Time to Play Dress Up

Alex has been going into his bedroom closet which he calls his dressing room and coming out in some crazy outfits lately. To encourage this, I pulled together a few suitcases full of dress up clothes for the kids. When they saw everything all together, they acted like it was Christmas in July! They had a blast parading around in old Halloween costumes, ballet tutus, fireman hats, snowsuits, and other things we gathered together from the backs of the closets. This new activity is guaranteed to provide hours of fun and more funny pictures in days to come.

Ribbit, Ribbit
An Abominable Snowman
The Well-Accessorized Kitty Cat

A Dinner Party with Ellie and Mady

Aunt Melinda needed to run some errands while Uncle Tony out of town, so Ellie and Mady came over to the Walker house at dinnertime Friday evening.

Elena was so happy to see her cousins!

Ellie laughed and laughed while Alex provided some dinner entertainment.

After dinner, the girls played dolls together.

Alex and Elena were sad when it was time for their cousins to head home at bedtime. We hope they come back soon!

Where Julie Go?

Julie is a pharmacy student at Butler University who babysat for Alex & Elena Thursday mornings during the past school year. The kids love her, in part since they baked cookies with icing and sprinkles every time she visited. This summer she stayed with us for four weeks while taking the hardest class ever- Organic Chemistry. Watching her study brought back memories of those stressful days! The kids loved having Julie around so much this past month, especially during their daily pool outings and endless games of hide and seek. Elena loved her "girl time" with Julie, which included her first mani and pedi one evening. Whenever Julie was at class, Elena scrunched up her shoulders and asked "Where Julie Go?" - her first three word sentence! We will be hearing a lot more of that around here in the coming weeks now that Julie is back home with her family for the rest of the summer. Hopefully when Butler starts back up, Julie will have time to come over again!

Water Parks Help Beat the Heat

Mom has been taking some time off of work this summer to do fun things with the kids. On Thursday morning we had a play date with Aunt Melinda, Ellie and baby Madeline. We went to two different water parks in search of some relief from the 92 degree weather. The first park at 146th Street had a great playground, but the water park never turned on. The kids played and climbed like monkeys until they couldn't take the heat for one minute longer. We drove down the street to the Hazel Dell water park and watched as the Carmel Parks repairmen fixed the water sensors- it turns out it was a park wide problem! There was a cheer from all the moms and kids when they finished and the splashing fun began.

Alex turned on the faucet...

And let the water pour down!

Ellie checked things out from her favorite vantage point- upside down.Elena enjoyed being at the park, but didn't like getting wet- surprising since she is a little mermaid in the swimming pool.

Elena preferred playing with baby Mady instead. Mady was an excellent napper in her double stroller underneath a towel, even though Elena kept peeking in at her.

Princess Picky Eater

Elena has turned out to be our picky eater. She puts every inedible object imaginable in her mouth. She eats dirt and flowers from the garden, rocks, caterpillars, and sand from the sand box on a regular basis. However, mealtime is a daily struggle. We have tried coaxing, making it a game, bribing with fruit or dessert, and even re-offering dinner for breakfast when she has not eaten. She has learned to take fake bites to fool us into thinking she is eating. Oh well. She somehow manages to eat enough to chase her brother around all day, although it is hard to imagine how. It must be the caterpillars...

Little Artists

We started out a beautiful Sunday morning on the deck with coffee and the newspaper. The kids joined us while still in their pajamas. As usual, Elena insisted on wearing her cat rain boots. They look adorable, but are not very practical so we have to argue with her about not wearing them everywhere all time (including bed). She is already a little fashonista at age 2!

The kids were not satisfied to read up on the war in Iraq, so turned their attention to putting their artistic skills to work instead.
Elena did a particularly good job painting herself. Thank goodness for washable paints!In no time, there were 20 paintings. Alex organized them all on the deck benches like an art gallery. He then took us on "a guided tour" where he discussed each piece while they dried in the sun.
"Mom & Jeff" by Alex
Alex still refers to his Dad as Jeff a majority of the time! Mom apparently has no need for arms on a lazy Sunday morning.
"Circles" by Elena
Elena has gotten very good at identifying shapes recently. Stars are her favorite shape, but are a little hard for her to draw.

"Baseball and Golf Players" by Alex
It is all about sports all the time with Alex.
"All Done!" by Elena
Elena put 20 coats of paint on this one sheet of paper before she finally declared it "All Done."

"Uncle Tony" by Alex

Alex LOVES his Uncle Tony, and insisted that this painting looked just was him. Maybe he was inspired by the hair?

ANOTHER Birthday Present

Elena's birthday celebration continued over at Aunt Lori's house. Elena was very delicate when unwrapping her big new bubble mower from the Sheppard family.

