Sometimes it is all the little things that make up such great things! I know I have already said recently how the girls are cognitively developing at such rapid paces these days and here I am saying it again! It’s a good thing that I have kept my blog a “secret” because I think my followers would become sick of hearing the same things over again. But I can’t stop thinking and talking about it because these little things bring Justin and I so much joy and happiness. Our weekend started out Friday evening with a trip to Foster’s Grill for dinner. We had no food in the house and we like taking the girls out. They have been there a few times already and I always order them the chicken fingers and fries to share. Avery is very particular some meals and basically only ate fries. Emerson of course ate not only her fries but also her chicken and a few bites of mommy’s chocolate shake.
Saturday morning Justin and I got up early and showered before the girls got up. Granted they did not get up until 9:00 so it wasn’t like we got up at the crack of dawn, but nonetheless we got ready early because we wanted to get an early start on the day. Our first destination was the Farmer’s Market in Reston. This was our first trip of the season and while it was good to get there, the bulk of the summer fruits and vegetables had yet to arrive. We did buy some delicious tomatoes though! I gave the girls samples of cucumbers to try. Emerson tried hers, while Avery sniffed and decided she wasn’t interested. In the end Emerson wasn’t the biggest fan either, which doesn’t happen with too many foods. Unfortunately the weather was somewhat rainy so the girls were forced to sit in their stroller and we didn’t stay as long as we would have liked. We had originally planned on going to the Arts Festival at Reston Town Center (RTC) next but the rain became heavier so we were forced to come up with another plan. The girls love being out and about and especially love being outside. Within minutes of waking up each morning, the words “out” come out of their mouths. Knowing that we couldn’t be outside and that we promised them they would get to go out, we decided to take them to the indoor playground in Dulles Town Center. We had never been before and as Justin and I approached it we were intimated and sadly did a “stroll bye” before we decided to enter. The girls were hesitant for two minutes max; however, after that they couldn’t get enough. It was very busy and they were quite aware of all the other kids and did a pretty good job of “sharing” the slides so as not to get trampled or not to trample any other kid. I continue to be quite impressed at how well Avery navigates new environments; however, there were a few times when she fell head first off of some stairs. It didn’t seem to phase her and she did it at least two other times, which makes me wonder if it is more related to vision or related to her free spirit no fear attitude thinking it was funny as she never got hurt or cried. Emerson found this little girl that was probably about 4 years old that she became infatuated with. She kept following her around and wanted the little girl to play with her but I don’t think the girl was terribly interested. The girls are lucky in that there are a lot of elementary school age children on our block and Ana takes them outside all the time. All the young kids on the street know and like the girls from what I understand and I think Avery and Emerson enjoy playing and learning from the older kids. Emerson just saw this girl as another one of the neighborhood girls and expected that she would play with her just like the neighborhood kids. Speaking of playing in the neighborhood, the girls LOVE going for walks outside, playing in the driveway with the ball (my old deflated basketballs) and trying to shoot them in the hoop, and drawing with chalk on the driveway. Emerson also wants a bike now. She sees all the little kids riding their bikes and now she clearly says, “bike, me, bike, me” while pointing to herself. It is the cutest thing EVER! They also like to be helpers and pick bamboo in the background. They know pandas eat bamboo as we went to the National Zoo last weekend and they both say “bamboo”…..that too is the cutest thing EVER! Back to the indoor playground though, they had a great time and while Justin and I were up on our feet constantly tracking one of them as they were some of the younger aged kids playing, I couldn’t believe they had gotten to this point already and couldn’t help but think it wouldn’t be long before I was one of the parents sitting watching their child play. While the girls didn’t want to leave they were pretty good troopers about it and we somewhat bribed them with the next activity….lunch at Red Robin! Justin had never been to Red Robin; I think he only partially wanted to try it, but by the time we left the Dulles Town Center playground, I knew it would be too late to wait for them to eat until we got back to the house…plus this mama didn’t really feel like “cooking” or cleaning up. So off to Red Robin we went! Once again I ordered the girls chicken fingers; this time with mandarin oranges on the side. Justin had extra fries with his and I figured they would eat some of those as well. And once again Emerson ate decently including drinking almost an entire glass of water with a straw by herself; and Avery ate French fries and spilled water on herself as she refused to let anyone help her hold the cup so it wouldn’t tip. Once we got home, it was nap time….nap time for the four of us! The rest of the evening we spent indoors. Earlier in the day my mom had taken out the little play cradle of mine from my childhood. The girls LOVE it. They are very much into their babies right now….love to walk them in their stroller, feed their babies, change their diapers, and now rock them to sleep in the cradle. Much of the evening was spent playing with their babies in the cradle.
Sunday morning’s weather started off misty but by lunch time, the clouds had cleared, and the sky turned sunny. We dressed the girls in their pink Naartjie outfilts and set out to RTC. Emerson was having a great hair day and her Shirley Temple curls were in full force! And with the humid weather even Avery’s short hair was curly. We let them walk for the most part and heads turned everywhere we went. I think the curls combined with the cute outfits and of course the fact that there were two of them grabs the attention of so many. I know I am biased but they really did look so darn cute. I am still kicking myself for not getting their picture together. Justin took a couple with his iphone but the truth is getting a picture of them together is so much easier said than done because they are constantly on the go…in different directions! We were at RTC during the girls snack time in which I brought raisons. We were sitting in the pavilion with Panera right across from us so I ran in to get the girls milk. They each had their own milk straight from the box with a straw. So there they were with their milk and raison box. I can’t get the image out of my head….I think because it just shows how big they are getting…crazy! Emerson isn’t the biggest fan of milk but she LOVES drinking from a straw so she drank all her milk with only a few spills here and there. Avery didn’t get the hang of the milk as well as Emerson. She got really excited with the music that was being played and went to clap with the milk carton still in her hand = spilled milkL.
After the Town Center we stopped by the Reston Library for a few. Our goal was to read a few books to the girls and check out some books to take home. The girls enjoyed picking out books and constantly wanted yet another book to read so we never actually had a chance to read a book. They had fun though and we weren’t bothering anyone so again it brought a smile to my face that our little ladies were actually old enough to hang out at the library!
Last but certainly not least the girls continue to talk more and more each day. Both girls can say Avery, not very clearly, but clear enough to know that is what they are saying. Emerson’s name is definitely harder to say and Justin and I may need to take that into account with naming this next baby girl! Anyway, we tried to see if the girls could say “Eme” for short and they both not only can but they both say it SO clearly. Yesterday when I got home from work the girls were still napping. A few minutes later when I walked upstairs to my room to change, I heard Avery wake up happy and talking. Then she started to say Eme, Eme, Eme. It was the sweetest sound. Emerson was still sleeping and Avery was trying to get her attention. On a funny note, Emerson had been saying fork pretty well. She uses one very well and defintely likes to say the word quite a bit. This weekend, “fork” somehow turned into “f**k”. We tried hard not to laugh out loud; like I said it is ALL the little things that make being a mommy to these two little girls the greatest gift ever!