June 8

Lizzie is really having fun with the "cheep cheeps" this summer. She is a big help to Ryan when he is feeding them (I am trying hard not to pass on my dislike of chickens to her - so far so good). They are growing like crazy!
Lizzie also loves to help her Daddy garden! While most of the gardens are in Newport, Ryan has a few raised beds here and they often spend time together digging in the dirt when he gets home from work. It gives me a few free minutes to get the feeling back in my arms from carrying her around :) She is starting to be a bit more courageous with the walking, so there is hope for my arms yet!

We have also started playing a little basketball at the local park. We are both terrible (very rusty!), but have a lot of fun! Lizzie pays a little attention to us, trying to figure out what we are doing, but quite quickly starts to pile all rocks and stones onto her blanket (I think she is cleaning the ground, she does lots of "cleaning" - it is an eye opener to see her copying us in that way). As you can see below, it is very important work and she has no interest in interrupting that work for a photo.

Though it isn't quite obvious in these photos, Lizzie seems so tall these days! Just this weekend she was able to grab something off of the kitchen counter! Every new thing that she does continues to amaze us!