Kids + Tents = FUN!

What is it about kids and tents? Or even old boxes? I remember some of my favorite memories as a child involved playing in an old refrigerator box, my sister and I rolling around while my Dad pushed us. Or, we had this playhouse made of canvas, and we would set it up in the living room and play in there for hours. But most fun of all, making homemade tents under the kitchen table and "hiding" kept us occupied for days on end. For the girls' birthday, a friend bought them these pop-up tents that are animal-shaped and fold up for storage, but every few days, I'll get them out so that the girls can play in them. We set both of them up, each in the girls' rooms, but inevitably, Caroline wants to play in Claire's and they do a good job of sharing the one tent (most of the time). Both girls have their "cheese" ready to go! Peek-a-Boo, Caroline!

We love hanging out in our tent!

Playing roly-poly and bicycle!

Never can have enough rolling!

Of course, the other favorite thing to do in the tents is stack books and read. They also play this game where Claire stays in her tent and Caroline will bend the top of it down and they both start squealing - these tents have really come in handy to provide some fun time indoors and a diversion from the same old toys. I'm sure at some point they will want to sleep in their tents, so we'll probably get a lot of mileage out of these in years to come!

At Home, part two

More pics from our reading adventures. Unloading books in our room, the girls once again reading while I was getting ready in the bathroom one morning.

Spending some time with our sweet, old Jack. He's pushing about 13-14 years old now, and spends most of his time just lying on the rug sleeping or watching the action. The girls do like to try to boss him around, but occasionally they'll sit by him and pet him. Claire loves trying out her new "cheese" pose as much as she can.

Moving Right Along

It's been a while since my last post; things have been pretty busy at our house lately, but I thought I'd post a few more recent pics of the girls and talk about some of the things they like to do. First of all, a big milestone! They know what "cheese" means now, and don't give me blank stares too much anymore when I take pictures of them. Claire, especially, has gotten into the whole "cheese" thing and practically oversmiles now! It seems like it's either one end of the spectrum or another!
Notice something in the background? Yes, it's piles of books. Honestly, we have other toys for the girls, but probably 85% of their time every day is spent playing with their books. They like to sort them, stack them, move them from room to room, put them on the bookcase, take them off, and of course, read them! They know the titles of all their books and when we pick them up at the end of the day, they tell me the titles. They love reading their "potty" book, and they actually have the book memorized and often recite the entire book to me in the car.

Claire will have nothing to do with barrettes; we start the day with one on, and sometimes it will last an hour, but usually it's out pretty quickly. If I start walking towards her with one in my hand, she says, "Barrette out!" and will put her hand on her head. I painted Caroline's toes the other day, but Claire kindly requested, "NO PAINT!" and stomped off.

Both girls love their sunglasses, and love "Looking cool," as they say.

Future soccer moms?

Since they have turned two, it seems like they have really gained more independence and enjoy playing without my constant supervision now, which gives me a little more time to get things done around the house. I really think they hit their "terrible two's" around 18-21 months, because the last couple of months have been so much fun and actually very pleasant. They know the rules and the routines now, and even though we have the occasional bump in the road, they are really great in stores and restaurants now and are getting much better riding in the car as well.