So, some great friends of ours "loaned" us a piano. Mark is a saxophone pro, and his mother played piano. We're happily storing one of her pianos in our kitchen/breakfast nook. The kids love it, and so do we. Thanks, Mark & Gretchen!
Charlie likes to play with his thumbs, which is just the cutest!
The kids are truly toddlers now. They're so much fun! I can't believe all the new things they do everyday! They're learned how to climb up into our tall dining chairs and get snacks off the counter. They love it. Every morning now they slap the countertop and demand "O's" (Cheerios). 
Snacking from their own bowls...
I lost track of them yesterday while doing laundry and heard them laughing in my room. If they weren't fighting over the dog crate ( they love to climb in it) then something had to be up. Yep, they were jumping on my bed -my very tall bed. Who knew they could even climb up there? They are showing some terrible-two symptoms, although I keep kidding myself hoping this is just a grumpy growth spurt. It's frightening!!!
I've attached some cute pictures from the last few days...
We switched to one nap a day and boy, was she tired.
Charlie is not as fond of blueberries as Kate. So he lines them up on the table next to him.
Kate in her first pigtails! Unfortunately, she was allergic to the no-tangle spray I just used in her hair. We had to give her a bath right away! We went to church and had to turn around and come back home. 2 hours of preparation to undergo, and 2 minutes to show em off!
I wish this pic wasn't blurry. She was totally showing off!
The kids acting silly in each other's sunglasses.
Lil Elton:
Lil Kate:
Poor Jimmy Dean. We found a skin cancer on his leg, and we had to have it removed. He chewed the staples out at the vet, and then chewed them out again after breaking out of his Elizabethan collar! Sneaky little turdhead!
Cancer is apparently taken care of, but he had to be hand-fed, since he couldn't reach his food. What a baby! 3 toddlers!
While I was cleaning up after breakfast the other day, I heard them playing on the piano. When I looked over, they had both climbed on to the piano bench by themselves (another first) and were playing happily. I had the best "Aw, cute" moment when Kate suddenly reached over and hugged Charlie. I grabbed the camera and asked her to do it again- she happily obliged.
By the way, all the color on their faces is blueberry pancake leftovers.
This was our first trip to Galveston! We ventured down to Jamaica Beach for a fun-filled birthday weekend (my friend Erin's). Unfortunately, it was the worst storm on that Sat since Hurricane Ike... tornado warnings and all. On the bright side, all the rain that puddled up on the beach on Sun made for great paddle pools! Yes, it was a little cold, but the kids didn't seem to mind.
We've stayed cool in the a/c at the mall: 
The Texas heat drew us to Waterway Square a couple Sundays ago to keep cool. They have an amazing fountain that's synchronized to music! It was fun to watch, and it was refreshing, too. The kids played a little in the water, but Charlie was more interested in exploring the grounds. I'm a little disappointed that no one thought to put a safety fence along the waterway wall, since it's right next to the sprayground, but then again, I'm sure they didn't envision Kate and Charlie toddling toward the drop-off like lemings! 
We've watched a little limited tv, but our favorite thing to watch is Sesame Street. Charlie loves to watch from his Big Boy chair, and Kate has recently discovered the joy of tv from the big rocking chair. She can even rock in it.
We've stayed cool in our backyard dolphin pool!
Charlie walks around in Daddy's shirt. He's been swiping Brent's shirt from our room and carrying it around. He hugs it to his face and says, "Dada!" Such a Daddy's boy! And so cute!
