Wow. Thelma sure has grown a lot in the last month.
Penny's all ready for Celebrity Red Carpet Day at school.
She's even voguing to show off her Elmo shades!
Grandma and Grandpa Luck got Penny a shopping cart and play-food for her birthday.
I have a suspicion Grandma wanted to play with the food even more than Penny did.
Mmm, bananas!
Hmm... Fried chicken, or hot dogs?
Grandma had laid out a whole little store for Penny to shop at.
I'm not sure why, but Penny was very amused by the jalepenos.
Then she brought the filled cart inside and passed out food to everyone.
You wanna yummy yummy peach, Grandpa?
Who wants juice? I've got apple and lemon!
Let me check the expiration date on these beans...
'Gramma, I want cake and ice cream.'
'I don't have any cake, sugar.'
'...I want ice cream!'
full-size available
Here comes the birthday ice cream!
Gramma, my ice cream appears to be on fire.
Penny blew out the candles without any help at all.
full-size available
Yay, I did it!
full-size available
Hmm, which present to open...?
full-size available
There's a seam here somewhere...
Rrrrrip!
Push a button!
Pretty new dress from Gramma Jill.
Doing the Birthday Dance.
Another new outfit from Gramma Jill!
Penny's new bike
Our princess
full-size available
Put down the camera and let's get on with the CAKE!
That's what we're talking about!
Penny's expression of utter surprise and delightat seeing the cake.
Happy birthday dear Penny...
Blowing out the candles
full-size available
Cake and ice cream and lemonade! What more could a 3-year-old want?
full-size available
The 2 1/2 - 3 set: Penny climbs into the corner while Jess plays dress-up and Savannah demonstrates a proper lunge.
Oh, look, the mail came and brought more presents!
I think Penny might have taught this trick to Savannah.
Penny and Savannah
I know what that smile means. That smile means you're about to lick all the icing off and then discard the cake part.
The Brandt girls decided they wanted to read separate stories.
Marigolds
My tomatoes continue to grow.
A bucket of water and a paintbrush. Low-mess fun.
Penny wasn't so much painting pictures as trying to cover every last bit of dry space.
Me being arty-farty - I liked the shadows and lines.
More arty-fartiness.
Penny pours some 'yummy-yummy tea!'
It hasn't occurred to her to stop pouring when the cup is full. She keeps pouring until the pot is empty.
full-size available
Splashing with Daddy
Also in August, I took a trip to Cancun with my folks. I took so many pictures, though, that it gets its own album.
A large crop of mushrooms sprouted in our neighbor's yard.
The caps are the size of salad plates.
This bunch sort of reminded me of the thatch-topped umbrellas at the beach.
Seriously. At least six inches across. Some of them approaching eight.
Savannah had Penny over for a birthday party/playdate.
full-size available
Yay, bubbles!
Penny picked out these pompoms for Savannah herself.
Penny herself was thrilled with the balloons she got as party favors.
Yay, a wagon ride!
Blow out the candles, 'Vanna!
The blue icing is the best!
Does it get better than this? I think not!
Both girls agreed eagerly to some dress-up fun.
full-size available
It took a little coaxing, but eventually we convinced Penny to feed Bruno a cheez doodle. After the first, she was so excited by it that she was ready to feed him half the bowl.