Ups and downs

Well, we started the evening with some lovely strawberry picking (and eating) in the front yard.


And then we went inside so I could start making dinner and all heck broke loose.

Amalia "helped" Lily in the bathroom.

Then her artistic creativity apparently couldn't be bounded by the limitations of paper.

Cleaning up. Can't you just hear the mice singing, "Cinderelli, Cinderelli"?

Great beginnings

Amalia loves to sing, but can't quite seem to make it all the way to the end of her songs.

Sensory overload

On Saturday, the girls helped celebrate Santi's and Bauti's second birthday at a "playseum." It's basically a bunch of rooms each with its own theme where kids can play around, make stuff, and generally have fun. In addition to the rooms pictured below, there were live animals to pet, a mini grocery store, kitchen, sand table, international room, and forest. The girls loved it.

The fire house. That's Bauti in the background.

The ball room. I didn't bother explaining the physical impossibilities of her endeavor.

"Grandma's Attic." Looking for some spending money in grandma's pocketbook.

Going out for lunch with the girls, perhaps.

Lily's creation in the arts and crafts room. Note the exuberant punctuation.

Not one to forget her sister.

Foosball!?! This place has everything!

Puppet show.

The puppeteer.

Intermission.

Toddlers galore.

Cupcake feeding frenzy.

The birthday boys.

Making peace

OK, so since we last left our crib-vaulting heroine, she seems to have made peace with her new side-wide-open bed.

The night after my last blog post, Andy and I awoke to hear cries at about 1 a.m. We walked across the hall, opened Amalia's door, only to find her room empty. Nor was she in Lily's room. That's when we realized she had made her way downstairs and was wandering around the house on her own. She wasn't really upset. As I came down the stairs, I heard her greeting our dog, "Hi, Dana."

And tonight when I went up to check on the girls playing after dinner, I found that Amalia was actually putting Lily to bed.

Return of the crib vaulter

After an extended, rather vocal protest by Amalia at bedtime, Andy and I heard a loud thud from upstairs. By the time I got up there, she was turning her bedroom doorknob and proceeded to march straight into my room and into my bed.

Andy immediately got out his allen wrench set to remove the side panel on Amalia's crib since he was worried her Fosbury flop action might at some point result in actual injury. Without a barrier to impede her bed debarkation, the battle of wills was on.

Since she wouldn't stay in her bed, I simply closed the door and waited for her to come out. She didn't, but she did cry. For a long time. Channeling Super Nanny, I resisted the urge to go into her room.

When at last it was silent, I snuck a peak to see how and where she had konked out, figuring she'd fallen asleep on the floor. This is what I saw (with the benefit of the camera's flash):

I'm not sure who exactly can claim victory in the battle of wills. She stayed in her room, but not in her bed. Perhaps it's a draw...until next time.

Bunnies, bunnies everywhere

Today we went to one of those places that aren't even on your radar before you have children -- a 300-acre farm about 45 minutes outside of D.C. that each spring gets itself dressed up as an Easter playland. Lily said she thinks it's where the Easter Bunny lives since the North Pole would be WAY too cold for him.

What I'm really looking forward to is the farm's pick-your-own strawberries season in late May -- I'll bet Amalia will eat right into their bottom line.

New do

Lily decided to get her hair cut "short" today. I think Andy was the only one who had any trepidation about this, as he warned Lily about how much of her hair would be cut off and that he didn't want any crying. Lily was totally fine.

Oh, Amalia

It's been quite a week for our younger offspring. We had our first crib-vaulting incident the other night. I was also heard to say at some point this week, "Don't put that banana on your foot." More snippets from Amalia's week are below.


Busting a groove


Yogurt facial

Yard work

Back home after the park, we put the girls to work in the front yard.


They then took a well-deserved break and cooled off in the sprinklers.

Not any ole Sunday

As if it isn't bad enough that we didn't go to church this morning, we further spread our heathen ways by preventing our neighbors from attending Mass last night. After dinner, the girls heard the boys on the porch next door and immediately made their way over there. Only when I got over there could I see that they were all dressed up. Ah well. I think Luis and Maria may have been happy for an excuse not to try to sit through a two-hour Mass with 2-year-old twins.

Amalia's basket, hidden in plain sight.

Lily's basket, a bit more challenging.

Heading to the park.

A whale of a good time.

Getting tired.

Watch out, world!