Happy Father's Day

To a wonderful husband and father who we can always count on for support,

to protect us while showing us the world,

and with whom we always have a good time!

Peek

The Toddler Bed

We converted Matilda's bed to a toddler bed and she has been crib-less since Memorial Day. More often than not, I find her here though.

It could be worse. At least she is sleeping, isn't destroying her room and seems to be spending more time in her bed this week than last week. Hopefully she gets used to it soon.

The Underdog

Her first Sacrament

Evelyn was baptized on Mother's Day. She behaved perfectly and looked absolutely cherubic.

She outgrew my old gown by the time she was a month old, so she got a new gown of her own to wear. Ed chose this beautiful, cheery lace for her.

For those of you who were unable to join us, here is a movie of the ceremony.

Her Godparents were Shanti and Laura who stood up with us for the ceremony.

My dad also came to celebrate with us.

We are grateful to have such wonderful friends who are willing to take on this duty and see it as an honor. Evelyn is a lucky little girl.

And of course Jim and Joanne were with us for this special day as well!

Under

Evelyn is quite the little mover now. She can go under, through or around just about any obstacle. And she's cute while she does it.

Over

Romper is never happier than he is when he's up in Door County. Something about the trees, the lake and the weather just brings out the champ in him. He did this climb more than once.

Welcoming summer

Hi there!

Zoom

When we told Matilda it was time to get in the car because we were going on a road trip, this is what she picked. She has taste!

Just another 14 years, baby girl. Well, technically, in 14 years and 26 days she'll turn 16 and probably start complaining that she will have to wait another whole day to get her license because I so selfishly gave birth to her on a holiday that will close down the BMV. At least it will be a Thursday. I shudder to think what that weekend would be like if her sweet 16 fell on a Friday!

And just a little note to my sweet girl--no, your first car will not be this cool. It will probably be nothing like this.

Fort Bliss

While we were on vacation we set up a fort as a special treat for the girls one evening. There was a big pillow to lay on, a lantern for light, blankets, snacks and their little dvd player. They had such a good time in there that Ed and I even got to watch a show of our own!

Happiness

Ahh, vacation! It is so relaxing. Everything is quiet and peaceful. As soon as you step outside all you hear are the waves gently lapping against the shore, the distant bell of a bouy, occasional breezes rustling throught the trees, and some birds chirping away.


When we woke up on our first morning here, the weather was lovely--mild, sunny, a light breeze. These cheery little blue flowers are popping up everywhere.



After spending a little over 8 hours on the road the day before, the girls were eager to get out and get moving. We took them out to try the new swingset first thing in the morning--Evelyn was still in her jammies!

With Ed's help, Matilda tried out everything thing. She climbed, slid and traversed tall bridges.

She was very brave giving it all a thorough inspection. However, she has now decided that the climbing is too scary. She's very very happy in the swings, and she likes to slide. Every time she goes down the slide she says, "it's FUN!"

Evelyn tried the swings as well.

At first she was pretty surprised:

But later she found it so relaxing that she fell asleep!

Matilda thinks the swings are an absolute joy.

After all that fun outside, it was time for a snack while Evelyn played with toys.

The lake was too beautiful to resist for long though.

Daddy took Matilda and Laddie and Romper out to see the beach.

The boys jumped right in and Matilda was happy to kick around; her swim had to wait another day though.

Evelyn can sit really well now.

She has proven her stability, so she got her first sink bath on the 18th.
She loved it! She played with toys and splashed and splashed and splashed some more!
Look at the chubby, blurry arm--she was just splashing away like it was her job!

Little Monkey

I should be posting today about Mother's Day, or Evelyn's baptism, or her six month check up... but this just happened and had to be documented. The other topics will be addressed in due course.

That's Matilda in the baby swing. For a few weeks now, she's been able to climb into the exersaucer herself and then yell, "Mama! I stuck!" when she's ready to get out. It's hilarious. But today, she climbed up into the baby swing by herself, leaned over to push the button to turn the swing on, and then picked out some music.

She definitely had a good time, and I have a feeling it's going to happen again. Luckily, she's not very heavy!

Art Appreciation

Matilda painted for the first time yesterday with her finger paints. It was pretty exciting for both of us. She told me all about the colors she was using, and then was amazed when orange and purple showed up on her paper. She pointed to them and shouted, "orange! purple!"

She made a rainbow and a more abstract piece and when she was done with each she said "it's a PAINTING! All done!"

I'm sure she ate more paint than she should have, and if you look closely, it's even in her hair, but she did have a good time and we'll do it again soon.

Matilda's art:

Evelyn also worked on a little project. With "ultra washable ink." Yeah... sure.

A Tisket a Tasket...

I swear she did it to herself rolling around on the floor! I just had to take a picture before I helped her out of it.

Fluff 'n' Fold

The girls "helped" with the laundry yesterday.

Cushy Tushie

You might ask, "how is it possible to make a baby as chubby as Evelyn any more squeezable?"
Simple, my friends. Put a soft cloth diaper on her tush!






Awww, I've got to go pinch her now.