Zoo Fun, Baby Chicks, Chow Time and More!

 On Mother's Day, we took the twins on their first visit to the zoo!

 Lauren was excited to show her sisters all of her favorite animals.

 Lauren's best friend Sophia and her parents Andy and Rachel, joined us for the day.

 Who needs a snack at the zoo when you've got a yummy big toe?

 Lauren and Daddy on the carousel.

 We hatched chicks in my classroom again this year and I brought them home for a weekend.  Lauren called herself their "Mother Hen" and took great care of them.  I taught her how to handle them on her own and how to get them fresh food and water.  She LOVED it!  She named three of them....Ariel, Belle and Rapunzel. 

 Lauren and I took on a fun project this spring--we took care of caterpillars until they made their cocoons.  Then we got to enjoy watching them when they emerged as beautiful butterflies!

 Time to let them go free!

 The last of the three butterlies rested on Lauren's hand for a few moments before flying away.  We agreed that it was as if it was thanking her for taking such great care of them!

 This weekend, Mimi and Boppa Steighner came for a visit and to celebrate Mimi's birthday.  Here they are with their 'three angels'.

 In the past few weeks, the twins have been trying many different new foods.  Some they have liked and some, well....not so much.

 Kate was hilarious when she tried green beans for the first time.  She kept her tongue sticking out, with a spoonful of green beans on it, for a good five minutes.  She simply refused to bring it into her mouth, much less swallow it.  Ha!  Maybe she really IS my kid after all :)

 Clearly, this was "pre-green beans".

 This is what happens when Mommy takes too long to make the baby food!

Bottle-feeding time got much easier when Lauren learned how to help us.  To speed up the amount of time it takes to bottle-feed two babies at once, we feed them in their bouncy seats.  They've just about outgrown them though, so we've also begun letting them lay on boppy pillows while they drink their bottles. 

What else is new with us?  Lauren is very excited to begin 4K summer school in a few weeks.  This week marks the end of my teaching career, at least for awhile.  I plan to stay home with my girls until they are all in school and then I'll re-evaluate and possibly teach again.  I am so excited about this new path my life is taking.  Being a stay-at-home mom is something I never thought I'd be able to do.  Fortunately, Chad has come to a point in his career where we are able to make this change and I couldn't be happier!  

I'm looking forward to tomorrow.  It's my birthday and Lauren was helping Daddy bake a special treat for me tonight.  She is trying to make sure it's a surprise, so she told me they baked "brownie noodle soup jello jigglers".  Hmmm....while that does sound interesting, their treat smells unmistakingly like chocolate cake.  Ha!

Have a good week!

~Mindy