A splashin' good time.

Yesterday my good friend Allison and I decided to get out together and meet at the playground. Consider this equation: 2 toddlers + 2 infants + one ginormous play structure with ample opportunities to inflict permanent damage on little spines = 2 very busy, heart-rate-slightly-elevated mamas. But it was fun. In retrospect.

Ellie's a bit of a daredevil on the slides. I'm sure this is partly the reason I found my FIRST white HAIR a couple weeks back. Yeah, man. I've crossed over to the 'other' side. Dying my hair will no longer be 'just for fun'. Thanks, Ellie.

Here's Allison's cutie patutie, Kiley. She's got quite the singing voice.

Joshua was too busy watching other children to really notice that he'd gone down a slide for the first time.

Here's 22 month old Azelin giving me 'the nose'.

Ellie has been learning to ride the big kid swings...

...and so has Azelin!
So that was all fine and dandy. But the fun didn't stop there. There was this fairly deep, muddy looking puddle close by the swings that had been calling Ellie's name this entire time. She had come close to running through it, but heeded my warnings that she wouldn't like how her shoes felt after if they were all wet. Well, Azelin decided she was done with swings and began to run back towards the playground. Straight through the puddle. I don't think she honestly saw it there, because the look on her face was one of total shock when she realized how wet her feet were. Ellie didn't hesitate for more than a second. If Azelin was allowed, so was she! She ran straight in with gusto, and it became one of those golden motherhood moments to indulge in laughter and picture taking instead of a scolding.

After all the splashing was done, Ellie realized I was right. Her shoes felt awful. She whined and cried all the way home. But all great times at the park end in tears. This time was no exception.

Parkin' It!

Today we took one look at the sunshine outside, said 'BOO' to housework and went to the park: Me and Josh sat on the sidelines with a bottle (note his milk-mouth) letting our pasty white Menno skin soak up the rays.

It was easier to get in than to get out!

Queen of the castle.

The teething observer.

The things you'll do to look cool for your kids. And your wife. You go, honey!

Ellie and swings are good friends. Add daddy to the mix and it's a blast!

They conquered the man-made hill. That's the only kind of hill we have around here - the man-made kind.

Crossing the 'swimming pool', as Ellie called it.

She would have gone right in if we had let her!

Sometimes these evening shifts of Rob's are a real blessing. It's so good to have days like today.

Miscellanea

Ellie taking advantage of one of the rare nice days we've had.Josh is getting much better at the bumbo chair.Ellie has just entered the magical world of painting. Her paint box doesn't look anything like this now, a week later. Every circle of paint looks kind of...gray. She decided it was time to go for a walk to Nana's. Rain boots and pjs...what more do you need?Mom:"Ellie, can you smile?" Ellie: "No."Make her stop, Mama!!

Happy Mother's Day, Grandma Balfour!!

Date Update

Rob and I had a wonderful time on my all-day birthday date...despite the fact that we had one of our worst nights with Joshua EVER the night before (growth spurt? teething? constipation? all of the above? We may never know). On our way out of town to the city we stopped at Superstore and bought a 2L bottle of Pepsi and some cups and used that as our fuel for the day. We consume very small amounts of caffeine on a regular basis so this did the trick!! Here's Rob and I at the Forks doing our very best not to look completely zonked:

We ended up looking quite psychotic. This one was a bit more normal, though it was still pretty sad how hard we had to try to make our eyes look fully open:

We bummed around the Forks for a while...

...and then had a "more-fun-than-tasty" lunch at a restaurant called Beachcombers (we had a lot of fun, the food wasn't as great as it could have been.) We sat side by side in a booth facing the restaurant and analyzed a table full of people we were convinced HAD to be teachers out on a lunch. I wish we would have asked. They just HAD to be teachers.Dessert: FUDGE. Enough said.

We tried to go outside by the river but it was way too cold!! BUMMER! Even the birds were looking chilly:

Here's Rob contemplating how much fun we were having. It was so refreshing to have a day to ourselves.After that we got down to business and went SHOPPING!! Rob was such a trooper. He waited patiently while I tried on every single shirt in the mall (and bought NONE...is it just me or is it next to impossible to find something semi-modest that also doesn't show off one's post-second-pregnancy puddle of a stomach?) The best part of the shopping trip was the bathing suit. I found a suitable bathing suit at one of those over-priced swim stores (man I hate swimsuit shopping!) but decided to put it on hold. It was $84. Next we went to Sears where they were having this "one day only" sale...and in the middle of this rack...da da-da DA! The exact same swimsuit...for $47!!! That felt like a blessing straight from the Lord! We were stoked. I got a bunch of other stuff I needed (shorts, a hat for those mornings where the hair ain't workin', sandals, etc...) but no t-shirts. So I guess I'll have to go shopping again. SHOOT. :)

We were definitely pooped by the end of the day but like I said...what a wonderful date. It's so great to realize that you still love hanging out alone, that you can have a blast and laugh together without your kids, and that you're still in love...nearly 6 years and 2 kids later.
Thanks, God.

Singing 'bout Tomorrow!!

My sweet husband surprised me yesterday by leaving me an early birthday card when he went to work. He told me I couldn't open it. Later when he knew I was out at the church, he left a phone message letting me know that I COULD actually open it whenever I wanted to. I have a few kinks left in my ability to delay gratification, so I had the card opened by the time Rob's phone message was finishing up. :) Inside was some cash. Quite a bit of cash, actually. The card said, "This is only half your present." I figured (with joy!) that the money was for me to go buy some badly needed clothing, but had no clue what the other 'half' was. When Rob came home he told me that yes, the money IS for clothes. The other half is that he took my entire birthday (tomorrow) off work, arranged for my mom to take care of the kids, and he's TAKING me shopping for the day...lunch at the Forks included. I AM PUMPED. An unrushed shopping trip?? UNHEARD OF! All day alone with my best friend?!? SWEET!! I feel so blessed.
p.s. thanks, Mom and Dad Balfour, for pitching in!!
p.p.s. I just discovered the joys of Adobe Photoshop today. Call me a Neanderthal. Here's a couple more photos. Then I'll quit. I promise.

Ellie's 2 year photos

So while I was fooling around with Joshua's four month photos I decided to attempt some '2 year' photos of Ellie (instead of good ol' Walmart which didn't go over very well last year). This was a LOT more difficult than I expected!! TWO YEAR OLDS do NOT know what it means to sit still and smile (it takes a lot of tickle threats and balancing objects on one's head.) Somewhere at the back of my heart I have this pipe dream of becoming a qualified photographer for other people...but I don't really know if that will ever happen. In the meantime, I practice on my kids. Which is why the mass quantities of pictures.

So if you're tired of the same old stuff...skip on to the next blog!! These guys are all I have to practice on.

Happy Four Months, Joshua!

(As always, Mama celebrates by going camera happy.)