Cherry Berry

Today the girls and I finally tried Cherry Berry. I have been wanting to try it since there has been so much hype about the place. I was a little worried at first because to be honest I would rather just have ice cream. I was pleasantly surprised! I decided the girls and I would share a cup. I put what I wanted on one side and what the girls wanted on the other. Claire loved the mini M&M's and sprinkles. I loved the raspberries and strawberries. Needless to say with three spoons going into one cup it all got mixed together. Note to self... Get my own cup next time!

Library Days

This year we took advantage of the Library's story time. We were pretty faithful to go every two weeks. We would usually meet up with friends to listen to story time and then the kids would play puzzles or look for books. We occasionally would all go out to lunch together. It got to the point where as soon as I told Claire we were going to the Library she would say "Story time then pizza right mommy?" The girls love to be read to, I hope they become readers like their mommy. I love to read books! We participated in the Library summer reading program. The girls had to have 20 books read to them and they had to visit the library four times this summer. For doing so they got a medal, coupon book, and an inflatable toy. The toy was a really big airplane that I made the mistake of telling the girls I would blow up in the car after we left the library. I was in the parking lot in the car blowing those things up for 20 minutes!! No exaggeration...it may have even been longer!

Claire will not let us skip her bedtime ritual of reading 2 books before bed. Her favorites right now are Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see? and Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What do you see?. She knows them by memory and she reads (recites) one and then has Jared or I read the other. She also has me read the book Count your Blessings 1 through 10 to her once she is tucked in bed. She also knows that one by memory and reads along with me. It is really cute.

Quinn gets so excited for us to read her bedtime books that she will drop whatever she is playing with to listen. She cries every time we are done reading and says book over and over hoping we will read some more. Honestly it works quite often and we usually end up reading 1 more. Her favorite book right now is Llama Llama misses Mama. She likes to get the book and flip pages saying mama, mama, mama. The other day I thought she was calling for me then realized she was just reading her favorite book.

We are looking forward to story time starting back up the middle of August. Hopefully we will find some new favorites.

Sharks, and turtles, and fish Oh my

We recently made our first visit to the Jenks Aquarium. I was actually impressed. I have only been to the Aquarium in New Orleans so I was not expecting much. It was nice. It was very crowded, everyone had the same idea we did and wanted to be somewhere inside and not out in the 107 degree heat. Claire and Quinn had a good time and loved to get as close as they could to the glass of the tanks to see what was inside. We tried to get them to touch a sting ray but the rays were not cooperating with our side of the tank. The girls did put their hands in the water...not sure if they would have actually touched one or not. Claire really liked to sharks. I asked her if she thought they were scary and she responded "No, they not scary mommy." They are scary to me but I didn't tell her that. Quinn's favorite was probably the turtles. We were at the turtles for a long time. I am contemplating getting a family pass. The girls really enjoyed it and it is somewhere we can go during the summer. If we do decide to do that just know in advance if you come to stay with us we will entertain you by taking you to the aquarium. ;)

Potty Time

(Claire on the first day of potty training)

On July 6th we started the process of potty training Claire. I think she has been ready for awhile but I was waiting until all of our summer vacations were over. I wanted to make sure we had no where to go for a few days. I have to admit I did not have a plan on how I was going to go about this. We bought pull ups just in case but I wasn't sure I was wanting to use them. A friend of mine suggested for me to put Claire in big girl underwear and go with it. That is what we did. The night before the big day Claire and I went to Wal-Mart all by ourselves for her to pick out her first big girl panties. Claire was super excited about going on the big girl potty! There was no problem getting her on it, I rarely had to ask if she needed to go the first day because she was so excited to do it all by herself. I am sure the M&M candy incentive helped also, 2 for going pee pee and 4 for going poo poo. (I apologize for the potty talk but this is a post about the potty) I did end up putting pull ups on her at nap time and at night. We were not putting a diaper on again and we haven't. (It was so wonderful the first time we didn't have to buy diapers for her and Quinn!!! What a great feeling!) We had a few accidents but by the fourth day she was doing really well. She even did well when we went out on Saturday and even at church on Sunday. By the third or fourth day I wouldn't let her wear a pull up for naps. I crossed my fingers and was prepared for her to wake up with a wet bed. So far that has not happened. She kept wanting a pull up at night and after much convincing a week after we started we put her to bed at night with big girl panties. She did awesome and was so proud of herself the next day. She hasn't looked back and has done really well. We have had a few accidents since then but I am very impressed with my big girl. She never ceases to amaze me and like I have said so many times I don't give her enough credit. She does so well with every new milestone. I am one proud mommy. Plus I have a little more money in my pocket from not having to buy diapers!!!

