Outside Fun

Between Facebook, my photography website, and emails, I have forgotten to post some of the past few weeks and days' photos!  So here goes. 

 

On one of the first truly beautiful days of fall, we camped out in the front yard for some blanket time. 



Both kids were in a good mood.  I love when that happens.  Although, to be honest, they're usually in a good mood when they're outside.  It's unfortunate that going outside feels like so much work to me, because they love it. 



I should probably suck it up more often.  It's not that I don't like being outside.  It's just the hunt for shoes and blankets and bug repellent, etc. that kind of sucks some of the fun out of it, for me.  It's a first world problem, as they say.



This is a game Lucy made up, called "bottle snatcher".  Actually, it was kind of a one-time game. 



Sliding backwards and upside down is the only way to go. 



Kind of like swinging "more high!  MORE HIGH!!  MORE HIGH!!!!"  is the only way to swing.



My little Adrenalina.



Elliot loves to swing, too.  But he likes a nice, gentle swing.  Not too high. 



Remember when our yard had two enormous trenches through it and was mostly mud?  Man, I'm glad that's over and done with.  It's so nice to have grass we can all on play on.

Quick Trip to Galveston

It's been about 4 years since we lived in Galveston, and a lot has changed in that time!  We've bought a house, had 2 kids, had a couple different jobs between the two of us, and made lots of new friends. 

But there is something so sweet about seeing our friends from Galveston.  It was our first 2 years of marriage.  And it was PA school for me.  It was the furthest either of us had ever lived from family, and we lived there together.  It was a special place to live, and we've missed it. 

So when we were invited to a good friend's wedding in Galveston, we jumped at the chance to pack the kids up and head down to the island again.  And yesterday morning at 5:45 AM, that's exactly what we did.
 


 
We stopped at my favorite rest area, just north of Huntsville, to give the kids the chance to burn off some energy.



I adore this bear walk Elliot does on hard surfaces.  He is incredibly quick.



And this scrunched up little face.  Love it.

Then on to Galveston island!  Our first stop was to Olympia -- our very favorite Greek restaurant.  The kids were thrilled.  Not really.  They didn't really know where we were or why they were still in their pajamas.  That's ok.
 

We enjoyed warm pita bread with saganiki -- cheese brought out of the kitchen in flames and then doused with fresh lemon juice.   YUM. 



And my favorite--the vegetarian pita.  With their awesome version of hummus and a big chunk of feta cheese and (of course) veggies.  De-lish.





Then an introduction to the beach!!  I was so sad we couldn't stay longer than about 10 minutes, but it was long enough for Lucy to be truly delighted with the waves and the salty water. 
 

She loved it and didn't want to leave.



Elliot was dying to get down and crawl around in the sand, but since we were going to be getting the kids ready for the wedding from the car in 88 degree, muggy weather, we opted to only have one sand-covered, soaking kid instead of two.



The wedding was a reunion of old friends. 



It was so sweet to catch up with a few medical students I used to lead worship with, as well as several others we attended church with. 



And I wish I'd taken pictures of the dear couple who housed us, Ken and Jody. 

 

Their kids are fantastic.  We'll visit again soon (I hope) and take lots of pictures then. 



In other news... Elliot took his first step today!!!  Will update more about that soon.

Arboretum Pumpkin Patch with the Munchkins

 

The kids and I ventured to the now familiar pumpkin patch at the Arboretum this morning. 

 

This was my third year to do this with Lucy (wow!  She was only 4 months old our first time there) and my first year with Elliot. 

 

...And my first year with TWO kids, instead of just one.  (Jennifer, how on earth do you shoot 3?)




Thanks to a few passers-by willing to get the kids to smile for a second or two, I managed to get a couple photos with both kids smiling.  Lucy is so over the camera. 
 

Trying to get her to look at it or me is a joke.  I am fresh out of ideas and need some inspiration. 



Throwing my purse up in the air did score some smiles... but only at the purse, not at the camera (or me) :). 

Lucy!!  Can you give Elliot a KISS??



Wow.  Great job.  That was a very efficient kiss.  Not really frame-worthy.  Moving on.



Ohhhh, Elliot!  Ohhh, Elliot!!!  Ahhh-BOO!  A-B-C-D-E-F-G... Lucy!! Lucy, look at mommy!  PEEK-aboo!!  Moving on.



Lucy!  Lucy!!  Look here!!  Lucy!!  LUCY!!!  Moving on.



There are about 100 more like this.  But I will spare you. 
 

The good news is that, statistically speaking, the percentage chance that they will eventually look at the camera (given all the possible directions they could look) is not zero. 



And every once in a while, they did look at the camera.  So that was nice.



Oh, who am I kidding -- I love all of these photos.  They're my kids and they are gorgeous.  Whether they're looking at the camera or not :).

We went about 20 feet into the new Childrens' Garden (awesome) and had some fun on the celery slide and in the pea pod.  And then we turned back to meet some friends in the main garden.

 

We met up with our friends, played in the Texas Frontier and then shared a lovely walk through the Arboretum.  

And then... lunch! 

Lucy loved the petting zoo.  

She loved brushing the goats and patting the baby bunny.  

And Elliot was just happy to be there. 

Actually, I was really happy to be there, too.  What a lovely morning.

Little Helper(s)

This post's title is actually kind of ironic, since Lucy really is a little helper.  If you'd asked me 2 years ago when children should take on chores, I probably would have said age 3 or 4.  But at 2 years old, Lucy is fully capable of taking the silverware out of the dishwasher and putting it in the drawer, so that's her chore.



It's amazing how that small thing actually feels like quite a contribution!  We are a team, when it comes to cleaning out the dishwasher.



Elliot is learning to be helpful, too.  We train the kids to "lie still" for diaper changes and to put their "bottom up" - so it's easier to slide the clean diaper under them.  In the last month, Elliot has actually begun to get the idea of both and to consistently raise his legs when we say, "bottom up". 



Again -- a small thing, but it really makes it seem like more of a team effort to get the diaper changed, and not so much of a fight.  It's actually really helpful.