"Digging" the weather

We are LOVING the temps lately! Most afternoons after nap we go outside to play. Some days out back and some out front. On this particular day we were out front and Gray decided that she needed to do some digging in the flower bed.

This girl just loves being outside!

Look at the concentration!

"now let me see...I have my dirt..what shall I do with it?"

"oh yes, Ill dump it on the front step then scrape it around for a bit"

"Ill probably need some out of this pot too"

"there we go!"

Obviously Gray knows the camera when she sees it and is actually in a "no piture mommy" phase. She does however love to push the button, so I let her take a self-portrait. Notice she had also messed with the dials and messed up the exposure...guess ill have to teach her about that next :)

Love you garden girl!

While I was away

A couple weekends ago my mom (grammy) and I headed to Iowa for our annual girls weekend at my aunt Lonnie's pig farm, yup, you heard me, I get a weekend away and I chose to spend it on a pig farm. Its not so much the location, its about the wonderful women that I get to spend time with. We always have the best time...lots of eating, drink wine and catching up. Its a adult women gathering of aunts, cousins, mothers, daughters, and sisters. Last year Gray was able to go because the one exception to the "no kids" rule is that young babies that still need there mommies are allowed...this year however she was left at home with dad. It was Grays first time to be with only one parent for more than a night, and I was shocked that it was me doing the first long-term leave. Joey has been amazing and has tweaked his schedule at work so he is never gone more than a night, or two, that happened once I think. I don't doubt Joeys amazing daddy skills for a single second, but I was nervous leaving. I guess when you are there with them all the time thats just what happens. I also felt bad. Its so nice to have two people there to share the duties, we're a team, and I hated that I wasn't there to help out. Needless to say everything went AMAZING and Gray didn't even seem to notice that I was missing.

The weather in OK turned out to be pretty crappy the first couple days I was gone, but by Saturday the sun was shinning and Joey, Gray, and Baba headed to the zoo. I was beyond jealous!!! The newest attraction is to feed the giraffes!!!! I was so sad that I was going to miss seeing gray up close and personal with her favorite animal, but thanks to Baba, I got to see some great pics of the events.

Now that the weather seems to be staying pretty for awhile, I think another trip to the zoo is in order!

"umm, dad, I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a huge giraffe over there"

"holy moly...that thing is really close dad!"

"no way, Im not getting any closer to it!"

"okay, lets try again, but you do it dad"

"oh.my.goodness...look at that tongue!"

Thanks for the great pics Baba, and thank you Joey for letting me have a weekend away. Trust me, it will happen again :)

Outdoor Fun

I don't know about you all, but we were tried of the over 100* weather and ready for it to cool off just a bit so we could go outside and enjoy playing! The last week has been such a nice break and we have taken full advantage of the weather. Gray has loved being outside with her sand and water table as well as her castle that she calls "wee" (because of the noise you make when you slide) I hope that we great some more great weather before it gets too cold. Outside is where this girl is the most happy :)

"humm..whats this wet stuff?"

"oh, it came from this contraption"

"this thing is cool...its like the splash pad!"

"wait for it, wait for it...."

"whoa! right in the face!"

"Alright, now that Im cooled off lets Wee"

Happy Lady!

Some sand/water table time...look at that concentration

"lets Wee again"

This night she decided to help Joey water the trees...she ended up pooping right after we went out so we stripped her and let her play this way...she LOVED it!

"yes mom, Im watering"

"yea dad, you did it just the way I told you to!"

"now let me try..."

after all that watering a girl needs to cool off...

"now lets get some water over here, we don't want this grass to die"

Sweet little toes

And for my parting shot to you all, one that Gray will surely later kill me for but I could help its cuteness...

Bottoms up to mother nature for this great weather :)

15 months!

Again, Im behind. Whats new? Im trying to get caught up with all the fun summer posts that I have.

This summer has gone by WAY too fast. Gray is still growing like a weed. We had her 15m appointment last week and little lady is still long and lean in the 90th percent in height and 20th in weight. She learns new words daily and it is so fun to hear what she comes up with next. She know has 12 teeth and I feel like more pop up every day.

heres the 15m sign photo shoot..more posts to come soon!

15 months and proud of it!

"Cheese"

"okay mom, can we do something else now?"

"How bout some bubbles"

(she is signing "bubble" but also says it...one of her favorite words)

"okay now bubbles...fine then Ill play with this stuff Im not allowed to"

Happy 15 months baby girl, we love you!