Tristan's Birthday

Back in June we attended Tristan's 2nd Birthday PartyIt was held at Roberts Regional Recreation Area in the Oakland Hills.There is a pool there and it was a Beautiful summer daySo when we first arrived Chloe joined us for a lovely dip into the poolThe girls had so much fun, sadly we did not make it back in time to sing to the Birthday Boy.But we did still get to hang out, and enjoyed some yummy snacks and delicious cupcakes.The park was beautiful and the Birthday site was in a nice shady spot.The views were amazingand the party was laid back and relaxing, we basically spent the whole afternoon hanging out together.Here the girls were taking a break to play with there iPhonesWe had arrived early and they had been playing hard all morning.Neither had a nap yet and they were beginning to wind down.Tristan decided he wanted in on the action, so I let him use Holly's iTouchand gave her my iPhone to play with insteadChloe, so adorable decided to take pictures of everyone using her Camera PhoneShe would hold it up and then tell everyone to say Cheese!A picture of the birthday boyI am sad to report that our friend Tristan has now moved away.We miss him quite a bitCHEESE! Chloe take another shotand then she has Holly giving it a try tooBoth of them went around for the next twenty minutes holding up there phonesand saying cheese while "taking pictures" of everything in their sights.so very cool. They are at such an adorable age now."Click, Click" This time Holly was taking a picture of Eric and KathyIt is so cute now that she is in her imitation phaseI think it helps her learn a lot, especially how to play with toys and to pretend.Here the little cutie is using her toes to hold her iTouchShe does the darnedest things, I love waiting to see what she will come up with nextWe had a wonderful time celebrating with Tristan, and he is coming to visit next week, so we are excited!

Chloe's

Here we are playing at Chloe's house. We saw some old Friends that we had been missing, and hadn't seen for a while. I didn't get good pictures, but Tristan and Devin but joined us on this day too.Here is Tyler, we have been seeing a lot of him, and he is getting so big so fast, starting to walk, just over a year old, he has a cute baby face still, but is getting big.The girls newest of games is to wear hats, from everything they can get there hands on, particularly these buckets, Chloe has several in different colors.They like to play peek-a-boo with there new hats too. Once one gets started the others follow suit, here Gabriel is trying to see what all the excitement is about.But the girls have moved on and now they are hanging out inside the toy box. They have several little clubhouses, the toy box being one. Holly sits on top of the lid and Chloe below her inside.They all enjoy playing with the various balls too. There are big ones and small ones, they are fun to put inside of various objects like the buckets.Here is a fun new toy Holly discovered, not so much new, but buried in the bottom of the toy box, it is the little turtle from Baby Einstein and it is a shape shorter.Then there are the many balloons, all from Trader Joes in various shapes and sizes of disrepair. I worry always that the girls are going to pop one of them, but they seem pretty resilient.

Holly likes to play smooshy face with the balloon, and chew on it as well. I realize they are choking hazards so when they get too small we take them away, I also keep a close eye on her.Here Holly is having a little snack. I have since lost both of her snack container's, well lost one, over at Quinn's house and she lost the top of the second one.Here she is trying to do a head stand. She likes getting herself upside down, I think in the new year I will be signing her up for Gymnastics, maybe harness some of that climbing and tumbling energy.I think the upside down is a bit of a sensory thing too, she likes it when I hang her upside down too. I worry about all her blood rushing to her head, but she likes it, and doesn't stay down too long.

The Gangs All Here

It's been a while since we have seen everyone over at Chloe's house. But on this particular day, almost everyone was hanging out.Here are Tristan and Maya, such good buddies "sharing" the tea pot. Sharing is a relatively new concept for the gang, before now, they didn't really have a notion of "possession"So sharing came naturally, but now toys are "mine" and the toddlers "want" something specific. Here is Joshua playing with an all time favorite, the Ball Blower. And it looks like Maya won the latest battle, as she "drinks" some tea from the tea pot. This particular pot sings "I'm a Little Tea Pot" mine on the other hand plays some less rememberable music.Here is Holly looking out of the back window. She is reminiscing about the baby Pool, and the Sand Box, warmer, sunnier days, but alas time for the pool is long gone.Here is Tristan lounging on the couch deciding what his next plan of attack should be. He is such a sweetie and loves to Butter up to me, he is a little cutie with a great smile, and loves to share some snacks.And here, two of the newest members of the "Posse" Sarah, Old time friend of Holly but relatively new to the gang. She is walking now, and having a blast in the playroom. In the background is Devin, a buddy of Tristan.This item is one of huge contention in the playroom these days. the other kids have learned to stay out of Holly and Chloe's way when one of them have this plate, they both Love Yo Gabba Gabba,But that doesn't stop them from trying to take it away from each other. "Ah the trying times of the almost two's" There is Gabriel in the background Chilling. We have been playing with him a lot lately, its so fun watching him come out of his shell.Here is Tristan picking up the Xylophone, he swooped in once Maya and Joshua were done playing "together" with it. Smart boy, if you ask me.And of course, our wonderful Host Chloe. She is talking up a storm of late, she says "Hi Holly" and Whose that? When the door bell rings, Hoping its Holly, sadly we are often late and make her wait a while for our arrival.