Museum Tour with Friends

Lucy and I met Heather and Isabel for some Starbucks and a trip to the Delaware Museum of Natural History a few weeks ago. We usually go to Longwood Gardens where the girls can splash around and run through the maze, but it was way too hot! So, we decided an indoor adventure might be a better bet. The girls loved the museum (this was Lucy's second trip) and had a great time both in and outside. Lucy was nervous about the in-floor coral reef display again, but after watching Isabel cross without a care, she finally decided to give it a try, then she was back and forth across the display more times than I can recall. Both girls enjoyed the bronze animal sculptures outside and had fun running around for a short time before we decided it was time to get in from the heat. We had a great time and both look forward to our next adventure with the Nolan girls!

Chatty Lucy

Lucy's vocabulary has really expanded! The most exciting part is that she is starting to string words together. She uses phrases such as, here you go, thank you momma and there's no more. Her vocabulary ranges from people's names, animals, the first five numbers and most of the ABCs to food, drinks and objects.

Here is a brief sampling of her vocabulary, hopefully most are new since my previous post: outside, inside, milk, mine, Dewey (and the less formal D), Malley, Daddy, Quinn (pronounced Kin), Ella, Amy, Bill, Emma, Ming Ming, George, tree, butterfly, birdie, kitty, bike, chicken, peas, beans, blue (boo), green (but only said at traffic lights), go, please, thank you, friends, cheers, five (as in high five), cereal, move (as in move Dewey), special treat, no (it had to happen eventually...), sit, help, bed, fan, bath, bubbles, suit (swim suit), pool, table, shoes, socks, eyes, nose, teeth, hair, feet, hands, knees, chair, deer, geese, team, all gone, get down...

Lucy is very focused on what she considers to be hers, or more specifically "mine." My milk, my Daddy, my baby, mine, mine, mine... It is amazing how young they learn about things that are mine. Having Quinn visit was a great opportunity for Lucy to practice sharing what is hers with another. She is good at sharing at school, but it is harder at home when you aren't used to it. We will need to make sure we provide other opportunities to practice sharing through playdates, etc... Its tough being a toddler!

Daddy Has Big Shoes to Fill!

Lucy loves shoes - what girl doesn't? She loves to wear her shoes and ours! Here she is sporting a pair of daddy's sneakers and shoes.

Lucy's Adventure in Dutch Wonderland

Uncle Bill, Aunt Amy & Quinn came to visit from Tampa. The girls had a great time playing with each other. They seemed to really enjoy running through the house, having tea parties and laughing together. We were glad to get some quality time with all three of them. Last Sunday we all went to see Aunt Amy, Uncle Paul, Zoe and Ella (Nana was there too!) to celebrate Aunt Amy's birthday. Monday we had a lazy day and a nice visit with Nana.

Tuesday was extra fun because we had an adventure in Dutch Wonderland! The girls had a great time. Quinn was very excited about the rides and she was very brave. Lucy was a little leery, which surprised me since she was all about the rides when we went to Magic Kingdom. She did go down the big slide with me, ride the airplane, spin in the turtle-a-whirl, float in the log boat and ride both the monorail and train.

Of course, my little water baby was all about the water park! Quinn loved it too. We got a bunch of great pictures. I have a lot here - probably too many - but it was so hard to choose which ones to share.

We are already looking forward to our next visit with Quinn and her daddy and mommy!

Quinn driving a motor car with Daddy

Lucy, Quinn and their two mommas on the big slide
Hi Kenzie and Amy!
Kenzie and Lucy are all ready for the turtle-a-whirl to start moving
Quinn is loving the water park!

Lucy loves the water park too - especially the slides!

Something is very funny...

Here are a couple of pictures of Quinn at our house - what a cutie pie!

Now Quinn thinks something is very funny...

Playdate with Emma

Lucy's friend Emma came over for a play date earlier this month. Her mom and dad came along, so that made things fun for all of us! The girls enjoyed splashing around in the kiddie pool, playing in the playhouse and just having an all around good time. We are looking forward to the next play date.

End of June Update a Little Late

Kenzie was with us for the first couple of weeks of her summer vacation. Lucy is always so happy when her sister is in the house. She gives Kenzie the biggest hugs and looks forward to her very special sister time.

Kenzie enjoyed Coach Tina Martin's basketball camp at UD the first week she was with us. She learned some great new moves and got a chance to perfect her game with help from Elena DelleDonne and the other lady hens.

Then Nana Jean came to visit for the week, which made things twice as much fun! We all enjoyed spending time with Nana Jean, especially Lucy. Lucy thought it was pretty neat to have her Nana here. On the way home from school she would start saying "Nana" a few miles from the house in anticipation getting home to have lots of fun. We spent some of our time just relaxing, but we also went to the Brandywine Zoo one day. We learned all about pollinators while we were there and Lucy made some very "buggy" crafts, including butterfly wings and antenna for her head. There are a few pictures below. I think Lucy really enjoyed all of the extra attention and was quite sad when Kenzie, and then Nana left the house.

In other news regarding that week, Kenzie (with Nana's help) cooked dinner for us almost every night that week! I must say she is becoming quite the chef. We had some very tasty meals including meatballs and spaghetti, tuna melts and taco pie. Kenzie also had Lucy's dinner ready when we walked in the door from school. She sure knows how to spoil a little girl! Kenzie also cleaned the house on her last day with us. It was so nice to come home to such a sparkling clean house - a real unexpected treat!

Those first couple weeks of the summer were such a great way to start enjoying the summer fun and we were all looking forward to Kenzie's return - especially her little sister!

Lucy watches as her butterfly wings,
which she colored, are put together to wear

Lucy is sporting her very fancy wings!

Every proper butterfly needs antenna to go with her wings.

Happy Independence Day

I have lots to share about our week with Kenzie and Nana, but will get to that in the next post. I wanted to dedicate this post to 4th of July since I am actually posting on the 4th. Independence Day is one of my very favorite holidays - celebrating America and our freedom during the summer just seems right... Anyway, we had a great 4th of July again this year. It was quieter than most, which was fine by us. We spent the early part of the day buying, and then assembling a pergola for our patio. This was so fitting on this day since we have now declared our independence from the brutal summer sun on our fully exposed patio! I am so looking forward to many days and evenings enjoying our beautiful patio and backyard. Lucy had a great day playing with her playhouse and in the pool. Here are a few pictures:

Blowing kisses

This doorbell is just the coolest thing...
...along with eating snack in my new playhouse!
Here is our new pergola - we are looking forward to shady times on the patio!
This is one of two baby bunnies living in our yard. Isn't he cute?