The Garden

Behold:  The Garden (Jeremy's Pride and Joy)

Thanks to the owners of the empty lot next door, we have lots of room for everything we could want!

The pickles. (Sadly our strawberry patch turned to mostly a weed patch.  Jeremy will start a new patch this fall.)

The broccoli

Squash and peas

The onions and potatoes

Tons of green beans, more peas, carrots, radishes, kohlrabi, tomatoes, and peppers.  Oh, and don't forget the raspberries!

While we were admiring the garden, Cooper decided he would help with Jeremy's new pest-control mission:  Destroy the Grackles.  

Cooper has come to love his bike helmet.  He will wear it even if his head is dripping in sweat, and he'll wear it whether or not he's on his new trike. 

Case in Point:  Scaring away those "Darn Grackles!"  And I do think they were scared.

"Darn Grackles!"

Friends!

It isn't very often that an impromptu barbeque and backyard party works out on a whim... but it did!  Sunday we had the Greisen and Endres gangs over to splash in the pool and enjoy some of Jeremy's good cooking.  Eight kids age five and under.  It was crazy, but so fun!  The measure of a good day?  A big mess, lots of laughs, no bleeding, and no time outs for anyone.  That's a good day by any parent's standard :)

The slide was a big hit!

Cooper making it faster for the ladies

Everett getting curious (and losing his shorts;)

Owen showing off his moves on the Slip N Slide

Big Cheese from little Mini Mouse

Izzy chilled poolside with her squishy fish and her bucket of water

Ben is getting soooo big!  Pretty soon he can splash with Izzy in a bucket made for two :)

Hard to believe five little booties fit at the picnic table, but they had no complaints!

Thanks for coming, guys!  Hope we can get together again soon!!

The Silent Assassin

She quietly sneaks around corners and under chairs.  She snatches toys when her brother's back is turned.  You leave her in one spot, turn your back for three seconds, and turn around to find her long gone.  She hardly makes a peep, and she loves anything that is not a toy.  In a matter of minutes, she can cover the entire area of the upper level of our home, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. Meet...

The Silent Assassin

Mmmm... onions might be tasty

This is my 'sly' smile

If I hide behind the curtain, maybe you can't find me...

This is my new favorite place!  I love to see the birds and catch a glimpse of my own reflection.

No staging of the photos needed, and it was a mere seven minutes to catch those snapshots.  If you know our house, you know that she made a gigantic circle and made a few pitstops along the way. 

This girl's curiosity is insatiable.  She wants to know what everyone is doing at all times.  She wants to have mom or dad in her sight, but she rarely wants to just stay put.  She recognizes her reflection.  She is starting to figure out how to 'play' with things instead of just chew on them (although chewing is still the priority!!).  She loves to crawl somewhere, find something to play with, and put herself up to her sitting position (it seems like she figured that out overnight!!).  And we think maybe she has already figured out that if she fusses when Cooper is near her, he or she gets pulled away and Coop gets blamed for being too rough or being in her face too much... we are trying not to swoop in so quickly when this happens :) 

Izzy, you're awesome.  We love watching you make sense of your world, and we are so happy it's summer so we can experience this really, really fun stage with you!!

Lesson Learned

Without trying to be a huge Debby Downer, we learned a big lesson this weekend.  And that is we need to really think through our family outings while we have little kids.  I don't want to say the weekend was a disaster.  So I won't.  But you know what I'm thinking.

Jeremy's softball team had a tournament in Duluth, so we thought it would be fun to make a long weekend of it.  We spent Thursday night camping with Gary and Lori, two nights in a hotel, and then headed over to Grand Rapids to see spend a night with Amanda and Dan and check out their new house.

There were some fun parts... the kids loved swimming in the hotel pool, Cooper loved the campfire and sleeping in the bunk bed in the camper, the softball team WON the tournament and played five really great games, the rocks, ships, and seagulls at Canal Park were fun to experience, I got to go out for drinks with Amanda and Dan, and we finally got to see Amanda and Dan's house (it's super cute, and I'm really proud of her and Dan's hard work to fix it up!!).

Then there were some not-so-fun parts... which I'll spare you.  But for the purposes of remembering this crazy weekend...

Dear Angela and Jeremy,
Don't.  Just don't.  When you get the crazy idea that you'll just 'go with the flow' and try camping with a newborn...  just don't.  Why?  Did you really think she'd like it?!?  Did you think it would be fun for her???!?!?  When you think it would be fun to go on a mini-vacation four hours from home, just don't forget how much your baby hates her carseat and how much you hate to hear her crying for loooong spells of time.  When you think, "Oh, she'll sleep fine."  Or, "She needs to get used to sleeping away from home..."  Give yourself a kick in the head.  She won't sleep fine.  She can learn to sleep away from home when she's older.  When you think packing won't take long, just don't.  It takes FOREVER; you'll never remember everything, and you'll spend hours... literally hours... packing and unpacking.  When you think your son will be happy and excited to be on an adventure, don't forget how many times he said, "Go home.  I go home, Mommy."  Just don't.  Just don't forget that this time in your life with small kids will only last a little while.  Enjoy some time making memories closer to home.  You'll be less stressed, and the kids will be happier.   You have your whole lives to camp, visit hotels, and take road trips.  Just don't.

