Kayleigh has just learned to roll over and now is eager to move on to crawling. I think she's doing pretty well for her very first attempt at crawling, which we saw and recorded yesterday!

Link to Video

We have brand new trespassers. I know it's not good to have a rabbit infestation in our yard, but they are so darned cute!! We believe at least 4 of them are living under our back porch.

The girls and I went to the annual Denver Chalk Art Festival at Larimer Square on June 5th, so I am a little late in posting pictures. My brother, Allen, came with us since he lives only a couple of blocks away from the event. Our friends, Kim, Gwen, and Cameron were there as well.

The festival was neat - beautiful and colorful. Over 200 artists were there, creating some amazing drawings. We walked around to view all of the artwork and then spent a lot of time in the Kids' Corner where Abby and Gwen got to create their own chalk masterpieces!

A really fun time, aside from the heat. I'm looking forward to going again next year.



http://public.fotki.com/newells/2010/denver-chalk-art-fe/

We have discovered the best physical activity for a preschooler - weeding!

After dinner one night we decided to tackle some huge weeds in our backyard. We pulled out a bunch of bubble wands and bubble makers for Abby to enjoy while Paul and I got our hands dirty. Kayleigh had her Gymini playmat and Bumbo seat on the lawn to watch us and play. When Abby saw what we were doing, though, she abandoned her bubbles and asked for her gardening gloves! For an hour and a half, she pulled small weeds out of the rock bed, shouting "They just go POP and come right out!!!!" and fell on her bottom trying to yank weeds taller than herself out of the flowerbeds. When she got tired of pulling, she happily ran back and forth between us and the collection piles to gather all the pulled weeds.

We all had a great time! Who knew that a tedious task of pulling weeds could be such a fun family activity!

I have come across recommendations to view Mila's Daydreams 4 times in the last week and I find myself clicking on the links to the blog and watching the YouTube video every time. It just doesn't get old. Too adorable and sooooo cute!

Mila's mom creates these wonderful dreamscapes around her napping daughter. Her interpretations of what Mila could be dreaming during these naps are so beautifully visualized. And I'm quite amazed at what a great sleeper Mila must be to be able to tolerate so much being created around (and with) her while she sleeps.

I highly recommend this blog if you are looking for something to instantly bring a smile to your face.

When Abby was 100 days old, I draped a bed sheet over the couch and the Boppy pillow and we had a lot of fun taking some photos. So, I decided to do the same with Kayleigh.





The 100 days birthday is celebrated by some Chinese. I believe the tradition carried over from ancient times when it was difficult for babies in certain regions to live 100 days, so when they reached the milestone, a celebration was in order. Modern days, it's just another excuse to celebrate the birth of a precious bundle of joy.

I believe that by 100 days a baby reaches that ultimate baby cuteness that lasts through babyhood. Newborns are cute because they're small and we see their cuteness potential, but they are often wrinkly, jaundiced, pimply bumps on a log. It takes several weeks before they start plumping up, waking up, and interacting with the world, which is when they become really cute.

By now, Kayleigh has already laughed and giggled out loud, rolled over from back to tummy (7/18), has great neck support/head control, and is capable of sleeping more than 7 hours straight at night, though she doesn't do it consistently....and she definitely likes boys. Her favorite people - the ones she smiles at and laughs for the most - are her gong-gong (my dad) and her daddy.

I've said it before - Kayleigh is the easiest baby to care for.

She rarely cries and is generally very, very happy and content. Now that she is almost 3 months old and is more expressive and vocal, she gives plenty of warning before resorting to cries and the only thing that really distresses her enough to cause crying is the need for a diaper change.

See for yourself. Here is Kayleigh telling us she's got a wet diaper.

Paul made Abby a transitional crib when she was born. The crib will transition into a toddler bed and then into a full-size bed. However, Abby skipped the toddler bed and went straight to a full-size. In the mean-time, Kayleigh arrived. So, rather than making an entirely new transitional crib, Paul decided to just make Abby a new bed.

He took the original bed's design and modified the headboard and footboard. Since Abby's room is small, a tall footboard would have made the room feel cramped, so we lowered it and gave it the same curve of the headboard. The result is a beautiful bed with which Abby is absolutely thrilled!

Happy Birthday, Abigail!!

Our little girl is 3 years old now, can you believe it?

We are throwing her a birthday party with all of her friends on the 17th, so today the family celebrated with a couple of small presents and a birthday dinner of Abby's choice. Guess what she chose for her birthday dinner after numerous suggestions.......a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

This past Sunday, Paul's parents came up to celebrate Abby's birthday. Abby had been requesting a pink butterfly cake for her birthday for as long as I can remember, so I gave it my best shot.

Here is the result.

Abby received a bunch of Princess related gifts, mainly dress-up clothes, to her utter delight.

Last year, she still didn't quite get the excitement of birthday celebrations, but turning 3 has been a really, really big deal for her and I'm glad we are able to celebrate over the course of several days, starting July 4th and lasting through July 17th. Hopefully, she doesn't get used to this much attention, though!