Bicycle fun!

Elias got a bike for his 4th birthday, but hasn't developed the confidence to ride for long periods of time...until now! It was so fun to see him practice, overcome obstacles, get back up from falls, and finally ride long stretches with super-big-kid confidence all over his face!

Bella had been scared to get on the back of a bike with Mami, but finally acquiesed at Nona and Granddaddy's house. She had a blast, telling me "faster Mami faster!"

The little beach at the Refuge

We're the adventurous type of family, so when we see a little sand and water, we let the kids strip and run into the water half-naked. Once Elias was in up to his head, the park ranger came down to inform us that "you really aren't supposed to swim in protected waters, but as long as we were just...getting our feet wet...that it's ok" This as Elias is whole-heartedly splashing around and Bella's getting ready for a dive. "Oh yes, sir- you know how kids are, we won't let them really swim" ...

Elias has his father's wide feet...while Bella inherited Mami's narrow, long ones. I wonder if she'll have trouble finding narrow shoes like I do...

The Outing to the Santee National Wildlife Refuge

The Cookout at Nona's and Granddaddy's

Nona has been wanting to try our hand at cooking over a bonfire in their backyard for a long time, so the first night the kids and I were there we decided to give it a shot. As usual, the kids threw in their share of unexpected events such as the "hotdog on a skewer dance" by Elias; Bella eating her hotdog raw off the skewer before we could wrench it out of her hands to cook it; eating over half the marshmallows raw then crying because there weren't enough to cook... but the outcome was a lot of fun- Elias and Bella both tried their hands at cooking over the coals, and they loved eating the final products- roasted hot dogs and marshmallows- yummmmm. The next night when Talia and Tia Cara got there, we did some more marshmallows, and made s'mores. Bella got so hyper that she was on a crazed sugar-high for about an hour thereafter. She was HILARIOUS, banging her head into the couch and laughing hysterically, while Andres sang "Sugar High" in the background!

Bella helping Nona snap beans from the garden!

The kids struttin' their stuff down the hill!

Nuestra ranita (Our frog)

Abuelo spotted a cute green frog in our flower bed and the kids were excited to meet him. You can barely see him sitting on the leaf.

Elias wanted to touch him, but alas- he jumped away.

Day at the River

There's a really nice Riverwalk near our house in West Columbia that we like to go play in. The kids climb the rocks and splash around. Lots of folks wade out into deeper water or go tubing, but I think we'll wait a couple years for that.
We had a picnic snack, then proceeded to walk back to the car which was maybe 3/4 mile away. Of course Bella had to stop and ponder lots of things (she's a ponderer) and Elias had to sword fight everyone and everything, so it took a while. But it was a nice walk even so. :-)

Bella stealin a plum

Bella likes to sit on the kitchen counter with me in the mornings when I'm cooking or making my coffee. When I turned my back she grabbed an unwashed plum and went to town eating half the thing before I even realized it. Note the sticker is still on it? By the time I put the camera down, that sticker was gone...into her belly!

The Little Lions Cub House

So, Andres and his dad have been working on turning an old storage shed behind our house into a play house for the kids, and it's looking fabulous! They've redone the floors, made windows with shadow boxes, painted, and even made a little loft for the kids to climb on inside! We named it the "Little Lions Cub House" because as some of you know, "Leones" means "lions" in Italian and therefore they are the "little lions"!

Elias shows off his signing skills!

Bella saying I love you- adorable!

Fun in the backyard pool!

On hot days like we've been having, there's nothing more fun than to fill up the pool with water and jump in! Here's Elias, Talia and Bella having fun splashing around and enjoying the slip-n-slide!

A day at the park with Jennifer and Mami

Look Mami- I'm a big girl and can do it myself. Bella is quite Ms. Independent (I have NO idea where that came from). She now talks with 4 and 5-word sentences (at 21 months) including lovely choices like "booty" for her lower area. The other day I got "Mami, put diaper Bella's booty". Hey- at least she knows what she wants!
Hey- look at us- we're cute!
Mom and daughter- both in pink. I remember the days when I swore I would never wear pink and of course my daughter wouldn't either- I wasn't in to all that traditional girl/boy garb. Yeah right- as I say to many of my old "I'll never's...."

Elias is now into doing things the hard way. He wants to climb ON TOP OF the play set and get out of the car by Mami's door. He wants me to read all the words in the glossary at the back of the book and pick out his own clothes. Who taught this kid to think anyway??!!