Here, Let Me Talk About My Kids For A Bit

Life has been crazy busy lately.  I feel like the days are flying by.  I haven't taken time to take photos except for on my phone, write down stories, or even take as much time to just sit and play with the girls as I would like.

Date Night with the hubs

My time has been spent instead trying to get my garden going, keep the outside of the house as well as the inside tidied up now that we spend so much time out there, overflowing quantities of laundry, Evelyn's weekly appointments for 2 different therapies... The list goes on and on.

Speech Therapy

Meanwhile my children have been doing this crazy deal called growing up in front of my eyes.  It amazes me.

My Birds

"Now you hug me."

Bella is talking, talking, talking.  I can't understand half of what she says still, but she's putting whole sentences together.  She's developed a sense of humor.  She plays jokes on you.

Seriously, mom?

 All things babies should not be doing.  So I may need to embrace the idea that she is relinquishing her role as baby in the house.

Buddies

She is becoming fabulously girly though and prefers to spend her days with painted toenails and wearing tutus.  She despises pants, but will wear a dress any day.

Tutus and dump trucks - an obvious combination

Evelyn has been up to her usual antics.  Getting into all kinds of things she shouldn't be, generally ignoring my discipline, but being my lovely snuggler all the while.

Attack of the red crayon

She could sit on my lap and read books for hours if I were able to.  We've started doing some really mild homeschooling and she's lapping it up.  By mild, I mean we pick a theme each week that we study (kittens, fish, cows, jungle, stars, etc.)and we check out several fiction and nonfiction books on the topic.  We then read the books each day, talk about the sounds in the word, pick up a few vocab words about it (habitat, claws, calf, vine, etc.), and do a craft surrounding the topic.  Super simple.  Very fun though.

She has formed serious opinions about clothing and accessory choices - this is her own ensemble.

She blew me out of the water today though.  We were doing a puzzle she has where you put 3-letter words together.  She sounded out each letter as she put it together.  I asked her to sound it out again and she repeated it.  I then asked her to put the sounds together to say the word it spelled...and she did it!  I was shocked.  All without spending $300 on Hooked on Phonics.  Double score.

First word she read!

She also has her first real pet (I refuse to count the creatures she catches in our yard pets...).

Collecting snails with her friend.

It's a Beta fish and was a huge stinking ordeal.  Evelyn can't touch commercial fish food because every single brand is made with gluten.  But Beta fish can eat blood worms.  You read that right.  Blood worms.  Mom will have nothing to do with feeding this fish thank.you.very.much.  We are on our THIRD fish though.  The first two died. The first one was a mysterious death that I think we will call shaken fish syndrome.  The second was because apparently the room we keep the fish in is too cold.  So what was supposed to be a cheap little fish in a bowl is now a Beta fish that eats worms and has his own little water heater.  

Traveling with fish #1

My 3rd baby (while I wait for a real one) is my garden though.

Half the garden when first planted - it's at least doubled in size since then.

I'm adoring having a garden this year.  I love to go out each morning and see what has grown overnight (I know, dorky).  I even enjoy weeding and watering.  I'm ambitious this year and am growing 2 kinds of tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, kale, red peppers, anaheim peppers, pablano peppers, watermelon, green beans, celery, romaine, sweet potatoes, oregano, mint, rosemary, basil, cilantro, sage, and parsley.  Maybe a bit too ambitious.  We shall see.