Since we decided that using B & L's in-ground pool is risky with two babies:one adult, we found a safe alternative.  What else but a cute little baby pool?!  We used it today for the first time, and OMG it was SO much fun!  It took some time getting them ready (swimsuits, suncreen, swim diapers, and swim hat X2, plus myself), but we pulled it off and it was well worth it!  The pool was the perfect size for the 3 of us, and well worth the $8 investment at Wal-Mart.  Thanks B for inflating, filling it up, and adding chlorine for us!  

I mean, who doesn't LOVE a face like this?

Cam smiled, laughed, and talked the entire time.  She slipped once or twice, but kept on playing as if nothing happened.  She was so relaxed, and LOVES the water!

I have two Water Babies on my hands for sure!

I have never seen a Texas Tech garment look so CUTE!  This swimsuit on Cam is precious.  I had so much fun getting it on her.  When else can I dress up a girl for the water?

When Levi wasn't splashing himself, he was crawling around and eventually figured out how to pull up.  He never slipped which proves how strong he really is.  I am so proud of his independence and endurance.  

This was a great way for all of us to get some Vitamin D.  And, a successful attempt at wearing them both out for a good night's sleep.  :)

Levi studying and looking around.  He observes it all...

Nixie standing guard.  She was nervous for us, but enjoyed the entertainment. 

Here's to many more "splash sessions!"

Yesterday we went to Heights Park in Richardson.  We met up with the ladies from the Baby Buddies group.  Levi's wagon was a HUGE hit, and the weather was gorgeous!  Our visit started with a walk around the park.  Afterward everyone spread out their picnic blankets for floor fun and adult conversation.  Cam and Levi showed off their sharing and playing skills and loved the attention.  Cam was such an angel!  She rolled around the picnic blankets and smiled at all the mommies.  I helped her stand up and hold onto the wagon from the outside.  She even stood on her own!  Levi was his normal, adventurous self, wondering away from the group and getting his hands on anything and everything.  He also flirted with other moms by crawling into their laps - especially when a cracker or water bottle was involved.  We stayed for over 2 hours.  Such a fun time! 

I was unaware that the camera was on a weird setting the whole time.  These are the best photos of the bunch: 

Cam loved riding in the wagon.  We'll be using it more often.  She's such a doll!  

 Levi just discovered this "no hands" trick.  He crawls around holding the cup in his mouth.  So cute!

Cam got a special surprise today!  Mom showed up to meet us for story time at North Park.  The story time was at 12:30 so Lin spent her lunch break with us.  It was a nice change of pace for Lin to see her baby girl.  She met us in the parking lot.  I had just finished strapping Cam into the stroller when Lin walked up to her and said "surprise!"  The look on Cam's face was priceless! 

It was a HUGE help having another set of hands on deck.  And with two laps to sit on, both babies experienced the "full effect."  Even though it was short lived, it was nice to have something planned for the 4 of us.  We sang, shook instruments, and sang some more!

This was our second trip to Bookmarks.  On Monday we met up with the Baby Buddies Meetup Group.  It wasn't nearly as crowded today - probably because of the rain or time of day.  But the 12:30 time worked perfectly for us.  They are both incredibly social so it was nice to get out again.

These next 3 photos were taken after story time.  The "holes" in the library made for a great photo op!  Lin put them in there while I grabbed the camera.  Cam and Levi were quite amused at Lin jumping back and standing next to me.  She knows how to make them smile!  How cute is this?!

Unfortunately Lin had to run back to work.  Here's my attempt at photographing the two by myself.  The one on the right would not sit still for me.

Then I asked the librarian to take this one.

Thanks again Lin for joining us!  Here's to many more times to meet up!

Most mornings I show up with Levi still in his P.J.'s.   And within 5 minutes of arriving he managed to find mischief.  Here is one of the end tables.  A perfect little "nook" for the adventurous type!

I am surprised at his spatial awareness.  He judges his movements pretty well and has yet to make a big tumble or even head bump (knock on wood)!  He seems to know his limits.  Well, within reason...

Cam also experiments with her mobility.  She's looking at me as I cheer her on to crawl towards me.  Not today, she says; but soon.  VERY soon!

Today she rolled across two rooms of the house: the living room and her room.  And I mean all the way across.  Levi was never a roller so it's so fun to watch her go!  She actually started here (in front of the love seat), and rolled all the way to the t.v. behind her.  She's great at her spatial awareness, too!

