"The Little River"

For a few weeks Claire had been asking to go to "the little river" at the zoo.  We tried to go once last year and got rained out, so even though we hadn't been there to play, she knew that it had water to splash around in, and that she wanted to go there.

On Friday we met Grace and Aunt Carol when the zoo opened and visited some of the animals.  After it started getting hot, we headed to the Tot Spot for the kids to play.  Claire and Will had a blast.  I thought we would just stay for a half hour or so and then go ride the train, but when the time came to leave, they both said they'd rather keep playing at the river than go for a train ride.  Surprising, but they were having too much fun to drag them away!  Carol and Grace left to see a few more exhibits and catch the train, and Claire and Will played for another hour.  We finally had to leave to go get lunch, and I literally had to drag Will away kicking and screaming (he was quickly appeased by the thought of a grilled cheese, though).

So fun - we will be back soon!

The ponytail was flying as she ran around




Chasing the bird - one of Will's favorite activities


Snack break!

Clouds and Rain

Wednesday afternoon we tried out an activity I saw on Pinterest - cloud dough.  I'm glad we took it out on the patio to play, because it was m.e.s.s.y.  Unlike some of the kids in this blog post, our dough was scattered around the bins within a few seconds.  They had fun with it, but after it's used up, I don't think we'll make it again.







We really had fun just being outside and playing in the yard.  A storm was coming in, and the temperature was about 20 degrees lower than normal.  So nice to have a break from the heat!







Will thought our party needed some bubbles, as usual.


When the rain came, the kids had fun running around.  The shower didn't last long, so they didn't get completely soaked.







It was a great afternoon.

Seriously?

Yesterday I glanced at the video monitor during nap time to see if Claire was asleep or messing around in her room, and I saw this:

I watched for a minute, certain that she would move, then went and opened her door to find her dead asleep.  I don't get it - I have to have almost perfect conditions to fall asleep, and here is my daughter asleep practically on her head.  She is my sleep hero!  :)  I did move her into a normal position - after I took the photo.

Sacked out

Last night I glanced at Claire's monitor before going to bed around 10:30 and noticed that it seemed awfully bright in her room, meaning either her lamp or main bathroom light was on and needed to be turned off.  I opened the door and started laughing - she was completely sacked out, and I had to get a picture.  It was just so funny to me for a number of reasons:

1.  How in the world does she sleep like that?  My arms and legs would go numb.
2.  I knew she was excited about the new shoes we got yesterday, but not enough to get out of bed and put them on (backwards) after I tucked her in.  Where did she think she was going?
3.  Might be time for some new pajamas - these seem a little small!