In the Words of Hazel

Cute things the little nut is saying.

Nin-ners- Fingers
Granma Wright Denner - Used for both grandmoms
I spy my lille eye sonthin . . . (Both girls are a huge fan of this game right now.)
Dalla (or Dallo if she's trying to be funny) - Clara
Baby Baper Bames - Baby Jasper James
I sit on the bap, momma - At which point she is already plopping down on said lap
I play dame on the iDone - A new favorite pastime, games on the iPhone
1,3,9,10 - How she counts, always only those numbers in that order.
L-M-N-O-Ps - Her name for the alphabet. For example if she sees a word or letters. "Mama, L-M-N-O-Ps, mama!

Some of her favorite books
Green Eggs and Ham ( She loves to quote - Try them, try them and you may.)
A Splendid Friend, Indeed
Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Logan Bogan Was Her Name
No, David
David Gets in Trouble

Sisters

The first picture, I can recall, Clara has drawn of her and Hazel together. I was told it's her and Hazel playing in a snowstorm at night. The red part is a house and the little red C in the sky is a pink half moon covered by the clouds. (We saw a pink full moon last night. I think the fact that the moon was pink left an impression on her.) Is it possible that she loves her little sister? As time goes by and they are both growing so fast, I find them more and more playing together. Not just side by side but together. Yesterday, they jointly made a pretend birthday cake for me set three places at the little red table for the three of us and sang to me. Today, I found them pretend playing mommy and kid. Clara was the mommy and Hazel was the little girl. Watching them together like this makes up for all the arguments over who's getting what color bowl, spoon, cup. And the "She's - kicking me, pulling my hair, pestering me, etc."

Two hours, two kids, one dog

We stumbled out of our air conditioned cocoon this morning for a nice long walk to the museum. We all needed some fresh air and Eli can always use the exercise. We walked and walked and by the end I was practically dragging his chubby butt up the Park Rd bridge. This summer has been particularly hot. I'm very much looking forward to fall, cooler weather and more walks.

Photos of the Girls

I was way behind on "official" photo taking of the girls. It's July and I never got any photos of Clara in her fancy Easter dress or Hazel's 2 year photos. So we did a few inside a couple days ago and a few outside today. Surprisingly, I was able to get one with both of them together. The rest you can check out HERE.

Cloud gazing with friends

Clara

Everyday I look at her and cannot believe how much of a kid she is. At some point I blinked and all her babyness went away.

- Today, while eating apples she held one up and said "My apple looks like Chewbacca." And you know what, it really did.

Leafs

Hazel has developed a bizarre phobia of leaves. Strange, right? Especially for a kid who isn't phased by anything. It all started a few weeks ago when I brought the kiddy pool out on one of the many hot days we've been having. The girls were jumping in and out of the pool so naturally grass and leaves started to accumulate in the water. At some point Hazel realized they were sticking to her and she started freaking out. Since then she can' t so much as look at a leaf on the ground without shrieking. "LEAFS, MAMA!" She won't lay or sit on the grass if she sees them and will immediately get out of the water at the pool if she sees them floating. If she doesn't get over this soon, fall is going to be loads of fun around here.

My new best friend

Bryan recently purchased a new iPhone and I was lucky enough to acquire his old one. I am in love :)

Shot with my Hipstamatic for iPhone

Bounce U

While Bryan was doing the comicon thing today the girls and I had our own fun. We met up with Aliza, Griffin and Maya for lunch and a trip to a bounce house. We've never tried one of these before. Clara and Griffin had such a good time. They didn't stop moving the whole time we were there. It was nice letting them work off all that energy.

Hazel had mixed feelings it wad equal parts fun and scary. The first thing she did when we got there was climb up this massive slide. She went down all on her own but it terrified her. Later we did it together and she was much better. Probably in another year she would enjoy something like this better.

Do you like them here or there?

Hazel's current favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham. She is quite possibly the cutest thing ever, when she recites certain excerpts. In her deep, growly voice. "I DON'T like green eggs and HAAAAAM!" And then her shrill, cute, little Hazel voice. "Try them. Try them and you may." We were reading it tonight and she chimed in on each page. So cute. What's just as cute is Clara finds it to be as cute as I do or at the very least funny. Hopefully, I can snag it on video before she gets sick of the book.

Rainy day walk

Eli, Lola, the girls and I went for a walk in the rain. It was a puddle jumping adventure. What can I say, sometimes you have to forget about the mess and just have fun.

Drawing

Recent Clara drawing

Clara told me this was me inside a house during a thunderstorm. I was told I was smiling but I don't know, I kind of feel like the witch in Hansel and Gretel.

Storytime with Grandmom

Is it even possible to fit anymore cuteness onto that chair?

Accessories make the outfit

I can't say I captured this outfit the best but you get the idea. Grandmom Deemer just bought this outfit for Clara and she loved it so much she had to wear it ASAP. Complete with accessories which include a Dr. Seuss watch clipped to her skirt, a lanyard, headband and butterfly clip and of course crazy, messy hair. I always find her accessorizing very amusing. Yes, she wore the complete outfit with all accessories all day. That is, until the watch broke :(

Movin' Out

Of the crib, that is. That's right. I can't say I was entirely ready for it but once Clara moved up to the top bunk Hazel really wanted to move into the bottom. We added a few safety features to the room for our little trouble finder. Then on Friday night she spent her first night in her big girl bunk bed. Are we seriously done with the crib? I officially no longer have babies in the house. It's such a bittersweet moment. I can't believe how time flies. I'm loving the fact that we'll be getting rid of all the baby stuff. I also love watching my girls turn into these adorable little people. At the same time, when it comes to growing up, it really would be nice if they took their time and slowed down.

Happy 4th!

We had a great 4th of July with friends. After an awesome picnic at Elissa's, we headed down the street to watch the parade. The girls had never seen a parade and were pretty fascinated. Clara even stated "I love this parade!" I think, in truth, she loved all the candy that was being thrown at her.