Posing (August 3-9)

It was a pretty normal week, with bikes to ride, treats to enjoy, books to read, and playgrounds to play on.  And, always, our beloved Ravioli close by to supervise all our shenanigans.

I usually have my camera with me.  When the kids start doing something cute, I grab it.  About half the time, Liam looks at me and says, "No pictures!"  But lately, he also asks me to take pictures of things he wants to see.  So, I am missing some moments and capturing others.  But it all works out.

August 3:  Liam can ride without training wheels.  He went up the block and back, with Brian just holding onto his hood.  But he seemed to freak himself out a bit, so he didn't want to do it again.

Ravioli was equally unsure.

So, we swapped out for scooters, instead.

Brenna was starting to get the hang of it.  But she likes to ride and have me pull her.

We picked up burritos to bring to the park for a picnic lunch.  But Brenna couldn't wait to dig into her salsa.  That girl loves salsa.

Climbing.

And lots of playing together.

Liam befriended two five year old boys.  But they were not very nice to him.  So, he said, "That's not nice.  I don't want to play with you anymore.  I'd rather play with my sister."  Not sure where he learned to stand up for himself, but that was a proud moment!

Brenna was more than happy to oblige.

After nap, Brenna helped me make - and eat - kale chips.  She's such a good toddler eater, unlike her brother.

August 4:  He either doesn't want me taking his picture, or he poses for me.  With his hands on his hips.  Silly boy.

Liam really loves Shel Silverstein.  We read Falling Up a lot lately.  And our bedtime book count is back up to 6 again.  Need to get it back to a manageable amount, but these kids just love books (and avoiding lights out).

Pink sparkly Batman with her Hello Kitty electric toothbrush.  Normal 2 year old, right?

August 5:  Someone stole my breakfast - a spinach, yogurt, banana, peanut butter smoothie.

Liam was running up and down the hall, hiding under his pillow.  And trying to avoid the camera.  A fun game.

Someone has been turning bedtime into a real challenge, staying up and roaming upstairs for an hour or more.  So, we installed a hook outside her door.  She was curious to see it go on, but not amused when we put it in action.

August 6:  Our babysitter, Laura, took the kids to art class.  I love seeing pictures of them having fun when I am at work, particularly when they have fun together.  They get to ride the bus and have a picnic at the playground, which is actually more fun than the class.

It was warn enough in the evening for fun with the water table and buckets in the backyard.

Ravioli loves to water the plants, and sneak a drink.

August 7:  We went down to the apartment to check on the progress.  Liam and Brenna just wanted to run around in the open space.

Brian explained all about framing and what is going where.

Brenna just wanted to play with sawdust.  It makes fun patterns on the floor.

Then we headed out front to play basketball.

Which was actually more like soccer.

Ravioli even got in on the game a little.

August 8:  We introduced the kids to the Muppet Movie, for our movie night.

Liam was hamming it up for the camera and dancing along to the music.

Of course, Brenna joined in, too.

August 9:  We tried out our new bike trailer and biked to Dolores Park.

There were some musicians playing next to the playground, so we had our picnic lunch there.

Mmmm, leftover cold mac and cheese.

Good lunch was rewarded with popsicles from the popsicle carts that inundate the park.

Brenna is such a different soul than Liam.  She loves to break rules and giggle and run away.  She's going to be trouble.

She also likes to "dress" Ravioli.  Good thing she is such a patient, good spirited dog.