Storytime and Chick Filet in the Backyard

We've been trying to do a lot of indoor activities to take a break from the heat.

We went to story time last week and it was very crowded. The girls paid attention for about 5 minutes and lost interest in the story. There was too many kids in there--about 30 or so.



I met there one of my oldest friends in the U.S. , Laura, my sweet friend from high school who has a 17 months old. His name is Harris and he may be a Panthers player in about 20 years from now. He weighs 30 lbs!!



About once a week we eat Chick Fillet. The girls love it! (and me too!). We took some take out the other day and had a picnic in the backyard. It was steamy hot, but kids seem not to mind at all

"Cheeeeeeese!"





Those little feet are growing so fast! Vivian loves to explore. I love the sense of wonder of this age. Everything seems so interesting. A stick, a rock, a bug...too bad as we get older we loose that sense of wonder

Having kids is a second chance to relive our childhood. I try to keep that in mind. I enjoy living the world again with their eyes, their curiosities and innocence. Even for a little bit every day. It brings a kind of joy that I've forgotten. Joy that I miss...joy from the little things of life that seems meaningless now as an adult

Riverbanks Zoo

We took the girs to the first trip to the zoo. Although it was REALLY HOT and we nearly melted, we had a great time and the girls enjoyed seeing the animals

I think Jacqueline's favorite part of the day was this gigantic cup of icee

Two beautiful flowers!

As usual, Bolota wanted to be held and carried out through the park. Poor Daddy!

Penguins! One of my favorite part of the zoo since the room was air conditioned

 Next time we'll probaby go before it gets so hot or wait to go in the Fall.  It was neat telling J that God made all those animals.

 We stopped by Crack and Barrel for a quick lunch and headed home.

So fun to do something different and day trips are not as bad when we have a DVD player for the girls to watch unlimited cartoons!  For a change, we could actually have a conversation in the car. It's one of our favorites things-- to have long talks while in a road trip

 

I pooped!

 

Vivian has being very interested in sitting in the potty lately. She loves "reading" while pretending to go. She has actually gone a few times. I'm not too worry about it since I take more of a laid back approach to potty training. Last night at my Summer bible study, I met a woman my age who had 4 kids. She was telling me that all her kids were potty trained by the time the were  2 yrs old and the 4th one she started potty training at 6 weeks old!!!! Before I had a chance to think how crazy she was, she said it herself: "I'm crazy like that".

Early in the morning (not much later than 7am), Bolota is already playing dress up. She usually drink 2-3 glassed of milk before I even finish my breakfast. I enjoy our time together. Jacqueline gets up around 8am. So early in the morning it's just me and baby girl...she has being growing up so fast that I feel that if I didn't have this blog, I wouldn't remember so much of her 2 years. Life with 2 girls so close in age is pretty hectic. I want to savor every moment. But lot of time I get cut up in the every day stuff-- cleaning up, cooking, and just going through the motions. I don't want to look back and feel that I just survived this stage. Instead, I want to look back and have a billions memories of us cludding in the sofa, laughing and spending an absurd amount of time enjoying each other. I've been intentionally trying to be more present with them

People with older kids are always telling me how fast this phase goes by. I'm starting to agree with them and already missing this age although I'm living it now. Sounds nuts. But that's honestly how I feel. To think that one day, the dress up clothes will not be worn, droplets of milk on the floor won't be found, no crushed gold fish on the floor of my car....whinning, well, that I won't ever EVER miss!!!! :>

The Fouth

We joined the downtown Matthews festivities on July 4th. It was our first time going to a parade. Although this was not a "real" parade. Each kid/parent decorated their own bikes, wagons, strollers, etc and walked down the main street towards the park. The girls had a blast despite the extreme humid hot weather. They had ice cream, popcorn, chips, juice...they loved it!!

Kyle was in Indiana visiting his parents and his grandma who recently had a stroke and not doing so well. Although we missed him, I'm glad he had  a chande to go see them. I made sure I sent several pictures via txt, so he could see what his girls were up to!

 

She never looses an opportunity to dance
 

Me and sweet girls
 

A little snack before the parade 

Happy to live here and enjoy the freedom we have!!!

Sweetest Smile Award

Jacqueline won the "Sweetest Smile Award" at hter ballet class. She is holding her award outside of the ballet school while eating candy that was given out after the class. I don't think she really cared about the reward as much as the candy! Like Mom like daughter-- We LOVE our sweets!

My princess has being saying lately quite funny things or just plain random stuff that I have no idea where she hears them. Below is a few:

- "This sounds like rock and roll music" (mind you that she wasn't even listening to music!)
- Walking into our house, she sais: " Oh what a nice home!"
- After the 4th of July festivities: "Today was a very long day"
- She asked me who gave me my wedding ring. I told her that was my prince, her Daddy. Then she said: " Where is my prince, so he can give me one of those?"

Jacqueline and Julia

One more picture I forgot to post 

Jacqueline's New Friend

Two of my dear friends (Sarah and Bill) came from Virginia  to spend a few days with us. Bill and Sarah read scripture in our wedding ceremony. She is from Brazil and Bill is American and they have 2 kids (Julia and Rafael). Jacqueline loved playing with Julia! I love that our girls enjoyed playing together and had so much fun!

 They loved playing dress up and watching princess movies. Julia also speaks Portuguese. Just like Kyle and I, Bill and Sarah are also raising their kids bilingual

A contemplative Jacqueline 

It was such a treat for me to see them! I look forward to the time we can get together again.

Father's Day Outing and Around the House

 We had a very low key Father's Day. Kyle didn't wanted go out to eat lunch anywhere and rather just be be at home since the girls have being a challenge in restaurants. Plus father's day is such a busy day. After church, we ate left overs at home and the girls took a long nap and we had some time to plop. But dinner time came and we were both craving hot dogs...we ended at hot dog/burguer place near our house.

This is the first father's day that I don't write a card for Bob. I missed writing him a card. I was a bit sad on father's day. I thought of him and how I wish I could had hugged him and had told him once more what an amazing stepdad he has being to me. How my life is better because I knew him. How he always made me feel special. How I was so grateful that he loved me like a daughter. He taught me so much and he will be forever in my heart!

One of Vivian's favorite foods  now are french fries. What's not to like, right?!

We attempt to take a father's day picture...Vivian kep trying to scape

Then Jacqueline tried to scape

Finally both girls sat on Kyle's lap (for a quick second) and I was able to snap this picture. Don't they look miserable?!!!  They don't ever want to stop playing and exploring.

A rare moment in our house. Sitting still doesn't happen much around here

Underneath the dining room table sometimes is a hiding place, sometimes is a castle and sometimes is both!

A very relaxed Vivian