YAY you did it!

That was the theme of the remainder of the week:

YAY You Did It!

Thursdays are the days that J usually comes home so it's always a cause for celebration. This week, though, we had HUGE cause for celebration--he finished the first project he ever "led". We were very proud of him and wanted to express that through a craft.

so we did. 

Cutie Face was a huge help. She's getting so good at crafting!

She was also quite pleased with her creation

and, from time to time, would run into the room and say:

"look at dat, mommy. dat's my craft for daddy. yes."

it's kind of like saying, "yay, Cutie Face--YOU did it!"

In more "you did its"...The kiddos and i went to the playground again.

Cutie Cakes is showing you how she did it...and had SO.MUCH.FUN

she's so excited that she's smiling SO BIG that it looks like she's yawning!

gotta love this action shot with Cutie Face in the background

(and the Cakester still ecstatic about swinging)

We then retreated to the shade where the duckies were.

Sadly for them we did not do it--

as in, bring the bread that they were anticipating.

these poor (seemingly) starved ducks came from every direction and landed at our feet, just waiting for us to drop them a snack. Luckily for them, we went to Target yesterday and bought a $1 loaf for future duck pond visits.

Here's some long-awaited "yay you did it" news: Cutie Face can finally walk her Little Tikes car forward (previously, it'd only been backward movement). 

This photo captured the literal first moment that she lurched in the correct direction. It took a few tries and "eeeeeeh. i can't do it"s but she eventually had fluidity of motion! YAY, Cutie Face, you did it!

Cutie Cakes, meanwhile, managed to finagle a little more mommy/daddy time by being inconsolable around 11 PM Thursday night. That's one "you did it" that we weren't too fond of but...really...who can resist this kid? I can't!

We then had the extreme pleasure of having guests on Friday. The amazing Lauren stopped in with her three kids (can we all say, YAY Lauren, YOU did it!?!) on her way to see her parents and friends. 

Before I post pictures I just have to publicly say that having Lauren visit feels like an incredible blessing. She mothers with grace, patience, and wisdom all while pointing her children's hearts back to God. I really feel like I received a lesson in mothering just by watching her interact with her two kids while soothing her newborn! Thank you, Lauren, for your incredible (and humble!) example! 

We played, ate, made LOTS of noise, blew bubbles, snipped basil, and shared life stories. It was great!

This morning we let J sleep in--a totally deserved and much needed lie-in (as evidenced by the fact that he slept until 11 AM!!!!!). 

Once the tiny tike was down for her morning nap, Cutie Face and i ventured into the extreme heat (can we say: heat index of 116?!?!). We walked to a "porch sale" (as opposed to say, a yard/garage sale)--she rode in the newish Ergo--i LOVE that thing. Even with those high temperatures, we managed to stay cool! go Ergo (you did it :). 

The kind neighbors who were moving gifted a toddler life jacket to her (maybe they thought we'd soon melt into a puddle and need something to stay afloat in...). We couldn't say no but we did look a little funny carrying on to Starbucks, life jacket in tow (plus two plush kitties and one blanket)

at Starbucks I caved and bought the kid a doughnut. She does a bang-up job of eating soooo many veggies--spinach, sweet potatoes and broccoli being her faves--that i thought a little treat couldn't hurt.

she was much appreciative

and ate it all

while i took comfort in the fact that it was...

"Real Food"

Cutie Face's consumption of it definitely attested to the doughnut's "Simply Delicious" claim

While that was all fine and good, the customer in the background was not too pleased with something. I nearly died when i saw these pictures up close (they were taken on the iPhone)...i enjoyed her facial expressions so much that i made them into a little collage for your viewing pleasure:

oh my.

we rounded the day off by thrift-store shopping for fabric. it was tons of fun

one piece of fabric came on a bolt...that J turned into a toy:

YAY for free, simple toys!

and check out Cutie Cakes' new yellow vintage dress--$1!

and now this post is finally over! yay i did it :-0