Climbing, climbing, climbing....

Elsie has been getting better and better at climbing...today I walked into the dining room and found her standing up on a chair and dancing with a big grin. I took her down and readjusted the chair under the table and then left. I heard her making some noises a few minutes later and went in to check to find her doing the exact same thing. She is such a ball of energy and curiosity right now. Ruby is just loving every moment of it too...all of a sudden she has come to appreciate her little sister instead of get irritated by her. Elsie will actually come up to Ruby and sit in her lap and also give her a big hug or embrace. Ruby just eats it up. She will also hold Ruby's hand as they walk from place to place, as long as Elsie doesn't get tired of it. They are too cute but keeping me on my toes. I have been sooooo sick for 5 days now, and it is still holding on and making my days really hard right now. I have went from a sore throat to major congestion and conjunctivitis and now coughing, can't wait until this all subsides. Hoping and praying!

I also heard her say "There you go!" to Ruby today. About a week ago on Father's Day, she said "No Mike!" So funny. She is trying to say Doggy and it sounds more like "Da Da".

Summer fun!

Ruby was in heaven when she could hold hands with Maya and Elsie and walk them to the car after our playdate at Centennial Park on Friday. So cute!

Friday night we went into town to play at Riverfront Park. The girls were nearly the only ones playing in the water because of all the Hoopfest activities. Elsie took some time to warm up to the idea, but had fun and didn't want to leave in the end. She spent most of the time dragging Mike around by the finger to go where she wanted.

Elsie has been sitting in her sister's lap all on her own these days. So cute! I will catch them in a long hug or sitting together. Ruby loves it, but usually doesn't want to let go when Elsie is ready to get up.

Mike snapped this shot of Elsie feeding Hank, she thought she was pretty cool holding his bowl as he ate!

Grandma loves!

Ruby with Grandma and Ciara planting the garden at her house today, she had a great time and got really dirty!

Kylar and Elsie walking along together at Grandma's house, Elsie loves to wander around her acreage. We spent a bit of time picking strawberries and eatting them, yum!

Mike and Ruby walking the dogs together, Ruby loves this so much!

Ruby has been waiting a long time to walk her own doggy, she is so proud to be Hank's owner.

Ruby loves to hold Elsie's hand and walk with her lately...and Elsie likes to do it too (mostly). It is so funny to see them do this, love it. They are doing so much better playing together lately. Elsie is communicating so much more too which makes it easier. This is in Grandpa Rick's back yard the other day.

At the consignment shop, Elsie was truly worn out and let me lay her down in the cart (this never happens). She slept the whole time I shopped :)

New Doggy #2

Here is a picture of our newest pet Hank, a miniature australian sheperd who was rescued from a puppy mill back in April. He is so neat and super smart. Henry already loves him and plays with him all day long. Ruby loves to take him for walks on his leash, the perfect size for her. He will only get to about 20-25 pounds.

Elsie has been doing so many things lately, really interacting with all of us like crazy. This is a picture of Elsie helping her Daddy pull weeds in the backyard.

Using utensils has been the latest thing for Elsie. She absolutely loves using a fork to pick it up and putting the food into her mouth with it. So cute!

Hank and Henry playing with a rope, they love to tug back and forth. So funny to see two totally different sized dogs doing this....Henry enjoys it so much and doesn't overdo it with Hank.

Elsie loves to try on our shoes and actually walk around it them, I can't believe that she can get them to move since they are soooooo big on her.

The girls sitting patiently as the Battle Days parade passed by in Rosalia, Washington, about 25 miles from Cheney.

An old classmate Bonnie introduces her daughter Kailee to Elsie, what a cutie.

On Saturday, I decided to go to Rosalia for their Battle Days Parade. We used to live in Malden, a closeby town as children. I went to school in Rosalia. The girls had a blast watching the parade, Elsie just sat their in her new special chair and Ruby enjoyed seeing the horses and catching candy. People around us were commenting on how they couldn't believe that Elsie was staying so calmly in her little chair. I think she was just so amazed by the event and excited to use her own little chair. It was pretty cute. At the end of the parade, a friend of mine from 4th -6th grade came up to us to chat. It was so neat to see her after so many years. We then picked our stuff up and walked down the street just to see the rest of the festivities. When we got a few blocks down, I heard someone calling my name on the other side of the street. It was my good friend Bambi's sister Bejay. I was so excited to see her and to learn that Bambi was there as well. I have wanted to reconnect with her for a long time. We emailed back and forth for awhile, but never got together in person. So good to see her after 20 years. She was my best friend at the time and we spent so much time together. Hoping we can make a trip over to see her in Hayden one of these days in the near future.

On Sunday, a moose walked right down our street. I saw it out of the corner of my eye when I was sitting on the couch. It walked right by a vehicle across the street and into our neighbors yard, then out into the field at the end of our cul-de-sac. So cool to see!

Some new milestones!

Ruby wrote her name, the letters are mixed up, but can you see it? They are in the order of "B YRU". So exciting!

I was in the bathroom with Ruby and came back into the room to put her to bed and found Elsie smiling up on the bed. At first I thought I had put her there and forgot, but then realized that she had climbed up herself. She was pretty proud of herself!

Climbing....

I'm up....

Look at me, so excited!

And of course a tackle from sister :)

We finally got Elsie's twin bed put together and it is currently sitting on the floor so she can get out without falling. Tonight she is sleeping in it for the first time, yay! I hope it is an easy transition!

The girls are both going through another phase, and it is very challenging at points. Hard to believe they both hit a new phase at the exact same time. Ruby is pushing the limits as much as possible with both of us and spends most of her time ignoring our comments or questions. Elsie will grab ahold of your legs and cry until you pick her up, she will hold them both in such a way that you can't even walk. She doesn't want to be put down. They are so darn cute though.

Elsie is dancing around like crazy...she has the darndest moves these days. She loves her voice and will say "dadel, dadel, dadel" really fast over and over. She loves how it sounds and gets even more into it when you say it back to her. She is also playing games with us a lot right now. She will walk up to you and get just close enough for you to grab her and then turn around and walk away and then come right back again and do the same thing. She loves this and will do it over and over! She has been doing this cute little shy girl look with her head lately too...she will move her head down to her shoulder and look down and hold it that way for a long time (when someone is looking at her). She still only has two teeth, I am thinking this is why we are going through the hold me stage. I can't imagine it feels good to have all that happening in her mouth right now. She is saying "Mom", "Dada", "Kitty", "Hi", "Bye", "Ya", "No", and "uh" for up. She weighs a good 19 pounds now and we have moved her up to her big girl carseat, which she loves. Oh, she also says "Emmmmmm, ma" when she wants to kiss you. She will get closer as she makes the noise. I love seeing Ruby and Elsie give eachother smooches and make this noise. They are playing together quite a lot these days, still learning to share though.

Ruby is loving being outdoors, I will send her outside to play and 30 minutes later she will come back in with dirt from head to toe. She has had a lot of baths lately. She loves our new dog Shelby and enjoys feeding her all sorts of funny things from the yard. Shelby is great with her and ignores the objects she forces into her face. I have been letting her choose her outfits lately...she comes up with the most unique combinations. Still hates having her hair brushed, so independent these days. She is making the most amazing comments these days and repeating lots of Daddy comments too. Mike called Henry a moron because he is so obnoxious sometimes, and Ruby loves to tell our guests that "Henry is a moron" when they are here. Lots of explaining to do for sure.

We did our first learning playdate here the other day and I will be teaching one here regularly from this point forward. It was a lot of fun to do and to plan.