Today I attached the legs to the musical table so that they could play together.  As you can see, Cam loves her audience!  And it's cute to watch her laugh at Levi when he's crawling at her feet.

Today we went to Campbell Green Rec Center.  Twice a week there is a "Mommy and Me" time where the kids can play with lots of fun stuff.  They can shake musical instruments, crawl on mats, jump in the bounce house, play with hula hoops, play basketball, roll around on scooters, etc.  They basically dump a bunch of cool fun stuff in a gymnasium, turn on a bounce house, and let 'em loose!  Pure definition of "organized chaos" here.  There's no structure, but you get what you pay for - it's $1 per child admission.  And it's just one mile from the house.  We'll get to come back for the rest of May before they close for the summer.

We started off in the mat area so the babies could get acclimated.  Knowing how much Levi likes hula hoops, I brought a couple over for Cam.  I thought she might like the pink and green combination for the photo op.  She had a blast with them!

This girl can't get any closer to crawling without actually crawling.  She really fooled me a couple of times.  I think she's mastered the reaching-out-as-far-as-she-can-without moving-her-entire-body-forward thing!  In any event, it was quite entertaining!

After awhile I placed the babies on top of this super cool rainbow climbing mat thing.  They loved the feeling of being up there!  It was fun trying to get them to pose together.  (See the "couples" photos near the end of this post).   Cam was so proud of herself and enjoyed the view.  She's got her "OMG I am SO excited" game face on!

Ok, so this girl has a future as a musician.  At one point she found a wooden stick and started banging the stick onto the tambourine.  She had the stick in one hand, and the tambourine in the other.  I mean, what baby figures that out without any encouragement or initiation?  I took a photo of it but it was out of focus.  :(  These photos do not nearly describe how much she loved to bang, shake, and play.  

I tried taking the tambourine from her so I could get her attention to smile for the camera - but she had nothing of the sort.  She cried and whined until I caved and returned it.  Again...SO entertaining!   I don't know who was entertained the most - the babies playing,  or me watching them.

  

Towards the end of playtime I brought Cam over to the bounce house.  The older children were acting crazy inside, so we had a bouncing-escapade on the outside edge.  Remember how much fun she had on the playground swing the other day?  Well this ranks right up there with it.  I bounced her up and down, over and over and she could NOT stop laughing! 

She's really amused when she makes funny noises after her real laugh (like ooo's and ehh's).  I asked a Dad nearby to take a photo of me bouncing her.  I just had to document her expression.  My camera is incredible but it focused on me instead of Cam this time.  Dang!  We had an amazing time.

  
On another note, Cam is 8 months old today.  Such a big girl!!


Earlier I wrote that we started at the mats so they could get acclimated.  Well, Levi quickly discovered how much more fun it would be to just wander off.  He can be pretty timid around new people, but when adventure and something new is in sight, he forgets all about his Mommy.  I was preoccupied with playing with Cam that I didn't notice Levi crawling away at the speed of 90 MPH.  Perhaps it was the sound of the older kids playing basketball - I guess he wanted to be a part of it.  In any case this guy can MOVE!  

After that crazy moment I brought him back to the mats, and figured he needed a distraction.  I created this contraption on the scooter for some "dangerous" activity.  Levi was not amused. :)  He must be focused on the basketball players...

Since last week he has discovered how to shake and sway his head when he plays.  It's the cutest thing ever.  So when I put him on top of the rainbow climbing mat, he moved and wiggled it like crazy!  The other moms got a kick out of it, too.  More entertainment for all!

Another mom built a really neat climbing course.  And what would a challenge like this be without Levi?!  He is having NO fun crawling through this, right?! ;)

This place has tons of scooters just rolling around.  Once again I turn around for two seconds and he's off creating mischief.  I saw him grab onto the scooter, pull up to his feet, then roll it forward.  If this child walks tomorrow I will not be surprised.  What is with these two and their teasing?!

Here he is laughing at danger in the face.  That's the outside of the bounce house if you can't tell.  I believe he is reading that sign knowing that he would break ALL of those rules if he could!  My next guess is that he wants to be just like the big boys jumping inside.

I saved these "couples shots" for last.  I think they're the best photos ever!  I have been trying for months to get a good shot of Cam and Levi together.  Which one is your favorite?

This one...?

Or this...?

And I get to carry these tags around as part of their "membership."  Looking forward to next week!

