Chicago = Awesome

Ryan and I had such a great time in Chicago last week! We were so grateful to have a long weekend getaway. We feel it's really important to have at least one small vacation a year without the girls so we can just relax and recharge. This was a great one! We took lots of pictures too, but it's late right now, so I am not going to post those now, but I'll get to that soon. I know this is a really long post, but I wanted to give you all the details of our trip because we had so much fun...you can escape with us for a few minutes!

We picked the girls up from school last Wednesday, got them home and settled into nap time, and then my mom drove us to the airport. Thankfully, we had an easy and uneventful flight. We were giddy at the thought of each of us bringing only a carry-on bag...no big bags stuffed to the brim with STUFF for the girls...just two little bags that fit nicely into the overhead compartment. We walked right off the plane, made our way to the El and headed into town. David picked us at a designated stop and drove us the rest of the way to their apartment. Now, Ryan and I have travelled a pretty good bit and stayed in some great hotels, but their apartment rivals any other place we have gone. They were fortunate to buy two top-level units (61st floor) next door to each other, so they did some renovations and made it one very large unit. Jan has decorated the entire place beautifully so you feel like you're in a top notch hotel. Throw in the wrap-around views, and you don't want to leave! One side of windows faces east and overlooks Navy Pier and Lake Michigan while a second side faces south towards the city with views including Soldier Field, the Chicago River and the Sears Tower (actually its now the Willis Tower). Amazing I tell you. When we walked in, Jan, Nick and Brock were there to greet us, so we spend some time catching up and marveling at the view. Jan treated us to her out-of-this-world spaghetti too (and then brownies to top it off...seriously, how much better does life get?); what a great way to start the long weekend!

We slept in a little on Thursday, and then decided we would spend some time acting like tourists while David was at work and Jan and the guys had a few other things to do. We headed over to Navy Pier because I absolutely love the fried shrimp and strawberry lemonade at Bubba Gump's restaurant. I usually only get this meal once a year when we go to Florida because there is one in nearby Daytona Beach. How fortunate to get this meal a second time in just over a month?! It was simply delicious. After lunch, we went to the IMAX theatre and watched the newest Harry Potter movie. The first 15 minutes of the movie is in 3D so that was super cool, and then the rest of the movie is on a 6-story tall movie screen...wow. After the movie, we walked around the Children's Museum gift shop and found lots of things that made us decide we couldn't wait to bring the girls up. As nice as it was to be away from the girls for a few days, we couldn't help but miss them and think about them often!

Chicago is a great town for walking around, so we left Navy Pier and decided to head into the city. However, we had to stop back at the apartment first because we underestimated just how cool the wind made the temperature. David and Jan let us borrow a couple of fleeces to keep warm and we rarely took them off for the rest of the weekend! We made our way down famous Michigan Avenue having fun window-shopping. I made Ryan go into the American Girls store with me. I had the first three dolls that they came out with (actually, I still have them downstairs), and I can't wait until the girls are old enough to start playing with them (probably around age 7 or so). The store brought back so many memories for me, but also made me so excited about how much fun it is to have daughters! I can't wait for them to visit this store someday and pick out their own dolls! After leaving that store, we stopped at Ghiridelli for a berry sundae (yummy!) and then at the Disney store and found a couple of cute Mickey Mouse Clubhouse things that were majorly reduced. We walked back down Michigan and headed over to Millennium Park to see The Bean, the great amphitheater and BP Bridge. We went through the park and then headed up to Buckingham Fountain which is absolutely beautiful. It was early evening at this point, so we walked by the lake back to the apartment; what a beautiful walk. After we got back, we all got ready and went to Piccolo Sogno for dinner where we were treated to a delicious dinner. Ryan especially loved his prosciutto appetizer while my ravioli in a brown-butter sauce was fantastic. Of course, spending time with David, Jan, Nick and Brock was such a treat; they kept me laughing the whole meal. What a great end to a great day!

