Our turtle friend

Paige's favorite book right now is the Littlest Turtle.  I think she got it in a party favor bag at a birthday party.  But she carries it around with her.  We actually left it in the grocery store the other day, and had to truck it back up there because she was about to lose her religion over it.  

She was SO excited when she heard David casually tell me that there was a turtle on the back deck.  "TURTLE!  WHERE!  I want to see the turtle! TURTLE! TURTLE!"  This was in the evening, so it had cooled off, and I guess the little guy was out for a stroll.  David says he normally sees him hanging out on the side of our house when he mows.  

And yes, she even has her turtle book in her hand.  

He was a feisty little thing!  We had to keep grabbing her hands because she wanted to pick him up and I don't think he would have reacted favorably to that.

I asked Paige, "what do you think his name is?"  She said, "turtle."  Creative.

Braley news

I have some news about Braley and his speech issues, but first - how are we surviving in this heat?

Thank goodness for school!  Miss thing in her "Dora pony."  Don't even ask.  Dora has a short, black bob.  But Paige asks for a Dora pony, and by that, she means a long, blonde, side pony.  She also likes Dora braids, which means a pony with a braid.  Or Dora piggies.  Which means piggies tied in small buns.  Who knows how a 3 year old's brain works!

We can tolerate being in the water table only if it is in the shade, and for about 20 minutes at a time.

Now, on to Braley.  Today, I was asking him where body parts were (he has mastered nose, eyes, ears, hands, knees, toes, belly, fingers) then I asked him where his elbow was, and he pointed to his elbow (a new one! yay!) and said "elbow" clear as day.  I looked at David and his mouth was just dropped open.    So I asked again, and he again, said, "elbow."  This is HUGE for Braley.  He has never been one to repeat.  As a baby, I would say, bababa or any other consonant babbling noise, and Jack would repeat it back, but Braley rarely, if ever did.  It was always on my mind that he didn't do that.

So I tested him some more.  I said, Braley, can you say, mama?  He got a huge grin on his face, pointed to me, and said, "mama."  Cue, mommy and daddy tears.  Could it be that things are finally starting to click with him?

Make no mistake, he still isn't talking unprompted.  Like, when Jack finishes his meal, he holds up his plate, looks at me and says, "all done! Down!"  He isn't there.  Not even close.  He is no where near where he needs to be at 19 months.  I understand that.

Thankfully, we have a friend who is a speech/language expert and has many many years experience in the field.  She has graciously offered to come over and observe him in his own house for a bit next week and offer us her insight.  

But I really do feel in my heart that he is on the right track.  He does things in his own time, always has.

Zoo Monday

Another great trip to the zoo in the books!  So glad I bought the pass, we have more than gotten our money's worth!  As usual, getting there at 9 am before the crowds and heat become just unbearable is the only way to go.  We are home for lunch and naps and still get to have fun.

The Oklahoma heat is kicking in full blast this week.  Our forecast is 103 + every single day for the foreseeable future.  I am glad the kiddos will have school to give them an activity, because I can't see us getting out in this much.  It is too hot to even water table play, since the deck gets hot and even in water shoes, their feet get hot.  Walks are out of the question.  Looks like we will be entertaining ourselves in doors for a while.

Girl's lake weekend

This weekend was my annual girls' weekend at the lake!  I have been looking forward to it since last year.  I hated that it was so close to our Vegas trip.  I hated leaving the kids again : (

But as the hour got closer to actually leaving, and the packing began...

I got more and more excited and realized that the kids would be GREAT with their daddy, and that I needed this time with my girlfriends.

We do it up right!  Our welcome gifts!

Theme this year was white trash bash : )

And I was lucky enough to have David send me lots of texts of happy babies, and I knew all was well at home.

We spend 2 straight days on the boat, and it was amazing.

Back to reality now, and happy to be here!