Bird Feeders

My friend, Jenie, did this with her daughter at their playgroup. Very simple and a lot of fun. Take a bagel, we cut ours in half, but I don't know that that is necessary. Slather one side of the bagel with peanut butter or soy butter. Put birdseed on a plate and dip the bagel (peanut/soy butter side down). Tie a string through the hole in the bagel. Hang outside for the birds to enjoy!

Ellie & her Baby

Ella LOVES baby dolls. Even if she is upset, she will get a huge smile whenever she sees her doll babies! It was about this age when Arin became interested in dolls too. I guess they start to learn to be "mommies" very young!

Feeding the Baby

Ella has never tried baby food from a jar, but last night I decided to go ahead and buy some. This morning, Arin found a jar of the food and brought it to me to open. She told me that she liked baby food and she wanted to eat it. I knew this was not true - she wouldn't even touch baby food from a jar when she was a baby! Anyways, I decided to humor her and I opened the jar and gave it to her. She didn't even pick something sweet like fruit, but rather some country mixed vegetables. So she tried it, and as I assumed, she didn't like it. I didn't think anything else about. Ella woke from her nap and I put her in walker. I was busy taking care of some stuff and I glanced over at Ella and it appeared that she had something in her mouth. So I asked Arin what Ella had (Arin keeps a very close eye on her sister). Arin said, "I feeding her." She was feeding her - the baby food from the jar. I had to have a little talk with her about never feeding the baby without asking first. Ella did really like the vegetables though. I was surprised at how much she liked them. Arin will need some practice at feeding her sister, as more went on Ella than in her :) Good to know I have a little helper!

Six Months Old

Ella is six months old now. She is very quick. She can army man crawl anywhere that she wants to go. She also walks all over the house in her walker. She does get up on her hands and knees also. She can sit unassisted, but cannot get herself to the sitting position yet. She has two bottom teeth and is working hard to cut more. She has become a pacifier baby in the past month. She never used to take a pacifier, but since she started cutting teeth, she loves it. She has been eating solids about 3-4 times a week - so far in the form of rice cereal, carrots, avocado and bananas. She has tried papaya and watermelon once each, but she threw up with both, so we didn't try either again.

Swimming & Swinging

This weekend was Ella's first time in a swimming pool and also the first time in a swing at the park. She loved both, although the water was a little chilly so she didn't stay in long.

162 Things to do Before Kindergarten

JUMP ON THE BED - which is usually a big no, no in our house, but we are away for the weekend, so I let it slide and by the huge smile on Arin's face, I can tell she was happy that I did!

Fun with Friends

Today, we were invited over to our friends' house. The kids had a blast together, and so did us mommies :)

Fun with Family

Yesterday, I took the girls to the park. We met my little sister and Arin's cousins there. It was a lot of fun at the park, but it felt like it was a thousand degrees outside, so we quickly decided to turn the park playdate into an ice cream social. We continued our play at McDonald's. We had ice cream and then the kids played on their inside playplace.

Painting Circles

Yesterday, I asked Arin what she wanted to do for school. She said, "Paint". So I drew some circles on a file folder. Then, I gave the folder and some paint to Arin. We talked about where she should and shouldn't paint on the folder. She had a lot of fun tracing the circles with her paintbrush.

Photo Shoot