Anna and Gweneth talking on the phone - signs of times to come!

Playdates!!

Why is it that we get the biggest thrill out of watching our children play with other children? Is it because we love to watch them practice their social skills? Do we enjoy watching them copy our own social skills? Or do we simply just think it's cute to see little one and two year olds with real friends? I'm going with all of the above.

It's adorable to me to watch Anna play "phone" and constantly pretend she is either talking to "jo-ee" (Josie B.) or "myna" (Myla). Surely she thinks about them as her friends because they are always the people she wants to "call". After they leave she will continue to talk about them and tell little stories about what they did while they were together. For example, one day at the park about a month ago, Josie went potty on the "big-girl-potty". Now that's all Anna talks about. If she goes on her little potty and she says "jo-ee" you know that she is referring to that day at the park.

Her friend Andrew came over last week and sat in her high chair for lunch. Ever since, she will randomly say "ahn-drew" when she is sitting in it and I know she is telling me that he sat there to eat lunch the other day.

It's awesome watching Anna become a little person and try to carry on a conversation. Although she doesn't speak in sentences, she can tell a whole story with just a few words. And the greatest thing about being her mommy and being with her all day is that it's like we have a secret language. I usually know everything she is saying and what story or memory she is referring to.

We went to South Bend this past weekend for Myla's first birthday party. Kasey gave Anna some duckies to take home. As we were sitting in the car driving this week, she was holding her duckie and said "Mommy, 'Ta-sey'" and smiled which meant, "Mommy, Kasey gave me this duckie, isn't that the greatest?!" I love that baby girl...

Hanging with Charlotte - practice for sleepovers!

Play "time" with Andrew - we're not allowed to call this one a "date"

Callie and Megan hanging without their big sisters

More than Words
This is the name of our baby photographer's business. We began using Rene to take pictures when Anna was 3 months, then again at 12 months and we just had to use her for Megan's 3 month pictures. She's incredible! These sweet days of having our precious babies' faces to look at are going to pass all too quickly. Photography is the only way to freeze them in time so we go a little crazy with it =)

Here's a link to the pictures we got in April at Devou Park. http://www.studio-pics.com/morethanwords/index.php?gallery=Zumbiel It's funny that we thought we were actually going to be able to get many of Anna and Megan together. We're we serious thinking that they would BOTH cooperate? Notice there are only three of them together out of all the pictures taken. We'll try again at Megan's one year photo shoot!

Stay posted. I'm going to try to get more pics up here in the next day or so including more from Memorial Day, our trip to South Bend for Myla's first birthday, and more! I know you're sitting on the edge of your seat waiting =)

Megan's Sweet Laugh

And so it begins....we heard Megan's precious belly laughter for the first time over Memorial Day weekend. (She has laughed prior to this, but only with cute giggles.) We were in Cumberland at Matt's parents' place and for the record, her mommy made her laugh first. Daddy joined in to try to become favorite parent and that's what was caught on video.