Bikes and rhymes.

At the very end of June, Maya learned how to ride a two wheel bicycle! Ella isn't far behind, but hasn't yet ridden completely unassisted. Both girls are VERY proud of themselves and want to tell everyone that they see about their accomplishments.

Proud girl.

Ella is very proud of her sister.


My almost-4-year-old bicycler!

Cheering her sister on.

Ella gets a little distracted, but with a bit more practice she will be biking on her own, too!

What else has been going on, lets see... both girls are really into rhymes right now. There has also been a lot of noticing/paying attention to similar words, or when one word sounds the same as another, but with a different meaning. Like, "pea" that you pick from the garden, and "pee" which you do in the potty.

Our garden is coming along nicely, in large part thanks to Papa who did so much taking care of it while he was here visiting.  I have been trying to do a few minutes in the garden everyday, but there is just so much more I would like to do and so many other things going on, it's hard. Here is an article I read that I liked a lot about gardening while you have young children.

When I do go out in the backyard to do some work in the garden, I almost always bring my camera. I was happy to see this mama merganser with her five babies in the river this week.

We have managed to pick blueberries! Here are a couple photos from a fun morning picking at QuonQuont farm.

Strawberry the Whale came along to pick blueberries, too.

Maya is one super serious berry-picker.

Quotes from Maya:

"Independixday! Independixday! Independixday!" (On July 4th)

"When I grow up, I want to be just like Papa." (This was said with great admiration, while she and I made the kefir one evening. Papa left us some kefir grains from when he was visiting and Maya is especially fond of making/drinking the kefir we've been making from those grains.)

Quotes from Ella:

"Get these yucky, cheeky, clothes off me!!"

"Mama, huggle me closer." (Sitting together just after Brett and I got back from our weekend away at Clearwater)

"When I'm afraid, I just snuggle whale." (Strawberry, Ella's pink stuffed whale, who is really actually a dolphin, has become very special to her. She still cares for Purple Dog a great deal, but Strawberry is always tucked up right next to her at night.)

"Mama, can I just pick into my mouth?" (When asked which container she would like at the U-Pick blueberry place) 

Quotes from some or all of us:

M: "Why did you and Dada get married?"

Me: "Well, we loved each other and we wanted to live together and spend the rest of our lives together. So we got married."

M: "I want to get married too...

M: <thinks for a minute>

M: ...to Ella."

M:  "Ella, lets get married! And we can spend the rest of our lives together!"

E: "Okay!"

Maya: "Did you know that when Papa gave us frozen raspberries, he only gave us two each?"

Me: "No, I didn't."

Maya: "He wanted to make sure we would eat them all, so he didn't give us many..."

Me: "Oh, maybe he didn't realize how much you like frozen raspberries!"

Maya: "Yeah... I could eat a whole FIELD of raspberries!!"

Me: "When everyone is cranky and hot, what is the best thing you can do?"

Maya: "Be nice to each other?"

The girls playing baby with Dada...

E+M together: "I think we'll name this baby, "Baby Brett."

E: "Yes. And when it's bigger, we'll name it, "Dada Brett."

These two live a pretty charmed life.