Day of Art

Today we made our way to the Philbrook Museum of Art for their free family day. This was our first time going and we had a really good time. The girls were able to do art projects and they even had fun going through and looking at the art. We did not get through all the rooms of art so Jared and I are looking forward to next month already. The girls were given an art supply carrying case that they bring back each month and then they will get new art supplies. The case came with a sketch pad, pencil, eraser, and crayons. FOR FREE! They have free family day when they have these projects for the kids on the 2nd Saturday of each month. They also have storytime, a children's theatre, and this month had a scavenger hunt for kids older than mine. If you have not been to the Philbrook you must. The gardens are beautiful! I think we will enjoy them more when it is not 107 degrees outside. I, of course, tried to take pictures of the girls. It was so hot that they did not want to participate in any photo shoot. No worries...I did manage to get a few. ;)

 Making pinwheels.

 Claire obviously did not want to take a picture.

 Pinwheels

 Claire's collage.

 Quinn's very first painting. (Watercolor)

 The gardens are beautiful!

So I figured that since we were at an art museum I would try to be artsy with my photography. This is the best I could do. Jared said it would make a good wallpaper on the computer. I am not sure if he was serious or not. :)

All about Quinn.

Little Miss Quinn will be 16 months old this weekend. It is hard to believe. We had her 15 month well check today and I have much awaited stats. She is 32.2 inches tall (88%) and weighs 21 lbs 8 oz. (24%) She received her vaccinations as well, she is such a brave little girl and didn't cry too long. I however, was crying on the inside. I don't think it will ever get easier for me. She is a big talker and knows quite a few words and she tries to repeat everything. My favorite words to hear her say are blanket and sticker. She is walking very steady by now and sometimes too fast. She can walk backwards and tries to jump. Which means her knees bend and un-bend. Her feet never leave the ground. She loves to sing. She does not know the words, as Claire says, but she knows the tunes of songs and a couple of words here and there. She really enjoys dancing too. If music comes on her arms start swaying. Her favorite things are her baby, Minnie mouse, and her blanket. She sleeps with them at night and carries them around during the day. She is quite the ornery little munchkin. She is into everything and everything must go in her mouth!! She is a very loud child and likes to squeal and talk and cry loudly. It is obvious she is Jared and my daughter for sure. She is messy and couldn't care less if she is dirty. (not at all like Claire) There is not a meal that she eats that at some point her hands are not in her hair with food all over them. It makes meal time interesting! She loves to cuddle and she gives the BEST hugs and wet kisses. It melts my heart every time she says I love you. My favorite part of the day is when she first wakes up in the morning. She is in her crib saying mommy, mommy, moooooommmmmmmyyyyyy and as I walk into her room she smiles that scrunched nose grin and then stands up and starts jumping in her crib. I love it, perfect way to start the day! She may keep me on my toes but I wouldn't want it any other way.   

Quinn saying Jesus loves me. 

Pandamania Songs- Sung by Claire

This year's VBS theme was Panda Mania.  Jared and I helped out with VBS this year so we were able to get a copy of the cd before VBS began. So Claire pretty much knew the songs ahead of time. She was able to learn the motions during bible school and she sings the songs constantly. We still have the cd in the car and listen to it everyday. I tried to download these videos about a month ago but blogger wouldn't let me. So this post is a little out of order from when we actually had VBS. I could not decide which one was the best so I put all of her favorite songs on here. I can't help it, I am a proud mommy and I warned you in the heading of the blog that this is a "brag" blog. ;)