Crawdads

Jeff went fishing last week and brought home a bucket full of crawdads.

The girls were very intrigued.


Brookie going in for a closer look.


Dad showing them how the crawdad can hold a pencil with his claw.


Aubrey had to try to give the crawdad a pencil.


Success!


Of course, Brooke had to try too.


The crawdad holding itself up.

When Jeff was first showing the girls the crawdads his friend mentioned that Jeff was going to eat them. Aubrey's face was priceless. A look of confusion and disgust! She didn't say anything about it until a few hours later. Before bed she asked to see the crawdads again and then said to Jeff, "Are you really going to eat the crawdads." When Jeff replied that he was she asked, "Aren't they going to hurt your tummy?" I love seeing the world through a 3 year olds eyes. Too funny!

That night Jeff cooked them and ate them. The next morning Brooke saw the bucket they were in on the counter. She pointed at it and said "more". She wanted to see the crawdads again. I told her they were all gone. Later she saw the bucket again and said "more." So this time I decided to show her that they were gone. When I set the bucket down on the floor next to her she kind of jumped. I think she was a little afraid of the crawdads!

Just for you Dad

My dad was concerned that I hadn't posted for an entire week! So I thought I'd do an update for him.

Last Sunday I was painting Aubrey's nails. Brooke came in and watched rather curiously. When I was done, I asked her if she wanted hers painted too. She shook her head "yes" and came over. She liked having her nails painted and anytime she noticed them all week, she showed me her pretty nails.

Aubrey wanted to take a picture of Brooke's nails too.


I now have two little "helpers" in the kitchen. Their favorite part is licking the bowl and spoon when we make dessert.




Brooke found daddy's keys and went right to the door to "unlock" it.


I don't even know how she knows about keys. We always come in through the garage, so I can't even think of a time she has seen us open the door with a key.


Brooke is LOVING her car she got for her birthday. She'll point at the garage door and say, "Car Car" until I bring it in for her.


Here she is watching a "drive in movie".


She loves to play with Aubrey's dishes. She'll show me a pot and say, "hot".


I love seeing her walk around the house - I think brand new walkers are just the cutest thing ever!


Brooke has figured out stools. When she wants to help or get at something, she'll do her best to push a stool over. Then she wants to participate in the action.



Brooke is now giving voluntary kisses and hugs. It's so sweet. She will just walk up to Aubrey and give her a kiss or hug. Aubrey loves it too. Before it was just Aubrey giving the hugs and Brooke wasn't always a willing recipient. One time Brooke leaned in for a hug and Aubrey gave her a big hug back. Then Aubrey said, "Mommy Mommy, I gave Brooke a big hug, and she didn't even cry!" Too cute.


Brooke is really loving books lately. I'm happy because she was slower to become interested in them than Aubrey was. The other day she was reading stories to herself. She was pointing at the words and making a babbling sound. She has one story that is pictures of babies and different emotions or situations. She was turning the pages and able to identify the emotion of several of the pages. She also has a story that has you point out different body parts. She went through that book and was pointing out the body parts on the correct pages without me reading them to her.

Aubrey really like reading Brooke stories. She has several small books memorized that she likes to read Brooke. I tried to get a video of one today, but of course Brooke only cooperated for a short time.



Last Sunday at lunch Aubrey asked if she could say the prayer when we left for church. I told her that she could and asked her if she would pray for the primary children who were speaking and singing. A couple hours later as we were leaving for church and Aubrey was saying the prayer, she remembered all on her own and prayed for the primary children. It was really sweet. During the Primary presentation Jeff said that Aubrey watched the whole time. She was especially excited when her friend Zoe gave her speaking part. Towards the end, Aubrey had to go to the bathroom. Jeff was planning on just staying in the lobby until it was over. But Aubrey said, "Dad I want to go back in and see those primary kids. They are so cute!" She is looking forward to being able to participate in the Primary program next year!

Tomato Sauce

After 6 years of having a garden and wasting lots and lots of tomatoes, I decided it was finally time to try my hand at canning.

Neither Jeff nor I like canned tomatoes, so I decided to make tomato sauce. That is something we actually use.

I've always been afraid to try canning because I didn't want to give my family botulism if I didn't do it right! Anyway, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and lets hope that I did it right and nobody gets sick!

Next year we are trying pickles. Let me know if you have a good recipe!

Fun at the Farm

Two years ago this picture was taken on our very first outing with Rachel and Zoe.

Two years and a day later here we are at the exact same place with Rachel and Zoe - but with the addition of Brooke and Clayson.

It's amazing that in the space of two years, things can change so much and yet still be very much the same.

We sure did have a fun time at the farm! Here Aubrey is petting the calf they brought out.

Brookie checking out the calf too.


