Parks and Picnics

We love our new park! Last Friday I packed a lunch for us and we headed over. We got a nice spot on the top of a little grassy hill. It was not too hot that day and we even had a little breeze. The girls love every part of this park to different extremes. Morgan could spend all day on the swings and slides and Piper could spend the whole time in the sand area or splash pad. There is something for everyone! The girls also love the idea of picnics now and yesterday pulled out every blanket we have, as well as toy food items, and played "picnic" in our living room.

Here is Piper taking a "nap." She is not really sleeping, but was having fun pretending to. I wish she was one of those kids who could nap anywhere, but alas, I did not get one of those. I do love her imagination and her ability to have fun anywhere. That's way better than the napping part!

Now, here is an example of "extreme." The sand area has rocks and a "apple core" sculpture that spout water when you push a button. The kids love to make rivers and lakes in it. It was just packed with kids that day too. Piper does not hesitate to jump right in. She was wearing her pretty blue swimsuit, but had managed to cover herself in sand from head to toe. I had already "swished" her through the sprays of water in the splash pad several times, but she kept going back for more. At this point I had already stripped her suit off because I thought she was finally done. Not so much. She went back again and again until that swim diaper was almost falling off her. I sent a text to David with this picture saying "this is YOUR daughter." He sent me a text back saying he was "not claiming that." What do you think Allendorfs?

Piper's Sunglasses

Piper knows she's funny and clever. These pictures were taken over the last few months, you can also see evidence of the changing of our seasons. Both Piper and Morgan love the small collection of kids sunglasses we have and Piper likes to get creative with them. She actually asks me to pull over the car and take pictures of her now!

Robot Doggie

Here's is our Piper and her friend "Robot Doggie." This is a cheap little pull toy I bought for Morgan ages ago when she began to walk. Morgan liked playing with it, but it went by the wayside with a bunch of other toys a while ago. In fact I tried to sell it to a consignment store and they rejected it on the basis that they had too many baby toys. I put the doggie and some other rejected toys in Morgan's closet with the thought in mind that if a friend with a baby comes over we'd have something for the baby to play with. I forgot about these toys until Piper found them. About a two weeks ago she appeared at bedtime with the doggie and said "Look, it's Robot Doggie!" Though, the way she pronounces it, it sounds more like "Robodoggie". So, that is it's name. We're not sure where this name comes from, but it makes sense as all the dog does is make a mechanical "arf" sound when you pull him by his leash (no batteries required either).


She loves to pull him around the house, feed him at meals and brush his teeth before bed. Even the first night we "met" him he had an unfortunate incident. Piper took him in the bathroom while Morgan was finishing her bath with David. She said "Uh oh, Robot Doggie's sick" and proceeded to lean him over the edge of the toilet, complete with barfing sounds. Morgan was so amused by this that she asks if Robot Doggie is sick almost every night. Most of the time Piper obliges and makes Robot Doggie "get sick" in the potty...and we all laugh. Hilarious.

Honestly Robot Doggie is currently getting a lot more love than any of the dolls/babies in our house. He sleeps in Piper's bed at night as well. We'll see how long the Robot Doggie obsession lasts, but in the meantime it's very entertaining.

The Car Wash

Morgan and Piper have a love/hate relationship with the car wash. Basically this means Morgan loves it and Piper hates it.

It had been quite a while since our last trip to the car wash. It had been snowy and slushy and the car was filthy! The girls would brush up against the doors getting in and out and their jackets were a mess. I hate spending the money on it, but there is no way I'm washing my car in the driveway in a Spokane winter. It had to be done. Morgan was so excited when she heard where we were going in. She'd say "We're going to give the car a bath!" Piper was unaffected until we made the turn to the entrance and she heard the roar of the machinery. She suddenly panicked and started pointing in the opposite direction saying "Go that way, go that way!" I kept telling her it would be fun. She started whimpering as we got closer. Morgan just got more excited!

We managed to avoid a major meltdown. I carefully explained as the car maneuvered through, that it was getting rinsed and then the soap was coming (just like washing her hands), then scrub scrub scrub, rinse and dry. Finally at the end I asked them to look for the yellow light to change to green which meant it was all done.

As we exited the car wash and made the turn onto the street Morgan said "Yay, we did it!" and Piper said almost simultaneously "Whew! We made it!"

Wordless Wednesday: Piper's Pajama Preferences

My Costume

We're having a "sick day" at home today. Both girls woke up with icky noses yesterday, so it's been a few days of laying low. We're trying to find ways of entertaining ourselves and, of course, that does include more TV than usual (insert Mommy guilt here). Morgan was watching her beloved "Fresh Beat Band" on Nick Jr. today and was inspired by the episode that included the main characters dressing up in costumes. She kept saying "I want my costume" and pointing upstairs. I finally asked her if she wanted her "flower" costume, because she wore it this last Halloween and it was the most similar to the costumes they were wearing on the show. She said yes and put it on right away. She continued to wear it through the next show until I told her she had to take it off for Quiet Time (she also needed to use the potty, but was procrastinating because she wanted to keep the costume on).



