We've got a new favorite rainy day activity -- Hopper's House! Our friends, the Shermans, introduced us to this fun place and now the girls request this location every time we get together.
Taking a break from bouncing
The girls had a blast with all the dress-up costumes
Tutus are proper air hockey attire
Will settle for holding her toys in the bouncy seat...
... but prefers to hold our hand
This evening we went to a St. Patty's party hosted by Josh's co-worker Shane and his family. This event is quite the annual shindig and we had a great time socializing with co-workers and meeting families from Shane's neighborhood. Josh was even recruited to play on the neighborhood soccer team! Madeline had a great time running around with a crew of older girls and Julia was quite popular with the not-quite-old-enough-to-be-grandparents crowd. I didn't think to get a family picture of all of us in our green finery (Julia had to settle for a green bow in her little fringe of hair), but did manage to get one of Julia and me...
Lately, Madeline has been really interested in golfing. Sadly, the only equipment we have is the little plastic play set she got a couple of birthdays ago. Even though both Josh and I took golf as a class at K-State, neither one of us has a set of clubs! When Josh gets home in the evening, Madeline meets him outside with her little clubs in hand and they play a "round" in the front yard. She usually takes a one-handed approach to swing the driver...
But every once in a while we see glimpses of some decent form...
At three months, Julia is
One of Madeline's favorite outdoor activities at the old house was to decorate our fence and brick patio with her chalk drawings. We don't have either of those features at this house (yet!), but we do have a deck that is in desperate need of some beautification. After Linus and Madeline finished their breakfast (we had a sleepover last night with Adrian & Linus), we turned them loose on the deck with a bucket of chalk. They had a blast!
We were pleasantly surprised to have a nice crop of cheery daffodils pop up in the front flowerbeds.
Ever the attention hog, Pickles decided
Grandma B wanted to check out a few stores in North Raleigh, so we turned it into a playdate at the mall up there. This train kept making laps around the children's play area (what better way to drum up business, right?!) and each time it approached, Madeline would stop what she was doing to wave at the train passengers until they passed by. It looked like fun so while Grandma kept Julia happy, M and I took a trip on the train.
This was our little car.
It may not look like it, but she was so excited!
Grandpa B and Julia waiting for the party to start
Linus and Madeline setting the mood
The birthday girl and her parents
Madeline's school celebrated Dr. Suess this week. On Tuesday, they made hats like the Cat in the Hat.
Ms. Beth's class in their hats
Ms. Beth's class striking their poses
Grandma and Grandpa B drove out from Kansas again to help us on the house renovations and to spend time with the girls. When they arrived, they had a special surprise for M... a dollhouse along with dolls and furniture to fill it! Thanks for finding it for us, Tante Mary Beth and cousin Lia!
Edited to add: There has already been one improvement made to the little house. M was very concerned that "the rain would go into the baby's room" because there wasn't a roof to cover it, so she and Grandma B fashioned a roof out of cardboard. We're starting her DIY education early!