Levi is still captivated with Nixie.  And now that he's mobile, the infatuation was grown ten-fold.  He's found  a favorite hiding spot in her kennel!  I am impressed that not only did he climb inside, but finagled himself to turn around and reach for the door.  All this guy needs to entertain himself is a Miniature Schnauzer and her home. 

And, I'm guessing he likes the challenge since Skye's crate is larger and not "as fun:"

My favorite thing about Levi these days is the way he explores independently.  Sometimes he will crawl through each room of the house and forget all about me!  Earlier today I had just come out of the bathroom to hear him laughing.  Usually he's rough housing with Nixie, but this time it involved one of her toys.  I grabbed the video camera for a glimpse:

At the time I didn't know what the toy looked like.  After Levi crawled away I took a closer look.  I laughed out loud to myself at the randomness of this dog toy.  It's a chicken dressed like Santa.  But of course!

Another top favorite toy for Levi is a cup.  Yep, just a cup.  A plastic one, preferably bright-colored.  He yells into it to hear himself echo.  I wondered if Cam would follow suit.  I gave her some "regular" toys, which she soon lost interest.  But the plastic cup kept her entertained for a good 15 minutes.  The perfect solution to getting the kitchen picked up quickly.

Cam's got some really cute outfits lately.  They suit her well!  This one is one of my favorites...

...By the way, it's 8:45pm now and Levi just watched the video, laughing at himself laughing!  Such a happy boy.

Yesterday I took the babies to story time at NorthPark Mall.  A library in a mall you ask?  It's an interesting concept, but works!  In fact, it's the first children's library in the US that is inside a shopping center.  We went with the Baby Buddies meet-up group.  About 8 other moms and their little ones joined us.  Not to mention the tons of other babies, toddlers, and mommies who showed up.

The place was PACKED.  I am so glad we came early and heard about such a great place.  I mean, look at that architecture!  Kids under 12 can snuggle up with a book in one of those "holes", or surf the internet.  Again, where was this stuff when we were kids?!  The story time was lead by an incredibly animated lady, and was filled with interactive songs and instruments.  Super cute!  We enjoyed it so much, that we're coming back on Friday!  Lindley is meeting us during her lunch break.  I can't wait!  It's more challenging to keep those two contained, which is why I couldn't take any photos.  But on Friday both Lin and I will both come so there's more opportunity.  Here are the photos from the website:

Afterward the meet-up group went upstairs to the food court for lunch.  There were mostly young infants in the bunch, and it was funny to see them all tuckered out in their strollers.  Those moms got to chit chat, and eat their lunches in peace while the rest of us "handled" and hand-fed the older, more active ones.  Nonetheless a fun way to meet new friends and kick-start the day!

I honestly thought he wasn't ready for this, but as always he exceeded my expectations.  At first I spotted him in the arms.  But I sensed his steadiness so he tried it by himself.  I can't believe my baby is already learning to walk!

It's been awhile since I've given a playtime/mobility report, so here is what's happening today:

Cam is getting really good at rocking on all 4's!  She can scoot backwards now.  She's also inching her knees forward.  And, mostly prefers to roll around and just "hang out" on the floor.  From a seated position she leans all the way forward until her nose touches the ground - then goes from her tummy and pushes to all 4's.  Bless her heart - she gets so frustrated that she can't move forward as easily as she would like.  But, she'll be crawling any day now!

Baby girl has cut her bottom two teeth!  I took attempts at a close-up shot.  I'm still not savvy on the camera features.  But you can see her pearly whites here:

Cam still loves her Jumperoo and Exersaucer.  We got our money's worth!

Little man has found more mischief.  Indeed, he's getting into everything.  He's discovered how to crawl under things, as seen here:

His favorite cruising place is the hearth.  He goes to town with his "Da-Da-Doos" as he  moves across. Levi's word for dog is "deeith."  He says it over and over around Nixie and our dog Skye.

Taking this photo does not qualify me as "Mom of the Year" but I couldn't resist.  The look of pride is priceless.  And no, I didn't just put him there.  He climbed all the way up (was fast, too), and wanted to do it again!

This is the new toy I brought over for the babies.  It makes a cute lion "roar" when you touch his nose (the toy, not Levi).  Get it?  "Not Levi" because he has a tiger on his onesie?  I know - I am quite the comedienne!  When I took this photo he was SO pooped from all that crawling, cruising, and climbing.  This was seconds before the "I'm tired" cry erupted.

Sweet baby is all tuckered out!  This is his latest sleeping position.  Such a doll!