Summer Fun

 Our summer has been filled with Vacation Bible School, Back to Nature Camp, "Let's Get Messy Camp" and lots of swimming! The girls love the water-pool, lake, sprinklers, splash parks, etc., they can't seem to get enough. We've stayed enrolled in swim lessons through the summer and they have exceeded my expectations! Last week, they even took the YMCA's 'deep end' swim test so they can go down the slide into the deep end. They needed to do one length of the pool without floaties and they did it. They were so proud of themselves and then did the slide non-stop for the rest of the afternoon. Aunt Cat visited from DC and spent some quality time with them--movies, shopping, swimming and lots of 'play' time!

We made a big purchase a couple weeks back and are now a mini-van family. We love our new Sienna and the girls can't get enough of the 'magic' doors and all the bells & whistles that come with a brand-new car. We are busy planning our first big road trip as we will head to Disney this fall.

Kindergarten will begin in just under a month and we have Daddy's birthday on the horizon and A & L's 5th birthday after that. We'll celebrate with a 'carnival' themed party at home this year! Enjoy pictures below from our lake trip with Aunt Cat, Aunt Maggie & Uncle Jon! Thanks for making the trip Aunt Cat--we miss you already!

Summer Sayings....

Summer is well underway for us and I just want time to FREEZE for a bit. I know August will come quick and these days, for the most part, are pretty darn fun! I'm working when they are at camp(s) and hanging with Grandma Linda & Grandma Jody, so the pressure of school drop-off, pick-up, etc. has been lifted for now. We wrapped up the soccer season after Jeremy & I both felt they were finally getting the hang of the game. We have them in 'serious' swim lessons with the hope of seeing some progress this summer. We've already done an Indians (Baseball) Game and a rafting trip at Turkey Run State Park, we had our friends visit from Kansas for a couple days too. The lake visits will be frequent and we all sleep well at night! Here are some of my favorite quotes of the last couple weeks.

Lilly yesterday, dropping off at camp, asked 100 questions from where they could go to the bathroom to what they would have for lunch. When I said my good-byes, I crouched down and asked if she had any other questions. "Yes, I have one...are we going to live here?"

After the baseball game and meeting the mascot, Addy began analyzing characters again (never been a big fan, but her fear is easing). "Mama, I'm not scared of those characters anymore so we can go to Disney where all the characters live now." Me-"That's good babe, what makes you not scared anymore, was it Rowdy?" "No, I just know they aren't real, cause when you look down, they have people feet."

Dad was tickling Addy before bed, and she turned around with a VERY serious face. "Dad if you do that one more time, you won't be able to tuck me in bed tonight."

Lilly after I came downstairs, ready to head out to a friend's wedding, "Mommy, you look so beautiful, like Ariel, you know, without the mermaid parts."

Over breakfast after Daddy left for a Bachelor Party (Lilly) "If daddy is going to a party for Mr. Kevin, why can't we go?" "Well, when there is a wedding, sometimes the boys just get together for a boy party, it's called a bachelor party, but don't worry, we'll have our own girl party here." "Only boys for a party, what do they do? Just get together and be stinky?" Yup.

"If daddy is going to a party for Mr. Kevin, why can't we go?" "Well, when there is a wedding, sometimes the boys just get together for a boy party, it's called a bachelor party, but don't worry, we'll have our own girl party here." "Only boys for a party, what do they do? Just get together and be stinky?" Yup.

After "helping" dad garden, I get girls bathed. Post-bath, I tell Addy to go get her panties on....'ugh, I don't get it, why do I have to wear them EVERY day?"

 

Picked the girls up from pre-school today, Addy to the Director "We only have three more days of school here until summer vacation." Lilly corrected her, "Sissy, it's not vacation, it's LAKE SEASON!."

At Butler, with our friends and a fellow alumna, I ask Lilly if she'd like to go to school there, her response. "I'll go here if you want to come too." (melt!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Valentine's & What Winter?

Thanks to my new obsession with Pinterest, I've been feeling slightly underachieving lately. Between the crafts some moms post and the 'everyday' meals that make my dinner table look inadequate, this amazing website can be both thrilling and depressing at the same time. After seeing all the Valentine ideas, I knew the standard box cards weren't going to do it for me this year, so we set off to make a modified version of this...

Addy, loved this photoshoot!

Lilly, a bit under the weather, was a trooper and picked the cutest lollipops!

