Our NaNa Hijacking was a Success...

On Monday when we took her to the zoo for the first time this year. The weather and the animals were both very cooperative. We had a great time. Toby LOVED watching the penguins. He just giggled and giggled. And Liliana LOVED the Kodiak bear who played peek with us. Here are some pics. He posed for me..wasn't that sweet of him? ;)

Toby checking out the Lioness. I kinda surprised him with this picture.

One of the baby elephants.

Love this! Not! I'm the only one looking. I need to teach my mom how to actually use my camera.

Peek-a-boo!!!

Scoping out the fish

Spidy got alittle stuck

One small step for children...one giant leap for Toby

I'm cute and I KNOW it

I swear she's only that red cause she was hot. Other than her coloring I LOVE this picture.

Ice Cream

They know you're a pirate when they hear you say ARR!

Yesterday we headed to The Burgh to see a Pirates Game. Greg's been bugging me all summer to take the kids and it just hadn't worked out yet. But Sunday was not only a home game, it was also Kids' day. So we loaded up the kiddos and headed to the game. It was the perfect day to watch a ball game and with our Giant Eagle card all four of us sat in the General Admission bleacher seats for $16. You can't beat that...we spent more on food than we did on the seats. The kids really enjoyed the freedom the bleachers provided and followed along about as much as I expected them too. But they never complained and they loved taking in all the sights. It was really nice. When the game was over Daddy played monster next to the car in the parking garage waiting for the traffic to clear some. The kids thought that was a blast! Here are the pics....enjoy!

After the game we went to Sunday dinner at my parents. The kids got to eat some ice cream outside later on and I got some really cute shots. But you'll have to wait to see those. I need posting material you know. ;)

Pool Time Fun

Well you'd never know it by today's weather but the last two days have been gorgeous. It was sunny and 86 both days. July hasn't really been the best weather wise...it's either rained or been chilly (for this time of year)...so we took advantage of it. Here are some pictures from Wednesday when we set up the kiddie pool to cool off.
Oh man, she took out the camera again.

Bathing Beauty

Smiley Boy

Hmm, I wonder if this will fit in the pool?

She's silly Mommy.

Some attempts at togetherness shots:

Even though they aren't looking at me in this picture....I love how it shows them enjoying each other.

Liliana

So I've been told that she acts just like me. That's probably true. She's a mix of sweetness and sass, and can make you laugh with some of her antics. I wish I could capture all the silly things she does or the looks she gives you. I will take credit for her looks....hers aren't exactly like mine but they are her versions of the ones I give her. They make me laugh every time. She also has this adorable way of crossing her arms, looking down, and pouting. I will try and catch it on film at some point in time. And for a child who wanted nothing to do with her Mommy for the first year she was home, she sure is a Mommy beast now....and I love it! She is becoming more attached to all of us every day and is opening up in ways I wasn't sure I would ever see. Here are some recent pictures of her. You should know that she is in CONSTANT motion and I'm still getting the hang of my new camera so there are some blurry pictures, but they are still cute.
Trying out tshirt curls

Doesn't look adorable like that (even blurry)

Take the damn picture already Mommy

Now she's using my PapPap to get her pictures

If I play along maybe she'll quit

Running away from me

My sweetness

Acting all cute and adorable

The other day we went swimming at my parent's house (while they were out...shh don't tell). I didn't want to put her back into her church dress so I went digging in the attic. The shirt she's wearing used to be one of MY dresses from when I was a baby. I loved that it looked like a vintage shirt and not a dress. And she probably looks cuter in it than I did.

Off to the Zoo

Sunday we went to the Good Zoo for the afternoon. There's nothing I like better than to be able to let the kids dictate the way. I loved just following their lead as we played at the playground and visited the animals. It was so nice and relaxing not to mention a bunch of fun. Here are the pics.

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth Everyone! We had a great day yesterday. We went to our town's small but festive 4th of July parade. They kids loved it, but then again their was candy. That they threw right to them! Then later in the day we had the fam over for a picnic where Greg tried to catch the house, the trees, and himself on fire with the fireworks. His pyrotechnic displays were very pretty. At nine we packed up and headed in town to see the "city" fireworks. It was a fantastic day all and all and had us very tuckered out.

BTW, I know it's another slideshow. But Blogger only gives me so much space for picture storage. So anytime I have only 10 pictures I put them in slideshow form so I can save space. Hope you enjoy!

Boldly Going Where No One Has Gone Before

The kids having been playing outer space lately in their imaginative play. (Thanks to Space Chimps...cute movie. check it out.) Since it was raining today I decided to take it a couple steps further to make it a learning activity. So we got out some of the styrofoam and paper plates and the paint. Toby made the sun, Liliana made the moon, and they both made planets and stars. After they were all dry we hung them from the living room ceiling and they had a great time "exploring space." While they were painting I took the opportunity to ask them questions about what was in space and talked about the different colors of stars and how our sun in a star. And Toby actually payed attention. Here's the pics..... Painting the sun and the moon

Still hard at work

Mom enough with the pictures!

Nearly finished now

The kiddos in their "space ship" under the stars

More space

The rest of the living room along with Toby and his telescope

Help, Buzz Lightyear is attacking me!

My little astronaut

Hanging in the cat sleeper





These are some of the bows I recently made. They might be some of my favs.

View from the top

view from the side

view from the top

view from the side

BTW, if you like the bows....check out my website Lilicakes Bowtique