Dinner with the Girls

My friend and Jason's second cousin had us over for dinner last night.  While Lindsay and I have been getting together the guys haven't seen each other in years so we all got to hang out for one crazy night!  I am not sure who thought it was a good idea to stick the two three-year-olds next to each other at the dinner table but it did keep us entertained for the evening.  They are a riot - two peas in a very ornery pod. 

Thanks guys for the great dinner and wonder company!

Abigail is 8 Months Old!

Abigail is now old enough to hold her own a bit more so we can put her in the shopping cart next to Daniel.  They love it and I just think they are adorable!  (So do all the olds who seem to like to shop at the same time we go - as my father says between 10:00 and 2:00 they are allowed out.)

I don't know Abby's stats - we'll have an appointment for her 9 month birthday, but I think she is doing okay.  Physically I think she is a bit of a peanut still - thin and tall.  She does have a bit of a chunk on her butt and thighs that Daniel never had and it is super adorable!  Abby loves my vegetable purees and has a nice orange hue to her skin tone that emphasizes her taste for carrots and sweet potatoes. Puffs are her favorite - the organic kale and spinach ones in particular, and for some reason we can't get her to eat fruit of any kind.  She has started to scoot/crawl backwards and rolls around to get where she wants to go.  She is napping fairly regularly twice a day, nurses 5-6 times a day, and is finally sleeping through the night regularly.  I know she is awake in the morning when I hear her music box playing and her little coos as she sings along.  I just wish I could package her up right now and remember everything about her at this age.  The way she tilts her head to the side and smiles, her laugh, her soft baby skin, how she is able to grab things seemingly out of reach, how happy she seems to be all of the time (although she is starting to get very mad if she doesn't get something she wants). . . We just love her!

Park Fun

Daniel started taking swimming lessons at the high school and Grandma comes to be with Abby while Daniel and I are in the pool.  Daniel is doing pretty well.  He doesn't really like to get his head wet but if one of the other boys will do it he will try it too.  I think he enjoys the focused attention from me most of all!  The water is around 70 degrees so by the time we are done with the swim time we are ready to head to the hot showers! 

Today we stopped at the park on the way home and all had a blast. (We spent the night at my parents so Roxy got to come too.)

Hershey Park

Highmark (where Grammy is employed) has done an employee appreciation day at Hershey Park for the past several years. (See July 31, 2011) This year I could actually ride a few rides since I was not pregnant and Daniel was able to do more by himself so we had a great time. Grammy and Pappy took the kids for a while too so Jason and I could ride some real roller coasters (except that Jason is a sissy and we didn't really go on any good ones).  I didn't get as many pictures of Daniel as I would have liked since Grammy and Pappy had him for much of the day but we have enough for some good memories.

Jason feigning indifference to his fear of the Side Winder before my camera was confiscated.  (Apparently you can't take pictures while on the roller coasters!)

Daniel and Abby had fun riding in the double stroller together.

They are the only two on the ride and Daniel had to sit right next to her on this and the swings.  He must have thought she was cute.

Pirate Ship

Jason gave Abby a taste of his ice cream cone and even though I was pretty upset about it - it was really funny and I had to take pictures of her reaction.  She loved it and screamed and cried when he took it away from her.

Taking a bite.

Wanting a bite and getting upset that it is being taken away.

Screaming about not being aloud to have any more.

Pappy bought this because of the look of sheer terror on Daniel's face.  He wanted to go again though.

The majority of the afternoon we hung out at the "beach" and played in the wave pool until Daniel was too tired to function.  Last year we made it until about 2:00; this time was nearly 5:00 when we left and Daniel made it to the car at least before he fell asleep.  We were all beat but had a great time and are thankful that we decided to go.

Lower Allen Municipal Building Play Date

My MOPs group took a field trip to a local municipal building for the morning.  One of the mom's husband is a detective there and he helped to arrange the tour.  The kids got to climb in and explore an ambulance, fire trucks, and a police car.  By the time they got to the police car, Daniel and his partner in crime, Cole, decided that standing around listening to the policeman talk was too boring so they disappeared.  I found them several minutes later sitting in the front of the ambulance pressing buttons and pretending to drive.  I tried to be stern with them but was barely managing to hold back my laughter. 
At the end when the moms were trying to figure out where to go for lunch, Daniel started running up and down this big, steep hill in the front of the building and soon most of the other kids, much to their parents' dismay, followed.  I couldn't go after him because of Abby and he decided that scaling the hill was more fun than listening.  He was in no immediate danger so I just had to wait until I could snatch him up and get him under control! 

Tour of ambulance

Sitting in Fire Truck

Not listening to Police Man

Daniel and Cole

Climbing out of Ambulance after getting caught in the act!

While at the park afterwards, I was enjoying my time talking with some other moms while we watched the kids play.  Daniel had already been banned from the sand pit because he dumped some sand on a little girl's head so he was running around the bridges and ladders.  I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye and heard a man say, "what are you doing young man?" and all the mothers start cracking up.  Daniel is standing right in the middle of the enterance to the park with his pants down around his knees getting ready to pee on the concrete!  I tucked Abby under one arm and ran over to him screaming, "NO, not there!!"  He looked up at me so innocently.  I grabbed him with my other arm and rushed him out of the play area to some trees to pee.  There was a bathroom right across the parking lot from the park and I had asked him not five minutes before if he had to go. . . . 

Happy Birthday Grandpop

Kat's dad turned 64 today!  We celebrated with a nice dinner and mini party (just us and them).  Daniel just loves birthday parties and since he just had one a couple weeks before he was still in the birthday-party-mode.  I don't think Dad got to open any of his own presents but he seemed to have more fun watching Daniel take care of it. 

Daniel was so excited to open the gifts that even though the first box opened contained a shirt - it was worthy of a "WOW! Super Awesome!!"  The second shirt was a little less exciting and by the third, he was just disapointed that it wasn't a monster truck.

King's Gap Concert

Daniel dancing to great music by Colebrook Rd.

We live a few short miles from a mountain known as King's Gap.  There are hiking trails and a state-owned mansion on the summit with beautiful grounds.  They held a free blue grass concert and offered tours of the mansion's first floor to help welcome in the summer.  Daniel loves music and has recently become a huge fan of all kinds of string insturments so we thought it would be a fun to take him.  He of course lost interest after a few songs and wanted to climb on the terrace wall instead, but we did have fun.  The evening was cut short when a thunderstorm came through and chased everyone off the mountain.  Great band and great fun!  Who knew living in the middle of nowhere provided such entertaining perks?