Nineteen Months Old

Our precious girlie turns 19 months old today. She's now closer to being 2 years old than 1 year old! Wow!

Here are some pictures that a young lady in our church, Ellie, took of Dorothy last week while she was babysitting her. They really show her personality and what she's like right now. Which is to say: Lively, giggly, and completely adorable.

The Splash Playground

Who knew that there is a huge "Splash Playground" practically in my backyard? (In, Germantown, actually, which is technically more in the proverbial backyard of our old house, but not too far from our new home nonetheless). I didn't know, until my dear friend Debbie (a.k.a. James' mommy) clued me in. We went there with Dorothy, James, and James' friend Eliza (who I think is 9 years old) for an exciting day last month and I'm just now getting around to posting the pictures. There are lots of water formations of all shapes and sizes, and there is plenty of space for kids (and their parents) to run around and get soaked. There are jets coming up out of the ground, cascading waterfalls to run under, a maze made of jets that shoot high into the air creating the "walls" of the maze, and buckets suspended high overhead that slowly fill and then tip over, dumping water on you at random moments.

All of this is perfect for the weather we've had for most of the summer - upper 90s, hazy, and humid...generally very uncomfortable to be outside, unless you're someplace where you can get drenched and cool off.

Dorothy wasn't sure how she felt about it. She didn't cry, but mostly she just wanted me to hold her, which meant I just had to participate in all of the soaking (...sigh). Every time I put her down, she would instantly shoot her arms straight up over her head in an unrelenting plea to be picked up again. Needless to say, I didn't think I would get a whole lot of pictures, the way things were going. Our camera is a lot of things, but it is not waterproof.

But then, as we were getting ready to call it a day, she was suddenly inspired by James to take off and explore the playground without me, forgetting for a few moments that she wasn't safely in my arms. It was then that I had the opportunity to take some pictures and show you how much she was enjoying herself.

James, Eliza, and Dorothy perched atop a whale