"Mom! I'm coloring with Dani!"

"Mom! I'm coloring with Dani!"

Those are not the words you want to hear first thing in the morning as you're walking downstairs to get said small person out of her crib. Immediately I was terrified that Michaela had climbed into Dani's crib with her and they were making a mural of wall scribbles. Not good.

Imagine my happy surprise when I walked into the bedroom to find this instead! :)

Michaela had brought in a couple crayons and emptied out an XS box to share coloring with Dani.  She'd lift the box up to give the trapped baby a turn and then lower it onto her lap for some coloring herself.  So funny!

Taking turns looking at the camera for pictures... I hope this isn't a hint about how family photos will be for the rest of our lives. ;)

Leaves

Dani and Danny (aka Pop) at Michaela's gymnastics thing last week.  To get Dani to look at the camera for a photo Aunt Gigi was waving a leaf over my shoulder. 

 You can tell she's got her eyes on the prize, or in this case, the leaf that is out of reach.

But wait! What's this?

A whole tree full of those wondrous leaves!!!

Strawberries 2011 - Part 2

Well... we managed to go through 15 lbs of strawberries in about 10 days without making a single batch of jam.  The whole reason I'd gone to pick strawberries in the first place! (but those 15 lbs of strawberry shortcake made for some tasty dinners, and snacks... and breakfasts)

When we went back for round 2 I knew I would have to be a more efficient berry picker since I was going to have both girls with me.  Yes, Dani got to go on her very first trip to the strawberry field.  To say she enjoyed herself would be an understatement.

While Michaela once again befriended the girls working the U-Pick trailer Dani managed to eat a steady stream of strawberries as provided by her big sister and momma.

See for yourself why it took an entire package of baby wipes to get Dani clean enough to ride home.

By the way, this time I picked another 14 lbs. of berries myself and almost doubled that with another 8 quart flat that we bought from the barn.  Nearly 25 lbs of berries to eat here this weekend!!!

Yep.  That is Dani underneath all that strawberry pulp and juice.  I still need to hose out the nicely stained stroller.  Just look at her face though, you can see how much she's enjoying herself. :)

"Hmmmmm.... should I eat it? Or should I smash it and then eat it?"

Michaela is super cool with her water bottle.

Seriously.  All the cool kids drink from water bottles.

This is where Dani lost patience with 'cool' and demanded a drink.

"Ehhh, whatever.  I'm going to go make faces at mom."

The best part of this photo was that I had to edit out a booger that she'd wiped onto her cheek while I was picking berries.  Yeah, I didn't notice until later that afternoon that she'd wiped snot onto her face.

The Spaghetti Twins

Can you tell they're sisters?  I frequently will download a photo of Dani and notice how similar it looks to a photo of Michaela at the same age.  Here's my Spaghetti Twins.  Blonde little Michaela at 19 months and red-headed Dani at 16 months.

Ice Cream with Pop

Father's Day celebrations wouldn't have been complete without some time spent with Chris dad, aka "Pop" to the girls. 

We went up for a visit and it was quickly decided to head into Sand Lake for some ice cream (it was a HOT day!).  We all enjoyed out frozen treats and did a good job of eating them before they melted on our hands and laps.
 
Afterward, we let the girls run off their sugar buzzes on the playground.  Dani also made friends with a large family having a Father's Day grill out.  She just kept running over to say "Hi!"

Chris pushing Dani on the swings.  She had fun going as high as he'd let her, while Michaela freaked out and started crying from just being put in the swing.  Dani is definitely our fearless little dare devil!

The playground structure in Sand Lake has 7 different slides on it, and Michaela made sure they all worked!

Posts are for hugging.  When you hug a post you should also make sure to smile pretty for mom.  :)

It was a challenge for Dani to get herself over this little wall around the playground, but she didn't give up and eventually managed without falling! (you can see the family she befriended in the background)

Gymnastics classes have made Michaela much more confident in her climbing abilities.

Dani and Chris blowing each other kisses.  Daddy loves his little girls!