Family Photos: May 9, 2009

Hold onto your horses for this photo bonanza -- we had such a fun day today! First Suki and I went to Babies R Us for a little guard for the television controls -- Kate is driving her absolutely insane with pushing the buttons and our makeshift solution was just not working well enough to preserve family sanity. On the way home, she really wanted to go to a playground, so we swung by the house and we picked up Grace.

There was a flower sale in the parking lot of our neighborhood playground and so the girls were on guard for a bit at first, with all of the goings on there.

Grace had fun swinging, even though I can't do the same swing tricks her Dad does. I only have so much upper body strength and my height is also a bit lacking for those hijinx.

Suki desperately wanted to splash in the puddle under some of the swings but there were big boys swinging pretty enthusiastically, so she had to be denied for a bit.

Then she started on the slides!

Two girls on the playground equipment.

My sweet, sweet Sook.

These sisters adore each other and spent a lot of time together today.

See how delighted they are with each other?

I cannot say enough good things about the Leapfrog Phonics Bus, which has truly taught Suki the sounds that each letter makes. When she sees this panel she can identify all of the letters and their sounds.

My sweet pea.

Oh, I just love this picture of my slide climbing Grace.

Sisters together.

Suki adored these petunias.

And she was so gentle with the marigolds. It is wonderful to be able to trust a child not to wreak havoc with the botanical merchandise.

In other news of things that are wonderful, Grace climbed the ladder (halfway) and most excitingly, really experimented with what she could do with the bars.

This is what she thinks a koala does -- she practices here at home on the couch and even the arm of a chair but I usually need to be close at hand to make sure the chair doesn't tip over.

Of course, it was not long before Suki came along to check things out.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Kate had an awesome morning playing with Dad.

It was good for them to have some one on one time without the distraction of big sisters.

My dear girl. Please ignore the strap in this photo, thank you very much.

After naps, it was time for our wonderful friend Ava's birthday party! The girls were super excited about this, given their recent interest in being acrobats in the circus. The party was held at an indoor gym and it was perfect because even the littlest party goer could participate.

Suki spies some balloons!

Kate and Ava's little brother Will.

These two were adorable together, I was sad that we didn't get any better pictures of their cuter than cute interaction.

Grace is so sweet on her gorilla, it was a compromise to bring him to the party but she was awesome with him while we were there. She helped him swing, she put him neatly beside her on the bench while she ate her pizza, she was reasonable when other children cast an eye on him.

Suki at the top of the biggest, waviest slide ever.

This giant tube was an amazing opportunity for Kate -- she pushed it along the floor and walked behind it. It was the first time she's ever walked without us holding her hands and nearly dragging her across the floor.

One thing I love about my girls is that they are undaunted by big kids. At the playground this morning Suki stood strong when some big boys tried to commandeer a staircase and at the indoor gym Kate stared down an astonished older kid.

Ava was very busy at her party and I cannot believe this is the only shot we got of her. I should have tried harder to get a shot of this beauty with her friends.