After church, we'll sometimes spend some time on the playground, especially if some of Lura's friends are there. Here we are on September 11th, as Lura goes down the slide all by herself for the first time! That's John Doughty holding out his hand to her, though she didn't need the help, and Gracie is climbing up to follow her down.
Here Lura is hugging Ivy, a little too enthusiastically; a split second after this picture was taken, the two of them overbalanced and Ivy fell backward off the ramp!
There is also a small stage in the playground, with a bench for an audience. Here Cheryl applauds after a song and dance from Lura.
Lura's bathtub-crayon art has been getting more and more complex. Often when Mark rinses out tub and toys, he'll find a whole mural in many different colors.
On September 24th, Mark's Princeton and Caltech friends Karl and Debbie and their daughter Anna came to visit. They brought Lura a wooden circus parade pull-toy, and a set of alphabet blocks. Lura had the most fun with the blocks when she got to knock down a tall tower of them! Karl in particular built ever more elaborate pillars, but Lura was not dissuaded and took 'em all down.
For dessert Cheryl made cupcakes, and she and Anna decorated them for us. Note the Nemo one for Lura at right!
What we have referred to as Cheryl and Lura's "Mommy and Me" playgroup is a group of friends who met at a "Mommy and Me" class last year and who enjoyed each other's company enough to keep getting together after the class was done. (Some are in our "Mommy and Me" class this year, as well.) Thus all the kids' birthdays are within a few months of each other, so on September 30th the group got together at "My Gym" for a birthday celebration for everyone.
There was plenty of music, play equipment, food, and general chaos to keep the kids entertained. Here Lura is having fun with some pompons.
And speaking of "general chaos," can you imagine trying to assemble a couple dozen two-year-olds for a group photo?
After the party, we had dinner at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, which was one of Cheryl's favorite restaurants back in Hawaii (and which became one of Mark's when he started visiting!). We're happy that they've expanded to the mainland; Lura seems to agree, digging into her saimin here, albeit with only one chopstick.
She has learned to eat a banana in the approved fashion, though. We still have to start the peeling process by snapping the stem, but she can keep it going from there!
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