Elyse's Last Week

We were so sad that last week was Elyse's last week with us for awhile so it was fitting that it rained for much of the time! We made do playing inside...

...with messy popsicles...

..."car seats" made out of empty diaper boxes...

and donning our raincoats and splashing in the puddles outside...

...and then - once the rain had passed - wearing rainboots to soak up any last raindrops!

And once inside, we had to make sure that no rain snuck in so Belle insisted on wearing her rain hat while she ate snack.

On Thursday, the girls and Mommy took Elyse to Crescent Ridge Dairy Bar for her first experience of their cows and their delicious ice cream. Elyse and Mommy made more of a mess than the girls but we really enjoyed watching them run, jump and play - on a gorgeous summer day...

While we've reached the height of sisterly fighting - what with Claire wanting to watch "Cars" all the time and Belle wanting to watch anything else - I've also managed to capture a couple of cute moments between the girls, who really can be quite loving. Belle's favorite expression this week, "Baby loves me, Mom!"

We had fun this week learning new expressions and faces too with Claire learning to stick out her tongue and Belle soaking up like a sponge everything she hears. Heard from her little mouth this week:

"Claire, you're a mess! I want you to take a tubby right now!"

"Hey Missy"

"Hey sweetie"

"Hi cutie"

"No, because I don't want to"

"You're too cute"

"Hi Tatric" - she insists on calling Daddy what she thinks is "Patrick"

Potty training has started up again and we're making slow and steady progress, though have to tread lightly as Belle says no if she thinks we want her to try too much - she's clearly in control.

This is also our first week with Nina - so far so good - so we'll let you know how that progresses as well.

Thanks for reading, as always!