This was a big week! Nana & Papa’s gift for your birthday arrived!!! A new fabulous playground!!! We had it installed on a Friday and because it was cemented into the ground we had to keep you off of it until Saturday morning…this was QUITE the challenge! You guys were so cute on Saturday morning…we tried to get you to eat breakfast to no avail. You wanted to see the playground!
Pardon the foggy pictures. It was so humid outside my camera kept fogging up!
For the July 4th holiday we often head up to Cashiers, NC and visit my parents mountain house. You guys LOVED every minute of exploring the wilderness up there! We took golf cart rides all over Bridge Creek and would get out and explore each new area. We saw bunnies (which you guys both call “hop hops”) nibbling on clover, baby toads down by the big pond (“ribbits”), and wild turkeys running for cover when they saw us coming in the golf cart. We even got to see dump trucks and diggers working at the top of the mountain! I think my favorite part was driving around with you guys in the golf cart in our laps calling, “Here hop hops….here hop hops…”
I wasn’t sure how you guys would feel about seeing and hearing your first fireworks, but you loved them and kept asking for more! We went to the Village Green in Cashiers, danced and listened to music and watched your first set of fireworks. You guys were troopers and hung in there even though it was past your bedtime. The next day we played outside all day! The covered bridge leading into Bridge Creek was a big hit!
Uh oh! Cody “fall down”!
Both of you ran back and forth over the bridge! We also found rocks and threw them over the side to watch the go “kerplunk” into the creek below!
Cody, you loved to walk on the balance beam down the bridge…
Next we went down to the big pond and ran around like crazy!
Avett had fun sliding down the Adirondack chair foot rest.
Cody, you found sweet little tiny toads and wanted to “hold it”…
Then, you found some Black Eyed Susan wildflowers and had some fun!
Avett, you worked up an appetite and came back to the porch to eat a snack with your buddy Frei…
Cody, you are very focused on potty training right now. Washing your hands afterwards is very important…
Our friend Tammy came to see us and brought you guys the sweetest little onesies! Here you are modeling them for her before bedtime!
Lastly, we took our annual picture of both of you with the Tyre twins. They are 1 day older than you and live in Atlanta and have a vacation home in Cashiers, NC just around the corner from Nana & Papa’s house. Here is a side by side pic of all of you for the last 2 years!
It is unbelievable how much you have grown in the last two years. We love all of you!
Today was sort of a lazy day. We’ve been so busy traveling and needed a lazy day around the house. We started this morning crafting with stickers that Shannon Stratton gave you for your birthday…
Cody, every time I handed you a sticker you wanted to taste it…we were choosing different type of frosting stickers and decorations to put on top of pictures of cupcakes…and we all know you love cupcakes!
While we had some downtime Daddy decided to put together the easel that Diane sent you for your birthday. Both of you were a big help to Dad while he put it together!
Once we got the easel together we started drawing with chalk.
For the first time ever Cody started to draw circles. Here you are letting me know by drawing and saying, “Circles! Circles!”
Cody, you love being able to wipe the easel clean and start again…
The two of you stood side by side drawing with chalk for quite a while…
And then Avett took over…
There were some chalky handprints left around the playroom…
Cody, you were so focused on your drawing that your feet gave you away. First, you tried to climb into your drawing…
Then, you were on your tippy toes!
And here, you are kinking up your knee…
Next we moved outside to paint!
Avett, you really preferred “sorting the paints”…
Then, you decided to take a break from sorting and check out the back yard.
Then, back to sorting…this time in the back of your car. : )
No paparazzi please!!!
Painting is exhausting and you were both soon ready for nap time!
All in all a wonderful day. : )
Yesterday we decided to throw on our bathing suits and have some fun on the deck. We started by filling up the water table, adding a squirt of dish soap, and having a good old fashioned car wash…
Avett, you thought the cookie monster car looked especially dirty and needed a deep clean…
Cody, you had a great time just pouring the soapy water between these two cups. You were so focused and did a great job keeping the water in the cups!
And then…you thought you needed a soapy beard. : )
Avett, you kept saying “Bubbles! Bubbles!” and had a great time just feeling the bubbles between your fingers…
While Avett dipped his toes in the pool, Cody decided to water my pot of mint and petunias with her bumble bee watering can…
Avett, I love that when you are really concentrating you stick out your tongue to help you focus…
Rush hour traffic puts Cody in a bad mood…
At least her curls look fabulous. : )
AVETT! Are you pouring your bubbles into the water table???? Can you say
B-U-S-T-E-D?
Today I decided to start off the 52 Project while you were playing on the deck having your snack. We spend most of our playtime outside these days. Both of you chant “Shoushide? Shoushide?” before we are even done with breakfast.
Watermelon is a big hit right now with you Cody…
Avett, you are getting over a brutal cough right now and begged for yogurt at the refrigerator. You are intently working on mastering your “spoon skills”.
Both of you are both obsessed with rocks right now. You collect them in a bucket from the yard and driveway, throw them into the kiddie pool, and will hold onto them for hours at a time. Cody was playing with one on the porch today…I love this of your sweet little belly button!
While I’ve had the camera out a lot in the last two years I truly feel like it is never going to be enough. Each day brings a flood of precious moments with these sweet kids that I feel like I can never possibly come close to capturing all of the reasons in a day that I feel lucky to be their mother. I cannot believe I am celebrating Avett and Cody’s 2nd birthday. I’ve thought long and hard about what to do for them for their birthday this year. We REALLY don’t need any more toys…especially since a mixing bowl and a spatula are all they really need to be happy. So, I’m going to try to do something a bit more personal…something that will tell them a little more about their mother and hopefully capture some of their precious and fleeting childhood memories. Every week I am going to get out the camera and take some portraits that capture a day in the life of our little family. Happy second birthday to the funniest, sweetest, cuddliest little two year olds I know. You are loved more than you can possibly imagine and joy follows you everywhere.
The Case Crew 