We have a little Laura Ingalls and Baby Carrie amongst us!

Hannah and Logan at the community market.  We had a beautiful day for cruising around the farmer's market and followed it up with a jaunt to the playground.

These two were dancing to the music that was being played.  It was very cute.

  I am not sure which Hannah enjoyed more: the soft pretzel from the market, or swinging, sliding, and climbing on the play structures.

Mason Man, on the move.  Hannah sings, "Man on the Run!" and she giggles as she reports to me when Mason is into something he shouldn't be (like, checking out the computer wires beneath Dad's desk).  She thinks it's hilarious when I come over and shake my finger, saying "Tisk, tisk, tisk!" 

Mason likes to show this football player who is boss.

"Froggie will have "breksticks" with me."

Kiddos playing together nicely.

Look who set the table!  No, it wasn't Froggie!  This is Hannah's first table-setting.  Notice that the silverware is on top of the napkins (those are not place mats:))

Auntie Kristi sent these entertaining stickers and card congratulating Hannah's potty-training accomplishment.  Hannah nearly used all of the stickers in one sitting, as you can see here.

Mason pulls himself up to stand at this toy.  However, he has been most interested in crawling, still. 

Stop to smell the flowers, Hannah.  An important life lesson, indeed, as we continue to experience how quickly time flies.

Play date with Beatrice and Flo!  

The two older sisters (Flo and Hannah) played together, while Bea and Mason had fun together.

Picnic lunch in the back yard = good fun (and little clean-up required!).

Here is Mason, on his way to explore the computer wires....

...but, busted by his sister, which aborted the mission early.

Homemade band is the best kind!

Dinner with a special family!  Thanks for having us over for another delicious meal!

Someone told me that she thinks these two smile similarly.  What do you think?

Lately, most of Hannah's stuffed animals have been sick, so she has been paying the utmost attention to their medical needs, as you can see here, where she listens to Froggy's "lung sounds."

Hannah has become very adept at steering (and pedaling!) her tricycle in the past few weeks.  She also has a two-wheeler (with training wheels) that she likes to ride; however, it's handy to have this one with the handle on the back!

Mason is a blonde for now, as you can see here, but in some lights, he clearly has red hues in his hair, too :)

Mason and Hannah had a special playdate with Juliana, Flo and Bea while Mom went to a local cafe to do a little prep work on here class, which will be starting soon!

Swinging is one of Hannah's favorite things to do so far this summer.

And now, she is tall enough to hop 'n' scoot her little behind up onto one of our swings!

OMG.  So cute how he sleeps with his bottom up in the air.  Apparently, I used to sleep like this, too.  However, I don't think it would be possible these days :)

Mom said, "Okay, my little butterfly fairy, come down the rest of the stairs!"

Hannah's response (in corrective voice), "I'm actually a butterfly-wearing make-up fairy, Mom."

Hannah posing in front of her Fairy Houses.  One day this past week the Naptime Fairy left a note saying that there was a snack and a note from her friends, the Woodlands Fairys, waiting out at her Fairy Houses.  Sure enough, we went out to discover some applesauce and snap peas, alongside a little note.

 Fairy house up close.  In addition to the normal twigs, this house consisted of many different findings from the nearby woods, including: leaves from at least five varieties of species, several unique pine cones, needles, grasses, etc.  It was very creative and each piece was placed with care.

WOW!  So much has been going on and I feel like a delinquent, having (inadvertently) neglected this blog for some time now.  In addition to the activities you can see here in this pictures, we have had some fun family outings.  Of course, although I had the camera on Hannah's first real hike up Rattlesnake, the battery was dead and we hadn't brought along a backup.  Nonetheless, we had a wonderful hike, and Hannah successfully climbed to the top all by herself!  This was a 2-mile round trip, with a rewarding view of Squam at the top.  We brought goldfish to fuel with on the ascent and enjoyed a delicious snack of Energy Bites at the peak.  Following our descent, we stopped at Squam Lake Natural Science Center, where we (Hannah, too!) walked an additional 3/4 miles along a trail to see deer, a black bear, mountain lions, bobcats, raptors, etc.  Also in recent days, Hannah has announced that she is Laura Ingalls Wilder, that I am her older sister, Mary, and that Mason is Baby Carrie (poor guy, but such a good sport about being a baby girl!).  If by chance Mom forgets about the role-playing, and says something like, "Hannah, would you like to join Mason and I for a swing outside?" she would correct me with, "Laura, would you like to join Baby Carrie and me for a swing outside?"  This age has been so much fun (both Hannah and Mason!).  While Hannah is creating worlds of make-believe, Mason is focusing his attention on pointing, clapping, high-fiving, waving and signing that he want "more" (usually with regard to food and not reading another book).  Reading books to Mason is a challenge (even more of a challenge is changing his diaper), because no matter how many animal sounds and noises I make to make the book seem interesting, he just likes to be on the go.  As I mentioned, diapering is terribly difficult.  He is out of there before you can even scoot the replacement diaper under his bottom and then attempting to fasten the tabs is near to impossible.  Oh well, so much fun to see him be so interested and intrigued by the environment surrounding him!

We just had a lovely weekend camping with MorMor, GP Jimbo, Unc B and Aunt Nicki, so hopefully I will get those pictures up sooner than I did these :)  Stay tuned!

Quote Corner

While reading a kids bible to Hannah, Dad asks: "How do you think [Jesus] walked on water?"

Hannah responds (without skipping a beat), "With ice skates on."

While listening to a song that sings, "Stand up, sit down, .....," Hannah exclaims, "I don't have time to sit down!"

In a very mature voice, Hannah asks, "Are you okay with this?" as she takes pieces of toilet paper to make a "miniature" dress for Froggie.

At a dinner party recently, without any prompting, Hannah went up to people we were meeting for the first time, stuck out her right hand for a handshake, and said, "Nice to meet you."  This made us very proud!

Dad asks Hannah, "What is my favorite thing to drink?"

Hannah responds, "Milk and water."

Mom asks, "What is my favorite thing to drink?"

Hannah responds, "Milk in a bowl, and water in a cup."  She is right!  I love my cereal, so my milk is usually in a bowl :)

When realizing that there is no smoothie left, Hannah states in a somewhat teasing voice, "No more smoothies for you and Mom; it sounds like you get water!"