Life over the past week....

We have had a very mellow last few days. We spent most of the time last weekend working outside. It was a bittersweet day...our patio...that was once our lounge space...has now been taken over by tricycles and a splash table. :) Needless to say...we have a lot of work to do...luckily...the kids will "help" for a little while as we work. Here are a few shots from the past few days.

Working in the yard...Henri giving Lili a kiss...we hope:

Without Oreo, we have realized that our backlawn is no longer receiving that extra "fertilizer." We have someone coming next week to see about adding pavers. Until then...dead grass it is. :) It didn't stop Henri from playing in his pool. He loves the water:

And...he's big into hiding. Here he is, hiding under our table:

He loves to help in the kitchen. Especially around dinner time. Note...he's making a bee-line for the carrots and grapes, two of his faves:

Helping mommy cook in the kitchen:

This is little Miss Mouse with her favorite toy...it is the head to a stackable person--so it has a face on the ball, but it has a bell inside...she chases it all over the house as it rolls...she loves to give it a little shake:

Last night, I put Henri in the bathtub. Then...I went to grab Lili to get her in the tub. I walked back into the bathroom, and Henri had climbed into her bath chair. He was so happy...splashing away. It didn't last long:

Our sweet Lili. Look at those eyelashes!

Here's Henri...after dinner...messy face and all. And...note Miss Mouse in the background. She has to be a part of everything...doesn't want to miss a thing:

Big week at our house...Lili learned to wave...and Henri learned to say "Hello" and "Bye-bye." Here's Lili's best Queen Wave:

And...Lili is completely mobile. We were loading Henri in the car. Jeff came back to grab Lili...and found her crawling...almost out the front door. Watchout!

One of my favorite pictures of Miss Lili...look at those pointed toes! She might be a ballerina:

And her little smile...she is such a happy girl:

Shopping at Home Depot:

Most of the time, they get along great. But...they definitely both have their moments. Tonight, Lili was crawling to sit on Jeff's lap. Henri walked up and beat her to the punch. Lili got so mad...she sat up...started waving her arms at him...and all you could hear was "WAAAA...Da-da-da.....WAAA...Da-da-da." Just like she was giving Henri a piece of her mind. :) She is a feisty little one, that Lili. Here they are, having a sweet, tender moment in the stroller:

More soon...

Two Little Monkeys...

Every year, the company that helped us adopt Henri and Lili, puts together a calendar of all the children that were brought home. For those of us with two kids...they prefer one photo of both kids. Trying to take a photo where both Henri and Lili smile, or even look at the camera, is next to impossible. Last night, we put them in their matching monkey pjs...thinking this would be the perfect shot! Here are the fruits of our labor:

I thought if we sat them in the rocker, together, it might be a cute photo. Hmm....Henri looks great. Lili can't stop playing with her toes:

Wait...now Henri is standing up...and no...he's sitting on Lili:

This is particularly nice of Lili. :)

Here's Henri giving his sister a hug and a kiss. Too bad her head is hidden:

If only I would have been at a different angle...this might have worked:

OK...here's dad, trying to get them to sit and pay attention. They did, to him:

Here's a nice, big, wet kiss, courtesy of Henri:

So...we gave up on the rocker photos. We put them both to bed...and then I decided I would try again in the morning, to grab a quick shot. Here is what I could capture:

Henri wouldn't sit still...he kind-of sat still, when he sat in the basket:

Ta-da! No more sitting...Henri has decided he is going to stand in the basket:

Nope...now he's sitting. Wait...where is Lili going...she is crawling away:

This might have worked, minus the centering, minus Lili's head is the wrong direction:

Oh that hair...it's just so tempting...I just want to....:

One more try. Repositioned...maybe??

Now that I've pulled her hair out...I'm going to hold her hand:

Up, down, up, down:

Ah...another successful family photo shoot. 54 shots of our two little monkeys...not one we can submit. :)

Auntie Toots came to visit....

Auntie Kallie came to visit both Henri and Lili for her birthday. Here are a few snapshots from her trip to Orlando. Here is Henri welcoming her to Florida:

Oh...sweet Miss Lili with Auntie Toots (aka Kallie):

Henri's hair was out of control! The first project on our agenda was to get him to the Barber...ASAP:

Usually Henri likes going to see Raul...but this time...not so much:

His dandelion do...was in bad need of a little conditioner:

Here he is...the man that saved Henri's curls:

A few tears later...we survived and went next door to Tijana Flats to enjoy dinner:

Auntie Toots loves fashion. Here is Miss Lili wearing a new outfit from the collection:

I'm so cute:

Here we both are with our Auntie:

Thanks to Auntie Lou who made us these great hats...Henri's a MT Griz:

And Lili's Halloween costume. Meow:

Henri was attacking Lili in the jumperoo...so:

We put him in. Three minutes of freedom from the tornado:

Our other big project while Auntie Toots was in town...hair accessories for Lili. One of our creations:

Here's another in action...ready for school:

 

Sweet Lili...all dressed up for Auntie Toot's last day:

Here we are:

We decided to go out for breakfast:

Daddy and Lili:

And then enjoyed the park across the street from the restaurant:

Lili's dress needs it's own swing. Yikes:

Here's my Auntie:

And with Henri:

Auntie Toots taught Henri what an Underdog is. I'm sure you will all be surprised to know that he loved it. :)

One last ride down the slide before Auntie Toots had to head home:

We will try to post more later this week/weekend. Enjoy!