Hanging out with Abria

Making a run for it.


Forget using hands. The snackpack works so much better if one simply pours the food directly into one's mouth.


While Alette enjoyed time in the pool, Abria got some extra mommy-time. Her favorite activity was climbing the steps to the 2nd floor balconey, closely followed by rearranging the deck furniture.

Hitting the pool!

This week marks Alette's swimming debut....
We signed up for a week of lessons, only to discover that no other kids are in the class so Alette is getting a week of private pool lessons. I cannot praise her teacher enough. She is a familiar face (she attends our church), has a gentle spirit, and is a ton of fun. Alette had a blast. Somehow, Catherine convinced her to blow bubbles in the water, hum a song into the water, 'float' on her back and of course, kick, kick, kick. Seriously, Alette progressed more in 45 minutes than she did the entire last summer. I have no grand illusions that she will actually be swimming at the end of all this, but if she is more comfortable in the pool, I will be thrilled.

Go USA!

Alette (thanks largely to Andy) has been introduced to World Cup Soccer. In typical 4 year old fashion, she had a million questions. Here are just a few:
Who are those guys? (the US soccer team)
Why are they wearing sweatshirts? (they need to stay warm before the game)
What are they singing? (the national anthem-clearly I need to teach her some civics)
Why don't we know them? (it's a big country)
Who are the good guys? (team USA)
Why isn't it raining there? (South Africa is far away)
How far? (really far)
Why don't we ever go there? (b/c it costs like a million dollars)
Who is the little guy? (the ref)
and on and on....

Butterfly Release

The butterflies await release.



Alette was a little concerned that they would not want to leave, so kept poking her arm into their home hoping to shoo them out.



A quick rest on our hydrangea before leaving.

I was really, really excited about doing this butterfly raising project with Alette. Actually, I was tempted to do it even if she didn't care a bit about butterflies. The caterpillars all successfully became chrysallis...and then a week later we had six beautiful butterflies emerge. Even though we missed the actual emerging butterflies, it was exciting to watch them uncrumple their wings and beat them dry. We kept them for a couple of days (which drove the cats a bit crazy), them released them in our yard.

Best Buds

We just do not see enough of Ganiyah! Today, she spent the afternoon with us-took ballet with Alette and then spent time at the park together. The three girls get along so well.

PAWS Nature Farm

I was a little leary about taking the girls to the nature center. It has been hot, humid and Abria's got a little sunburn on her face. However, we slathered on the sunscreen, put on cool clothes, and had a wonderful time! The trip was organized by our playgroup leader so the girls had plenty of friends to hang out with. We got to pet a chinchilla, turtle, lizard and snake. Alette was a little hesitant about petting the chinchilla but Abria would have happily scooped up all the animals onto her lap. We then had a chance to wander about and visit the farm animals. Both girls loved the ducks and chickens the best-I had the hardest time wresting them away from the chicken coop. The goats (my absolute favorite) didn't hold their interest for long at all. Thankfully lots of shade, air-conditioned play areas, and thus a great day out.

Roar!

Alette is in the middle of a dinosaur craze. We've been reading books, drawing pictures, and play-acting dinosaurs. Imagine her delight when our playgroup visited a new playground and discovered it had a dinosaur climby-thingee (sorry for the technical language). This new playground was a delight! Lots of slides, climbing equipment, swings, and a sandbox filled with toys (clearly we were not in Camden as sadly, all the toys would have been stolen).
Abria's becoming increasingly independent. She is now able to open the fridge door, the basement door, and is working hard to figure out the oven door. We always seem to be one step behind in baby-proofing the house. She has also discovered that the drawer below the oven, and the cupboard below the microwave contain all sorts of interesting pots, pans, baking sheets, and utensils. To her delight, all the afore mentioned objects make really, really loud noises when banged on the floor or on a cupboard. One thing I do appreciate is her newly acquired ability to get her own drink of water from the bathroom sink. With only a minimal amount of spillage, she is able to turn on the water, fill a cup, and take a drink. I am actually looking forward to potty-training....