Part of Your World

Gwen Hearts Auntie Olivia

Gwen has always been fond of Aunt Olivia, and this fondness only increased during the reunion as Olivia was Gwen's roommate and playmate. Gwen started each day by crawling into Olivia's bed for a snuggle and to read a few books. (One morning, one of Gwen's books fell down between the wall and the bed. Olivia rescued the book from the "crack", but Gwen felt compelled to frequently retell the events by saying "book crack, book crack" whenever we went into the bedroom. This made us chuckle because, to the untrained ear, it sounded like Gwen was saying "butt crack, butt crack".)

Aunt Olivia was always willing to entertain Gwen, from swimming to reading, to making funny faces. Olivia acted like it was no big deal, but Mom really appreciated Olivia's helpfulness.

Auntie Olivia is heading back to BYU soon, so we may not see her until next summer. Gwen will miss her until then!

"Two Babies!"

Gwen finally got to meet her adorable twin cousins, Julia and Dallin. At almost four months old, they're sweet and smiling. Gwen referred to them as the "two babies", although she could say "Jewya" pretty well. She enjoyed keeping track of them and if they were out of her sight, one of her first questions would be "Where two babies go?" She was intrigued that they needed double of everything and would comment on their "two bottles", "two diapers", "two blankies," etc. Auntie Camille even had to give "two baths" to the "two babies." Gwen thought it was double the baby fun!

2nd Cousins

Gwen got to meet and spend time with Mom's cousins' kids, her second cousins, who were about her age. She found they had a lot in common!

Quinn and Gwen play little people.

Dax and Gwen use the ipod touch to start the day off right with an episode of Dora.

Great-Grandma Earnshaw helps pass on the Earnshaw board gaming tradition to another generation!

Summer Harvest

The garden is doing really well and we enjoy checking on its growth daily. The green beans we started inside have been producing beans for a couple of weeks. When we go outside, Gwen always wants "two beans", one for each hand. She will either eat them, chew them up and spit them out, or just hold onto them as she goes about her business.

Today we got our first summer squash and zucchini from the garden. Gwen was going to bring them inside, but then she said they were hurting her hands and she threw them on the ground. They must have been a little bristly. However, this experience didn't deter her from eating them for lunch. That's as fresh as it gets!

Beatin' the Heat

The recent heat wave has driven us to find the closest body of water...

Which is sometimes the "tiny pool" (as Gwen calls it) in our yard.

That's opposed to our neighbor's "BIG pool" which Gwen prefers.

The water can be pretty cold when if comes right out of the hose, so Gwen doesn't like to sit down. She likes to hold onto the side of the pool and lift one foot or the other. She calls it "yoya" (yoga).

And when the swimming is done, there is always the squirt bottle to keep Gwen busy and wet! (Thanks for the great idea Grammie!)

Stay cool!

Happy Independence Day!

Enjoy the 4th of July!

Toilet Toe-Touches

(Note Gwen's cheering section of Little People...

They're so supportive!)

To Market with Poppa

Today we took Poppa to the Saratoga Farmers' Market in Saratoga Springs. It was another beautiful day and we enjoyed the sites, sounds, and tastes of the market. A local restaurant had samples of a salmon artichoke spread on a cracker. Mom took a sample thinking she would split it with Gwen, but Gwen wanted it all. The guy handing out the samples asked Gwen, "How cute are you?" After quickly stuffing the cracker in her mouth, Gwen responded, "Two." While in the area, Gwen enjoyed a ride on the carousel in Congress Park and we made a few purchases at a favorite bakery. We came home with a dozen honey wheat rolls, three cupcakes, two cucumbers, two T-ball summer squash, and a yellow zucchini. Yum!

In the Log Cabin at the Library

This little log cabin sits outside of the library. Gwen loves the library, but the cabin gives her a reason to leave the library and head in the direction of the car. When Gwen first started walking last summer, she would walk unsteadily inside the cabin from the window at one side to the window at the other side. Mom could race from one window to the other on the outside of the cabin and almost always be there to greet Gwen. Now Gwen is steady on her feet and Mom can never make it from one window to the other before Gwen can! Doesn't Gwen look so tall in the doorway? She is holding "two Dora books." (We recently discovered the Dora book section and now Gwen loves to pick out Dora books each week. If only Mom and Dad enjoyed reading them as much as Gwen does!)

Gwen & Atkins

Poppa is a protein kind of guy. During his visit, he's frequently been making Gwen breakfast. She enjoys the bacon and cheesy eggs very much! She's seriously considering the Atkins Nutritional Approach. (Did you know that's the official name for the Atkins Diet?)

Grammie Knows Best

Even though Grammie Crosby couldn't come visit with Poppa, she sent along some fun for Gwen. Grammie always seems to know what Gwen needs and/or what Gwen will think is really cool.

Gwen was excited to get in the bath with these little, colorful capsules...

after some soaking in the water (for Gwen and the capsules), things started to get really exciting!

The little capsules grew into sea creatures! Neat!

And in case you didn't know, Gwen LOVES Dora. Now, with her new summer jammies, she can "wear Dora" too! Getting Gwen into her pajamas has become a complete delight. She has some difficulty parting with them in the morning, but agrees to take them off if she is promised she can wear them again at nap time. Her only question is "Where Boots go?" as Boots is not on the Dora shirt.

What A Doll!

Gwen looked especially beautiful today. Take a look!
The back,

the side,

the front,

oh...

and the doll!