Whadaya Got Back There

Wondering what Addie has behind her back? So did we - until we realized that she had just figured out that she could touch her hands together behind her back! She wondered around like that for quite awhile!


This is also another new trick of Addie's. We say, "Addie, where is your belly?" and then she pulls up her shirt and points with a big grin - so cute! And as you can see we forgot to teach her to pull her shirt back down!


We are spending hours on our front porch - it is situated perfectly to avoid sun almost all of the day which makes a nice cool hangout for play.


Cuddles and deep conversations with dad.


And then there is Jasmine. I'd show you pictures of her new tricks...but she doesn't have any. She is SO laid back that when we try to teach her the stuff we do with Addie, it almost like she says...yeah...no thanks....I'm not doing that....I've got my own thing going on over here and I'm not pulling up my shirt just so you can have a good laugh! She very sweet, as always, regardless if she chooses not to indulge us...although her yoga move persists!


Ah - here is me playing the princess & the pea in our dining room! We had our carpets cleaned on Friday so we moved everything off the carpet and into the pergo & tiled sections of the house. We ended up sleeping in the living room for two nights in a row - it was actually kinda fun!

Avent Bottles Recalled Kinda

Here's a post from my friend Angie's blog with a great tip if you bought those Avent bottle like she and I both did! I took mine back to Toys R' Us yesterday and got nearly $100 store credit for my 30+ bottles. The bottles are not "recalled" but they called it "parent's choice" - basically if you are uncomfortable with possible BPA in Avent's bottles you can get your money back. They don't even ask you if your bottles are from T 'R Us - most of mine were gifts so I didn't know.

Click here for the link to my post when I first heard about BPA.

"After a post made by one of my friends about this "mysterious" chemical, one might say I have become a bit obsessive about the swirling BPA information. I have read http://safemama.com/ & other websites, watched news stories on youtube and made my own conclusions that I would rather not risk whatever side affects BPA Avent might have and simply switch the types of bottles that I use for Reese. I also pretty much wanted to puke that I had 4 unopened boxes of Bottles, along with the 5 bottles I was already using.

I was resourceful enough to pull up my registry at Babies R Us and return the 2 boxes that were "purchased" on my registry to their store. But I sadly took all of the other bottles out of the cupboard and just put them in a bag in the pantry (why I don't know I just couldn't bring myself to throwing those away). I made the switch to Playtex Drop-ins and begged my big sis to send me her "supply" of bottles so I wouldn't have to buy another $20 worth of bottles.

Today my pack-rat tendencies have paid off! Browsing websites that I visit on a nearly daily basis I checked out http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/ and saw the post about "rumors that Babies R Us is taking back opened & unopened BPA bottles" I nearly jumped out of my seat and read several comments about the fact that some stores are taking them back and some stores aren't. First I called the St. Louis Babies R Us to see if they were indeed taking them back - YES. Then I decided to be brave and call my pathetic excuse for a "babies r us corner" at our Toys R Us here in Springfield. YES YES YES They are taking them back!!"

Fun Weekend

Favorite play spot this weekend, Tinsley's dog kennel! The girls love to crawl into it together and practice opening and shutting the door! Usually ends with some sort of tussle.


My parents took us out for pizza at Arris Pizza. We had a great time. We had a vast assortment of toys all over our table to keep little hands busy!


Ah, and then there is Addie. She crawled off while Jasmine was getting her diaper changed. Alex went looking for her and discovered her in our bathroom. She gave him the biggest smile and offered him a Q-tip. If she could talk, it was almost like she was saying, "Check these things out! They are SO COOL!" Notice all the "fun" she was having behind her! : )

Munchkins

Here's a picture of the girls from one particularly happy morning this week! They were both in excellent moods. Since the weather has been so nice, we've been moving outdoors. We have discovered a new love of our front porch. Although it is small, it is in the shade for a majority of the day. The girls LOVE to crawl/walk around on it, pick up tree debris (leaves, etc.), try and eat said debris, hear mom say "yucky", try to mimic the yucky face, and then we throw it over the edge together. They also love practicing their climbing on the steps - they go up and down, back and forth 40+ times each time we are out there!


After I got the girls up from their nap on Friday, we had a good look out the window. I couldn't convince them that it was time to get down! Their nap was some much needed sleep - because they were cranky!!! I met a friend for lunch at Red Robin (girls in tow) and normally the girls excel in dining out experiences because there is so much to watch. This time, Addie did not excel, she SCREAMED, threw herself on the floor, threw everything else on the floor, etc.

Ah, the art of public humiliation - sometimes it is not so fun to be a parent! Not five minutes before Addie started her antics, an older gentleman came over and said that he and his wife noticed my children and wanted to tell me that they were some of the most beautiful and well-behaved children they had ever seen. I was very glad he said this on his way out - so he didn't have to see "their dark sides"! : )


This is Jasmine's new trick! We did not teach her this, all we can gather is that she sees her dad do yoga most mornings and thought she'd try and pose or two! She also loves to be held upside down, so this is the closest she can get on her own. It is very funny to look over and see her little rump up in the air!


You can thank me for not putting this picture first! Otherwise you'd have to look at it everytime you checked to see if I've posted anything else new. : ) I was asking Alex questions the other night and taking a picture of his facial expression. I'll let you guess which one is, "What do you think of your mother-in-law?"

High Low

From time to time, Alex and I play a game called "High/Low." You think through your day and tell what your "high" favorite part was, and "low" least favorite part. So here are a few highs and lows from this weekend!

Lows:
1.) Digging & burying invisible fence wire for our new dog fence!
2.) The girls waking up before 6 a.m. each morning.
3.) Jasmine waking up under the weather on Saturday - deep cough, runny nose, watery eyes : (
4.) Allowing Addie to carry around one of our favorite ceramic mugs...because of course she dropped it and broke it~!

Highs:
1.) Watching the girls nervously figure out how to push off on the slide and scream with glee...and terror on their new hand-me-down playset!
2.) The beautiful weather. All weekend we were either on the front porch, back deck, around town, or on a walk!
3.) Eating at Red Robin with well-behaved children who have figured out how to flirt.
4.) Walking to a local grocer for donuts & OJ on Saturday morning with hubby, girls, & the dogs!
5.) Dinner with my parents on Saturday night (we were bummed because we had to cancel our original plans with friends due to Jasmine's sickness...they have a new baby).