New Wheels.

Last week I realized that the wheels on my umbrella stroller were worn to the rims from all the walking Ellie and I have been doing. I called the manufacturer, and they said that they don't make my stroller anymore, and they never made wheel kits for it, so basically, the rims are the rims and the wheels are the wheels. It's still completely usable, but obviously not meant for the 20+ miles I'm putting on it every week. So after much hemming and hawing, I decided to get a fancy jogging stroller, like the Orange County yuppie I am.

Lulu loves the Bob.

She also loves the box. Ellie loves playing peekaboo with her - it's the most interaction they've had with one another since Ellie started crawling.

And in only two walks, the stroller has totally changed my life. It's so easy to push and steer, and it's got a much nicer seat for my little love bug. Sometimes I feel bad about hauling Ellie along on all my walks - she spends about 90 minutes a day in the stroller - but then on the mornings when I'm tired and want to lay around like a fat lazy slug, she will go and pound on the front door and say "a walk! A walk!" or bring me my shoes. She's a good little workout buddy. It doesn't hurt that we try to walk with friends, so while the moms talk, the girls will try to hold hands or exchange toys. And Ellie loves seeing all the dogs and scenery while we walk.

We had a really nice weekend. Saturday afternoon we had tickets to see a community theater production of Suessical the Musical. The kids in it were really great, and the show was super fun. The story was familiar to those of us who read "Dr. Suess's Alphabet Book" 12 times a day, so I don't know that I'd pay to see it on Broadway, but it was great as community theater. Ellie sat through the first half really well, though she got a little fidgety during the slow numbers. Lexi and Ellie chased each other around during intermission and then... the cause was lost. She hollered and cried through the first few minutes of the second act, so we took her out and let her run around and hoot at the birds outside. Still, it was a great experience, and I'm so glad that she seems to love the arts. She'd make her Grandma Rosie proud.

Lexi and Ellie love the Cat in the Hat

Yesterday the weather was beautiful here, and so after a nice long walk and a nice long nap, we decided to have friends over to BBQ. A couple of our baby friends came over, and a couple of Tim's nerd friends, and we all sat outside and had hot dogs and beer while the kids ran around, fought over the stroller, pushed each other in the Cozy Coupe, and in Ellie's case, took every opportunity to fall face first onto the patio concrete. Sigh. Lexi came over with a black eye from a fall earlier in the day - I think we'll just tell everyone that the girls are in a baby fight club. It's like no matter how close I am or how much she's been watched, she finds a second to take a digger. Right now Ellie's big fun is trying to go up and down little steps without crawling. Unfortunately, she lacks the coordination or the balance to do it without holding on to something. So she'll stand there, stay "step!" put one foot up, and then topple over. She'll get it eventually... hopefully before she knocks out all of her teeth.