Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Wrapping up July.

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Elna didn’t know I was taking this picture.  She was very serious about her job.

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Sleeping children are the sweetest ones, right? // Elna, even on the very hottest of days, refuses to sleep without that purple blanket.  It’s heavy and warm and she just doesn’t care.  It drives me crazy!  She also likes to sleep with socks and would sleep with footy pajamas if I didn’t hide them from her.  And it’s not because she’s not hot—she is, she doesn’t have AC in her room and she wakes up hot to the touch and sweaty.

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Studying her numbers.

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The girls always love a little trip to the zoo with me.

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Elna had a tiger on her shirt, so she wanted a picture with the tiger at the zoo (which you can’t see, but is somewhere in there)

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Classic mornings.

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There isn’t much I love more than seeing my children happy and reading.  It makes my heart happy.

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Splash pad.  I didn’t get a picture of Harriet, but she really loves going to the splash pad too.

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Laughing with Daddy.

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We went to dinner with Brian’s family to celebrate his dad, Chris, and his Aunt Leora’s birthdays.

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Sister Summers came over to give Elna and Harriet a fun book that they love—Hand Hand Finger Thumb.

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They had such a fun time reading it with her!  (See how Hattie is sitting on the couch—you can see my hand there ready to catch her)

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Hattie got an absolute kick out of the puppets she brought!

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After church one Sunday Elna wanted to throw paper airplanes with Dad.  In the picture on the right she is spinning around after trying to throw the airplane.  She’s still trying to figure it all out.

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Brian, trying to teach her the correct way to do it.

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Playing “Spot It” with Papa.  Elna’s pretty good at it, and I love watching her concentration and then smile when she finds it.

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Playing the piano at Grandma’s house.

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Helping me make bread.

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Fun at the park.

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Cleaning the church.  I had to take a picture of these girls making handprints on the very windows I had just cleaned—isn’t that just how life is with children?  // Proof that dad is way more fun than dad—I hate those carts!  They seem like a good idea, but always end in screaming.

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Date night downtown with my honey.

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Elna’s treat for staying in her room during naptime.  At the start of her quiet time she gets 3 pieces of tape up on her wall—every time she comes out, calls me in, or knocks/bangs on the door I take a piece down (unless she’s legitimately using the bathroom), and then at the end of her nap she gets as many marshmallows as she still has pieces of tape on the wall.  This system is really starting to work for her and we have many nap times where she has gotten 3 marshmallows and a few naps where she has even fallen asleep (this is huge!  she hasn’t slept during a nap for at least 6 months).  Yay for a new system that works!

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Hattie loves it when Elna gets her marshmallows, because she gets one too!

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I love these pictures of Elna and Grandma Fae!  Especially their faces in the last picture.  We feel so blessed living so close to Brian’s parents!

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