She even stopped midway to throw the paper in the trash! Elena is having fun taunting Alex with this toy since his old bubble mower is broken.

Crazy Dress-Up

Alex found an old ski suit in the garage along with a helmet, snow goggles and some ski boots. He put them all together and played a made-up game with cousin Annie.

Alex Meets Spiderman

On the morning of the 4th of July, the Walker families attended a local Grand Blanc parade. Although some of the firetrucks and other noises were a bit loud and scary, Alex quickly got over that when he spotted Spiderman in the crowd. Spiderman leaned down to shake Alex's hand.

"Nice to meet you sir."

"How about a hug?"

While Alex hugged Spiderman, he yelled "I love you Spiderman!" This prompted Spiderman to lift Alex high up in the air onto his shoulders.

"Spideman is the COOLEST Superhero!"

The cousins watched the parade together, looking patriotic in their red, white & blue shirts and flags.

Elena and Katy's phone had some special time together during the parade.

Two Princesses on Their Thrones

Elena sat down in Molly's cute pink princess chair next to cousin Ellie for a picture while she was at the Sheppard's house. She made sure to spend some time with the birthday baby doll she gave Ellie for her birthday two months ago.

It is Good to be in Michigan

Elena With Her Ever-Present Sippy Cup

After a VERY long afternoon in the car, the kids were thrilled to finally be in Michigan. Of course it was exciting to see Grandma Liz and Papa, but they also enjoy playing with all the old toys leftover from when Jeff and his siblings were little kids. The jack in the box was the childhood toy of torment used by Jeff's siblings to keep him away when they didn't want to play with him. Alex & Elena seemed to have no fear of it, or any of the other toys they quickly made themselves at home with.

A River Runs Through Our Neighborhood

This little river is not from all the rain we have had recently, although we have definitely had a lot! There was a water main break down the street Tuesday night which created a bit of a back flow for a couple hours. We had no water pressure in the house that evening, but Jeff made lemonade out of lemons (as usual)! He put the kids in their swimsuits, gathered up their boats, and encouraged them to play in the fun mess.

On Your Mark, Get Set Go!

The kids have become a little competitive with each other lately. Everything can be turned into race- climbing up the stairs, changing into pajamas, even going potty. In this picture, Elena is doing her happy dance because her boat is faster.

I Win!!!!

Elena is 2!

Elena turned two on Sunday and was the cutest birthday girl ever. We began the day's celebration with a birthday breakfast of Elena's favorite foods- eggs, bacon, fruit and cinnamon rolls. Afterwards, she also blew out her #2 candle on a donut. When breakfast was over, we unwrapped a few presents. Elena is a little mommy to all her dolls, so Mom and Dad gave her a baby high chair and diaper bag. George Monkey got to try out the high chair first and was an excellent breakfast eater.

Alex has taken an interest in photography lately. Really, he just likes to play with electronics. It is funny to see the photos he takes with our cell phones and cameras when we aren't paying attention! He took this photo of the dolls partying together in their birthday hats.

Later in the day, we had a cookout with family members. Grandma Sandy gave Elena a baby cradle and bedding, which she promptly tried out with a new sleepy baby from Aunt Melinda. Doesn't Jeff look silly in his tiara?

No party is complete without noise blowers, tiaras and magic wands. Ellie made the funniest faces when Aunt Melinda blew on her. It is crazy how much she looks like her mommy when she was that age.

The girls tried to pose for a photo together, but there was too much going on for Elena to sit still.

Grandma Sandy also gave Elena some My Pretty Little Ponies. Instead of brushing the pony's hair, the kids groomed Mom.

The evening ended with some delicious pink princess cake.

While Elizabeth and Uncle Tony served cake and ice cream, Alex talked on the phone to cousin Jonathan who missed the party since he was out of town on vacation with his Mom.

The birthday girl has become a picky eater lately. She fights with Mom and Dad about eating dinner almost every night. However, she has no problem consuming sweets. She finished off her cake and ice cream in record time.

Happy 2nd Birthday Elena!

Lazy Sunday Morning

Elena is a little snuggle bug! She joined Daddy and "her" kitty on the couch after a delicious Sunday breakfast for a little lazy time. The rest of the day was busy with a family trip to the gym and the pool, so it was nice to have a little quiet time together.

Big Ball of Fun

The Robinsons bought Alex a big water ball sprinkler for his 4th birthday and Monday was the perfect day to try it out. It is amazing how much energy the kids have to run around and chase after each other. They have been playing with this ball, the slip and slide and water guns nearly every day this summer with their favorite babysitter in the world, Logan Rosenberg. Logan does a great job wearing the kids out while Mom is at work in the mornings. In the afternoon the tired kids like to take a nap with mom in her bed. It has been a nice summer!