We are extremely blessed with a child who at 3 years old understands letting mommy and daddy sleep in.

Even though Abby may get up early, she finds something to entertain herself if everyone else is still asleep. Usually she'll read in her room or play outside our bedroom. Many times she'll even go back to her room, tuck herself back into bed, and sleep for awhile longer.

At 7:45 AM yesterday I was woken up by the sound of Abby whispering something in the distance then thump thump thump thump thump, shuffle shuffle, pause, thump thump thump thump thump followed by more whispering.

"Abby?" I called out, still groggy.

She is just outside our bedroom and pokes her head in, smiling.

"Abby, Kayleigh is still asleep, do you want to come in the room and play quietly?"

Whispering, "Um, no thank you. My giraffe is trying to sleep, so I have to stay with him. You can sleep in."

I don't argue with that! So, I closed my eyes and listened to her chattering quietly with her giraffe for a good 20 minutes before guilt pulled me out of bed for good.

When I took Abby to get dressed, this is what I found at the other side of our bedroom door. She had been running back and forth from our bedroom to hers to gather blankets for her giraffe.

More than 10 years ago, the Cherry Creek Mall in Denver opened their indoor play area, which consisted of soft, giant, breakfast items where kids can climb, jump on, crawl under, and basically have a great time.

So, for as long as I could remember, hopping on sliced bananas, skipping on the waffle squares, and sliding down bacon strips was the huge attraction for me at this super chic mall where the only thing I could afford was a Cinnabon.




In August 2010, they had pulled all of the breakfast items and created a new "Looney Toons in Colorado" themed play area and we went to check it out yesterday.






Kayleigh is finally old enough to get in on the action, with lots of help, of course.


"Look, Mama! I'm on fire!"

I am thrilled with Playtime Creations, which is the company that designed this play area, which is creative, fun, and safe for the little ones.

Wouldn't you love to have some of their Classic Elements in your backyard? Prop your feet up on a ladybug or read a book while leaning against a baby bigfoot turtle? I definitely would!

How can you not be happy after seeing an OK Go music video?

A few of my favorites include:
This Too Shall Pass (Rube Goldberg Machine Version)
This Too Shall Pass (The Marching Band Version)
Here It Goes Again (The Treadmill Video)

Here's their latest video for 'White Knuckles'. With the help of some very well trained, four-legged performers, this is probably one of the most difficult videos OK Go has filmed, I would imagine.

I got this in an email. Not sure where it originated, but it's pretty funny.

Abby is just hilarious these days - our clown extraordinaire! Although, her emotional swings are so dramatic that it's exhausting to try and keep up sometimes.

At 3 years old, she is shaping her personality and taking responsibility for her actions. The days have been challenging for both parents and child as she tests boundaries and tries different approaches to situations to see what the consequences are.

She reacts to everything over-dramatically. Like last week when her sister had to start taking medication for her ear infections. Abby saw us with the liquid and she exclaimed, "No!! Is she dying?!" Everything is extreme.

We have been working on her reaction to food being offered to her to taste. She had been putting her nose up in the air and shouting, "Yuck! That's gross! Ewww...." and going on and on until the offerer loses their appetite.

We explained to her that just because she may not like something doesn't mean that it doesn't taste great to someone else. It's rude to proclaim something disgusting, especially if you haven't tried it. You can decline nicely if you don't want to try it.

Well, it's working. Although she has been great about trying most things, when she declines, she says, "No thank you. I know it's probably very tasty, but I don't want any. Thank you, though." Nice, Abby!

She is starting to resolve issues with friends using words and her sometimes warped sense of logic, but it's a huge step forward compared to the emotional breakdowns to which she usually resorted. I think she is starting to notice that other people respond better when she is cool and collected herself.

It's pretty neat to see her observing what results from her actions. You can almost see her banking the information in her head and making mental notes of, "Ahhh, so next time if I approach this situation from THAT angle, I should get them to bend at my will. Mwahahaha!"

1. ~Kayleigh has gotten to taste solids for the first time...and liked it so much daddy had to restrain her hands when she kept reaching for more! (Oatmeal and apple juice at 4.5 months.)
2. ~Everything she see and touch ends up in the mouth. See - touch - taste - assess.

3. ~Kayleigh can sit up a bit on her own without support. (4.5 months)
4. ~Kayleigh had her first real illness - a double ear infection and sinus infection - although you wouldn't know it looking at her since she acted perfectly normal aside from getting up a couple of extra times at night (9/13).
5. ~The ridges of her first tooth popped out (9/16)!
   

I found this picture of Abby when she was 4.5 months old. I couldn't believe how much she looked like Kayleigh right now!

I tried to get a picture of Kayleigh yesterday in a similar pose, but she just wanted to sit up and smile at the camera. I even took off the duck hammock to force her to double over, but she is working so hard on sitting up on her own. She is still quite wobbly right now, though.

Here's something unique and fun to do this Labor Day weekend in Colorado.

The Colorado Balloon Classic is an annual hot air balloon festival held at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs.

At dusk, many of the balloons are laid out to participate in the Balloon Glo - a beautiful display of lit balloons. Because this particular event occurred so late, we stayed for less than an hour. Abby was frightened by the sight of flames shooting up into the balloons plus the crowd screaming and cheering as the balloons all lit up. Kayleigh just didn't like the crowd noise. Despite the short amount of time we spent there, we had a great time seeing this neat display.

I would have loved to see the balloon ascension, which occurs first thing in the morning. I hear that as the mass of balloons take flight over Memorial Park lake, the colorful sight in the air is reflected in the water, doubling the spectacular effect. Maybe next year.

So cute! Coming Sept 3rd from Build-a-Bear. I love that bunny with its long lashes and bucktooth. The frog also makes me smile. Can I convince Paul the girls each need a Smallfry?