Dragonflies and Birthday Parties

One of our friends in the building turned 6 and we celebrated in Central Park. A different area than Red's party, and one that we had never been to, so it was a fun adventure. The theme was "ladybugs", so there were a bunch of nature activities for the kids, as well as a splash pad nearby...perfect summer fun!

Noelle and another friend from our building, Cregan

Happy girl!

Our girls with the birthday girl, Estella!

The girls with Delilah's best friend, Lyla

Remarkably attentive kids listening to instructions

Playing on the bridge with other building friends, Wills and Jimmy

Delilah was the first one to catch a ladybug (see below) and she was SO PROUD.

And normally I don't post about every birthday party we go to, but there was one moment with Red that stopped me in my tracks. The above pictures are adorable, but the pictures below show a moment that I will never forget. The kids had all received a "bug jar" that they could decorate and then use to go try to capture ants, worms, and a ladybug if they were really lucky. I was helping a bunch of kids and then looked around to find Delilah...she was about 15 feet away, at the water's edge, lost in her own world, trying to capture a dragon fly. The image was just so completely, incredibly "her", that it literally took my breath away. As soon as I could breathe again, I grabbed my camera, took a picture, and said thank you to God for letting me in on such a beautiful moment.

I love your dreaminess, Red; I just love it so much.

Dancing With Daddy

The pictures say it all.

Silly, Sweet, Wonderful, Loving Sisters

I am hard pressed to think of something that gives me more joy than watching my girls play together. Their bond is already so tight that although Chris and I have not definitively decided if we are going to have more children, one of the main reasons to not have another one is that we would feel sorry for any baby trying to carve their way into the Force of Nature that is Delilah & Noelle. They are incredible together. Simply incredible.

Here they are playing a board game together by themselves for the very first time. Delilah is very patient and if Noelle doesn't quite get the rules, Delilah will make up something that Noelle will understand.

And here they are tracing each other in chalk at the park.

Delilah put Noelle in the Moses basket and told her to be still. I started looking for Noelle and couldn't find her anywhere. Walked right by her twice before I realized that it was her, and not a doll!

 

Here they are, walking along Central Park and enjoying ice cream from a street vendor. They always get the same thing: Red gets a SpongeBob Popsicle, and Noelle gets a King Cone. Noelle finishes hers in about 2.3 seconds, and Red savors hers as long as possible, until it's all running down her arms.

And, lastly, I told them to go wash their hands before dinner...this is what I found 5 minutes later:

 

Oh, my sweet girls, I pray and pray and pray that you will ALWAYS find this much joy in each other.

Poor Red was vomiting all last night and today, so Noelle had to entertain herself
-which was fine, until I found Noelle asleep at noon on the floor of her room
-which was fine, until I noticed that both she and the floor were covered in pee, so I needed to change her, which woke her up
-which was fine, until it meant that she wouldn't go back to sleep and missed her usual 2hr nap. So I decided to take the time to assemble this organizer/drawer thing for Delilah's closet

-which was fine until I discoverd on step 13 that I had messed up back at step 3 and had to start all over. We decided some fresh air would do everyone good, so we headed to the park
-which was fine, until we got to the park and discovered major construction going on next door, giving all 3 of us serious headaches within 5 minutes. So we headed to the grocery store
-which was fine, until we got home and Delilah threw up again and I got so distracted that I left the groceries on the counter long enough to have to wonder if they're still good. Then Delilah asked if we could watch Project Runway. We did, and she said that the first thing she ever sews will be for me and she will add real flowers because real flowers are the only thing as pretty as Mommy.
-which was fine. So completely, beautifully fine.