102 in the Shade

It's been a scorcher of a week here- today we broke the record high with a temperature of 102 degrees, and that wasn't counting humidity (the "heat index") which was supposedly between 105 and 110. Needless to say, we have been spending little time outside and that time we have been outside has been in the shade.

Yesterday we had a playdate with our twin friends Rina and Celia (indoors, of course!) before Nana came over to visit at dinnertime. Today was another playdate, although we did venture to meet outside for part of it-- in the early morning, though, and in the shade. We met newly 3-year old twin friends Sadie and Gabriel at the lake to feed the ducks before heading over to Corner Bakery for a belated birthday celebration and morning snack.
This afternoon we tried out our local My Gym- a preview class before our own class starts in September- and Ari and Alex enjoyed it as much (if not more!) as they did the first time in Florida. Ari was a lot more adventurous this time, venturing out on her own and trying out a lot of the climbing equipment and slides. She spotted her old favorite the ball pit from across the room, though, and her eyes lit up immediately. Mommy was relieved to find that she could handle both kids on her own in the class, since last time she had the luxury of Aunt Candy's extra set of hands.

The class we took today included an "independent play" time when the Mommies are asked to step back to the edge of the room to let the kids play on their own with each other and the teachers. This time is supposed to introduce the kids to being on their own or with adults different than their parents. Truth be told, Mommy was worried that Alex and Ari (especially Ari!) wouldn't like this concept, but to her amazement (and making her a little teary-eyed), they immediately took to playing on their own with the kids and to interacting with the teachers. It was a very weird feeling for Mommy to sit on the sidelines and watch her little "babies" play independently, but it made her very proud to watch them playing nicely and even offering to share the toys with other kids in the class. Plus, it gave her an opportunity to take some pictures of Alex and Ari playing with their new friends:
This evening we had a quick visit from Nana and then Aunt Lori, Uncle Sam and Cousin Ozzie came over for bath time. After a busy (and hot!) day, Alex and Ari were definitely ready to turn in for the night after kisses from Aunt Lori and Uncle Sam and a big lick from Cousin Ozzie.