What an awesome day at the zoo!  My mom came for a couple days this week before heading to Chicago to visit my sister.  We knew before she got here we were going to hit the zoo, but it was just a matter of which hot day we were going to go.  We decided on Wednesday, so we packed up the girls and headed out.  It was so great to have help, because I could actually let the kids out of the wagon to walk and see the animals.  They couldn't believe I was letting them go without holding hands.  They took off as soon as their feet hit the ground, but overall they listened really well and stayed pretty close.  I think they just had to test the waters at first.  The girls were pointing everything out that they recognized (rock, water, leaves...you know, all the really cool things you see at the zoo!)  M and L knew what most of the animals were, and knew a lot of the sounds they make too.  After seeing quite a bit, we sat down and ate the picnic lunch I had packed.  We rode the carousel, went on a boat ride, and played on one of the giant zoo playgrounds.  M and L literally walked 99% of the time we were there, so they were totally dragging on the way out.  I finally bribed them with their snack, and we stuck them in the wagon to make it to the van.  It is so good to know that I might be able to do this myself.  Maybe I was the one really testing the waters.

M and L just munching on some Goldfish yesterday.  We have kept pretty busy over the last week.  On Thursday a couple of my friends helped me take the girls to Zoombezi Bay.  It is a water park that is attached to the Columbus Zoo.  I didn't realize just how much stuff there was that the girls were able to do!  We were in the water almost nonstop for three hours!  It took M and L approximately two minutes to fall asleep that night.  This weekend we played at the park, went to church, played on our swing set, and watched dad play baseball.  

I feel like I blog about how impressed I am by what the girls learn all the time...but it blows my mind what sponges they are!  I guess most parents are probably like this with their first child.  M and L are constantly counting- English and Spanish and sometimes a little bit of both mixed together.  I think Lena is a little like her mom (maybe a little bit of OCD).  She organized the food on her tray and counts it as she is eating.  I love that they can tell me what they want/need, what hurts, or what is wrong now.  I have a feeling this is going to come back to haunt me when in a year or so they won't stop talking.  They will sometimes tell me what they want to eat.  Surprisingly enough it is not always chips and ice cream (although they do ask for those things).  They LOVE fruit.  I think if that is all I ever gave them, they would be completely satisfied.  Yesterday morning they told me they wanted toast and a banana for breakfast, so I gave it to them.  How simple is that?  After breakfast I asked what they wanted to wear, and Maddie said, "Pink dress."  Easy enough.  Over the weekend we were coloring, and I asked Lena what she drew.  She told me it was Backpack.  I asked Maddie what she drew, and she told me it was Map and Backpack.  I asked where Dora was, and Maddie said, "Sleeping downstairs."  Who knows?!  I wish I knew what they were thinking.

Little people

I was cleaning up in the kitchen this afternoon, and heard lots of giggling coming from the stairs.  I found M and L playing with two oven mitts at the top of the staircase.  They kept trading their mitts back and forth saying, "Here, Maddie.", "Here, Lena.", "Thank you.", "Your welcome."  Then they would both lay back and say a word that sounded like bubbles- but I know that's not what it was- and laugh so hard!  Wonder what they were talking about.  As long as they are playing nicely with each other, I could care less!  Too bad I can't crop those nasty mitts out of some of the pictures.  I haven't been able to get them both smiling in the same picture lately.

H-O-T!

July weather has certainly kicked in over the last couple days.  It has been in the upper 90s, so needless to say, we haven't spent long afternoons playing outside lately.  My friend Katy has been trying to get me to join her pool, but we just haven't been in town enough lately for me to seriously consider it.  I asked her about it yesterday, so she invited us to come to guest hours with her to check it out.  It is perfect for the girls.  I can easily take both of them to the baby pool that is fenced in, and the water doesn't come much above their waist.  We had a great time splashing around, swiping other kids' toys, and having snacks in the sun.  I got pictures of all of the kids except Jack- he was out making friends with everyone in the pool, so I didn't get a shot of him :)  I did, however, get a picture of my girls playing nicely together (By nicely I mean they were sharing a toy and not screaming "Mine!" or "My turn!" at each other.).  You can see from the picture of Maddie that she is on the prowl for someone else's cool toy.   What she has in her hand is not hers, but all the parents were generous with their toys  We had a little picnic dinner before we headed home for bath time.  I think it might be about time for us to join the Y!

Happy 4th!

Chris and I brought the girls up to Vermilion for the holiday weekend.  Grandma Parmentar and I took the girls to play on the nearby playground yesterday morning, while dad and Grandpa went golfing.  After naps we headed to the local pool (conveniently about a three minute walk from the house), and let M and L take their first swim in a real pool.  They had a ball, although Mom nearly had a heart attack when they fell and went under a few times.  Surprisingly, there were no tears, just big laughs each time it happened.  I'm sure I looked like a crazy woman flailing over to the child under water each time trying to grab them as quickly as possible.  Grandma just coolly reached over and lifted them right up.  I guess after going through raising two boys already, you just know how to react more calmly/sanely!  Anyway, the girls loved the water.  They splashed around, played with boats, and floated on their rafts.  After a few hours (and a little swim time with dad after he joined us) we finally drug M and L out of the water and headed home for dinner.  Today has been a pretty lazy day- plenty of time playing outside, more food on the grill this evening, and a trip to Dairy Dock for ice cream.  Isn't that what summer is all about?

Zoo...again

We love our zoo membership.  We have been so many times this summer already.  The weather has been unbelievable here (low to mid 70s) for the last three days.  We haven't even been running our air conditioner!  So I, along with most other Ohioans, took the kids to the zoo this morning.  It was the busiest I have ever seen it.  We went early, so the crowd was getting pretty thick by the time we were ready to leave.  Thousands of strollers in that place!  We spent the majority of our time looking at the turtles.  I feel bad, because it is difficult for M and L to see some of the animals from their wagon.  But there is no way I am letting them out.  I know exactly what will happen...as soon as their feet hit the ground, they will take off- in opposite directions.  They end up not listening when I ask them to stay close.  I'll have to put them back in the wagon, and they will both end up in tears.  For now, we will just stick to visiting the animals they can see from their seats!  Anyway, they were little angels this morning, and we had a nice trip.  Here are some pictures of them wearing their 4th of July outfits, sharing snacks, and drinking Capri Suns on the way out.