Kumquats and such

For Easter, Grandma gave Reagan a "Live Butterfly Garden" kit.  We waited until the weather warmed and then ordered the caterpillars. They arrived in a small tupperware with the food already in the bottom. There were four in total, one of which was really tiny! Over the next two weeks, we checked them every day and watched them grow!  These only show them on the first day. They got so much bigger! After they ate enough food and were large enough, they formed chrysalises (or "crystals" as Reagan called them:). The larger ones were formed within a day of each other. The small one took a bit longer, but finally formed a chrysalis, so we moved them into the butterfly habitat. (I failed to take pictures of these steps) About 7-10 more days after the chrysalises first formed, the first butterfly emerged! Over the next few days, the others became butterflies. We put flowers in the bottom of the habitat and sprinkled them with sugar water to feed the butt...

Last Wednesday morning, Reagan and I met some friends at Ft Belvoir to have a playdate at the park. Unfortunately, the park was too wet from the previous day's rain, so we ended up taking the girls to the food court and letting them eat some cinnamon roll bites and play around the Christmas display. All in all, it was a good morning and Reagan has really enjoyed playing with older children lately, so it was great for her. After that, she and I headed home, stopping briefly at a small river near one of the gates to the base.  She had a blast tossing rocks into the water, and naturally, I took lots of pictures of her doing it. Reagan's hand-selected "pretty in pink" outfit for the day's outing:) This kid definitely loves being outside! We are so lucky to live in an area full of nature for her to explore to her heart's desire! 

On the first day of summer, Reagan and I went blueberry picking! We went to the same place where we picked strawberries earlier in the season. This time I was determined to actually come home with the berries! Ideally, we should have gone in the morning when the temperature was not pushing 100 degrees, but we were babysitting Sean and having a lovely lunch with Maureen and her mom, Sally. So after Reagan's nap, we hopped in the car and drove down the road to the berry farm. Reagan was more interested in the chickens and roosters roaming around than the berries, but she still had fun. We each had a bucket and wandered through the bushes picking berries. Well, I picked berries and Reagan ate them:) Luckily this is a pesticide free farm! Here are a few pictures of our fun afternoon: You can see from her red face just how hot it was that afternoon! All in all, we picked about a pound and a half. Reagan probably ate a quarter of a pound while we picked! Once we got h...

When Reagan spends time at Grandma & Grandpa's house, she gets not one, but TWO breakfasts! First she eats her fruit and maybe some hardboiled egg or cereal with Grandpa. Then they go on their morning walk. After they return, she sits down for round two with Grandma. And during our stay in VA, Reagan definitely found out that she loves smoked salmon! Who would have guessed that an almost 2-year old would like such a thing?! After round two of breakfast, Grandpa, Reagan and I decided to take a little stroll around the lake in hopes of seeing some turtles, geese, and ducks. Boy did we luck out!! How cute are those baby turtles?! And I love the one of the bigger turtle trying to climb back up on the log. We had a blast and Reagan hasn't stopped saying TURTLE ever since:) Naturally, I had to take a few shots of our girl too: