plans for fun in the sun

Even Tucker wanted to try on his suit. He doesn't normally like to try on any new clothes
Crocuses opened the first time yesterday.

Whitney's Daddy dress. Check out how light it is outside at 7:30 at night!! Summer is coming!

Taking a sitting break at the park.
Whitney climbing and Tucker holding the chain out of her way.

Throwing rocks in the water. No good Tucky pics this week. He looks silly in all of them.


The end of this week was spring again. I've decided that the reason why Whitney has been protesting going outside for so long is she must be her father's daughter. I think it has just been no fun because it's been too cold. They both hate being cold. These past two days she has played outside with Tucker for long periods of time without complaining. She prefers not to have her jacket or shoes on. It's not that warm, but it was warm enough where we were able to take her jacket off. Today we went to the park and there were lots of people out there without jackets and even some in shorts and short sleeves. I thought I was getting to be native, but not so. Notice in the park pictures that they have jackets on and other winter attire. Crazy natives!

All of us are happier because it's been sunny for two days. Tucker is doing better because he's sleeping better with all the normal amount of exercise he's been getting. Whitney got to play outside without a jacket on. Mommy is just plain happier. I got a huge burst of energy. All that sun made me want to be outside. I was probably a little too over productive. Between the babies playing nicely and naptime, I did the following in one day: poop scooped; cleaned up 3 flower bed areas of pinecones,needles and branches; climbed up on the roof and cleaned all of that same stuff off; washed the skylight window and put down Moss Be Ware while I was up on the roof; cleaned off the driveway and garage of debris; thoroughly vacuumed and cleaned the car inside and out. In between all that I talked to the neighbor about her upcoming trip to Hawaii (she is really enjoying retired life) and went to a Just Between Friends Sale to find stuff second hand I really can't find at other consignment stores, plus the usual feedings and such. I felt like a wonder woman. Until the end of the day when I was really sore. It was a bit much for the babies, too, because by dinner they were in melt down mode. Not enough Mommy attention, I guess.

I made up for it by playing fashion show with the summer stuff I found. It's pretty awesome here. Second hand summer attire looks brand new, if you can find it, because like, anyone is crazy enough to by summer wardrobes. Last year I couldn't find certain stuff second hand at a price I'm willing to pay for 3 weeks of warmth. A swimsuit for Whitney, shorts for Tucky and by the end of the summer, I was really wishing I had water shoes for all the outside water play in the yard. I also used sandals quite a bit with them, even if they wear pants, so I wanted some of those, too. I didn't pay more than $4 on any one item, and most items were $3, so I was excited. I also found Whitney some jeans that actually fit. She is 2T in length but 12 months around without those diapers, so finding pants that truly fit her second hand has been hard (she says "oh no! Pants" multiple times through the day every time they fall down). But I found some!!! I was pretty excited. The only item I splurged on is the dress she is wearing. I call that her Daddy dress. Spent $5 and it isn't totally necessary as she has plenty of church dresses to go through next winter, but isn't it a fun print! I'm sure her Daddy would have gotten it for her if he had been with us shopping, so that's why I call it her Daddy dress. Whitney LOVED playing fashion show, but I did make the mistake of putting her in the dress first. I had to try everything else on underneath it, except for the swimsuit.

This is another reason why Whitney is definitely her father's daughter. I told her it was her swimsuit and she immediately said "swimsuit!" very clearly and excitedly. She then proceeded to "swim" around her room in it while she had it on. Mind you, this is her first swim suit. I have no idea where she got this because that is her first swim suit and we didn't go swimming much last summer. It's been 7 months since she last went swimming. Unless you count the bath. But I think she thinks she was born in a tropical place.

She's been having a great time with pretending in general. Today at the park she was "Whitney doggy". We played pretend "make mommy sandwich" with her and Tucker being the bread and she caught on to it and kept up the game. She's pretty much gotten Twinkle Twinkle down and is now working on the Slippery Fish song and the Snowman song. Today at dinner they were practicing getting "tall, tall, TALL" standing up in their booster chairs. I had to walk out of the room first to smile safely, then instruct in correct table manners. She also likes to direct play

At the park this week she showed Tucker how to hold the chain out for her so she could climb up the bouldering wall for little kids. She then ran around the bottom of the slide and held out her hand up toward Tucker to help him not feel scared to go down the slide. I went to hold the chain out on the second time up the wall and she said "No!" and motioned to Tucker that HE is supposed to be helping her out. Great! I can actually sit down for a few seconds at the playground. I don't think I've done that yet. She also learned how to use "texture" on the bouldering wall. It made her Daddy proud.

I've been getting a kick out of her love of flowers. She likes to learn their names and point them out when she sees them. She found a whole bunch of crocuses (pronounced cookies) on a walk in the neighborhood this week without any coaxing from me.

Poor Tucker. He has been playing with his take apart truck, but it keeps coming apart. He knows how to unscrew everything, but often comes to me saying "It broke!" I think it's been a bit frustrating. He still loves Hop on Pop. They yell it at each other sometimes, some of the phrases, like it's a song or something. He has started giving Mommy kisses on her boo-boos, which melts my heart every time. He's also started to figure out how fun it is to kick and chase a ball. I think it's really helping that he can actually run for long periods of time.

He and Whitney were playing Whitney be Mommy and he helped her through putting a diaper on over his clothes. He lifted his legs up and laid down appropriately, all things he doesn't necessarily do for me. He was trying to make it easier for her to learn to be Mommy, I guess. He seems to find great comfort in his diaper, still. Likes to put it on the stuff animals, use it as a hat for him and other family members, carry it around pressed against his belly like an apron. No signs of wanting to potty train. Seems to like being snuggled and doesn't mind diaper changes. That's ok. I'll take all the snuggles I can get and keep him baby as long as I can, much to Uncle Ryan's dismay.