Baylor Originals

Originally when he first got into Legos, Baylor would follow the instruction to a T and would rarely deviate or miss a step.  Of course, when your parents don't constantly buy you new sets, doing the same ones day in and day out can get a little boring.  So Baylor has branched out and has started creating what we now refer to as "Baylor Originals".  Most of the time he does them with his blue roadster creator set, but he's started to mix it up a bit and even turn Mater into a special creation of his own design.  They are never the same, almost always perfectly symmetrical, and always so creative.  We started taking pictures of them earlier in the month, so I thought I'd share a few with you here.  Enjoy!

Random Pictures from June 2012

Like I said in the last post, I've fallen horribly behind on getting pictures up on the blog.  So here are a few random ones from June.

The kids and I went to the Gardens a couple times this month already, and, as always, we had lots of fun.  Mollie may have had a little mischievous fun, but that's a two year-old for you, right?

We saw this squirrel eating from a bird feeder just outside the back entrance of the Gardens and having been around people so often he let me get quite close to snap a few pictures of him.

After we went to Festival this year, Mollie decided that it would be awesome to play her step stool like a washboard.  It was adorable, and Baylor found it beyond hilarious.

Mollie is really getting into pretend play, and the other day she decided to do her dad's hair.  She went through all the steps, washing, drying, brushing ... it was so sweet.

The older he gets, the less I get to see Baylor sleeping.  So I couldn't resist snapping a picture of him sleeping while we were on our way home from a birthday party in early June.

At said birthday party, the kids got adorable little homemade Mickey Mouse bean bags as a party favor, which was perfect since Baylor had been asking me for some and I had been (very) slowly trying to figure out where to get them/how to make them.  (Thanks, Alexis!)  Of course, he then wanted a bean bag toss game.  And not just any bean bag toss game ... he wanted a clown one like Olivia the pig had in her carnival.  So I took out some construction paper, scissors, and a glue stick and went to work.  In the end it was a bit creepy, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

After they finished lunch, they attempted an upstairs sneak, zebra in tow, while I was doing the dishes.

Then, after they were found out, Mollie promptly went to the living room and took every last piece of paper off the box.  It was impressive, her zeal and thoroughness for the task, but it was a bit heartbreaking as well.

As I mentioned previously, Mollie is really into pretend play these days and she has taken to "mommy-ing" her baby doll Sally as often as she can.  It only happened one night, but Mollie insisted on bringing Sally to the table and fed her an entire meal.

The guys watched Mollie's antics and smiled.

I hadn't actually made a smoothie myself in a long time, possibly since I was pregnant with Baylor, but the kids were wanting a sweet treat in the morning the other day and this fit the bill.  Raspberries, strawberries, and bananas ... so refreshing!

Occasionally the kids practice their hand shaking skills with one another, and I'll be honest, it fills my heart with joy.  Of course, they always say, "Nice to meet you!" when in fact they've known each other for quite a while now.  Oh well, no one's perfect.

Bryson's golf outing with his dad and brother on Father's Day got rained out, so we spent some time at my parents' house instead.  Mollie worked on an alphabet puzzle with Daddy ...

... before moving on to help Grandpa E open his gifts.  Look out, Molls, those tongs are going to get you!

June was rough in a lot of ways, but these pictures remind me that, in the midst of dark times, there are always moments of pure joy.  And I am lucky that so many of them are with my two amazing children.

Random Pictures from May 2012

I'm crying uncle ... I can't keep up with the pictures I'd like to post.  So here is part one of two catch-up posts to show you the cute/hilarious/interesting pictures that I have neglected to post over the last month or so.  What can I say?  There's always July!

I only took four pictures of Baylor's last day of school and three of them were of Mollie.  She WAS wearing a hilarious outfit of her design, though, and Baylor wasn't much into having his picture taken.  Who says you can't rock some amazingly bold clothes all at the same time?

I don't know what it says about me as a mom that I only have this picture of Baylor (taken by my mom) on his last day of school.  *sigh*  But hey, at least he's flossing, right?

The pigtails just added to the Punky Brewster-ness of her outfit.   It was adorable!

We finally made it to Provin Trails with my husband, and he and Mollie had a blast running down the giant sand hill.

Having had a boy first, I had no idea how opinionated girls can be about their clothing choices.  Giant, ill-placed hat, anyone?

She is, at the very least, prepared to cook.  Chef's hat?  Check!  Two oven mitts?  Check!  Two aprons?  Check!  Awesome?  Most definitely.

One day my parents dropped something off at our house on their way out to run errands.  When Mollie saw they were leaving, she seemed to take that as an invitation and promptly went to put on her shoes.

Purse in hand, she proclaimed she was ready to "run errands".  And she was so cute that they took her!

We even got to go with some friends to Wahlfield Park and walk the trails!  The girls were happy to take a picture together ...

... but Baylor just wanted to look on from the sidelines.

May was good!  On to June ...

Great Lakes Kite Festival

A few weekends ago we took the kids to Grand Haven to see the Great Lakes Kite Festival and enjoy a little sunshine.  While the kids wouldn't go on the sand at all, likely for a bunch of reasons, we still managed to have a good time and enjoy the sight of some pretty impressive kites.

We had a packed lunch on the walk right before the pier.

And the kids got a real treat when a barge motored past us carrying some pretty heavy machinery.

The kite displays were pretty impressive, including a jellyfish and a giant air guitar.

We walked the pier, but Mollie was moving like a snail so the guys ventured ahead.

She kept walking funny too.

As it turned out, she had pooped in her diaper and was horribly uncomfortable, so I carried her the rest of the way to the lighthouse.

By the time we got back to the car, the sun and the walking had tuckered Mollie right out!

But Baylor was, unbelievably, able to stay awake on our way home.  And talked the entire way.

It was a fun time, and hopefully we'll get to go again next year.  And who knows ... maybe we'll actually be able to go onto the sand and really see the kites.  There's always next year!

Big Kid Beds!

The last couple of days have been a whirlwind of activity, but we have done it ... both kids are now officially out of infant or toddler digs and into BIG KID BEDS!  Baylor is rockin' the full size bed, courtesy of his convertible crib.  Story time is a lot more fun/interesting now that we can all pile into his bed to read.

For Mollie we had to go out and buy a new twin size bed, and she seems to really like it.  She wanted the bed itself to be pink, but she seemed content with having pink sheets.

As I tucked her in tonight I thought to myself, "Where did my baby go?"  She's just getting so big!  And she was SO excited to be in a big girl bed!

Baylor gets to "nap" in a big boy bed (read: Aunt Christine's bed) at Oma's house, so he was a little less excited and a little more used to the bigger bed.

I can't believe my babies are big enough to be in beds so big.  I'm sure I'll say this again and again, but time is passing by so fast.  *sigh*