BJM’s Photos

Last Saturday we went to Homestead park with our good friends, Frank, Amber and Annabel. Some friends of theirs joined us for a cookout and a few hours playing with the kids. The weather was gorgeous. We grabbed whatever we could before leaving the house and then grilled out brats and burgers. It turned out to be quite a spread. Ally played on the playground until her little legs threatened to give out. She went down a HUGE slide . . .many times. She had a look of terror on her face while going down but squealed with delight at the bottom. We laughed and quoted “You have some serious thrill issues dude” from her favorite movie, ‘Finding Nemo’ – LOL!

One day last week, Ally and Nicholas were playing out in the front yard while I was cooking dinner. Nicholas decided to leave a chalk message for Bryan since he’s been getting home so late due to being in the academy.
Ally ‘helped’ Nicholas do the one on the steps (“Welcome Home Daddy” by yours Truly Nicholas and Allyson) then Nicholas went to work on the driveway (Best Daddys only Park Here). It cracked me up that he labeled which ‘lane’ each car should be in (esp. since mine was already in the driveway) Daddy’s lane got quite a bit of decoration while my lane was simply labeled “JEEP” LOL!

Last Thursday was Nicholas’ last orchestra concert for his 6th grade year. Grandma and Grandpa Price came into town for it and we all picked up Grandma McKean on the way. Nicholas chose to wear his new dress shirt, tie and sport jacket that Aunt Anne bought him. He looked SO handsome. They did a wonderful job and have really progressed a lot in only 2 years! We also got to hear the middle school orchestra. Nicholas is really excited for next year!

Our iris have bloomed to their peak right on schedule. They are extraordinarily beautiful this year.

Ally and Bryan took a short walk on Saturday. .I couldn’t resist chasing after them to capture a couple awesome shots. (I can picture a future scrapbook page now. . .one of these photos next to a photo of him walking her down the aisle. . how cute would THAT be?? **sniff** )

Nicholas and Ally played ball, did sidewalk chalk etc. too. It is really neat to see their relationship develop. . .Ally is really attached to her big brother 🙂

Ally’s toddler imagination has really been blossoming and keeping us highly entertained. She loves to pretend with her little kitchen, her dolls and her stuffed animals. Her vocabulary is slowly growing as well. She surprises us every couple of days with a new word or two. She loves to talk to her dolls . . . we have NO clue what she’s saying most of the time but we are able to occasionally pick out a word here and there. Her body language is what cracks us up more than anything. She’s very expressive and uses her face, hands, stance, and even voice inflection to communicate ‘whatever-it-is’ with her dolls etc. She was playing mini-mommy with one of her favorite dolls on her swing-set. She encouraged, cheered, loved, patted, shared her drink, said ‘sorry’ when the baby fell off the swing, insisted that the baby nap UNDER the swing (not sure why) and even scolded her baby (not sure what the baby did-LOL!) She even helped her baby take a trip (shove) down the slide.

Ally got a turtle sandbox as an early birthday present from her Great Grandma McKean. . .I picked up some little ‘garden tools’ and gloves at Target and she’s been having a lot of fun with it. She’s still working on learning that sand stays IN the sandbox. . .but that will come with time (and hours of us refilling the sandbox from piles on the sidewalk) 🙂 Afterwards, Ally got a bath and her PJs on and got to share some MnM’s with Nicholas in grandma’s chair (notice the MnM colored drool spots on the bib) LOL!

We went to Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park tonight to scope out a good location for Ally’s 2nd birthday party. They have a playground area that is just for ages 2-5 and Ally had a ball. She went down the slides SO many times. The one had an awesome effect on her fine hair. (Zoom in on the first two photos) It was pretty hilarious! She liked going down the big curly slide and the through the metal tunnel too. She had a face-off with Nicholas during one trip through the tunnel. . . the verdict is still out, but we think Ally might have won. . she’s a feisty one! We’ll definitely have to spend some quality time there this summer!

We went outside after dinner and enjoyed the beautiful weather we’re having this week. Ally loves to pick ‘flowers’ and give them to whoever is around. Lucky for her, our yard has plenty to keep her busy 🙂 Nicholas likes to help her pick big bouquets of dandylions to present to grandmas etc. Below she is even giving one to Daddy. . .