More Complete Randomness

• On Monday, Sophia climbed out of her crib at nap time.  So on Tuesday we moved her to a toddler bed.  I wasn't really ready to do it this soon, and I don't think Sophia was either, but I didn't want her climbing out of her crib again.  On Tuesday night I heard a little rustling outside of our bedroom door.  I thought it was Amelia, but there sat Sophia - on the floor, outside our door, looking like she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself.  Nap time and bed time have been a struggle all week, but I'm hopeful that it will get better.  As it is, Amelia has been falling to sleep before Sophia . . . and that hasn't happened since Sophia was born.
• I really like children's DVD's that have no previews on them and start on their own without having to press Play.  Kudos to Baby Einstein and Signing Time for getting it right.
• The other night at dinner, Amelia and Sophia were eating really good.  When I complimented Amelia on it, she said to me, "I can't help it, it's so delicious".  And what were we having for dinner?  Broccoli with spinach and cheese soup.  I love that they love good food.
• I love getting a bargain, and I think garage sales, thrift stores, etc. are great, but when you're looking for specific items, it's a little like looking for a needle in a haystack - monotonous and rarely productive.
• I have decided that I need training in order to potty train Amelia.  I have no idea what I am doing or how to do it, despite having read multiple articles and suggestions.  At 3 1/2 yrs old, I'm eager to get Amelia potty-trained. . . but she's not ready, so I wait and wonder and try to be supportive and encouraging.
• Sophia is talking more and more and I always feel bad when I don't understand her.  Amelia seems to understand her . . . or she's better at guessing.
• I LOVE that Amelia and Sophia play so well together . . . and want to play together.  They ride bikes, dig in the dirt, play pretend house/camping/etc., and whatever else they can do together.  What a blessing it is for me that I don't have to entertain them all the time; they can entertain each other.
• I signed Amelia up for a 4-week dance class.  It starts next month.  She loves to dance at home, and seems excited about the class; I'm hoping she'll enjoy it. 
• I'm playing the organ at church tomorrow.  I practiced this week, but I haven't played in church for years and I'm a tad nervous.  I even had a dream that I couldn't get the organ loud enough for people to hear.  

Misc News

• Sophia has grown the few extra inches needed to be able to pedal the tricycle on her own.  She is in heaven and loves riding bikes.

• Amelia's 2nd trip to the dentist was even more successful than the first.  Today she happily let the hygienist clean her teeth.  Even I was amazed that she sat so still.

Beach Trip

We went to the beach this past week for a Schnell family reunion and it was awesome.  We had great weather, great food, and fun times.  We stayed in Pacific City, right near this beach (Cape Kiwanda), and the girls loved it.

The girls always love playing in the sand and Sophia still likes to lay in it.

But they also had fun running on the beach.  The water was cold, as always, but since it was super low tide, there were plenty of puddles and streams to run and splash in.

Cape Kiwanda has a huge sand hill.  Amelia wanted to climb it, but we didn't make it very far.  Frankly, I'm glad she didn't have the energy to go all the way to the top, because I'm pretty sure I didn't.  

The weather was perfect for flying kites - very windy.  Amelia got her first chance to fly her own kite and she was so excited . . . you can tell by the look on her face.  

She did amazingly well . . . and loved it.

We went to a different beach on another day, but I wasn't as prepared for the girls to play, so it looked a bit like this (in my defense, I misunderstood where we were going - but the girls didn't seem to mind).

We also had a great time playing with Grandma Diane, Grandpa Ernie and our SoCal Schnell cousins.

We can't wait to go to the beach again!

Random Updates

When you get home from a vacation, it's nice to just unwind for a bit without doing too much - and that's just what we've done this last week . . . a lot of nothing.  Ken had to work on July 4th, and the girls are scared of the loud noises that the fireworks make, so we didn't do anything to celebrate and it seemed like just another day of the week.  I was a little sad by that fact, because I love July 4th and love celebrating anything patriotic.  I tried to tell the girls about why we celebrate July 4th, have a flag posted in our yard, and why people shoot off fireworks . . . but I'm pretty sure most of it didn't sink it.  In the meantime, I dressed the girls in Patriotic attire (they wanted their pictures taken next to the daisies and dandelions we had picked in our yard).

and took their picture next to the flag in our front yard - thank you Boy Scouts!  But that was the extent of our celebration.  Maybe next year will be better.

Meanwhile, in preparation for our camping trip next month, Ken set up our new 8-person tent and we slept overnight in our back yard.  The girls loved playing in the tent - what kid doesn't?

Ken spent awhile pumping up this large air mattress, only to find out that it had a hole in it.    Which is maybe a good thing, since Sophia kept rolling off of it.  It took the girls quite awhile to go to sleep and they woke up with the sun, but they both slept through the night - and that's about as good as we can expect at this stage . . . so I guess we're ready!

We continue to have more flowers coming up in the flower beds.  It's fun to see what will come up next.  We have lilies (I think that's what these are) of all colors and in very random places in the yard.

And we have these.  The leaves are tall and the buds are just now starting to open.  And we have no idea what they are.

Trip to Utah

On our recent trip to UT to visit my parents, we didn't have much planned, but we found plenty to do.  We visited the llamas next door.  

Helped with the sprinkler pipes

Picked daisies

Did some mending for my mom

Colored with Grandma

Made silly faces

Played the piano for Grandma

Mommy got a break and went out to dinner with her best friends, without kids.

Watched Grandpa fix the toys we broke.

Played in the pool, because it was hot, hot, hot while we were there.

Took turns "driving" the tractor

And waved to Grandma as we went by.

But the best part of the vacation was spending time with my parents.  It was a treasured visit.

We didn't get a lot of sleep on the trip, but Sophia often liked to pretend she was sleeping.

In 4 days of driving (2 each way), my girls slept a combined 2 1/2 hours in the car.  It was such a rarity, that I had to take a picture of it for proof.

The girls did surprisingly well, despite their lack of sleep, but they did start to get a bit loopy on the way home.  This video is of the girl's stuffed animals "talking" to each other.