Concentration

Here we sit. It's after ten o-clock. Lucas didn't take a nap today. Our afternoon was.. colorful. And now, he is calmly concentrating on his little wooden tool set. He has been playing with it for over two hours. Go figure. I just have to admire that sort of concentration. I'm so tempted to tell him to pack it up, it's time for bed (for me!). But, really, it's just awesome that he is calmly, happily playing with such a great toy :) We might be here for another two hours...

Cushion hopping

Kids at play

Playing at the park

A watery baton

Ah, the things you can whack with a watery baton...

Boxes

My sister gave us TONS of diapers for the kids. Awesome! So, of course, we had to set up all of the boxes like a train track for Lucas to 'drive' on. The kids played with the boxes almost all day today. Lucas walked around on top of them. Gwendolyn crawled up on random boxes and sat on them. Lucas rearranged the boxed many times to make fences. They drove cars and trucks around on top of the boxes. They ran back and forth between the boxes racing each other across the room. They had so much fun!! It's amazing just how versatile something as simple as a box can be.

The splash pad

We had lots of fun at the splash pad! Kids and water always seem to go so well together.

(see Gwendolyn making a break for our little friends sandals?)
























I was trying to get a picture of Gwendolyn in her new swim suit cover up before we left because it is adorable. But she had other ideas. So, here are a few blurry pictures of her standing under my feet trying to get the camera :)

Gwendolyn playing

Two magazines

Two magazines can keep the kids busy for hours. Lucas started ripping up one of Tim's unread magazines. See Tim trying to read a single crumpled up page? Tim actually found it funny :)
The kids were so happy shredding the magazines and crumpling them into balls to throw.









































And when they start to get bored? Give them a basket of Easter eggs, of course. The messier, the better!

A balloon

Things we learned today: It's probably a bad idea to have a balloon floating around in the same room as a ceiling fan. It's a much better idea to have the balloon tied to a table. But even if it is securely tied to a table, a crafty toddler can still pull it off. And feed it to the ceiling fan.
Believe it or not, Gwendolyn is actually the one that set the balloon free. She sure is crafty...
We went to our neighbor's birthday party on Saturday and the kids had a great time playing with a balloon there. The next day, he brought the balloon over to our house for them to keep :) They love it!!

A day of play

Lucas making the bed :) All of the pillows were stacked along one side (not the top) and the blankets were all piled up in a big heap. He took so much time and care making sure the pillows and the blankets were just so. It's the best made bed I have ever seen!! I love his unique approach to everything he does!









































Gwendolyn found an unattended stack of hangers. She really enjoys the sounds they make when they click together. She sits and whacks them against each other for ages- listening to her own music. She is such a sweet, happy, easily entertained girl! (because she's not a baby anymore, she's a real girl! I keep forgetting..)





















I think Lucas must have been tired after all of the bed making. He's happily laying on a cushion driving one of his favorite trucks back and forth.

A silver car

Sharing

I love watching the kids play so nicely together :) I set up a tiny pasture for them last night - one small horse, one bale of hay and one small fence. (They both love random activities that appear in the night, especially if it involves animals.) They found it this morning and happily played together. Gwendolyn held the hay out for Lucas's horse to eat. They even took turns with who got to hold the horse and the hay :) They are definitely getting better at this whole sharing and taking turns thing!

A

One day, Gwendolyn started standing around with her rump in the air.

When Lucas saw this, he said 'Look, Gwos is an 'a'.'

Delightful.

Now everyone stands around with their rumps in the air.

Pet Henge.

A girl and her car

The first time Gwendolyn has been able to get into her cozy coupe by herself.

Kids

Gwendolyn at the window. And Lucas playing with his new tow truck. Tim taught him how to hook toys and reel them in.

Megablocks return

Our megablocks have been missing for months.

I change the kids toys out every two or three weeks with a set that has been in storage (it keeps them from getting bored with their toys). I put the megablocks away a few months ago when both kids were in a dumping sort of mood, not a stacking sort of mood. And they went missing. Which is really odd. I always put all of the kids' toys in the exact same spot in the basement. So I don't lose any of them. Well, the bag of megablocks wandered off. (I think on little Lucas feet) I went to go get the blocks a few weeks ago and couldn't find them. I've been searching the basement for them for ages. And I finally found them today! Woohoo!! The kids were so happy to see them again!! I think the blocks will be scattered on the livingroom floor for many weeks to come. :)

Pieces of a puzzle

Gwendolyn has really been enjoying doing puzzles lately. She doesn't quite get putting the pieces back in the right spots, but she sure does try to put them in. Mostly, she likes pulling out the pieces and leaving them for Lucas to put back in. I've been trying to convince Lucas that this is a fun game and that Gwendolyn is really trying to play with him. He's not sure, but the idea is growing on him. Sometimes when he finds a puzzle dumped out on the floor, he gets really happy and tells me 'Gwos shares wif me. I like Gwos!!!'

Lucas is feeling better today. He's been tired and says his stomach still hurts. But it's an improvement.

Gwendolyn is about the same. Sick, but kind of upbeat about it.

Baby steps

Today, the camera came in the kitchen with us. Even out in the backyard. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for taking it out yet, tho. I put the camera safely in the pocket of my shorts after I was done with it outside. Well, I forgot it was in there. Naturally. After we came in, I took off my dirt encrusted shorts and threw them across the room into the dirty laundry. And I heard a loud *thunk* Oh crap! The camera survived, but I think it's scared now.

(I'm really kidding about all of this. Well, not the misfortunes of my poor camera. Those are all true. Unfortunately. But it really doesn't occupy my thoughts. I just need something to entertain myself while the kids sleep. And what better than a camera saga?)

Right, about the pictures. Gwendolyn was helping me sweep the kitchen. I set the broom down for a minute. To move Gwendolyn out of the pile I was sweeping. Again. And she thought it was her turn to use the broom. Patient little one.

Lucas sitting at the table eating his cereal. Lately, he sits at the table in the morning pondering the mysteries of life. And talking endlessly. While eating bowl after bowl of cereal. He sits there for at least a half hour every single morning. That's why we were cleaning around him. It turns out, Gwendolyn can only sit at the kitchen table for so long...

And just a couple of outdoor pictures - the kids usual activities. Swinging and riding bicycles.

Lucas as is

Some days I get it in my head that I want a picture to look just so. Lucas quickly cures me of this. :) He was wearing his safety glasses all day. Really. The whole day. So I went to take a picture of him. Because an eccentric child is just so enjoyable. :)And he took them off. And walked away. And put them in his truck outside. And drove them around for a while. But wouldn't put them back on. Which I find terribly funny.

I think a series of pictures of Lucas taking off his glasses, looking at me and walking away is so much more Lucas than one lone 'just so' picture of him wearing his safety glasses. Because Lucas isn't a 'just so' kind of kid. He's an awesomely unique, enjoying himself, always in motion ping pong ball of a boy. That usually wears safety glasses.