the bird ladies

One afternoon last week Juanita called to see if we would like to join them in feeding some birds. I just assumed we would be at the pond behind their house feeding a few ducks or something....boy was I wrong!

We loaded up in the stroller then met Juanita & Matilda on the sidewalk.  The girls were SO excited to see each other.  They ask daily to play with each other so it is always fun to be able to answer the request with a "yes!" Mati is a pro at riding her tricycle & we are hoping that she will fill Char in on the secret to get it to move in a forward direction : ) Charlotte ran as fast as her little legs would carry her all the way to our destination.

Take notice, Mati has her bread stored in the back of her tricycle....how handy!

Our destination was an area of land in our neighborhood that has been cleared for more houses to be built. It was COVERED in seagulls! The girls started throwing pieces of bread up into the sky & attracted a few of the birdies.

Here they are staring into the largest gathering of seagulls I have EVER seen. 

We were debating on whether or not we should let the girls get closer then we thought, "why not?" We hoisted them over the fence & they took off running full speed into the birds...

 Here is a video clip so you can really experience the moment...

Charlotte is usually the ring leader as you can see in the video above. Not much scares her these days other than those chickens, owls & now monkeys that she swears reside in her room at bedtime. I wonder if she will add seagulls in there ; ) I might have nightmares about these birds.  I ended up having to chase Charlotte for quite some time through a lot of dirt & not to mention seagull poop.  I would love to say that Char is an excellent listener & responds with immediate obedience to her calm mother but that would be a lie. I was screaming at the top of my lungs for her to turn around & come back but what do you know, she kept running...and running...and running AWAY from me. I was out of breath from screaming and running simultaneously when I finally caught her. (I only lasted two days back with my trainer Jillian Michaels, she is tough!).  As far as the disobedience goes, I am going to place blame on the deafening sound of flapping wings belonging to 2000 seagulls flying overhead being too distracting for an over stimulated two year old that was having the time of her life.

The Bird Ladies....

Matilda

Charlotte

Once they were captured & lifted back over the fence they were immediately requesting to go back.  The photo above was taken when I told them "no mas!" I think Mati looks seriously angry about my answer ; )

After they accepted the fact that they were no longer going to be running amongst the birds they watched from behind the fence.  I snapped this picture of Charlotte....

I just think she looks so beautiful with her wild hair.  Ooooo I love her! I have asked my mom if it is normal to just look at your children every day & think "Wow, you are so beautiful! How do you belong to me?" She said she still thinks that about the three of us so at least it is normal within our immediate family ; ) 

Eloise was fully entertained watching from the comfort of the stroller with her chubby little leg propped up on the bar. She actually had on some 12-18 month denim shorts on that fit quite snugly for only being 8 months old. This girl has some kissable, squeezable thighs...yum!

She even grinned & squealed when the birdies would get close....

Thanks to Juanita & Matilda for inviting us on such a simple yet fun adventure in the neighborhood! And thanks to Christi for letting me borrow her lovely telephoto lens this week : )