August 18

We had a remarkably productive morning; Caleb (and I) slept in while Chris and Daisy did yard work. After Caleb and I woke up and made breakfast, we all participated in more  yard work. Then Daisy helped me with her favorite task: washing the windows.

To be honest, she really only enjoys cleaning the kitchen window. But it's a chore she created all by herself; often, while I'm cooking or washing dishes, I'll put her or Caleb up on the counter. Daisy loves it! Then one day, she grabbed a rag from the sink, pulled up on the window sill, and started washing away.

Really, the window ends up dirtier than it was before. But she loves helping so much that I don't say anything.

She wants so badly to help, and there's very little a non-walking 15-month-old can do. (Though perhaps I should spray her bottom with floor cleaner and let her scoot around a bit? Maybe I could sew up a pair of microfiber pants for her?)

See? Washing the windows?

Then, on an after-dinner whim, I threw this little outfit on Daisy and had Chris and Caleb lug a mirror and blanket out on the deck. 

She was quite skeptical of the flower, so it didn't last long.

She was pleased with the beads, though!

Unfortunately, my subject was not feeling very cooperative, and our photo shoot ended soon after.

Once Daisy began fussing, Caleb grabbed her props and tried to show her what to do. (I promise, he did this of his own volition!) It didn't work, and Daddy was scandalized. 

To make up for the feminine photo, Chris suggested that Caleb wear the flower like an eye patch. 

Hopefully Chris deems this one sufficiently manly...

August 17

What a lovely, glorious, lazy day we had today! We opened the windows, stayed in our jammies much too late, and played all day.

In the morning, the kids played dress-up while I sewed.

In the afternoon, we played outside. 

Caleb dumped a bucket of balls and Daisy tried her best to hit all of them.

What's that look all about? I told her not to stand up on the chair, and she is looking up at me in pure defiance. Then she stood up on the chair again.

She's definitely my child.

Then I took the chair away. I win.

  

And Caleb?

He just relaxed on the bench, waiting for Daddy to come home.

What a sweet boy. He took a shorter nap today, and woke up a bit fussy. Luckily, Daisy still had another hour left in her nap, so we threw the covers off of my bed, pulled open the blinds, and lay sideways on the bed, gazing out the open window. We snuggled, watched the leaves blow in the wind, listened to the bugs chirping outside, and enjoyed the breeze. It was twenty minutes of pure magic. By the time we were done snuggling, neither one of us remembered the fussiness.

When Chris came home, Caleb helped me make dinner. His new favorite thing is pretending we're on a cooking show (not that he's ever seen a real cooking show...). Here's a clip of Caleb's Cooking Show:

We put both kids to bed early tonight, to make up for the sleep they lost yesterday. Daisy went down pretty easily, but Caleb was up out of bed at least three times. The first time, he had to go potty. (not really) The second time, he needed a hug and a kiss. The third time, he insisted that he absolutely could not go to bed because he needed a hair cut.

Really. The kid was crying, saying, "But I need a hair cut!"

Finally, I explained to him that I couldn't cut his hair because it was dark outside, and I needed light to cut hair. He replied, "But maybe we could turn on the light and then you could cut my hair?"
Clever kid. I wasn't expecting logic from him.
Luckily, I'm pretty quick on my feet. I responded, "But I need SUNlight. So tomorrow, when the sun is shining, I will be glad to cut your hair. Tonight, however, I just can't do it."
Surprisingly, that appeased him, and he finally went to sleep. That boy is so silly! I wonder what he'll do tomorrow if I try to give him a hair cut?

August 16

Our friends Shawn and Rachel and their four kids spent the past not-quite-24 hours with us.

What fun, but what chaos!

We visited the zoo this afternoon and had fun, despite the heat.

The hippos were sleeping (one with his face smooshed up against the glass!), but Caleb was delighted to watch the fish swim by.

Though you can't tell from this picture, he was also thrilled to have his photo taken with the elephant.

Then more fish. Big, slow, silent fish.

Daisy enjoyed everything from her seat in the BOB. I'm pretty sure the fish were her favorite, though she did fuss quite a bit when we left the elephants, and stopped fussing when we hit another elephant viewing area.

Later, Daisy helped me unload the dishwasher. 

(Yes, this is yet another example of my "get a picture, THEN stop the nonsense" philosophy. She may very well have broken our dishwasher door by doing this, but it was too cute to leave undocumented.)

One thing Daisy didn't do was take an afternoon nap. She was too thrilled by our exciting company. So after dinner, I put her straight to bed.

Caleb, meanwhile, got an extra-special treat: he got to stay up an hour past his bedtime and watch a movie with his friends. 

