Rare Moments

A rare moment of cooperative playing: Arabelle carried cars to Jeffrey's parking garage...one by one.

Every time she handed Jeffrey a car, he would say, "Thank you Baby."

Techno den? (They're watching one of two TVs in the room).

I hate that we've lived here 3 years and the walls are still salmon colored. Hopefully I will get around to doing something about this soon.

Arabelle Likes Books

Arabelle really likes miniature-sized books. Here are a few shots.

And no I didn't plant her in the desk for a photo op.

Mother's Day

For mother's day, we went for a little hike at the Environmental Learning Center in Fort Collins. This is a wildlife preserve type place with some walking trails. It also happens to be where John proposed.

At the very beginning of our hike, we had to cross over a shaky rope bridge that was about 15 feet over a river with a pretty fast current. As we crossed the bridge, Arabelle's hat suddenly blew off. I thought it was gone for good, but John ran quickly across the bridge, down the bank, and into the river. Incredibly he was fast enough to intercept the hat.

Arabelle of course refused to wear a wet hat.

Since John was already wet he carried us over to this little rock pile. If you're wondering how he managed this, just think of that puzzle with the fox, the corn, and the hen.

Jeffrey found a trusty walking stick but then decided to leave it behind. About half-way back to the car he started whining for his "stick". We tried to trick him into accepting a few replacement sticks, but he easily identified them as impostors. He was so insistent that John ended up having to run back and get his stick, wet jeans and all.

Jeffrey's "Step-Up" Ceremony

Jeffrey's "Step Up" Ceremony was last week. All the kids climbed to the top of the steps then the teacher told everyone their favorite color, what they want to be when they grow up, and who their best friend is.

Jeffrey's favorite color: "Blue" --that's an easy one.

Future Profession: The teacher said Jeffrey "wasn't able to tell her what he wanted to be when he grows up, but he really likes trains, so she's guessing he might want to be a train conductor."

Best Friend: "Maverick". (There are a couple of kids that he has actually mentioned outside of class, and Maverick is not one of them. Maverick is a six-year-old and I've never seen Jeffrey notice him at all, so I'm wondering what the conversation was like with his teacher that resulted in Jeffrey deciding that "Maverick" was his best friend).

Arabelle really wanted to do everything the kids were doing. It's looking like she may turn out to be a more cooperative "participator" than Jeffrey is, and that will be a good thing.

After the "ceremony" there was a picnic lunch and Jeffrey was kind enough to share.

Arabelle wanted to wear the hat, and I didn't protest (even though clashed with her outfit) because it covered up her stitches.

I found myself using lots of "quotations" in the post. I'm wondering if it's my mood or simply the nature of the post...

Arabelle the Pirate

This is when Arabelle dressed herself as a pirate. She didn't physically put the clothes on herself, but she did pick them all out. John noticed immediately that she had created a pirate-ensemble and insisted that it was a "photo-worthy" occasion. I did supply her with the sword accessory.

Arabelle is Fashion Forward

Lately Arabelle has been super in to accessorizing. If she ever sees a coat or vest, she wants it on (she does have favorites). This goes for hats and necklaces as well. The funniest thing is her accessory-improvising--anything she can fit over her head/wrists, etc.

Fashion Forward Idea #1: Clogs as Bracelets

(She also insisted on wearing Jeffrey's vest that she found...it's become one of her favorite pieces).

Fashion Forward Idea #2: Juxtapose full-body leapord with men's vest and glam accessories:

Fashion Forward Idea #3: When worn properly, bags of goldfish can be decorative as well as delicious:

Fashion Forward Idea #4: In a pinch, a hanger can create a convincing (if impractical) purse:

Fashion Forward Idea #5: Purse as necklace:

And of course, Layer your beads:

And wear knit hats, indoors, all year round:

Cute Jeffrey

Looking sharp for Church:

This is a school outfit. Shirt says, "I run this ship" so it's a bit of a sailor theme with peacoat and boat shoes. (The weird smile is due to a Starburst bribe)