Do you believe in magic?

Tuesday, while the girls were at GG's house, John and I had a morning at the Magic House. It's fun to watch him become so much more adventurous. The last time we went he didn't really want to leave my side, but this time, he was all on his own. He played with other kids, and worked with them on some of the exhibits. He even went down the big slide. It is a couple stories tall, so he had to wait at the top by himself while I went down the stairs to meet him at the bottom. I expected him to not want to wait alone and refuse to go down it, but he was fine. As soon as he got to the bottom he ran back up the stairs all by himself to do it again. It was neat, but also a little sad watching him be so independent. Here are some pics of his fun day.

The new "Sandcastle Beach" exhibit. We played in the sand for a little while, but it was WAY too hot outside to be out very long.

John working the crane, with his hard hat on backwards.

Digging in the indoor sandbox.

Working with another little boy to make all the bells ring with a tennis ball.

the amazing floating balls - He loved this exhibit

coming down the big slide

waiting patiently to check out in the play grocery store

15 month check up

Natalie & Rebecca had their 15 month check up today and all is well. They are right on track developmentally. Here are their new stats.

Natalie
length: 30.25 inches (38%)
weight: 21lb 8 oz (25%0

Rebecca
length: 31.5 inches (77%)
weight: 24lb 12 oz (75%)

They both had to get 3 shots, which was traumatic. But they both got a cookie afterwards, so that quickly stopped the tears. We go back when they are 18 months old.

A Day in the Life (a Beatles reference...get it, get it?)

They got themselves in, but had a hard time trying to get out.

Well we officially have 3 walkers and 3 talkers in our house now. Rebecca decided she was tired of Natalie getting all the fun toys first and took off walking...and climbing. They can both get themselves up on the couch now, which is a little scary. I also had my first experience of trying to keep three kids who want to go in three different directions in one place. A little hard to do by myself. :) Natalie is gaining on Rebecca in words. She says "hi" "bye bye" "baby" and "uh-oh". Rebecca has added "no" and "stop" to her budding vocabulary. I have no idea where she might have heard these words. John is becoming a little Beatles fan. In my quest to find kid appropriate songs that won't drive me insane we put on a Beatles CD. He is addicted. He walks around the house singing, "Sgt. Peppers Loney Harce Tub Ban" and yelling, "Get back Jo Jo!" While the lyrics themselves are free of profanity there are a few references I hope he doesn't ask about..."Mommy, do I get high with a little help from my friends?" Hopefully as a 3 year old he will have a LONG time before I have to explain things like this!

Natalie and Rebecca are starting to really interact with each other, and have started comforting each other. If Natalie is crying Rebecca will come over and stroke her hair. If Rebecca is upset, Natalie will go find her blankie and bring it to Becca. It is adorable to watch them care for each other.

John has been going to preschool summer camp for a few weeks this summer and he loves it. Each week has a different theme. This week it is Seasons/Weather. There are art projects every day...I'm running out of room to display his masterpieces.

Happy 4th!

Here are a few pics from our 4th of July. We usually have a big party, but since the holiday fell on a Friday and a lot of people were out of town we just hung out at home. John wasn't scared of the fireworks this year, and I don't think the girls even knew anything was going on. John loved the snakes (my favorite), tanks, parachute men, and when Daddy shot off Roman candles. I am pretty much terrified of home fireworks, so I was a nervous wreck. Fireworks are legal out here, so I can expect to hear them all night for the rest of the weekend. Oh goody!

Natalie & Rebecca showing off their cute 4th of July dresses

Mommy & the kids

Daddy & the kids

Natalie carrying around the hammer & block she was attached to all day

John and his tank

Miss Rebecca

John getting ready to throw his snap & pops (He looks so grown up here!)

Had to brag on my babies

I just have to brag on my kids real quick. Today we went out to lunch at First Watch and it was CROWDED! I hesitated waiting for a table because the kids were pretty hungry, but I figured by the time I drove somewhere else we would have been seated already. While we were waiting a lady sitting next to us told me the kids and I were like Jon & Kate Plus 8...minus 5! :) I WISH I were as organized as that woman! Once we got seated the kids were being pretty good. John was talking a little louder than I thought was necessary, and Rebecca had a loud moment or two when she realized she was out of milk, but not too bad. I was amazed at how many people went out of their way to come over and compliment the kids. It was seriously one after another. I think 8 or 9 people came over to say how nice it is to have well behaved children in a restaurant. I was floored! It made me feel so good. One lady even told me she wants me running a Fortune 500 company because of how well I was multi-tasking. OK, so maybe that's a brag on me, but it made me smile. :) So, that's it. I just wanted to brag. It just really made my day. So, if you are out and see a frazzled parent with well behaved kids, please, tell them how good they are being. It can really change a whole day.