The kids (Kailee, 6, Caleb, 3, Aliyah, 6, Shawn Jr, 4, and Eliana, 2) snuggled up on the couch and watched some Mickey Mouse Christmas special. It was pretty great. And don't mind the chocolate smudge on Caleb's face. It's just a remnant of our delicious dessert!

Now our friends are back on the road, for a long night of driving. I have a feeling both kiddos will be sad when they wake up in the morning to see that the party is long gone!

August 14

Daisy.

This girl is so sweet.

While Caleb napped today, she and I enjoyed the breeze coming through the front door.

There's lots to be seen out there. Airplane!

I put a giant sheet of paper on the floor and we colored.

Every time someone walked by, she would stop her coloring, scoot to the door, wave, and shout, "HAH!"

And then there were head stands. She's getting pretty good - hopefully she'll be walking soon!

August 13

1. Daisy has learned to answer, "MOOOO!" when asked what a cow says.

2. Caleb put himself in a time out today. I left him on the front porch while I ran inside to grab something, and he wandered around to the back yard. Big no-no in my book, so when I found him, I informed him that he had made an unsafe choice and he needed to stay inside for a few minutes. Then I went out with Daisy, and went about my business.Three minutes later, I heard his time-out timer begin chirping. Then, a giggling boy ran out the front door. He had sat down in his time-out chair, set the timer, and waited patiently until it was over. All. By. Himself.

3. Daisy now holds my hand when we pray before meals.

4. I just went in to say goodnight to Caleb. Our routine is that I put Daisy down while Chris reads Caleb his bedtime stories. Once Caleb is tucked in bed with the lights off, I come in to sing him one song. Tonight he had to wait a few minutes before I came, and I pointed out that he had waited patiently for me. He responded, "Yes. I did not fuss or whine!" That's my boy.

5. After a ten-month hiatus, I am lacing up my running shoes again. Chris and I are going to run a 5k in October, so I figured I had better start running now.

Watch out, world.

We are on our way.

Also, this picture was from a run on August 30, 2011.

What a difference a year makes!

August 12

Tonight was taco night.

Apparently, Daisy is an aggressive taco-eater. Please note the lettuce in her hair.

Even this picky boy was impressed by his taco salad.

I'm not sure if it was the cool breezes,

or the sunshine,

or the cheerful and cooperative

(and shirtless) children,

but it was a good dinner.

I heart taco night.

So do they.

August 11

Max turned two today! 

The whole family came over to celebrate; we ate pancakes on the deck and had so much fun!

Daisy's adoration of Ryan remains strong. She did not want him to put her down all morning! 

Chocolate-covered Caleb told me at bedtime that Maxie's party was the best part of his day because he liked playing with the presents. It was a struggle for him, but he did very well with the fact that all of the cool new toys were for Max and not for him.

But did I mention it was a struggle?

August 10

Today we celebrated a birth and mourned a death.

My dear friend Amber gave birth to her fourth child on August 8th (check out the link for a really great birth story!), so the kids and I headed out this morning to meet little Gussie. He was perfect. Daisy was fascinated with him, but Caleb played it cool until we got into the car. Once we were safely out of Gussie's range of hearing, he was all Caleb could talk about. It was pretty funny.

Then this afternoon, we received the news that Chris' Grandad had passed away. He fought his lung cancer mightily, and today his battle ended. Chris commented that it was appropriate that, in the midst of this blistering and dry summer, Grandad left us on a perfect, autumn-like day. Grandad was a man who loved the outdoors, and this was his kind of day. 

We are choosing to celebrate his life, rather than mourn his death, and tonight we celebrated with a picnic at a new-to-us park near our house. 

Caleb stole my sunglasses and vamped for the camera.

Not to be outdone by her brother, Daisy put on her shades and gave us a big grin.

We introduced the kids to Jimmy John's tonight.

It was a success.

Family picnics are my favorite.

After our picnic, we enjoyed the setting sun and the rock wall overlooking a lake. 

Bear with me - I had a bit too much fun taking pictures of Daisy in the setting sun. I was trying desperately to get a sun flare.

There - Daisy, lake, tree, rock wall, sun flare.

This girl has never kept her sunglasses on for this long before!

Then she started randomly giving Chris big kisses. I think she knew that he was the keeper of the cookies, and she really wanted another.

It was a lovely evening. I think Grandad would have been pleased.

We drove home, and Chris and the kids went for their customary pre-bedtime run. Lately, though, Caleb has been more interested in "flying" than in "racing". 

Here, he's being a helicopter.

Daisy loves to fly!

I love my little helicopter!