More fun cuteness

This is a little late, but I haven't blogged in a while, and I'm thinking the girls aren't really going to let me write, so I thought I'd add these pictures.  We had another great playdate with the Barnetts (again-- love them!). 

Before we left, I put ALL of Noelle's hair in pigtails.  It may, possibly, have been the best parenting decision I ever made.  I mean, how adorable does she look?!

The girl's on a mission... and looks so old!

Notice the smiley flowers behind Riley.  She was trying to imitate them. :)

Noelle LOVES looking at the fish.  In fact, she's sitting next to me right now and yelling, "FEESH!!"

Oh, and she also really was digging throwing rocks into the water.

Little goofball...

Two adventurers make their way throw the roses. 

(How they didn't get caught by thorns is beyond me!)

And.... step!

Playdate with buddies!

This morning, we had a super fun playdate with some of our best buds.  It was a beautiful day to spend outside, and the girls LOVED it!

And look at that-- I just so happened to put them in coordinating outfits. :)

How cute is this?  I asked Clayton and Riley if they would hold hands, but Clayton wanted to make sure Noelle wasn't left out.

...Noelle didn't seem to mind. :)

We got to look at fish...

...try edible flowers, right off the plant...

...and pick tomatoes and a cucumber.

And it's really not a playdate with Clayton and Aubrey if we don't have a picnic.

Then, the icing on the cake, we got soaked in the fountain!  Riley was so excited, she could hardly even speak.

She just laughed and laughed.

Noelle wasn't as certain about the whole situation, but she still had a good time.

Hugs!

Aubrey is getting more and more beautiful!

SO happy!

Playdate with Old Friends

Yesterday, we got together with a couple of my old high school friends.  Keith and Jody now have Baby Addy, who, as you will see, is just adorable.  And Mitch came along to partake in the chaos.  Life with children is irrationally crazy and unpredictable, and I've been the worst at keeping in touch, so it was great getting to see everyone, even if conversation is always a little limited with three little ladies running/scootching/supported standing around.

Noelle and Addy get some one-on-one time while Addy shows off her Superman skills.

Noelle quickly grew attached to Keith.  She was pretty thrilled with this comfy seat. :)

Jody and Addy.  See what I mean about her cuteness level?

 

Mitch was a real trooper, playing Riley's version of hide-and-seek (aka throw-a-blanket-over-Mitch-then-count-then-go-find-him-under-the-same-blanket-right-where-I-left-him).  

I see more crazy playdates in our future...

Loads of Fun

Erin was in town the past couple of days, and whenever Erin is in town, immense fun is to be had.  We got lots of play time with her and with the Barnett clan.  Yes, I'm currently paying for the expenditure of energy coupled with poor sleepers, but we had fun nonetheless. 

First, Celeste and Erin were awesome enough to watch Riley while Noelle had PT; then they watched both girls while I went in for another ultrasound (more on that in another post).  So, obvsiously, the girls had a blast of a morning, and Riley, apparently, was a crazy lady-- screaming "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" and flailing/dancing around to her heart's content.  I realized that Clayton is quite possibly the perfect playmate for her-- full of energy, so he brings out her more exciting side, but not too touchy, so she's not intimidated by the remote possibility that she may be knocked over or (gasp!) have a hand laid on her. :)  Oh boy... these are things we need to overcome. 

After naps, we headed to Naperville and red mango.  Mmmmm, red mango!  I'm glad that that place isn't in downtown Wheaton because I would be in trouble.  Frozen yogurt for breakfast, lunch, a snack and dinner?  Yes, please!  Then we took a stroll to the carillon, ran up and down the hill, and Noelle-- with the help of Erin-- walked quite a bit. 

The next morning (which began, by the way, before 6:30 for BOTH girls), Erin came with us on our first adventure (of the year) to the Glen Ellyn splash park.  If your kids like getting splashed, the place is awesome.  Contained, clean, fun.  Our problem is that Riley doesn't particularly like to be splashed, and Noelle doesn't particularly like cold water.  So it started off a little dicey.

 

But after Noelle realized that sitting in Mommy's lap fixes everything, and Riley, well, just realized that we were at the splash park, and it's a fun place, things got better.

But wait!  That's not the end of our adventure!  After naps-- this time a little bit better than the day before-- we first had a dance party...

... then we headed to "Clayton's house" again to play in his pool.  As Celeste said, we moms try so hard to create fun for our kids, and sometimes we just fail.  This wasn't a total failure, but it, sadly, left Riley with some crazy welts of mosquito bites. 

And neither girl really wanted to play in the pool.  But Clayton, as always, was fun and hilarious: jumping around, landing on his tailbone without a second thought...  We love that guy. 

So today, needless to say, we're lying low... until I get a super-fun offer that I can't say "no"... or I just get stir-crazy. :)

Playmates!

 Somehow, the stars aligned for us this morning, and we were able to get together with two of our favorite families: the Barnetts and the Livingstons!  We met up at Atten Park, and it went swimmingly.  I actually haven't ventured to a park for quite some time because it just is so much work!  Noelle is mobile but not walking, and Riley is pretty timid, so she likes my attention more than I can always give it.  But this morning was wonderful! Riley loved playing with Robbie, Ellie and Clayton, and Noelle either was content on her own or had me all to herself.  Not bad at all!

 Four playmates "on the train"

 Robbie and Riley in the "dining car"

 This is my favorite picture from the morning.  Noelle was quite enamored with Robbie and even wanted to chase him up the slide.

 Aubrey is such a champ, just chillin' in her stroller while the other kiddos run around.

 Speaking of running around, Robbie, Clayton and Ellie had a blast running through the grass.

 Meanwhile, Riley was trying to get her baby fill.

And soon, Noelle joined her.

 Celeste is probably the most fun mom in the world. :)

As we got near the end, my girls decided to take over Aubrey and Clayton's stroller.  We, apparently, need to work on stamina. :)