Living in Indiana, we prepped for a pretty heavy winter--this was the first year we splurged on snow pants, boots, sleds and enough hats/gloves/ear muffs to last a few seasons. I knew they'd love playing in the snow this year, so I was ready! But, of course, as luck would have it, we've actually seen very LITTLE snow. The girls have managed to 'need' to shovel the driveway only once and during our annual lake weekend with some dear friends, we saw only flurries. The flurries were enough to convince my husband that the girls could 'street sled' on a flat road covered with a little frost. They had a blast, but these pictures do make it look much more dangerous than it actually was. It was a great weekend with friends and their kiddos who my kiddos adored, so all in all, it didn't matter that we didn't see snow.

Shovel Queens

Addy--my adventurer

Lilly--much more cautious, but loved it!

The dads at launch~!

The weekend crew!

Fourth of July for (almost) 4 year olds

Going to the lake, 3 bottles of sunscreen, ice cream cake, tubing with daddy, swimming at the pool with mommy, chasing Baby Owen, dancing to a rave with Savannah, turtle hunting, mocktails at the tiki-bar, driving the boat, hot dogs, Uncle Joe's Birthday, making peanut butter ice cream, nature hikes, new friends, old friends, foregoing fireworks (there is always next year!)...coming home exhausted!

On the way home, we stopped to see our favorite bulldog and Uncle Jon and soon-to-be Aunt Maggie!

In the lake with their favorite girlfriends!

Hugs with Savannah (sweaty girls--it got near 100 degrees)

Laughing on the boat

Addy--a laker girl in every sense!

Mommy on the tube with the girls

Daddy's turn...


Meeting a little turtle

Hanging with the boys

7 Blogs in 7 Days--Day 2--It's the little things.

I'm a bit of a control freak, I like to cross things off the to-do list and with 2 kids, a job, a house, etc.--that to-do list is never finished. We spend a lot of weekends talking about the things we should get done around the house, but especially in the summer, Addy & Lilly are the ultimate distractions. The best excuses to procrastinate and soak in the little things. You see, it's rarely the birthday parties, the $2,500 swing sets or special occasions that set the spark or put them in complete awe. It comes from the frog grandpa catches or the butterfly sitting on the window sill. It's the "best muffins ever" because they helped make them or the birds that talked to them through the window in the morning. It's the view from the front of the boat when you are the only ones on the lake. It's a dirty tire swing or the taste of a toasted marshmallow. Living with 3 year olds is busy, but they sure do help slow you down every once in a while....cheers to labor day weekend--my favorite weekend of the year!

Life doesn't get much better!

Addy's mantra--"Higher Dad--Faster Dad--More Dad!"

Girlfriend woke up at 6:30 a.m. asking to swing!

Lilly, a bit more cautious loved it, just not quite as reckless as her sister.



All smiles!


S'mores--best. snack. ever.

Lilly agreed.


The sugar high had come and gone and these kiddos were ready for bed!

4th of July at the Lakes

Ten days post-potty-boot-camp and I couldn't be happier. The girls are doing well and we feel the toughest part is long behind us (pardon the pun). Third birthday party planning is well underway and we've been blessed with visits with my best-friend Jenny, our friends Jillian & Teague and Aunt-Cat, who Addy has dubbed her "favorite friend". Life is good. Here are some pictures from 4th of July that I couldn't let pass and not share.

Laker-Girls

All-decked out in red-white-and-blue with Baby Owen



Lilly, honestly thought she was Jeremy's skipper--letting him know when the ladder was left down or when he was going too fast or too slow--it was a riot, the girl will be a laker for life.



Who needs to swim when I can ride on daddy's back???

Grandpa Dave and his girls (after a long day on the water)...

A Whole New Way to Look at FREEDOM!

We are 1 week past my babies giving up diapers (except they are still wearing pull-ups at night & naps). They are almost a month shy of their 3rd birthday. Everyone does this transition differently and I will honestly say I was TERRIFIED of it for a long time. As with all my transitions, I wanted to take a few minutes, pass along some pointers and document for history this milestone in their world!

A quick google search found me a diaper calculator and it estimates that since my kiddos were born, here are the numbers (astonishing)...

• We have gone through 12000 diapers
• Spent about 800 hours changing diapers
• and almost 2600 bucks....

I swear my kids will pay back the environmental impact they've already had on the earth--but that's a lot of trees they are going to need to plant.

A few obstacles I had to overcome before even attempting...

1. There were two kids--a huge mental block for me--I mean I know lots have people have done it, but the thought of tearing through Target to get to the bathroom with not one, but two kids in tow left me at an anxiety level I couldn't handle for a while (and kept me diapering despite the fact that my kids almost look like they are nearing 4 and I'd get some judgemental looks from strangers when I tried to put their tall bodies on those silly changing stations). What got me past this? An amazing mom who I've bonded with via blogging, Jen M., has 4 and she did it recently and lived to tell the tale--if she could do that, I knew I'd survive as well!

