Slacker (July So Far)

We're still alive, I promise! Brandon has been trying to install a new hard drive (but then discovered that we 1) didn't have the right type adapter to the drive he bought and 2) ordered the wrong adapter the first time). So I can't copy anything to the computer. So this is a post sans pictures (sorry).


The girls are doing really well. We had a great 4th of July. Mom and Dad were in town. We started the holiday weekend with having my dad meet the girls and I at a playdate at an indoor bounce house place. In the past when we've gone there, they weren't very interested (which is why we haven't been back since November). HOWEVER, since Little Miss Thing (Jordan) is now walking and has no fear, she had a BLAST. Now that Allison is a lot more stable on her legs, she actually enjoyed herself too! We can't wait to go back!


After that was lunch at Cici's. Allison learned a valuable life lesson - Contrary to popular belief, Mommy and Papa do NOT always win at the crane game. And sometimes, the sticker machine is broken. But Papa has a backup toy he won earlier from another crane in his truck! ;)


Brandon had a softball game Thursday night and he had his worst display of skills ever. The guys were giving him heck for doing it in front of his father-in-law. Even so, my dad now has the softball itch (so if anyone knows of a men's rec league in San Antonio, let him know).


Mom got in Friday afternoon. The girls were SO happy to see her. Of course, Allison immediately started asking for "surprises." Luckily, Nana had stocked up (thank goodness for the dollar bins at Target and Michaels!)


We went to the splash park the morning of the 4th. When we got there, we were the only ones there. A few people showed up but it was really empty. It was fun.


We spent the evening of the 4th at Brandon's boss' house for a family BBQ. Jordan decided to go swimming after we had dried her off and put her back in her dress. And Allison snuck Cheetos...ALL NIGHT LONG. She also got to have a juice box (which is reserved for special occassions, so she was VERY HAPPY).


On Sunday, we had a few of the Houston Kappa Sigs over for fajitas. It turned out really nicely. Sean and Lindsey brought red and blue Jello and the makings for red, white and blue parfaits for everyone. Allison was in HEAVEN.


I don't remember what else we did early in the week following but last Thursday we went to Chuck E Cheese with some of the moms from my playgroup. I honestly can say that I love Chuck E Cheese. I think I like going as much (or more!) as the girls do. The pizza has a garlic butter crust and I love winning tickets so Allison can get suckers. While we were there, there were a couple of daycare groups. So they had Chuck E lead a parade around the restaurant with all the kids and said they'd give free tickets to the kids who participated. Well, "giving tickets" meant throwing them out of a shoebox. Needless to say, the big daycare kids (who were probably all like 2nd graders) got all the tickets before our little toddlers figured out what was going on. One of the moms went and complained and the manager gave her a bunch of tickets to give to all of us! You rock Sarah! Allison loves to play games and Jordan loves to run away and play on the toddler playground.

Friday we went to this place that is an indoor playground for kids and a coffee shop for moms. It was awesome. Allison was even doing great playing on the "big kid" play structure, until she wanted down and realized she didn't know how to get there. I had to walk underneath her (holding Jordan so SHE didn't climb up there) and guide her to a slide. The slide was a LONG enclosed twisty one, so once she got in it, she got a little freaked out. So the little boy behind her basically pushed her the rest of the way down. They were both cracking up by the time they got to the bottom, so I thanked him for "helping" her. He was proud and she was happy. Not too long after that, she decided she was hungry. And once she makes that decision, nothing else will appease her. So we headed to Chick Fil A. Bad move. Apparently we went on "dress up like a cow and get free food" day. According to Allison, "everyone be cows here." The place was PACKED but the girls actually did great.

We went out to dinner Friday night to a local restaurant that does make your own pizzas for kids. Brandon and I each had a pizza burger (a burger with basically all the toppings of a supreme pizza and sauce). WONDERFUL. Allison kind of enjoyed making it (but she enjoyed eating it more).

Saturday was the splashpark. Jordan had the most fun she's had there yet. And a stranger took her picture and then told me, "I'm sorry. She's just so cute!"

On Sunday, we tried to teach Allison to ride her bike. We're running into some problems. She's so big that her head is ALMOST too big for her "toddler" helmet. Her thighs ARE too big for her knee pads. And she's too big for a tricycle and trying to teach her to pedal a bike is hard.

Yesterday, we went to a mall about 30 minutes away to play on their free indoor playground, eat lunch and then ride their merry-go-round. SOOOOO much fun! The girls were incredibly well behaved and had a blast.

That's what we've been up to. I have some pictures but will post them whenever the computer gets fixed. Now some updates on the girls:

Jordan - is practically running. She doesn't do the "learning to walk" Frankenstein walk at all. She's starting to talk nonstop (like Allison). She has learned a ton of new words lately (and a couple of signs). She also is starting to do some animal sounds. Let's see if I can remember all of her words - hi, bye, mom, dad, nana, papa, night-night, thank you, please, monkey, Elmo, dog, kitty, Abby (Sesame Street character....also Ernie and Big Bird), mine, banana, more. I think that's all. She tries to sing along with the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Patty Cake and the ABCs. It's so stinkin cute.

Other than not wanting to go peepee in the potty, Allison is a big kid. She has to do most everything herself now. She also really looks out for Jordan. She'll pick up her cup if Jordan throws it off the table (and won't let Brandon or I get it). She LOVES to sing. And she has really started to play pretend. Almost all of her animals have "babies" of some sort and when they go to sleep, get pushed in the stroller, etc their babies have to come along. (Or she has them help their babies). We're still trying to get her interested in potty training, but it's not coming along smoothly at all. She LOVES potty books and movies, she just won't sit on hers anymore without MAJOR drama. I know she'll do it when she's ready but it doesn't make it any less stressful for us now.

That's it. We're just enjoying the last part of summer. We've got a "mommy and daddy only" trip to Denver next week. And Brandon starts school in August. Allison starts school in September. I'm going to try to get Allison in a dance class and get Jordan in some kind of "mommy and me" class.

Have a good day!! I'll get pictures up soon!