Playing!

Here's Cora, above, and Violet, below, in the pool at about four months old...

Last weekend we had a lot of heat again, so we had some fun swimming in the pool. Cora had a great time, as did Violet. Violet has definitely reached the stage of loving her big sister, and laughing at the funny things she does.
Annoyingly, there was a pair of 6- or 7-year-old girls at the pool who were being rude to Cora, when Cora really wanted to play with them. Cora thought they were playing together when the bigger girls were splashing her. I'm glad she didn't "get" the fact that the bigger girls were being mean, and she didn't hear when they were whispering about the "little kid" in the pool. It made me so sad; I wish girls weren't like that! I definitely remember being the odd one out at times in school and I hate to think of my daughters going through that pain.

On a cheerier note, Cora has been busy playing with her new kitchen! Genia's friend had given her this gorgeous Melissa and Doug wooden kitchen, complete with all the trimmings, and Genia's kids were finished with it. I wish we had a photo of us wheeling it down the sidewalk to our house, in Genia's little red wagon! Classic... Thanks Genia, and thanks Ave, Johnny and Owen, for sharing with us!
The oppressive heat we had even brought out the girlie-girl in Cora! She was excited one day to get out her Ariel dress, heels and wig, and later her pink sparkly tiara. She was too gorgeous for words, and she couldn't stop dancing when I was taking the photo.

Stace created a new game to play with Cora. He made these word cards and hid the objects listed around the yard. Cora had to sound out the words (with help from dad) and then find them, like a treasure hunt. Great idea, Dad!

What else have we been up to? Well, Stace and I celebrated our seventh anniversary earlier this week with a dinner/shopping date. It was great to get away for a few hours; we hit Happy Hour at the Elephant Bar and shared drinks and appetizers, just like when we were newlyweds. Actually, it was better than when we were newlyweds, as we've grown to love each other more and appreciate one another better with each passing year.