Busy Bees

Audrey and I have been busy little bees lately, spending a lot time outdoors during the unseasonably warm weather we've been having this November. We take our usual walks around the neighborhood, sometimes going elsewhere to walk and talk with good friends. We have been visiting various playgrounds around town, which we enjoy immensely. As you can see.

Her sign for "all done"!

Static Slide Head!

Also entertaining are the many autumn leaves that have covered our lawns recently.



Hats are a fun accessory these days, especially Daddy's hats.

(Holding her chicky, a.k.a. Kicky!)

There are many indoor activities we also enjoy, one being playing the piano. Or trying to. I will give her lessons one day when she is a bit older. I think she will be a great musician.... her love of music is evident every day, even at this early age.


Another indoor activity is using Daddy as a jungle gym, ladder, stepping stool, or transportation. (My stupid phone settings weren't right when I took this pic, as you can see. *sigh* Too bad- cute picture.)


Something we look forward to every week is our Thursday morning play group. A few months ago I felt it on my heart to start a play group for young moms (Christian and non-Christian alike) with kids of any age (though most are infant - toddler). A few of us girls from meet together at one of our homes or another location (parks, the zoo, COSI, etc.) to let the kiddies play while we chat about mommy hood and life in general. It's a GREAT time for us all. If you are interested in coming, please feel free to reply to this or send me an email (rice.christy@gmail.com). The Lord has really blessed our times; it doesn't get better than great friendships and chats! This morning, we all met at COSI to visit the toddler/kids area. It was Audrey and my first time there, and I must say it lived up to all the hype! We will be going back, for sure. There was plenty for the average kid with a short attention span to do. There were structures of all kinds for them to crawl around in, over, through, and on top of. There were neat contraptions for foam balls to shoot through all over the place. There were lots of buttons that when pushed, produced all kinds of interesting sounds and lights.






Audrey's favorite part was the water room... I tried to keep her away from it but finally gave up. I decided the satisfaction of seeing her joy overrode my concerns about her getting soaked in her single change of clothes. It was worth it.

Yum. Mommy, don't think about the germs
floating around in this water. Just think about how much fun I'm having.

My little girl is the cutest, sweetest little stinker ever. Ever. Really. I can't get enough of her smiles and her sweet disposition. She cracks me up all day long. I have a perfect example from tonight, just one of the many hysterically endearing things she does every day. I was reading her a bedtime story called Yummy, Yucky.


On each page there is something yummy, then in contrast there is something yucky.

As I read I would say "Yummy, MMMMMM!" or something similarly fitting, and then "Yucky, EEEEEWWWW", shaking my head in disgust. After three pages, Audrey started giggling. Not just a light giggle. I'm talking bubbling up from the stomach, full throttle giggle. And she didn't stop. With every "Yucky, EEEEEEWWWW" she busted up into a fresh round of giggles, until we were both laughing so hard she couldn't breathe and I couldn't see through the tears. I cry a bit when I am laughing so hard there isn't a gasp of breath left in me... I got that from my Mom. Thanks a lot Mom! (Hahaha) She kept looking up at me like, "oh, you're laughing too!" (or "are you okay Mommy? I can't stop laughing but you look kind of scary with all of those tears running down your bright red face!") which would of course send her into another batch of giggles. We read it three times until finally the giggling diminished a bit. About five minutes after I said goodnight and turned the lights out, I passed her room in the hall and she was STILL giggling, laying in her crib in the dark. So really. My girl is just the cutest, sweetest, and funniest. Ever.