A Preview to Summer

A few weeks ago, the girls and I met Brian at the Gardens after work. This summer the Gardens are open on Monday nights, in addition to Tuesday nights due to the Chihuly exhibit. This works out great for us, since I don't work in the office on Mondays. We started our outing with a picnic dinner and headed inside. We toured the Chihuly exhibit and then headed out to the Children's Garden. It was just warm enough to let the girls play in the water. Luckily I brought a change of clothes or otherwise it would have been quite chilly on the way home.

Hopefully we will have the opportunity to spend lots of time there this summer.

Happy's (Belated) Mother's Day

Happy Belated Mother's Day to my Mom and all the Moms I know.

The weekend started off with a special surprise. I walked in the kitchen to be greeted by Allison and Amelia proudly holding cards they made at daycare and some flowers. They were so excited and proud of themselves.  It certainly made my day.

I had to work on Mother's Day, so we celebrated on Saturday. Brian and Allison made me breakfast. During the girls' naps, I snuggled in bed and caught up on season two of Mad Men. Of course, Amelia must have known that I was trying to relax because she woke up screaming an hour later. Brian took over and played with her downstairs so I could relax some more. After the girls' naps we went out to eat, where we enjoyed tasty cupcakes, which Amelia loved. When we headed back home, the girls gave me a present which included season three of Mad Men, a book, bath salts and new bath scrubbies - all to be used in my "free time".

The next day we treated our Moms to brunch where I work. The girls were so excited to visit me at work. They looked so cute dressed up. We received several compliments on how well behaved they acted.

Update on Us

I've been bad about updating the blog. It has been hard to keep motivated when the weather has been so nice out. We have spent a lot of time outdoors, walking up and down the sidwalks with the girls' Cozy Coupe, pink horse, push buggy, stroller, big wheel, etc. Allison's new favorite thing is to pick up sticks and leaves to put in her wagon.

Brian now has been with his current firm for 7 months. In some ways it feels like it has been longer - not in a bad way, it just seems like it has been a long time since he has worked at the old firm. However the stresses of dealing with those few weeks of unemployment still linger in the back of my mind. We are very fortunate that he was able to find a new position so quickly and is something we do not take for granted. I think about the families who have not been so lucky and hope the job market turns around soon.

One good thing about reaching the six month mark is that Brian now qualifies for vacation time. I was going to write a bunch of blog posts today, however I got sidetracked booking our vacation. Whoo hoo! This summer we will be spending a few days in Nashville, IN. I found a condo for a great deal. While in Nashville, we will relax, visit the shops, and explore the state park there. I figured while the kids are young, all we need is to have access to a pool, playground, and a zoo within an hours range and we are good to go.

We will end the trip with two nights in Indianapolis, where we will hit up the Children's Museum and Zoo.

I've been keeping busy with work, taking trips to see the extended family, and hanging out with Brian and the kids. Now that the weather is nice, I'm trying to plan more activities with the girls. We have visited the Gardens, Zoo, and Children's Museum in the last two weeks. It was just two weeks ago that the girls were playing in the water at the Gardens and today it was in the 40s. Gotta love Michigan.

I will try to catch up this weekend on blog entries and add some more pictures.

Amelia

Age: 18 Months

Height 30.5 inches

Weight: 26 lbs (a heavy, compacted 26 lbs)

Known For: Giving cute smiles, throwing temper tantrums, giggling (in a raspy tone), and saying "MINE!"

Achievements: Randomly saying numbers (the correct one) out loud while Allison and I are counting. If you try to get her to count from number 1, she won't do it though. Running like crazy. Pointing to nose, face, eyes. Saying animal noises.

Getting in Trouble for: Playing with the dog water dish (yes, she is still doing this - though she has expanded her repertoire to include trying to fully submerge her face into the bowl). Picking on Allison and trying to pull her down to the ground. Arching her back while Mom or Dad tries to get her into her car seat.

Favorites: Playing outside, especially the swing, puzzles, books, Dora, and eating!

Like Father, Like Daughter

Whenever we go into the toy department at a store, Brian has to set off all the talking toys at once. Allison came across a basket of baby toys a few weeks ago and was setting them off all at once. Of course when I pulled the camera out, she stopped so Brian helped her a bit.

Allison Dresses Herself

I finally got around to pulling video off of our camera, so I may be adding some video clips over the next few weeks. This was taken in January; please note that the shirt is on backwards and the pants are inside-out.

Happy Sibling Day

The other day, I was in the kitchen doing dishes and the girls were playing in the living room. I suddenly realized that it was way too quiet so I ran into the living room, because as every parent knows, quiet means trouble. When I reached the living room, I stopped in my tracks and a tear came to my eye. The girls were sitting about three inches apart watching TV together. It was a simple thing, nothing special, but they looked so sweet and innocent. It kind of reminded me of the scene from Forrest Gump, when Forrest and his newly-found son were sitting next to each other watching Sesame Street.

One of my favorite things of being a parent is watching the girls interact. I love watching them play together and when Allison looks out for her little sister. Don't get me wrong, there are times they drive me crazy, especially when they fight or grab toys out of each other's hands. However for 95% of the time, Allison and Amelia warm my heart and make me glad to be a mom.

So for this Sibling's Day, I put together a little slideshow (3 minutes long) from the last year. I hope you enjoy.