OK, so I can’t seem to post my videos. I am going to try an experiment to see whether this works. Please bear with me…

Mom, you should see that some things are underlined. These are links you can click on to take you to the videos on an outside site. I tried to make the links the first part of each line for you.

Here’s an old one of Laine walking. It was filmed on March 27.

Isaac on his bike in the park. This was taken a few days before his third birthday.

He is so fast!

Fun with bubbles (and Gma and Gpa).

Grandma fed Laine sorbet. Laine kept making this terrible face, but then she would ask for more. She did it over and over again and we couldn’t stop laughing!

Laine on the move. This was the day before Isaac’s 3rd birthday.

More walking! This was on April 22.

Isaac the mechanic got this toy for his birthday. He has really enjoyed it! There are several other kits available and I think we may have to get him some more.

I started making smoothies last month. The kids have started drinking them. They sort-of share with me. Or not, as the case may be.

Our little walker. She’s on old pro now, as you can see.

An afternoon ramble last week took us into the park.

Playing on the swing one afternoon last week. I wish I could have gotten more of Isaac laughing. He was just hysterical about Laine being on the swing and her moving around. It was fun to witness!

Dinnertime has become more interesting in our house these days. I just love watching these two together.

We play outside almost every day.

Laine finally swings for a few minutes at a time. Isaac would sit in there forever if I didn’t get him out. She’s too busy to sit “still” for long!

Laine bounces up and down anytime she gets excited (or frustrated) and I just love this expression of exuberance!

The Power Wheels is getting a workout these days. Today, Laine rode it into the park next door. Then we chased Isaac around a bit as he pushed one of the big dump trucks. Finally, I carried the dump truck (and Laine) home so Isaac could ride on his “truck.”

Dinner disaster! This was from tonight.

So I realized after posting these that most of them are Laine. Oops!!! I guess I’d better get some of Isaac up here!

Isaac finished school today. That should make it easier to get video, since we’ll be together more during the summer. HOORAY!!!

Ugh! I wrote this March 28 and it never posted…

My baby girl is one! Oh, how the time has flown. She is SUCH a little darling! She is sweet and mischief, all in one. I can’t imagine life without her. She has taken to the idea of “toddler” very strongly and spent quite a bit of time just walking around yesterday afternoon. It was quite a shock to Todd and me!

We spent the weekend in Kerrville to celebrate Laine’s big day with Todd’s parents. They have been at an RV resort there, so we rented one of the on-site cabins close to them. It was a perfect arrangement and we will definitely plan to do it again (though preferably without Todd getting a stomach flu next time). We celebrated on Saturday to maximize the chance to enjoy warm weather before the cold snap blew in for Sunday and Monday. Laine had her first cupcake and enjoyed smooshing all of the icing around! 🙂 Isaac loved Laine’s choo choo train and they have been playing with it together ever since.

We returned home on Tuesday and everyone was happy to sleep in their own beds once again.  Laine opened a few more gifts at home, including a nifty Wheely bug from Aunt Krissy and Uncle Dave, a sweet dress and pants outfit from across the pond, a stuffed lamb with a Sandra Boynton book from the McCrackens, and a “house” from Mom, Dad, and Isaac.

Here is the video update from the past almost-month:
March 1

March 3

March 4

March 6

March 12 – this is their favorite game lately

Learning to walk on March 13

This past weekend…
This was a really cool treehouse at the RV resort

New toy!

LAST NIGHT’S ACTIVITIES!!!

CRAZY wind storm earlier this week. You can’t see much in the video, but listen to the noise. Nuts-o.

This dump truck toy box was made by Todd’s grandfather for Todd when he was little. The door says “TJ’s Trucking” on it because that was Todd’s nickname as a little boy.

This was our entertainment on several different afternoons this week. Laine was napping, so Isaac and I had some fun in the front yard.

This has also been a repetitive activity this week. I am so glad that Isaac now gets excited about playing with Laine!

This little one is all mischief. I have to keep her out of trouble somehow! (Please don’t report me; I swear on my life that I have never closed the gate while she is inside).

Isaac has a spray bottle for cleaning the windows (and occasionally himself).

Tonight’s entertainment:

I could explain about my identity being stolen, but it’s just annoying. So here are some videos of the kiddos instead.

I love seeing Laine “cruising.” Isaac never did this. He would crawl over to something and stand up. He very rarely, if ever, actually continued to walk around it. He preferred to only walk forwards – holding a walker or someone’s hands.

It’s chilly outside today, so we had a little indoor water-play.

Making her way around the bathroom. Todd leaves for Europe tomorrow morning. He’s returning late Friday night. I told him he’d better hurry or he may miss Laine’s first steps. She can stand without holding on now and likes to do it. I haven’t yet caught it on video, but she’s also started to assess whether she can take a step or two to get to something that’s just beyond her reach.

This is how we prefer to work off all of that hamburger:

We took a family walk on Sunday. We almost didn’t get out of the park next door:

Yesterday was 70 degrees and sunny in the late afternoon. It was a rainy morning, which made for the perfect conditions to play in the yard for a while before it finally got dark.

I swear I also take still photos, but the kids are in such constant motion that this is a better way to capture them these days. This way you can hear them, as well, so you can have a better idea of what’s going on in our little piece of paradise.

Here’s what’s been happening in our neck of the woods.

Laine turned 10 months old and is the cutest baby girl I know:

Isaac loves her (when he can smoosh her):

Laine started practicing walking (and now you know why I don’t post more often). These were taken on January 29, so you can get an idea of how she’s progressing:

January 30:

Laine invading Isaac’s personal space, which she does a LOT:

I picked up Isaac after school yesterday and we worked on getting out some wiggles before getting in the car to come home for lunch and a nap:

Sometimes, Laine takes a break from learning to walk:

Isaac’s grandparents got him a spray bottle and a squeegee for Christmas. He’s been “washing the windows” with water for a few days now. He loves doing it! I follow him around and try to keep him from soaking things other than the windows. It’s been great for developing the muscles in his hands.

Our little fireman loves water. I finally gave up and ordered him rain boots today. When Austin doesn’t get rain for 9 months, I can now be blamed. 🙂

I hope you enjoyed the update! It’s not that I haven’t had anything going on… I am just quite busy chasing 2 little people around the house, yard, school,