Hello Everyone! Summer is flying by here. We have been filling up our days with walks & trips to the pool. We are getting ready to try some potty training real soon (as soon as I have a couple of free days to devote to it). The girls seem to be into taking their clothes off lately. I woke up yesterday to find them both naked in their rooms. Sidney can get totally naked in less than 2 minutes which means you have to constantly watch her when you are in public or outside in the backyard. We are getting closer and closer to talking. They continue to deepen their "secret" communication skills and I think Chris & I are just getting better at guessing at what they are trying to say. They have definitely learned the word no and are not afraid to use it. I am actually surprised at how useful it is. They seem to feel the need to disipline each other and say "no, no, no" when they see the other one misbehaving.
God this age is fun...and challenging, but so much fun! They are really starting to become little people with opinions. I think that will be growth opportunity #1 for good old mom! God, am I ready for that? I hate that mirror!!!! Anyway.....on to the reason you log onto to this blog...No shoe is safe in the Shinabery house. They love wearing our shoes. Here is Avery getting ready to go out for a run! Speaking of run, I will sometimes run with the girls. Whenever we are running the girls will throw up their arms and scream like they are riding a roller coaster. I laugh everytime!
And for a more formal look....

Sidney...
Heather and Carissa visited a few weeks ago. We had so much fun with them here. One of the things we were able to do was celebrate the 4th of July with fireworks. Here is Avery laying on Dad watching the lights in the sky!
Carissa hanging out with her cousins and their friends, the Tate clan (JT, Mosimo & Sarah). They all got to watch the fireworks together!
Carissa & Sidney out at dinner.
We took Heather and Carissa to Lake Calhoun for ice cream. The girls are getting very good at holding hands!

At the MOA (Mall of Amer) we went to the Underwater World. I think Avery is afraid of the big beaver behind her.
Chris & one of the girls walking through the aquarium. It was cool, you could see all the fish swimming beside and above you!
Carissa and Sidney at the aquarium.

Chris & Heather!

Eating popcorn....
Swinging on the back swing. I'm trying to remember why they had their binki's out of their bedroom. Must have been a special day or Dad was watching them!
Helping Dad clean the car.
Sidney
Avery

The girls swinging with Ra-Ra (Rafi).
Sidney and Avery out on the back deck.
Three amigos.
Avery & Rafi saying goodnight to each other. So cute!
Sidney & Rafi saying good-bye!

They are not allowed to come downstairs with their binki's and blankets so each morning they take their time waking up. When I go into their rooms before they are ready for me, they have a hard time letting go of these items so they will sit like this at the top of the stairs until they are ready to let go. It usually only takes 2-3 minutes before they want to come downstairs and join the real world (Chris & I).

Each July our community has Duk Duk Daze, which a local carnival in a park down the street. This year we decided to have friends over for beer & hamburgers. Here are all the kids sitting on the swing waiting for the fireworks to go off. We were able to watch them in the front yard!

While the cat is away, the mice will play! Ha! Here is what the girls and I have been up to this last week! Yesterday we joined about 12 other kids for a play date. It was fun to see so many sets of twins. There were 2 other sets of identical twins. That was neat to see. It was a bit crazy with all the kids. It took the girls a little while to warm up but eventually they made it across the lawn to go down the slide. Avery playing in the sandbox.
Avery looking at the yard of kids....humm, should I go over there?
Yeah! Sid made it off my lap!!! There is Avery going down the slide.

Back home playing in the yard. Sidney, our little monkey, is climbing on the cube.

After eating icecream, we are all smiles!!!
Sidney & Avery
Sidney & Avery, say cheese!

Eating cheddar bunnies at our new "grown-up" table.

Avery in Mom's shoes.
The girls and I went to the zoo last week! Very hot, but the girls didn't seem to mind. They loved the animals and made all the appropriate noises!
The zoo had rides and so the girls hopped in this purple cruiser!

Sidney peeking thru to say "hi"!

So, I picked up this car at a garage sale and Avery has really taken a liking to it. So much so that for the first 3-4 days she chose to sit in it the entire day so Sidney couldn't get in. Now she and Sidney take turns pushing each other around.

I had to take this picture because I thought it was cute that the girls sat down to play and they sat the exact same way.
Chill'in on the patio.
Avery & Sidney playing in the drive way. We are learning to listen and understand what "stop" means. What is the deal with kids and dogs being attracted to the street?
Sunday evenings Chris and I like to go get icecream with the girls and drive around. I'm not sure why, but this has been something that we have always enjoyed doing. Maybe it started long ago in England when we drove around literally all night exploring England under the moon. Anyway, now our kids are in on the act and I have to admitt listening to the eat & giggle in the back seat brings me to an all new high. Above is Avery with a chocolate face. It takes her all of five minutes to down her ice cream while Sidney takes her sweet time.
Sidney chill'in in the backseat after ice cream.

Here the girls are exploring the neighbor's little garden.

Avery
Sidney
These girls are full of love. It is still one of my favorite things about them. A couple times a day they "break" to come over and give me some love. They must miss their dad because this week has been twice the hugs and kisses.