2. I HATE public restrooms. Call me what you want, but the idea of taking them into a gas station bathroom and sitting for an extended period of time while one walked around the bathroom touching everything literally almost made me break out in hives. What got me past this? Potty-on-the-go (see below)

3. I knew I wouldn't be able to hibernate for a week, I don't have the personality or the patience for it, so timing was important.

4. I rarely have time to read, so the books & such weren't going to work for me, I was tailoring our attempt knowing that I know my kids best and I've paid a lot of attention to moms talking about it for a while!

Here are just a few tips I learned along the way...

1. We introduced early, but never pushed. The potty chairs were under the tree at Christmas when they were 18 months. They explored them, then put them away. Sometimes we'd bring them out to watch Elmo Potty Time or try, but kept it simple. About 3 months ago I bought "big girl panties" and let them start to wear them in small windows of time. Sometimes out in the backyard, other times just in the morning watching cartoons or after baths in the evening.

2. Everyone says do it when they are ready-I knew I had one totally ready and one really close-I had a bit of "free" time and took the plunge. We woke up a week ago and packed up all the diapers in the house to take over to our friend "Baby Henry". Baby Henry "needed" the diapers and they didn't anymore. We came home and pushed through.

3. I set the microwave alarm to remind me every 15 minutes or so to take them in to try. They got a single M & M for an attempt & two or four for you know what. After the first day and a half, I moved the reward from each success to long-term success. If they stayed dry a certain time frame, we had a popsicle, or a juice box or something. We did some serious positive reinforcements that meant calling people on the phone for a little praise or simply dancing/clapping around the house. They quickly got the hang of it and were SO proud.

4. On Thursday, we took our first road trip, packed up the potty, headed 2 hours north. They knew half-way, we'd stop to potty & get happy meals. That was enough of an incentive for them--they did great! A change of scenery at the lake house was good--it was still a familiar place for them and they got even more praise. We told everyone what big girls they were and they bathed in the attention. Since then, we've kept it familiar, but they've tackled public restaurant bathrooms, a morning at "school" & the YMCA child care with success!

5. The potty-on-the-go was HUGE...we had it in the back of the car for running errands and on the boat over the 4th of July. I didn't want us to ever be "stuck" somewhere and an accident result. Yes, I got some crazy looks, but it was worth it. It will be with traveling with us for a while.

6. They get excited to "pick their panties" in the morning--from Elmo to Mickey to polka-dots & butterflies, it's the little things! They also know there are some things they can do as big-kids that babies wearing diapers don't get to do, so I try and emphasize that.

All-in-all, I can't complain. I'm relieved and exhausted--but another milestone hurdled! Thanks to all who helped along the journey!

When you gotta go...you gotta go...

A few of our favorite peeps....

A & L have quite the social circle, with lots of admirers. They are most happy when they have company to hang with, regardless of age. They truly have never met a stranger. They have begun to articulate their love for folks more and more. After leaving the zoo last week, Addy proclaimed "I LOVE Jacob." I said, "I love Jacob, too" and was then told that mommy couldn't love Jacob as much as mommy loves Addy. I swear the stuff that is coming out of their mouths' is a total riot.

Lilly, Jacob & Addy catching rides while checking out the animals at the zoo

Addy, trying to go in for the hand-hold and Jacob trying to resist her charm

Daddy & his friend, Scott, built bunk-beds for the girls at Grandma & Grandpa's lakehouse--it may be a while before anyone sleeps up top, but the girls think it's awesome! Thanks Mr. Scott & Ms. Laura--the girls have been talking about you all week!

Neighbors, Jake & Scotland, came over for movie night a few weeks ago, the girls were in heaven...friends + popcorn + staying up past bedtime=bliss

Hanging with Mallory before bedtime one evening

Chloe, a friend from our twins group, came over for a playdate and was "watching Lilly" in the basement while everyone else played upstairs. They arose from the basement, with Lilly wearing EVERYTHING from the dress-up box. I love this picture because of the pride on Cloe's face in the background--priceless!

And lastly, our favorite peep this week, is Butler Blue. Have I mentioned I'm a grad and we are headed to the Final Four in MY city??? We couldn't be more excited and the girls LOVE seeing this guy on TV. They don't love dogs in real life, but this one is a favorite, for sure.

Go Bulldogs!