Graduation Day!

This evening, we celebrated a big milestone - Sophie's first graduation!  Her preschool class hosted a lovely ceremony, complete with songs, gifts, a picnic, and cupcakes (we can always get a big smile out of Sophie when cupcakes are involved):

Although Sophie was excited about graduation, she's going to miss all her friends and her wonderful teachers when she moves on to kindergarten:

Our Weekend

This past Saturday, we participated in our neighborhood's annual garage sale.  Despite all the rain, we were able to get rid of all of the extra stuff we've been storing in our garage.  While we were busy selling things, Helena entertained herself by squishing her face up against the walls of her pack n' play:

On Sunday, the weather was much nicer and the girls were able to play outside while we finished cleaning out the garage.  Sophie practiced her roller skating while Helena took her car out for a spin:

The Zoo

It know it seems like we've already had a lot of posts for May, but it's been an unusually busy month. Last weekend, we decided to celebrate Mother's Day by taking the girls to the zoo. We are fortunate enough to live close to one of the best zoos in the country and there is a lot to see and do.  This was Helena's first trip there. She wasn't terribly interested in most of the animals, but I think she enjoyed being outside in the wagon, despite the chilly weather. One new attraction we all liked was the stingray petting pool: 

Sophie most enjoyed seeing the penguins and the giraffes (I think she likes the giraffes because they're her Nan's favorite animals):

My personal favorite is the okapi.  I think I like it because it's such a strange little hodgepodge of an animal:

Although we were there for a few hours, there was a lot we didn't get to see, so I imagine we'll be going back at least a couple more times this summer.  We can't wait to see the rest of the animals! 

Can I keep her?

Last night, Sophie had a question for us...

Sophie:  "Mom, when you and Dad die, can I have Helena?"

Me:  "Honey, you can't really 'have' people.  They're not possessions.  Besides, I think it's probably going to be a long time before Dad and I die."

Sophie:  "I know, I mean when you're really old."

Me:  "I imagine that by that time, Helena will probably be able to take care of herself."

Nick (from the other room):  "Your sister's not a dog!"

I have to admit, I was touched that Sophie wants to take care of her sister.  I just hope that by the time she's an adult, she'll abandon her dream of owning her. 

Field Trip

Earlier this week, Sophie's class took a trip to the botanical garden.  Sophie had a blast spending the day with her dad and all her friends from school.  They got to look at beautiful plants and flowers, play, and even see some Dale Chihuly pieces:

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Today just happened to be Sophie's turn to take home Eugene, her classroom's gorilla. Everyone in the class gets to take him home for one night. While you have Eugene, he has to do everything with you and you have to write down what you did to share with the class the next day.  Since it was Cinco de Mayo, we decided to take Eugene out to celebrate.  On the way home, we stopped to get Sophie and Eugene sombreros, then headed to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and mariachi music:

Sophie and Eugene really enjoyed their dinner and Helena absolutely loved the music (she clapped and danced the whole time)!  We found out that Eugene isn't much of a conversationalist, but at least he's a quiet, tidy house guest. 

Meramec Cavern

Yesterday, we spent the day at Meramec Cavern, best known for having been a hideout for Jesse James.  While we were there, we enjoyed a tour of the cavern as well as a boat ride down the Meramec River.  Sophie particularly enjoyed seeing her first stalactites and stalagmites:

Visitors

Although we live in town, our housing addition backs up to a nice wooded area and we're fortunate enough to have a fair amount of wildlife.  In addition to the family of bunnies living under our deck, we've seen owls, possums, and even turtles in our neighborhood.  This afternoon, the girls were excited to see that a mama duck and her ducklings had taken refuge in one of our flower beds.  They weren't here long, but we enjoyed having them: