Riverbanks Zoo

Last weekend we spent the weekend in Camden with some friends. We met them on the way up at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. I had not been in years. It is really a great zoo. Not too big, very clean, and lots of stuff for the little ones.

I asked Iris to get up on the elephant for a picture and she said, "No, Dat dangerous." Like any responsible mother I replied, "No it's not, get up there. I need a picture for the blog." I felt kind of guilty afterwards but it is a cute picture and the kid on it before her was half her age. Iris fed a giraffe a piece of lettuce. She was very excited to do it but it slobbered all over her. She got very upset. We had to wash her hands and she would not feed them anymore. That also had cute little baby ones that could barely get there head up high enough to reach your hand but she would not feed them either.

Iris standing like a Flamingo...

We saw lots of other animals as well. When Iris saw a llama she said, "Llama llama mad at mama. Llama llama misses momma." I cracked up laughing! Llama LLama Mad At Mama and Llama LLama Misses Mama are two of her favorite books. I think we have all the "Llama" books. We read at least one a day. Isabella was there too but as usual I did not take many pictures and did not get one of her. Poor 2nd child. Isabella just hung out in her stroller. She did not take one nap the whole day until we got in the car at 3:00pm to leave. She wasn't fussy though. She just hung out with a big smile on her face.

My Little Helper

Iris is very big into "helping" right now. I've been letting her help make PB&J sandwiches and noticed that she actually eats the whole sandwich when she makes them as opposed to just licking off the jelly. I thought I'd try the same thing with chicken and vegetable soup and see if I could get her to eat some chicken or a green bean. No such luck. She loved putting it all in the pot and stirring but refused to even taste it. Too bad, it was quite yummy!

The "I" Project

Iris came home from school with an "I" that we had to decorate. I decided to cut out some pictures of things that started with an "I" and let Iris glue them on her letter. She LOVES safety scissors right now so I let her just cut some paper while I was cutting out the pictures. I thought she'd be fine since she was strapped in her seat and I was standing on the other side of the counter talking to her. Apparently I was not watching close enough...

I really loved those jeggings....

The finished project!

People should think twice before naming their child something that starts with an "I." There were no iguanas or igloos in my Southern Living and Taste of Home Magazines. I had to do an internet serach for things that start with an "I" and print out the pictures.

No Limits!

Although Isabella admires Iris, I think she secretly enjoys her Tuesdays and Thursday without her big sister constantly bossing her around. Here she is playing with Iris' coveted dollhouse. This is definitely an "off-limits" toy for Isabella. Iris would be hyper-ventilating if she even saw this picture.

Isabella: "Nana nana boo boo, you're at preschool!"

Isabella is 10 months!

Isabella is 10 Months! She is and busy, busy, busy! Here are a few things she's been up to this past month: --had her second double ear infection --cutting two more teeth on top for a total of 6 teeth. --had 2nd haircut --still takes 2 naps a day --not having to use swing anymore to go to sleep --still not sleeping through the night --tried some new foods: yogurt, cheese, pancakes --copying things you do (ie. nodding your head, making funny noise with your mouth) --holds her own bottle and tries to feed it to me and giggles She's still a petite little thing. She weighed 16 lbs. at the Dr.'s office when we went in to have her ears checked but that was fully dressed.

Never a Dull Moment

There is never a dull moment around this house. I feel like I just got over the dishwasher phase with Iris. We are right back in it with Isabella. If she sees it open she comes crawling just as fast as she can to pull things out and climb in.

... and if pulling Isabella out of the dishwasher isn't enough, we always have Iris for entertainment. She loves this cape and mask. She is either running around yelling "Super Iris" or doing her "ballernina" dance. and of course she does it right in front of the TV while daddy is trying to watch the Nascar race!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Brad came home Saturday evening so we got to celebrate his birthday with him after all. We opened presents Sunday morning. Iris and Isabella were big helpers...

Brad got a new ski helmet. I LOVE this picture!

Iris and Isabella bought daddy his favorite game, Whack-A-Mole, or as Iris calls it, Quack-A Mole. Iris practicing her skills so one day she can beat daddy....

Lemons Race

Saturday my mom and I drove the girls up to Camden to see Brad race for the day. Iris took her car to drive. She was not happy about sharing it with Isabella...

so she just got out and let Isabella drive....

Unfortunately I did not get a picture of Brad racing. This picture was taken right after he got out and was telling the next driver and the mechanics (ie. my dad) a few things about how the car was running. Sadly the engine blew up about 45 minutes after I took this picture and the race was over for Brad and the team. Luckily I had brought a cake. Everyone ate cake while they grieved over the engine. Brad's birthday was Sunday and we weren't going to see him until late Sunday night when he got home so I decided to bring a cake to the track. I think the Hot Wheels theme fit the venue quite well.

Iris wasn't too upset about the engine. It just meant she got to eat cake earlier...

Mmmm.....black icing. Happy Birthday Daddy! (Sorry about your race car)

Ashton's Birthday

Ashton turned 7 this week. He had a sleepover and then went to Frankie's Fun Park for his birthday. We had a small family pirate birthday and pizza dinner as well. Aaarrgghh.... Mary's made this cute Pirate Hat Cake... Trouble, trouble, trouble.... After dinner Ashton showed us his new Donkey Kong video game. Iris and Avery were being very quiet so we went to go check on them and this is what we found. They were sitting on Avery's princess bed and listening to Taylor Swift on her I-Pod. I think this is just a preview of what these two will be like in 10 more years.....

Valentine's Day!

Iris came downstairs and saw her table set up with Valentine presents and said "Ooooh, it's a birthday!" I explained to her it was Valentines Day and she kept saying, "Thank you Mommy, thank you." It's about 7:30 in the morning and she is eating a ring lollipop. The rest of her breakfast consisted of candy hearts and a red fruit roll up. Oh well, at least she had a healthy lunch yesterday (hee-hee).

Happy Valentines Day!

Park Day!

Brad woke up Sunday morning and said, "Let's go to the Park!" I wasn't going to argue so off we went. This was Isabella's first time in a swing. She was a little hesitant at first...

but once we got going she really loved it!

Iris now prefers the big girl swing. She has not figured out how to pump her legs and swing herself but she does a good job holding on. When she's ready to get off though she just jumps off with no warning. Weeeeeeee!! After the park we went to Jack's Cosmic Dogs for lunch. Iris will not eat hotdogs so we ordered her a "Bunny In a Bun" which is a sauteed carrot in a bun. She did not care for that either. Her lunch consisted of french fries and ice cream

Isabella had some crackers in front of her but she ate them all. She's a very good eater....

After the park we put them both in the tub together. I have some great pictures but decided not to post any more tub pictures of Iris. I know she's only 2, but still. I thought these two of Isabella were super cute. She's laughing so hard she kept closing her eyes. She LOVES the bathtub!

still laughing...

A Big Day!

Friday was a busy day. Grandma turned 86! We went to lunch with Grandma and then we celebrated with some cupcakes in the shape of "86."

Happy Birthday Grandma!

After cupcakes I made a mad dash to get the girls much needed haircuts. I know this is the second haircut but I couldn't resist taking more pictures.

There is a braid on the other side that you can't see. Iris loved it. She just sat there and smiled at herself in the mirror....

Isabella wasn't quite sure about this haircut thing and watched the lady with a close eye...

but she was super happy with the finished product!

Then it was off to Iris' school for her class' Valentine Tea Party. It's not her school day but they always invite us when parties fall on her off days. More cupcakes...

More tea...

More chocolate...

Still Smiling

I just can't get enough of that sweet smile!