Love,
Your relaxed and happy-to-be-home selves, the night after arriving home from four days living out of a trunk and a suitcase

I only had a chance to take a few photos... but there were some keepers :)

On the shores of Lake Superior.  She tasted a few rocks.

Who took these rocks out of the lake?!?!?

An attempt at a family pic - June 2013

Grandma and Grandpa at Canal Park with the grandkids.  Cooper was thrilled to be in this photo.

First time in a high chair at a restaurant! Loving the sippy cup, as usual!

Trying not to smile :)

Loving splashing!

Fun with the softball girls

Cooper LOVED all the attention in the pool

One, Two, Three, Four, Five... JUMP!  Cooper got really brave with the lifejacket and water wings.

Duluth, we love you, but you'll still be there in a few years when we're better equipped to handle you ;)

Splish Splash!

 We finally got out in the yard to enjoy the pool last week!!!  We love summer!!

Izzy loved a simple bucket full of water!!

In, out, in, out, in, out.  The joy of the backyard pool.

Splish Splash!

Kisses

Izzy is 8 Months Old!

 

 

Growing, and Growing, and Growing...

Size 3 diapers

Size 9 mo. clothes

I don't think she's gained much weight since last month, with more solids and less milk...

Eating Well...

4 milk feedings a day

3 'meals' a day

Started more finger foods--Puffs, chunks of fruit, pieces of toast

Loves feeding herself

Favorite=carrots and pineapple/mango/banana mix

Might have a texture aversion or at least a hatred for chunks... she gags a lot on thicker foods :(

 

Snoozing...

She has been officially 'sleep trained.'  I swore I wouldn't do it, but she is already a much better sleeper!

Same bedtime of 7:30/8:00, sleeps through the night most nights until 5... 

Around 5 she likes to snuggle back to sleep with mommy until 6 am when she's ready to be awake

2 or 3 naps per day, and some days she even naps at the same time as her brother!!! YEAH!!!

 

Likes...

CRAWLING!

Getting anything possible into her mouth

Playing with anything that's not actually a toy

To have mom or dad in sight

Giving big, wet kisses

Taking a 'big girl' bath without the bath sling--splashing is sooo much more fun this way!

 Swinging at the park

Peek-a-boo

Morning snuggles with mommy

Feeding herself

Guzzling water from her sippy

Chasing around the house (and Cooper loves to 'get' her!)

Giggling and smiling

Babble and squeal

Crawling in a little water in the bottom of the pool

Splashing

Other Stuff...

Pulls up to her knees-it's only a matter of time before she's up on her feet!

Likes to stand with mom or dad close by--but her legs are getting much stronger daily!

Figured out how to crawl WITH a toy in her hand.  She's so proud!

Can go from crawling to sitting on her own

Still no teeth... but she's had a couple sad days in a row--are they on their way?!?!

Figuring out how to 'play' with interactive toys

Still waiting for that first mama (or dada, I guess)

Had her first experience in a pool this weekend--she loved it once she got used to it!

Is very interested in the grass on her feet and in her hands

Wears a pony tail... super cute!

 

You love to crawl around the house!

Splish Splash!

We love you, sweetheart!  Your big smiles are contagious.  

I hope you carry this happiness with you for your whole life!!

Vegas, Baby!

Well, we kept a pretty good secret.  For our friend, Nicole's, 30th birthday, her wish was to celebrate with friends in Sin City.  She asked us months ago, when I was still very hormonal and the thought of leaving Izzy made my head spin (Izzy was only a couple months old) and we were also a little worried about finances since I took such a long leave with so much unpaid time off...  But we (wait, who am I kidding, it was never WE, it was ME who was hesitant) decided it would be good for the kids and good for us to get away, PLUS it would be really fun to surprise Nicole and celebrate her milestone birthday in such a fun place. 

We 'snuck' up on her at the pool at the Tropicana, and the fun began!  I only have a few pictures, since we weren't really there to 'sight' see... we were there to relax, laugh, and enjoy some adult time.  But here are a few worthy of sharing...

Just Arrived

Outside Caesar's Palace

First night on the Strip

Tiffany, Nicole, and Me... in our SWEET glasses

Fremont Street... Let the fun begin!

It's not a purse. It's a satchel.

Clearly, the fun was well under way :)

In the end, we have a ton of fun memories.  I missed my babies LIKE CRAZY!!!!!!  But it was good for us to be away and connect both with each other and friends.  It's been way too long!  And the kids were thoroughly spoiled by Grandma.  Surprise, surprise.