3 Years, 6 Months, 1 Week, and 4 Days

Charlotte & Ruby are 3 years, 6 months, 1 week, and 4 days old today. With the warm temperatures of the last couple weeks, I had to go through and pull out all their clothing that was set for spring & summer so they would be dressed comfortably with the days we had in the mid 80s. It showed that they fit perfectly in said clothing, despite it being bought to be a bit large on them to last through summer. 5T and girls' size 4-5 fit well now, so I expect them to be in sizes 5-6 by late summer/fall despite only being 4 years old then. Charlotte weighs roughly 5lbs more than Ruby right now, but their height and shoe sizes still match. Current favorite things are dragons, cheetahs, fairies, the TV show Wild Kratts on PBS, and merry-go-rounds (see below). Enjoy the photos!

Grandpa Jay swings Charlotte upside down:

While Ruby is not a fan of upside down swinging, she does love to see her reflection in the camera lens:

Hugging Grandpa Jay:

Our 2nd roadside attraction family photo near Norway, IL:

On a trail in Starved Rock State Park:

This waterfall was nowhere near as exciting as playing in the sand to them:

Charlotte did some rock climbing:

Sitting on rocks:

Charlotte & I headed back to the car this way:

Ruby & Bob chose to go this way:

Ruby stopped to search for a woodpecker we heard on the way back to the car:

Picnic in the back of the Element before heading home:

In the town near the state park, Charlotte & Ruby were excited to see "real castles" like this:

We did not go straight home though, as I spied this magnificent park from the '70s along the road behind a bank:

The merry-go-round was their favorite:

Everything was just like it had been at playgrounds when Bob & I were kids (albeit with more rust):

Oddly enough, on Sunday afternoon while I was at work, a goose flew into one of the living room screens and tore it:

3 Years, 6 Months, and 4 Days

Charlotte & Ruby are 3 years, 6 months, and 4 days old today. We are enjoying a heatwave here, with days being in the 70s and 80s as of late. We go outside as much as possible to take advantage of this late June weather happening in March. Charlotte is prone to testing her boundaries now, despite how clear we make them. It can be exasperating at times. Ruby does so less often, but can put on a good fake crying act occasionally. We still use time outs and the 1,2,3 Magic approach. We are also doing our best to make the consequences make sense, such as not reading books at bedtime if they are misbehaving while getting ready for bed or taking their plate away if they are messing around during a meal. The 3s are challenging, but we definitely have more great times than upsetting. Enjoy the photos!

After visiting our friends in WI some time back, I kept thinking about how great the wooden playground was that they took us to, so I searched a bit to find one near us and found one in Crystal Lake (about a 35 minute drive from home):

They were very excited to spot an old nest in a tree:

Charlotte fished for leaves in a mud puddle:

Ruby followed this boy around for an hour after he joined Grandpa Jay & her in a game of catch with a football (she called him her "friend the boy" and talked about him for the rest of the day):

They love the sand box:

There are chimes to play:

Charlotte went on her first tire swing (even though it was molded plastic instead of an actual rubber tire):

Grandpa Jay walked with them down to a nearby dock:

While eating a picnic lunch, they watched many airplanes go by from a small airport a few miles away:

After we left the park, we took them for their first frozen yogurt experience at Spirels. Charlotte chose blueberry frozen yogurt with strawberries, blueberries, and a few mini M&Ms for topping:

Ruby chose vanilla frozen yogurt with crushed peanut butter cups for topping:

We met Melissa, Ava, & Jacob at the zoo where Bob pulled the 3 girls around in the wagon for awhile:

Then Ava got a ride from Ruby & Charlotte:

They had a strawberry cupcake snack:

Ruby was not amused with this pose as she kept sliding backwards but she clung to Charlotte for the sake of a photo:

They pretended to be river otters (which Ruby later declared to be her favorite animal after watching one swim back & forth repeatedly in front of her. Charlotte chose kangaroos as her favorite that day):

Surprisingly, their first drinking fountain experience was the highlight of their day at the zoo:

Ruby chose to happily sit on a bench on the carousel instead of riding an animal:

At home, a goose came to eat some birdseed and was not the least bit bothered by Charlotte & Ruby playing nearby:

Bob took the kids to a playground at an elementary school (which will be their school in roughly 2 1/2 years):

Due to the heatwave, the bulbs that we planted last autumn are already growing:

2 days after the previous photo, we started seeing flowers bloom from them:

Plants are budding all over the place now, and the kids are very interested in watching spring arrive early this year: