we continued to go through the fair with Brian and I snipping at each other, the girls going off in one direction or dragging their feet at every exhibit, and me trying to find an inexpensive way to give the kids a treat without paying $7 for french fries or buying day-old popcorn.

Despite that, I think the kids had a good time. Since we were there so early in the day, the carnival rides hadn't opened yet, so the highlight of the trip was snack time and then "treat" time, where I managed to find them a Tootsie Roll sucker at the 4H booth (they were out of frozen treats, so I scored the suckers for a quarter each.) Next year, we will go again. However next time maybe we will put the kids in "muck" boots and we will also make sure that everyone has been well-fed before we leave.

Joys of Bath Time

Bath time fun came to an abrupt ending...all over who gets to hold the tube of red bath paint.

A Visit to the Lake

A few weeks ago, our good friends Rick and Tina and their boys Zach and Colin came in for a visit from Texas.  They invited everyone to a friend's cottage along the lake. It was kind of chilly that evening, so we didn't bring the girls' bathing suits. We figured that the girls would be content dipping their toes in the water.  I think Allison would have been fine, however, Amelia was not happy at all. She wanted to jump right into the water. We managed to get away with only a wet skirt.  Luckily, I had a change of clothes in the car.

Neighborhood Party

Earlier this month, our neighborhood and business association threw a party for National Night Out.  It was a chance for people to come out and enjoy free, family-friendly entertainment and meet their neighbors. We finally met and introduced ourselves to a family that lives down the street from us. We always see them with their kids but have never spoken before. Their third child is less than a week younger than Allison.

The event had a petting zoo, pony rides, music, and the fire and police department were also there. The police had their SWAT truck out. We hoisted Allison up there, thinking she would sit on the bench, however she proceeed to jump right into the driver's seat, which freaked me out a little since the truck was running. The police office sitting in the passenger seat, who was enjoying the cool air and talking on his cell, didn't seem too concerned. Once Allison left the drivers seat, Amelia hopped in and pretended to drive the truck. Between the SWAT truck and the police car, I thought for sure we were going to get stuck with a bill to repair some "button" that Allison pushed. 

At the end of the night, we treated the girls to a treat from the ice-cream truck. Overall it was a fun night. Hopefully by next year, the girls will be old enough to enjoy the outdoor movie they played later in the evening.

The turtle kept trying to escape.

Amelia sitting in time out.

The girls sitting in the fire truck.

Amelia leaving an impression (facial impression that is) with the fire department