Reading Aloud

Papillon loves to read.  She has a huge collection of books and knows almost all of them by name.  She will ask for them specifically - "Read 'Hop-Pop'" or "Read 'Melia Delia'" etc.  And a good number of them she can actually "read" with some accuracy - turning the pages and explaining each page with much enthusiasm.  It's pretty fabulous.

Hibou is Papillon's most captive audience - and Hibou loves it!

Reading together at Nana and Grandpa's House

Hibou, eating her fish while listening to Papillon read

More reading together.

Hibou loves it.

And for our dedicated fans, here are a few videos of Papillon reading.  The stories may not sound coherent to everyone, but if you know the books she is reading, its kind of impressive the little details she includes with much accuracy! Enjoy!

Hibou and her carbs

So far in the "solid foods" department, Hibou has very particular tastes.  No bananas, no sweet potatoes, and now no peas. Just rice cereal and beans. At least she doesn't have expensive tastes I suppose.

On occasion I have given her a cracker to drool to death. And she loves it!  What can I say, she comes from a family of 'Carb-ivores'!

"Sweet! Bread!"

"I am salivating at the thought!"

"If I could just get this plastic off, I'd eat the whole loaf!"

Grandpa and Bananas

My dad has a special knack for making anything fun for little kids. One time he entertained 1 year old Papillon all the way through a sermon with just his fingers and a hair band!  

One of his go-to toys is bananas! He claims they are the greatest teething-toy ever.  Hibou seems to agree.

If you'll remember, Papillon also really enjoyed playing with bananas with Grandpa

So much fun!

2 more Zoo Trips

Have we gotten our money's worth out of our zoo membership yet? I think yes!  Two more trips in recent weeks.    On both of these trips it was a fantastic animal-day; all the animals were up close and easy to see. Usually I don't take many animal pictures at the zoo, but I couldn't resist this time.

One of our trips was with this sweet baby and her mom.

They were about to move away (sniff!) and we had vowed to get in one zoo trip before they moved...we just made it. 

This is how Papillon always views the zoo...just peaking over the side of the Ergo

 Papillon likes nothing better than looking at pictures of her friend, Baby M.  We miss them so much already

Riding the tram. Always a hit!

Our second zoo trip of late was with some other fun friends. It was a little chillier this time, so all the kiddos were wearing hats. It made for some cute pictures.

Papillon got a break from the Ergo and got to see some things from the stroller this time around

And we even made it to the petting zoo!

So much fun was had on this trip that it ended with some very long hugs!

Papillon was very taken with our friend, W.  After our visit, she and I had this little conversation in the car:

Me:  Who did we go to the zoo with, Papillon?
Papillon: (silence, thinking)
Me: Did we go to the zoo with E. (W's sister)...
Papillon:...and W.! (with enthusiasm!)
Me: Did you have fun with E. and W.?
Papillon: Yes, W. hug, like this (hugging motion)
Me: Yeah? Is W. handsome? (I had to ask, just for fun, haha)
Papillon: No, not 'ansome.  (she doesn't know the word 'handsome').  W. is...is...(thinking hard) W...Cute!
Me: W. is cute?
Papillon: Yeah. W. hug. I go like this (insert cute happy-embarrassed)

Some one is a little in love....haha. 

W's sister, E also gives nice hugs :-)

Assorted Fun

Some times there is cuteness that deserves to be blogged but doesn't warrant its own post. This would be one of those times.  Enjoy.

Reading in Papillon's bed together.

Such fun.

Papillon, Baby Doll, Hibou

A bit of sidewalk-chalk fun. We went to the Farmer's Market, and a nearby street was doing something called "Chalk-it-up"; just encouraging everyone to add something to their sidewalks.

Enjoying some lovely weather.

All my girls...Hibou,

...Papillon,

...and Marge.

Hibou's favorite toy is this tiny fish. Best. Toy. Ever.

Hibou's First Foods

 Hibou has been eating "solid" foods for about a month now. We gave her her first taste on Sept 22nd to be precise.

And she was a big fan. And managed to swallow a lot more than her sister at her first meal.

I didn't really start feeding her on a regular basis for a couple weeks after that. It was just kind of a fun thing that she enjoyed. She loves sitting up at the table with us while we eat. 

 Very recently she I've started being more consistent about feeding her cause she seems to be rather hungry much of the time. Usually I nurse her right before a meal of "solid" foods so that she is still primarily nursing (and nursing a LOT!) but she manages to find more space in her tiny tummy for some oatmeal afterwards. 

 Papillon pronounces "oatmeal" with three syllables..."oat-a-meal". It's super cute.

 So far we have only tried a few foods...and Hibou is very particular. She likes oatmeal and beans. She hates sweet potatoes and bananas - oh the faces she makes for even the tiniest taste of those. And she tolerates applesauce...sometimes. 

Papillon has very much enjoyed helping to feed her little sister.

Carrots from Apple Trees

This video is possibly my favorite video to date of my little Papillon.
We were playing outside on a gorgeous day. I had asked her to help me "scrub" some carrots which, of course, prompted an very serious conversation about the origin of carrots...and apples.

I love every face - the wrinkled nose, the "oooh" expression, the seriousness with which she scrubs.
I love her little thought process as she works out this new info in her mind, all the while pretending that she knew all along.

Ack. The cuteness is almost too much.

Enjoy.





Side note: No, we don't have an apple tree in our backyard. We recently went apple picking and so she had apples on her mind and "apple trees" are everywhere.

Sisterly Fun

These two together bring me so much joy. Like whoa. I love them.