New Wild Cat

Liv first spotted this beauty out the window while we were eating breakfast today.
She wandered off around the side of the house. 

(I don't actually know the gender - but this animal is significantly smaller than the big male we've seen on other occasions. Probably a juvenile.)

...and then we saw her again a couple hours later!

Again these pictures are taken from the kitchen window, she heard us and promptly left!

What a beauty!!

She bedded down in the ornamental grasses behind the house and groomed herself for a good long time before she stalked off again. (Those pictures are pretty bad - taken through the window screen and her own screen of grasses)

New Bike

Santa brought the girls a new bike and Liv has really taken to it!
It is a "balance bike," a 2-wheeler with no pedals or training wheels.

We started calling it a "running bike" to help her visualize how it works ... then watched some YouTube video of other kids on Strider bikes. She tried it out in the grass first "just in case I fall over - it won't hurt." By day two she was moving right along - not necessarily straight, or without wobbling, but that's the point.

I really think Camila could ride it too, but she's just getting tall enough to reach the pedals on the trikes and is pretty excited about that. We'll see what's next for her. 

You can see Liv is getting pretty comfortable on it. And pleased with her progress. 

Fairies and Flutter-Flies

The girls got these beautiful fairy costumes from Auntie Kim for Christmas, and they love to wear the wings and fly around! 

Sometimes they are fairies and sometimes they are beautiful butterflies.

Liv drew a picture of herself with fairy wings.

Playing with Friends at the Park

We had some unbelievably beautiful weather this week, 60s and sunny. We played outside a lot! We even met up with some friends at a park in town for an impromptu playdate! (the power of facebook!)

In addition to climbing and sliding, there was bike riding, sidewalk chalk, dog walking, snacks, and plenty of running around and exploring. The moms got to sit & chat for nearly 2 hours! Holy Moly!

Liv tells me on the way home that her "most favorite" was "playing in the bushes with the boys"
 I'm thinking, "oh... your dad is going to LOVE to hear that!!" 

ha ha ha

:)

Graffiti

We went for a little hike up the ravine behind the house. It was a massive adventure if you're barely three feet tall! And a very nice walk for Jeff and me. 

And then the really fun part!! We had brought some water-based tempera paint to play with! 

Great exploring in so many ways! 

The Good Life

My sweet spoiled little girls had gingerbread and candy for breakfast. 

A fun trip to the park, with lots of friends to play with!

bike riding, climbing, swinging, digging, running, laughing, playing!

ah, joy!

Evening Play