Silly girls. It's not easy to get a picture when the TV is on. The costume barely fit Morgan. She is so tall that it couldn't have been that comfortable. Still cute though. It made her happy and that's all that counts.

Piper's Boo-tay

As some of you may have read a while ago, David taught Morgan to say "boo-tay" for bottom. Even though I use the term "bum" most of the time, she continues to use "boo-tay" when referring to this area of the body.

Last night the girls had their bath. Piper had already gotten out and was standing, still naked, on the stool by the sink, waiting to brush her teeth. Morgan, being dried off by David, points at Piper and says "I see Piper's boo-tay!" We laughed and said, yes, there it is! She then says "I want to touch Piper's boo-tay!" and heads towards Piper. She does just what she says she was going to do, then announces "It's squooshy!" Yes, "squooshy." Not squishy, but squooshy. I kind of like it!

Wordless Wednesday: Morgan in a Pot

Wordless Wednesday: Little Personalities

Presents

Obviously we've been busy around here. Gram and Grandpa B came for a visit. David and I were able to spend a fun weekend in Seattle sans kiddos. We stayed with some friends and had a great getaway that included the U2 concert at Qwest Field. Awesome! We are already hoping to schedule another Seattle trip for a football game in the fall.

Just a little insight into Morgan's mind lately. Just as soon as Gram and Grandpa showed up she started saying "new toys!" At first I thought she was wanting to show them some new toys she'd gotten since her last visit, but soon it dawned on me that she was asking Gram and Grandpa for new toys! She has learned that when they come, she gets goodies! OK, funny...but a little embarrassing as well. Ultimately, she is right, when they come she gets some presents, but we will have to try to teach her that she cannot ask for new toys.

I was reminded of this today as we drove into the garage after our trip to the gym. Morgan pointed out the box with our artificial Christmas tree. She said "There's my Christmas tree, Gram and Grandpa bring presents!"

Lots more spontaneous language  for Morgan lately. As much as we like our routine, it's good when we have visitors or new activities. This helps Morgan be more flexible and her language skills improve. I am in the midst of signing her up for swim classes and finding a dance/ballet class to try. Even if they don't go well they are good for her development.

More updates on therapy, Piper and other items soon!

Wordless Wednesday: Fun with Mr. Potato Head

We are such proud parents...

...of our sweet, polite little girls. Uh, not so much.

This weekend Morgan and Piper were hanging out with me on Sunday afternoon while David worked at church. While coloring Morgan let out a pretty noisy "toot." This is our family word for the not-so-nice word "fart." She was so amused with herself she chose that moment to attempt to do this again, on purpose. Unfortunately she succeeded. Then she proceeded to spend the next hour or so purposely passing gas, announcing it (TOOT!) and laughing.

Who knew she'd get this kind of humor?

So...since then she randomly produces these lovely sounds and tells us just what she did.

Fast forward to this evening as the usual after bath antics were in progress. Morgan and Piper like to play a game called "Where's Piper?!" This is where Piper runs into the hallway...Morgan says "Where's Piper?!" and Piper runs back into the room squealing and laughing. Often she does this while she is naked.

Tonight they finished a round of "Where's Piper?!" and we were about to move on to putting on PJ's and Piper let out (accidentally, we think) a not-so-ladylike sound. I said "Piper! What was that?!" To our surprise she responded...

..."TOO-!"

Oh boy, we're hoping they don't decide to take this on the road.

Workin' It

I didn't know there could be a downside to potty training. During today's "quiet time" Morgan came downstairs to use the potty SIX times. This was in a span of an hour and a half. She managed to actually deposit something in the potty SIX times, thus collecting her two M&Ms SIX times.

Do you think she could be working the system?!

Little Mamas

Piper has an uncanny ability to attract other little girls when she is out and about. The girls are usually older, and must be "nurturing types", around three or four years old. I call them the Little Mamas.

Twice she has been to the play area at a mall in the "north side" of town and BOTH times she has had these little girls start following her around to "take care" of her. They'll help her up, and sometimes down the slides and walk around the play area with her. They'll usually try to get her to do the things they are doing, climbing and jumping on/off various things.

The funny thing is, Piper really wants nothing to do with them. She is so independent that she wants to do everything on her own. She kind of let's the Little Mamas play with her for a while, and then she heads over to the stroller, hands me her shoes and jacket and tries to climb in, saying "help, help!" Basically she's saying "I don't want to play with this girl anymore." Each time, the poor little girl seems a little hurt, but I try to thank her and give her a big smile! "You're such a great helper!"

Yesterday, I took Piper by the doctor's office to get some routine blood work done (on me, not her). We were in the waiting room for a bit and another Little Mama quickly attached herself to Piper. This time it included a little tackling and kissing too! Piper was not amused. The girl was so adorable! She spoke Spanish and kept saying "busso bebe!" because she wanted to keep kissing Piper. Her parents apologized and kept pulling her away. I just laughed and said it was OK. I knew one of us would be called into the office soon.

