How did she do that?

So, the other day I was: folding/putting away laundry and as it was almost time for Paige to nap, I thought I would giver her a mid-day bath. On my way to her room with some clothes, I stopped to start the bath water - I did not shut the bathroom door. I heard Paige crawl into the bathroom, but didn't think much of it because she is still pretty short and I was sure that she couldn't fall in. I was mid-way through re-stacking her blankets when I heard thud, splash, cry. When I got into the bathroom, there she was, sitting in the corner of the tub, utterly confused.

She loves a bath and was MAD, MAD, MAD, when I took her out to take her clothes off.

(These pictures are not of the actual first time she fell in - I did go running right in and only got the camera when she was not about to drown! But, I had to re-create a little bit)

Bike Riding!

Ashlee started riding a bike for the first time this weekend. She honestly could have done it a long time ago, but she was too nervouse that someone might see her learning how. So, on Saturday when we were cleaning out the garage and there was no-one around we got out the bike and now she is a pro!

Look at the concentration!

Another makeup escapade, this time she was at the neighbors!

Here is Paige seconds before she chipped her tooth (just a tiny bit) on the pack and play! Not only did she get hurt, but she hated the thing, I may never get yard work done this year.

And just a little update on the field trip. At the last minute Christopher was able to go with her - they had a great time, the play was Flat Stanley - on the bus ride on the way home (about an hour ride) Christopher fell asleep, and now in Ashlee's words: "I was just snuggling into Daddy and getting comfortable when Hayley and Diesha turned around and said 'Ashlee, hey Ashlee, your dad is drooling!'" Poor daddy - he has been getting up around 4am to work on his MBA, and he is in IP upgrade so he has to really study the plane...he has been very busy. What a great Dad to take time out to go on a field trip though!

Field Trip, FHE

Ashlee is on a field trip today. She was a little bit anxious about the whole thing...when Christopher asked her last night where they were going she said "I don't know, but one thing's for sure I'm going to be eating my lunch on the bus. And I am taking a lunchable and mom is sending me with a brownie." She may not know where they are going or what they are going to be doing...but she's got the menu down - the one thing she has contol of. (They are going to see a play at the state theatre in New Brunswick) I hope she has a great time.

On another note:

At Stake Conference on Sunday, one of the speakers was talking about missionary work - He was an excellent speaker and he really held Maggie's attention. One person he mentioned from the Book of Mormon was Pahoran (rebuked by Moroni unjustly) and suggested we look it up when we got home. We talked about it a little on Sunday and then decided to have Family Home Evening last night about Pahoran and Moroni. As we were wrapping things up, Christopher spoke about the need to be patient with each other and I said we should always give others the benefit of the doubt and respond kindly to others even if they speak harshly with us. Now on to dessert! We were going to watch a 15 minute video about Captain Moroni while eating our brownies...so I get the video out, start to queue it up and then decide to be in charge of brownies (just a tiny bit of micro-managing:) )while Christopher is getting said video ready... I put the case (important so that we know where to start the video) next to the TV, and walked into the kitchen. He can't find the video and is talking loudly -not yelling, but in a clearly exasperated voice - from the next room "What did you do with the cover? ....I can't find it.... Where is it?.. What segment did you say you want to watch?... My responses were something like:well it's not in here with me, look for it....etc...- culminating in muttering "he makes me so mad sometimes" while I was placing the brownies on my children's plates!

So, at least we tried....maybe next week we will talk about not hitting each other and then immediately after the lesson begin pummeling one another....Or we can discuss reading in the scriptures and then turn on the tv right after the lesson and put our scriptures on the top shelf of the bookshelf! I wonder what the kids will remember?

Catching Up

Grandma Honey was here visiting a couple of weeks ago...we went to D.C. for the Cherry Blossom Festival along with about a million other people - it was packed. There was also a Kite Flying festival on the mall - there were so many kites everywhere! We also visited Mount Vernon - did you know that George Washington woke up every morning at around 4 a.m.? I will one day be an early riser - I hope.





Here is Paige chillin' in her shades - we were walking back to the car - it was cold that weekend, but sunny and clear!



Does anyone remember that Simon and Garfunkel song about the zoo?

Someone told me

Its all happening at the zoo.

I do believe it,I do believe its true...

Somethin tells me Its all happening at the zoo.

The monkeys stand for honesty,

Giraffes are insincere,

And the elephants are kindly, but They're dumb.

Orangutans are skeptical of changes in their cages,

And the zookeeper is very fond of rum.

Zebras are reactionaries,

Antelopes are missionaries,

Pigeons plot in secrecy,...What a gas!

You gotta come and see At the zoo.







Well, I had that song in my head the whole day on Wednesday during our zoo visit - Ashlee served as our guide extroardinaire...she is so fun. The best part was when we were on our way out at 5:00 ish we heard the lions roaring, so we ran back to their exhibit and watched and listened. And the big male gave us a few more huge roars before we headed out - so loud and powerful...it was almost unbelievable. We all commented about what it would be like to hear that in any other setting.




Lock all the cabinets....Please. Here is Paige doing her favorite thing - pulling whatever she can out of anything she can find... I only have two cupboards locked (the ones with soaps/cleaners in them) but I am reconsidering...I find little piles all over the house. She just gleefully throws everything out as fast as she can. She doesn't even stop to inspect what she is pulling out...it is maddening!

Look! She is waving...this is such a fun stage, full of firsts... and new things all the time.

There are probably more beautiful places to be in the spring (Germany is one I can think of... more changes in elevation)But New Jersey is unbelievably gorgeous. Today on the way home we saw a Tulip Tree covered in blossoms (not this picture) it was breathtaking....the forsythia are out. I wish I knew the names of all the flowering trees - like the beauty in this picture, it's blossoms look just like daisies. Happy spring!

Guess what else? Today I made wheat bread - it turned out so yummy!

Funny Girls

Paige has a new toy...I can't decide if it will help her walk or hinder, but she has taken to pushing the kitchen chairs around so we thought she would like this. So far, not so much. It goes a little too fast for her so she usually pushes it for a few feet and then sits down and crawls away from/around it. Still, she will probably be walking soon- maybe in time for her birthday.

Today, I could have been a little more attentive: Exhibit A: chocolate millk mix high! I was on the phone, daddy was away and big sisters were in the bedroom glued to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on CD:

Hmm.... I think I'll just take a look at my favorite
corner cupboard and see if I can find any of my favorite cherry puffs. What is this big yellow can? I wonder if the lid comes off...?









Does she look a little bit like she might have a little bit of a chocolate hangover? I hope she didn't breathe too much of all that powder into her nose.










Exhibit B: Makeup bag left on bathroom counter = fun for a little girl. Normally they just put the makeup on their dolls...she came out of the bathroom and said "Mom, I just wanted to spook you a little so look what I did." As a side note, when we were in DC last weekend, we were leaving our hotel to go to church and Maggie seemed to be lingering in the room..."I'll come down with mom" (I'm always the last one ready- some things never change) she says a little too casually. So I finish up in the bathroom and come out to find Maggie in front of the mirror with a makeup brush in hand, which led to this exchange: "What are you doing, Maggie?" "I need a little powder because I have bags under my eyes." (We had been outside the whole day before and she always catches the sun right on the tippy top of her cheek bones)












Is anyone else spooked?

I will post some pictures of Grandma Honey's visit soon, the girls had lots of fun with her.