At the Ameys

Bunnies!

Last week, a very kind lady, Miss Jackie, from church invited us and some friends to her house to eat lunch and play with her bunny rabbits, Buttons and Bows (the speckled bunny). Lila LOVED petting and feeding the bunnies! I was impressed with how well they did around her... not nearly as skittish as I thought they would be. Miss Jackie had several stuffed bunnies around to play with too... she even let Lila take home a realistic-looking stuffed bunny. Every morning for the next few days, Lila would use clothes, toys - whatever she could find - to create a little burrow for her bunny to sleep in. Thanks Miss Jackie for making such a great memory!

Petting Buttons (who has a white "button" nose)

The largest stuffed bunny in the house!

Miss Jackie helps Lila feed the bunnies one last Craisin before we left. Here they are in their three-story "condo".

Hold it!

This week I heard for the first time a request that I'm sure I'll hear for the next 15 years or so. "Mommy, can you move him back to his blanket?" Ok, so maybe not that EXACT question but the basic gist: I don't want my little brother around right now! She was playing with some blocks and he came over to investigate. One time she tried to move him herself, and I told her she is not allowed to pick him up. Shortly after that, I caught her rolling him away from her. (She always finds the loopholes!) But most of the time, she loves to play with him and bring him toys. The other day she asked to hold him on the sofa, so here are a few pictures of that. (The first picture gives you a good idea of how much his hair has lightened up.)

Blushing Dog? Eh, no.

As parents, we get to create all kinds of rules for our kids that we never imagined we would have to create. Newest rule: Do not use the sidewalk chalk to draw on the dog.

A Little Bit of Me After All?

Now, I know what you are all thinking... "wow, look at that nice drawing Ben made for Lila." Well, folks, that wasn't Ben, although he admitted it was pretty close to his best efforts. No, it was Lila! She came over and said, "Look at the little boy I drew, Daddy." And lo and behold, it ACTUALLY looked like a little boy! Head, check. Arms and legs, check. Eyes and mouth, check. Everything where it is supposed to go... amazing! Perhaps this little girl will take after her mama after all.

T.I. Zoo Day

Here are a few pictures from our trip to the Zoo two weeks ago. I guess we've been pretty busy recently because that seems like awhile ago. Anyway, every year T.I. sponsors a weekend for its employees and families to go to the Zoo for free. We tried to be there for the coolest part of the day but when we left at lunchtime, we were ready to get out of the heat!

My handsome guys.

Watching a wild animal? Well, sort of :) He was watching Lila.

Lila's favorite exhibit: the penguins. This one penguin kept swimming right next to all the little kids.

By the end, everyone was ready for a little nap. (Don't worry. Those cute toesies were covered with sunscreen.)

Backyard Fun

A few weeks ago we bought a swing set for our backyard. Ben had a co-worker volunteer to help him put it together over Memorial Day weekend. We are so thankful for his help. I took the kids and ran some errands while they worked. Lila was so excited to come home and see it all put together! They did a great job; it really looks nice. Lila likes to ride on the glider - she can make that go by herself. She also likes to push Wyatt in the swing (he loves it too!).

Lately

Well, as usual it's been awhile since I posted anything. I have quite a few pictures to add too, but I'll start with what we've been up to lately.

Wyatt: he's getting his top teeth in! I just noticed yesterday, and one had already broken through... so guess I haven't been paying too much attention. But on the other hand, they must not be bothering him because he hasn't been fussy. Right now I am LOVING my little guy. I feel bad writing that because of course I have loved him every step of the way, but right now he is just so much fun! He's also sleeping from 9-7 at night and taking good naps which certainly doesn't hurt :) He is sitting up much better on his own now. He will still occasionally lose his balance and fall backwards, but he's much more stable than a few weeks ago. AND he can move! No crawling though. Why crawl when you can give your upper body a much better workout? I'll try to post a video soon of his "worm" technique. He's also eating a lot better. He still doesn't like cereal (we tried again last night) or Cheerios (boy, was THAT a funny face!) but he really likes fruits and most veggies.

Lila: we've gone to some aggressive potty-training in the past week. I call it Potty-training-in-the-nude, or PTITN for short. Basically, if we are at home, she has a bare bottom. She hasn't had any accidents when she's PTITN. She will just go sit on the toilet and then tell me "I went potty." It has also really helped her go #2 in the toilet. But we are still working on choosing to go #2 in the toilet when you have underwear on. We've made progress. I am hoping as she gets more and more comfortable using the toilet, it won't be such a big deal. Otherwise, she is her usual curious, talkative self who keeps me entertained on a daily basis!