Many months ago, Grandma & Grandpa Nutmeg went to Hawaii and brought back some quite cute outfits for the kids. It has taken until the past week for it to be warm enough for them to wear them! Above, Char and Cliffy found a sunny spot on the warm tile.
Doesn't Char look like a little model in this pose?
With the way Max has been growing, he likely won't be able to wear his outfit for too much longer. Who said he was allowed to grow like this?!?
The first one to break the new rule of no throwing stuff in the water was Char. She had a couple of warnings but continued so Dada put her in time out.
Max is not used to having someone other than himself getting a time out, so he thought he had to sit down too!
Char getting big on the dramatics. We would like to think that she is dwelling on what she did wrong so she doesn't get in trouble again... but you know, that probably isn't the case. She is pretty good at wrapping us around her little pinky finger.
Everything is rosy again when Dada talks to her and lets her get down.
Aaaaaah, we had some wonderfully sunny weather last week. The kids finally got to break out their wading pool and hop in. We had to make a new rule for the kids that no sand, dirt, wood chips, grass, or leaves get put in the water (to make 'soup', as Max calls it) so that others can also enjoy the water.
Look at those thighs on Char! I love it.
After nap time, we got to get back in the pool.
How Dada enjoys pool time.
Dada and the kids were goofing around the other day, and when Dada sat down on the floor to talk with them, they each pulled up a little red chair to continue their chat.
Wow is it ever nice to be able to have the kids in the back yard again. They play in the sandbox, push carts and pull wagons around the yard, and of course, have juice breaks.
Char loves going around and smelling all of the flowers. I have been only half successful in my attempt to teach her that flowers are for looking at and smelling only - no touching (though she thinks there is some sort of a loophole with licking).
The pink tulips (or too-tips as Max calls them)
Last weekend we went down to my parents house to celebrate my Mom's (Grandma Kody) and Aunt Susan's (Aunt Grandma) birthday. Quite a few of the grandkids were there - 8 of my parents and 2 of Aunt Susan's. When you add in 6 dogs, the place was pretty crazy. Dada took the older kids outside to play and got some pretty good pictures. Above is Max as King of the Hill.
Here is Max and cousins Maiya, Sophie, Cassidy, and Benny.
A good action shot of Max, Maiya and Cassidy on the swing.
So many pictures to upload, so little time. This morning Max and I went to see the Sesame Street Live show (wif all of da monsters! as Max would say) Here is a self portrait - notice Max shoving popcorn in his mouth - he did that the entire show! And still ate lunch when we got home. Another growth spurt must be on the horizon!
We had pretty good seats (this was taken during intermission so there are a lot of people standing,) but we weren't too far back and Max could see pretty well sitting on my lap. 
The president of Cottey College, Dr. Judy Rogers and I.
The kids coloring (Charlie's first time with a real coloring book!)
Charlie REALLY likes brushing her teeth. She is now getting tall enough to start looking at herself brushing while standing on the bathroom stool. Nice face while checking out the pearly whites, eh? ;)
The other morning when I went in to get Charlie in the morning, she had worked her whole arm out of her pajamas. The zipper was completely done up still, but she managed to get that arm out!
Max has taken to squinting his eyes when I get the camera out because he doesn't like the flash. I must have taken him by surprise because this is a great smile! Doesn't he look like such a big boy?!?
I am a bread maker. Just for the family and perhaps to take over to someone else's house for dinner, but primarily just for our enjoyment. When I heard about a bread making demonstration of how to make crusty artisan bread put on by King Arthur Flour, I got very excited! My friend, Brian, also enjoys making bread for his family so I asked him to attend the demo with me. It was really informative and well done. So, with new recipes, knowledge of techniques, and some rye flour, tonight I will attempt to make my very first ever Poolish (pronounced poo-leesh') and tomorrow will go for some round artisan loaves of rye bread. Updates to follow.
This morning Charlie and I went to the pediatrician's office for her 18 month checkup. She had to get 3 immunization shots, but took them like a champ and cried less than a minute. As soon as I offered her a cracker she was all over the sadness. What a toughie!
I recently finished this cute dress for Charlie and decided I should take some pictures of it for my new website. Charlie really wasn't in the mood to smile at the camera or stop moving while standing. Sitting in the chair for 5 seconds was the only time she was still without coercion!
Then after I took the dress off of her she climbed up on the stool to look out the window at the boys in the back yard. Look at those cute legs! ;)
Charlie loves getting a good view of whatever we are doing, especially if it has to do with food. She always keeps a very firm grip on the shoulder.
Max has figured out that if an ottoman is next to the baby gate, he can use it to climb over and back to get upstairs by himself. Sometimes, his pants get caught on the gate and of course we leave him until we can get the camera in there for a good shot!