Brooke loved all of the animals. As she moved from stall to stall she kept saying "more more". She couldn't believe how many animals there were.




Brooke LOVED feeding the animals,


as did Aubrey and Zoe.


Aubrey went for the slide the corn under the gate method. But not Brooke - she would just stick it right in their mouths.


Look at her cute little hand feeding the Llama,


and the goat.


The pony rides are a big favorite!




And so are the little play houses.




My darling little jail bird!


What cute friends they are! Even after spending a couple hours at the farm together, as soon as we came home, Aubrey asked if Zoe could come over and play.




Brooke being a gardener.


I love how Brooke has to be right in the action.




Aubrey having fun in the tunnel.






I ended up having an extra ticket so let Aubrey have another pony ride. I didn't think Brooke would even notice. I sure was wrong. The whole time Aubrey was riding Brooke kept saying, "more more." I felt really bad. I had her pet the pony afterwards and that appeased her.


A day at the farm just wears you out. This is how I found the girls as I was preparing dinner:

We sure do have fun hanging out with the Smith family! These 2 years have just flown by! We hope to have many more years hanging out with them!

More About my Girls

I decided on a whim to give Brooke some bangs. I hadn't decided if she was going to have bangs or not, but I was sick and tired of the hair in her eyes, so when I trimmed Aubrey's last week I did Brooke's as well. I didn't do a great job cause that girl will not sit still for a second. But, I think she looks pretty cute anyway. I think they make her look older.

I was also able to get her hair in piggy tails too. She looked like such a big girl to me.

Brooke has been all about strolling babies lately. She spent like 20 minutes one day going back and forth strolling a baby. It's so cute. And she always puts a baby in the stroller first. No empty stroller for her. She also found Aubrey's toy bassinet and put the baby to bed after the stroll. It's so cute seeing her turn into a toddler right before my eyes.


After Aubrey brushed her teeth, she jumped right up to do hers.


Brooke is loving Aubrey these days. She calls her "sis". Whenever she wakes up in the morning or at naps she start saying "sis" and looking around for Aubrey. At dance class she will get excited when she sees her sis too. When I dropped Aubrey off at preschool this week and then jumped back in the van without her - Brooke was concerned. She started saying, "sis. sis." and pointing to Aubrey's car seat. She didn't want me to forget Aubrey!

She also follows Aubrey all around the house. Even when she has to choose between following me and following Aubrey, she will choose Aubrey most often. I LOVE it! It's such a nice break from having a little critter fussing at my legs all day.

These two are such cute friends. They play so good and have so much fun together. Here they are playing dress up and doing their makeup.

Aubrey is all about making up songs these days. She'll sit at the piano and play and sing her made up songs. It is so cute. Before FHE on Monday she told us she was going to sing the opening song about Temples. This was her song, "I'm going to the temple someday - when I get bigger. I'm going to marry a prince there. But, I don't know which one yet. I'll decide later." It totally cracked me up!

She also is so delighted at how big she is getting. Frequently she says things like, "Mommy look at my hands and arms, they are soooo big!" If she can't quite do something all by herself she'll say, "When I'm 4 years old I'll be able to do it by myself." Apparently 4 is going to be a big year for her!

The other day Aubrey was watching Dora. They were talking about occupations. The characters were all saying what they wanted to be when they grew up. Then Dora asked the audience, "What do you want to be when you grow up." Aubrey responded, "A mommy." Too sweet! That's what I always wanted to be too when I was growing up!

We got our nice weather back this week and we have been really enjoying it. I got the sprinkler out for them yesterday and they had so much fun.

Brooke had not been interested in it this summer, but I think because she can walk now, it gave her the courage to try it. She had a ball!

I love the progression of my laziness. At the beginning of the summer I would put them in swimsuits before they played in the water. Mid way through the summer I would just take their clothes off and have them play in undies/diapers. Now in my extreme laziness they go in clothes and all. Brooke's diaper gets so big - it's so funny!


I love her little tongue in this picture.


Aubrey going in to fix the fallen down caterpillar.


Brooke was getting right up close with her face right in the spray and just laughing and having fun.




If you turn the sound up, you can hear a little giggle from her when she gets wet.

When I was pregnant with Brooke and Aubrey was 1 year, I remember thinking about how fun it would be when I had a 1 and a 3 year old. Now that we are here - I wasn't wrong at all. It is sooo much fun. I seriously love this age. Toddlers and preschoolers have always been my favorite ages. I hear mom's talk about how they'll be sad when they no longer have babies, I don't feel so much that way. I love my babies, but I am just delighted when they turn into toddlers. When I no longer hear the pitter patter of toddler feet or the funny quips of preschoolers, that's when I'll be really sad. So, I better enjoy every moment of having both of my girls in my favorite stage!