Piper's pretty cute, especially with her ponytail on top of her head. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more Little Mamas around. She hasn't attracted any little boys yet. Let's try to keep it that way for a while!

Around the house

Our little ones are sick right now. Nothing serious, but runny noses and lots of sneezing. Doesn't make for a fun weekend, but we'll do the best we can to keep them busy. Caught a few cute photos.

Morgan and those ABCs. She worked very hard to put this together. I tried to get her to look at me for the picture, but as soon as she saw the phone/camera, she yelled "see Morgan see Morgan!" as usual and ran out of the picture to "see herself" in the phone. I've been practicing with her on smiling on command. She's getting better at it so hopefully we'll have a smiling photo for you soon.

I think we have a girly-girl with Piper. She prefers her stacking rings as bracelets. This also goes for the mason jar lids in a drawer in the kitchen. She already has her own sense of style. The image is not great, but she is actually smiling and quite proud of herself. Silly girl.

"No singing!"

This command has been directed at me lately. Morgan LOVES the CDs of kid's songs we have at home and in the car. She requests them at home especially at mealtimes. Even when she's done eating she camp out near the CD play to listen and sometimes sing along..."peanut, peanut butter...jelly!"

I've heard these CDs so much that I know all the songs too. Sometimes I sing them loud and silly to amuse Morgan and Piper and sometimes I even find myself even unconsciously singing along. The last few days Morgan has been starting to protest my singing. I think she likes to listen closely to some of the songs so she can learn the words. Sometimes she sings along too. Today I started singing in a silly way to one song and she busted out with:

"No singing the songs Mama!"

Then I tried again:

"No singing, no singing!!!"

Then:

"No Mama!!!!"

I giggled a little and let her be. She has her moods. She used to say "Mama and Daddy sing too!" to get us to join in. This is new with the "no singing!" What's next?!

Go Bears!

Morgan and Piper wore their Cal cheerleading outfits on Saturday. Sorry, no pictures, but I promise they were dreadfully cute. Unfortunately our team has not been so good this year, but managed to put on a respectful showing against the #1 University of Oregon.

When we got home from our friends' house that night Morgan grabbed my pom poms and did a big "Go Bears!" cheer. We cheered along with her.

Then she said "Go Ducks!" Uh oh. Well, maybe she saw the Oregon Ducks on TV. At least she's still cheering on the Pac-10, right?

Finally she said "Go Sheep!" Huh?!!! I guess we're cheering for all animals, not colleges. Oh well.

Self Portrait

When I downloaded our pictures from Yosemite I found this lovely shot!! I can tell it is taken in our room at the lodge, but I have no idea when she did this. Hilarious!

What's in a Name?

Morgan has caught on to names recently. We used to ask her what her name was and she'd answer "name!" Then one time a few weeks ago she suddenly started saying "Morgan" when we asked her. Yay! She could also tell us our names, Mama and Daddy and Piper.

At school this morning Morgan was delighted to discover a new "friend" in her class, a mouse! She saw it before I did and excitedly exclaimed, "mouse!" and ran over to the glass-enclosed "house" the mouse lives in. I hate to admit it, but the little thing is pretty cute. It was such a busy little thing, scurrying around and eating it's food. I asked one of the teachers what the mouse's name was and she said, "Pinky." I kept telling Morgan this as she checked out the mouse, though she never said it's name herself.

Fast forward to lunch today. As we were finishing up and I was wiping Morgan's face she mentioned the mouse again. I asked her "what is the mouse's name?" I was glad when she answered correctly "Pinky!" Then I pointed to Piper and said "what's her name?" She said "sister, Piper!" Then I pointed to her and said "what's your name?" She said "Morgan!" Then I pointed to myself and said what's my name?" She said happily "Mama...Meg!" Too funny!

Naked Girl

My little "smart cookie" is currently in her room, completely naked. She is supposed to be napping.

This has been a common occurrence lately. It started just with her naps and bedtime. As soon as she us put down and we leave the room, she undresses. At night we usually have to wait (a while) until she is mostly asleep before we put her back in her pajamas for the night. Otherwise she will just keep getting naked.

During the day she sometimes decides to strip down and run around. Sometimes, with the weather getting cooler, I get concerned about her being cold, but I figure if that's the case she'll want her clothes back on. Lately I've just let her run around and play, indoors of course. I'm also using it as an opportunity to work on some potty training. I know she won't randomly pee or poop on the floor. If she has to go she heads over to our supply of Pull-Ups and goes to a particular corner of the room to put them on. I always try to tempt her to go on the potty by telling her she'll get a sticker. I don't push it too much, but I want to keep reminding her. Someday she'll take me up on it, right?

The other day, during her "naptime" she attempted to put her clothes back on. Her Pull-Up was on backwards, her pants inside out...but all in all it was a great attempt. She had quite a bit of trouble with the shirt which elicited all sorts of frustrated noises from her room. I finally decided the naptime must be over and helped her get her shirt on. I made sure to praise her for her success with putting on her pants and Pull-Up.

As other things, this phase will pass. I hope. It's really cute right now, but in a few years? Not so much.