Brilyn Likes Her Tea!

 I found this cute set of little tea cups. They are about the same

size as the little expresso cups - only they really look

like TEA CUPS! Brilyn loves them.

She's even started setting them out

and asking for tea!

 Which means we must have a tea party!

And look - she's even got the pinky finger mastered!

How's that for a one year old?

Isn't she just darling?

I think I'll be doing a lot more

partying with this little girl!

Eating OCTOPUS!!!!

 I got this idea from Nana Diana over at

Nana Diana Takes A Break

Isn't it cute!

She called it Octopus on the Rocks!

I call it Octopus in Paradise!

Because it looks like a meal you might be served at

some fancy resort or something.

A place with cloth napkins folded to look

like some sort of animal!

Anyway - it's easy to make.

Just steam some brocolli,

cook up some mac & cheese

and cut up some OCTOPUS!

(aka hotdogs)

I had all three girls try it out!

 Brilyn liked the cheesy brocolli!

Olivia liked the OCTOPUS!

And Gracie gobbled hers up before I could get a

picture and asked for MORE!

This might be something you want to try

if you have picky eaters.

Someone's A Daddy's Girl!

 Just look at this little girl having fun with

her Daddy!

 He helps her up the slide!

 And he catches her as she comes down!

 Over and over again!

 I love watching the two of them together!

Brilyn loves her Daddy! And her Daddy loves her!

Brilyn's Daddy - Andrew - is my youngest

and I am so proud of the man

he has grown up to be.

Although, at times, I have to admit,

I kind of miss the little boy

that he once was.

A New Friend for Gracie

 When Grace was climbing Mudpie Mountain

she made a new friend!

 Her name is Paisley!

 Paisley's owner stepped out for a moment and

Paisley ran out, too!

Out and across the street to see Gracie!

I think Gracie enjoyed playing with Paisley

as much as Paisley enjoyed playing with her!

Climbing Mudpie Mountain!

 We live in a new neighborhood and there

is almost always a pile of dirt SOMEWHERE!

This pile is just two lots from our house.

Grace calls it Mudpie Mountain!

And she loves playing King of the Hill!

 She loves mountain climbing!

(even though this mountain is only about 10 feet tall)

And she's pretty good at it!

Look! She made it all the way to the top!

Brilyn Helping Abby With Her Bath!

 Brilyn is a good helper!

 She can hold the hose and rinse the

bubbles out of Abby's coat!

 She had so much fun giving her doggy a bath!

But - when Abby decided to shake and she

threw water all over and got Brilyn

all wet, Brilyn threw up her hands

as if to say, "That's enough!"

She was done!

But - the dog was still pretty soapy!

Letting Go

 Learning about the snake was fun!

Grace looked him up in our little book and

had me read all about him.

He is a Rough Green Snake and he likes

to eat bugs, catipillers, crickets and spiders.

He can get up to 32 inches long.

And he lives on land but likes water.

So Grace let him go in the flower bed near the pool!

 There are lots of crickets and spiders in the

flower bed.

 And he seems to like the flowers!

He also blends in with the butterfly bush so well

that you can hardly see him!

It's hard letting go....

But we know that the best place for a

wild creature is in the wild. It would not be

nice to keep him.

However, we were very grateful for the

opportunity we had to observe him

for a little while!

Olivia and the Snake!

 I don't think Olivia knew what to think

about the snake. But then, when we had

the snake Olivia wasn't feeling well.

 She was interested in checking him out. She seemed

to like the way he felt and it was funny to watch

him get away. But really, snakes just

aren't her thing.

But, at least she got the opportunity to explore!

Here at Grandma's house we like

to explore... to discover... and

to check things out!

Life is an education and the world

is our classroom and observing is

how we learn!

And now we know a little

about snakes!



Brilyn and the Snake

 Brilyn liked the snake almost as much as

Grace did. But - the snake was not

wild about Brilyn!

 Although Brilyn thought she was being

loving and kind....

 The snake did not want to share

her chocolate...



And it did not enjoy being treated

like a lariat rope! So, we ended up encouraging

Brilyn to LOOK but not TOUCH!

The snake bit her once in self defense.

And she laughed!

I guess he doesn't bite very hard.

Grace and the Snake!

 Grace actually loved the snake!

 She likes the way he tickles when he moves

across her hands.

 She likes handling him.

 Observing him.

 And scaring people with him.

 She's not the least bit afraid of snakes,

but she knows when she sees one outside she

needs to ask if it's safe to play with before doing so.

And yes.... this one is perfectly safe.

Even though he bites!

(He doesn't bite Grace)

We Caught A Snake!

 I found the cutest little snake slithering

across the road so I had to catch it and bring

it home for the girls to observe.

 Isn't it the cutest thing?

 What will the girls think of it?

Will it bite?

Over the next few days we'll be finding out!

Cousins Are So Much FUN!

 These cousins get along so well!

 Grace helped Brilyn climb up the climber....

 And then caught her when she went down the slide.

 She took such good care of her.

She was so careful "helping" Brilyn

do things that Brilyn is really quite

capable of doing all by herself.

 But... it is nice for big girls to look

after little girls!

 She's watching carefully while Brilyn

climbs up!

 She'll be right there just in case!

And then when Brilyn decides to slide down, she'll

slide down, too!

It's either that or she'll

get ran over!