"Uh-oh, Mommy."

Michaela was hanging out in her exersaucer this morning, something she really loves! She thinks the toys are fantastic and there are enough toys on the tray to keep her busy for a while. Some of them she can even pull into her mouth and chew on so that's super fantastic! I was in the laundry room sorting through the mountain of laundry I need to wash today when Ava came and took my hand. She pulled me into the living room where baby was playing, walked around behind Michaela and pointed at baby's shirt. "Uh-oh, mommy," says Ava Reese. I walked over to see what she was pointing at, already sure that I knew what I'd find and sure enough there was a decidedly nasty looking brown spot on the back of Michaela's shirt, just above her diaper line. Uh-oh is right, Ava!! Time to bathe baby! We took Michaela into the bathroom to get her cleaned up and while I was focusing on Michaela, Ava was stripping down to her t-shirt and getting ready to climb in the tub as well. Apparently it was bathtime for BOTH little Kingma girls. :)

Missing the Anemas already

I was wondering how Ava would react when she realized that her cousins had left and gone back home. For 10 days we had lots of fun with Auntie Amy, Uncle Paul, Taylor, Samantha, and Jackson but they couldn't stay forever. They flew home on Saturday and Ava didn't really seem to notice that they weren't around yesterday. But this morning I brought her downstairs and set her in the living room. I went into the bathroom to start getting ready for the day and a moment later she opened the door. Looking at me with a confused face she asked, "Where Mamie? Where Jack?" ("Mamie" is Amy in Ava speak.) I told her that they went home. "Okay" was her response. Just okay? On past occasions when they left she had some VERY ornery days to follow here at home so I guess we wait and see what the next few days bring. I know that we're all missing you guys out there in California and look forward to the next visit!!

Swimming at Austin's House

There is something very special about having my kids so close in age to my cousin Emily's two children. Em and I have grown up together and have been friends always. Now we get to watch our kids make friends with one another and play and grow together. We have Ava and Austin and now Gavin and Michaela. We spent the day with Emily and her boys a few weeks ago and here are some pictures. The swimming was awesome! The toddlers played and played and played in that little plastic pool in the backyard. The stopped for a supper break and then were back at it again within minutes. They also took some timeouts from the swimming in order to water the plants, talk to the babies, play in the sandbox, and swing. At one point the Double A's were running back and forth from fence to fence in the yard chanting something. Neither Em nor I knew what they were saying but they definitely knew and were chanting the exact same phrase as they ran. :) After the pool both had to take a bath and clean up. While in the tub I overheard Austin as he was trying to stop Ava from wrecking his bath art on the tub wall, "Oh, honey, no. No, honey, don't do that." So darn cute. I guess that's what his mommy calls him so its become his term of endearment to use on others.

In Disguise

Ava got some sunglasses but why not let the baby try them on?

Ava couldn't just wear the glasses, she had to add a scarf to make this a true "ensemble". Now, where does she get the idea for all these accessories?