Elia is very brave. Except with bugs, she is clinically terrified beyond wits' end of any type of bug anywhere near her. And maybe water--pools, oceans, and as she says "no lay down in bath!" But generally brave. And that's why she has a helmet! She's learning the magic of a tricycle, slowly but surely, and she also loves riding in the "BIG bikikle" with Daddy (where daddy puts her in a backpack) and riding to the playground so she can rock climb, scale ladders, go up slides backwards, and swing really high. And play sports like soccer, frisbee, baseball, and 1,2,3 Catch!
The backpack can also take us on family hiking trips, as here at Sippo Lake. Our family selfie may not have captured the situation, but suffice it to say that there are finite years of carrying these girls on our backs, as it seems they keep getting bigger and heavier! Elia loves to walk on her own and can run fairly well, but sometimes we make faster progress when she's not so distracted by trees and watertowers...
We don't always stay home. But when we do, Nugget cooks plastic food and has picnics in the family room for us. I ate cookie soup with spaghetti and a carrot last week! She also loves singing songs, whether they are from Daniel Tiger/Dora/other TV, or songs from the Red Book (Trinity Hymnal), or other children's Christian songs we've taught her. Always singing, that one.
And on nice days, when she's going to end up getting a bath anyway, we turn her loose with the hose and water table...and apparently a bucket of sidewalk chalk. I suppose laying belly down on the ground, sopping wet, chalk in hand, is the only proper stimulus for art.
We've visited Oma Opa Mimi and Geepap recently, and there's nothing quite as comfortable as a grandpa lap. About the only thing better is...
The beach!
This was So's 2nd time at the Outer Banks, and probably Elia's 7th or 8th, but each time is special! This July we got to see both families in one week, including kayak time, pool time, and lots of sand time. On the drive down and back, the girls met Mom and Dad's friends Zachary and Hannah as well as Josh and Jessi. But fortunately, both girls did great on the road! Probably because they're such great sleepers.
Or something like that.
Also on our travels in Greensburg, we went to the girls' first amusement park, Idlewild! So enjoyed looking up at smiling faces, and Elia had an absolute blast in Storybook Forest, playing around on the ropes and bridges of Jumpin' Jungle, riding almost everything in Raccoon Lagoon (even driving her own car), and seeing Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. We did find out what happens when you keep Nugget and So up until 3pm without naps; we made quick work of the walk out of the park!
Elia has refined her palette a bit. While mac n' peas might not be the most thrilling, she developed a taste for the finer things. Nothing like a summertime eye-keem-cone. Parenting tip, always eat your ice cream faster than your spouse, because toddlers never grow weary of begging for dessert until the food is gone.
Whoa there Bay So! Don't grow up so fast! It seems that while she may not be growing physically nearly as fast as her sister, So is keeping up in other ways. For example, she is incredibly strong. I bet if I could rig up a baby-safe gymnasium, she could do about 100 chin-ups. She can put away food like it's nobody's business (and it's hilarious to watch her eat Puffs cereal).
And she has many emotions:
Content, curious, coy, and "Waiter, could I get some service over here?"
Besides, babies this cute aren't supposed to grow up anyway.
Yes, the girls are learning to play together better all the time--Elia is respecting boundaries a bit more (learning how to not step on So's face while dancing on the bed), So is finding out how to emotionally support her big sis (learning how to cry on command whenever Elia cries), and both girls are relying on their Daddy for support:
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