Mid-February Days

Random sampling from 2/11/14-2/13/14.

Elliott gave Lucy a pile of toys.

She kicked many of them away but he piled all of these on her lap.

Lucy and Elliott are starting to have their own conversations.

I have to be on high alert to make sure he doesn't step on her . . . 

2/12/14. We have a roller! Lucy is consistently rolling from front to back and back to front. She started on the play mat. Lucy's on the move!

Elliott drew this picture after breakfast one morning. In case you don't see it, that is Jesse on the left and Elliott on the right.

Happy nakey baby.

We stopped at Coco and Ted's shop for lunch and a visit one day. What do you do with a two year old in a glass shop? Put him in a giant cardboard box to do some coloring! Elliott loved it!

Uncle Rob Tocker came for a visit. We all loved seeing him!

Elliott had a Valentine's Day party at school. He brought home a goody bag of valentines, candy, and other loot. He has really only had candy a couple of times and doesn't know what it all is. He thinks after dinner mints are a treat! He showed me a couple bags of treats. I joked that Skittles were "sugar." It stuck! (Miss Sam is his teacher.)

Winter Kids' Fair

On our way to dinner at the Smiths' house, I saw a friend's Facebook post about her son riding a camel at the Winter Kids' Fair. We knew Elliott would love to see that so we headed there on Sunday. It seemed to be the petting zoo and carnival rides from the Erie County Fair. It was a great outing for a chilly Sunday morning in February.

Good morning, donkey. We pretty much had the place to ourselves when we got there.

Lucy in her cozy ride.

At the County Fair this summer, Elliott talked about riding a pony but got cold feet when presented with the opportunity to do so. Riding Ginger this fall was a hit. So, when we saw the same ponies from the fair, he was very excited to go for a ride.

He knows how to work the camera!

Petting his pony.

From the real horses to the plastic horses.

This was a speedy carousel. Note the seatbelt around Elliott's waist. Jesse said he had to focus to not get dizzy.

Hi, Mama!

Elliott was then hooked on rides and went from one to the next until we ran out of tickets. Driving the train.

And an airplane.

He turned the wheel the whole time.

Then a firetruck.

Once we were out of tickets, we went back to see the animals. They have an interesting assortment of creatures. Some things you would expect, like a little donkey.

Other less expected beings, like this cow-like creature that I don't remember the name of.

Have you ever fed a camel? I cannot say that I have but Jesse and Elliott can!

All gone!

My boys!

Hello, camel.

One last pet for the camel before we headed home for lunch and nap. This was a great outing. We will have to remember to go again next year.

Dinner at the Smiths'

Two weeks ago, we went to the Smiths' house for dinner with the Donlans and Silvas. We had such a wonderful time. I feel so fortunate to have made such wonderful friends in the past few years since we moved here. 

The girls rolled around during their photoshoot. Well, Hollyn rolled and Lucy and Emma squirmed and kicked their legs.

Hollyn is a lover. She kept holding Emma's hand.

And then she went in for the smooch!

The big kids (Elliott, Elisa, and Colton) loved seeing Nemo on the big screen. When the olympics were on a few minutes before, ski jumping was lifesize!!

Naked babies! Emma and Lucy. Lucy looks surprised!

Friends for life. Look at the hand hold!

Elisa loves holding Lucy. They came over today and I swear Lucy is almost as big as Elisa!

This was the start of a brilliant photoshoot with all the kids. I didn't get any pictures but Leigh posted them on her blog. They are awesome!!!

A little out of order here:

Check out Elliott's hands while watching Cars for the first time. 

Who is coming to visit?

Uncle Rob Tocker!

Lucy's squeals before going to the Smiths' house for dinner.

Science Museum

We went to the Buffalo Museum of Science recently. It was an awesome indoor activity for this very cold weather we've been experiencing.

This was a segment on motion. Note the balls floating above the pipes.

Jesse and Elliott had a great time building this ball maze (for lack of a better word) and driving a gantry crane.

In action.

Elliott wasn't such a fan of the weather booth where you could experience the wind speed of different weather events.

With the "polder" bear.

All that fun is exhausting. Elliott fell asleep on our way home.

Snuggles

Elliott and Lucy are becoming more interested in one another now that she is turning into a little person. She smiles and giggles around him. He loves seeing her reaction and loves it when she plays with his hair (really just putting her hand on his head).

Here come the smiles.

Lucy smiles, too!

Cute kiddos.

Please, don't hit your sister!

Ahhhhhhh!

Lucy wore her St. Andrew's onesie proudly. She's excited to meet more SAS friends when we head to DC in a few weeks.

"This is Aunt Holly's car. This is Uncle Mike's car. This is Uncle Teddy's car."

Talking about our cars. And a shout out to Jenny White for the wooden cars!

Skiing and "Go Broncos"

Elliott has been asking to go skiing with us but it has been far too cold to take him with us. We finally had a thaw during the first weekend in February. It was warm enough to take both kids out with us. Lucy slept the whole time. Elliott had a great time in the backpack.

The boys (that's Tim Magee). The dogs always have a great time. They wrestle and burn off lots of energy.

The girls (that's Laura Magee). You know how there are some people that you always use their first and last name when talking about them? Elliott is like that with the Magees. It is never "Tim and Laura." It is always "Tim Magee and Laura Magee." When he was first learning her name, Elliott referred to Laura as "Laur The Magee." Awesome.

Stopping for a break near the end.

We skied at Laura's grandparents' property. They spend the summers here and also have this cute cabin. There might be some camping here this summer!

My baking helper.

This was "Go Broncos" day. The kids were both in their orange and blue. We all know how well that game turned out for the Broncos. :(

Lucy loves sitting and standing. She needs help sitting up but she's becoming quite the big girl!

She has really found her voice. She is not always quiet!