David and Jan took Friday off which was a special treat. Of course, just because they took the day off doesn't mean they slowed down! While Ryan and I slept in again (I treasure sleep whenever I can get it!), they went out to play tennis. David had bought tickets for the 1:00 Cubs game at Wrigley for the four of us. Ryan and I were so excited! We love getting the chance to do things like see a game in one of the coolest stadiums in baseball history. We decided to head out at 11:00, so we could slowly take it all in; Jan had a meeting at 11:00, so they joined us a little later but before the game started. Jan later told us that she grew up pretty close to Wrigley which we thought was pretty cool. We couldn't believe how crowded the train was 2 hours before the game even started, but we easily found our way. We were a little shocked at how small the field is and how close you are to the field and the players. We're very used to Turner Field which is humongous and keeps you far away from the players. Our seats were absolutely awesome. We were about 8 rows up and about half-way between first base and right field; the visiting teams' bullpen was right in front of us. The Mets were in town this weekend, so it was very easy to become a Cubs fan for the game (except when Jeff Francoeur was up - I wish he were still a Brave). As the usher showed us our seats, he reminded us to stay awake because balls come quickly and hard to our seats. He was right. A couple came our way during batting practice, and two foul balls landed just two rows behind us and a couple of seats away. Wow!!! I'll say that I typically don't buy t-shirts of places I visit, but I couldn't resist this time. I found a great navy blue t-shirt from the "bricks and ivy" that I couldn't resist. We also bought a little Cubs baseball key chain that we'll use as our souvenir Christmas ornament. Of course, you can't go to a Cubs game and not have a Chicago hot dog, right? After my grandmother's hot dogs (you simply cannot beat the ones she makes while our family is in Florida), these were the best dogs I have ever eaten. I had two of them in a sesame seed bun with ketchup, mustard and grilled onions...oh my, they were delicious. To top it all off, the Cubs pulled ahead in the bottom of the 8th to win 5-2. Such a fun game!

Ryan and I hung around a little after the game and of course took pictures of the famous sign outside Wrigley while David and Jan headed on back. When we decided to leave, we easily got on the train and headed back to the apartment. We spent the rest of the evening hanging out with David, Jan and Nick while they made another delicious dinner for us. Their building has a great outdoor patio for owners' use that sits above the parking garage on the 16th floor. There are several big grills available, and a garden filled with tomatoes and tons of different herbs that anyone can take; Jan is part of the group that takes care of the garden, and she filled me on some plans for upgrades that are coming...I can't imagine, but it's going to be even better in a few years. We had a wonderful time talking with one another while David grilled a huge tenderloin and vegetables; Jan had potatoes roasting upstairs too. It was another amazing dinner, and I went back for seconds of everything...I couldn't help it because it was so delicious! I figured all the extra walking I was doing was making it okay to do so. After dinner we all watched a pretty funny movie called "Thank You for Smoking" which I think we all enjoyed. Then, off to sleep after another wonderful day.

Saturday morning, Ryan and I went on a boat tour down the Chicago River to learn about the architecture of the city. I have always been interested in art history, but have never had the chance to learn much about architecture; this was right up my alley. I learned so much from our docent who was a knowledgeable and friendly little old man. He did a great job of explaining the different styles of architecture, pointing out examples of these styles and telling about the architects who made each one of the styles famous. He pointed out Chicago became something of a blank slate after the great fire; pretty much the whole city had to be rebuilt, so this led to lots of opportunities for many different architects. One of my favorite moments of the tour came as we passed the Blommer Chocolate Factory; I had no idea that there was a chocolate factory there! You could smell it in the air as we were near it. He said if you were eating anything other than Hershey's chocolate, you were probably eating Blommer's. They make M&M's and Dove chocolates (two of my personal favorites I might add). This was a really interesting way to see the city and learn a lot about its history and personality.

After this tour, we headed to Giordano's to get Ryan some famous deep-dish pizza. He thoroughly enjoyed his individual deep-dish pepperoni and sausage pie while my thin crust Hawaiian was very good. You have to get pizza while in Chicago, and Giordano's was a great choice. After lunch we headed to Nordstrom's Rack which is where Nordstrom's deeply discounts it's going out of season or out of style clothing. I found two dresses, one fleece jacket and three pairs of shoes (two needed for work and one adorable casual pair). Let me correct that last sentence...I found lots of things that I would have loved to buy (great quality at great prices), but I had to remember our two carry-on bags (which was also carrying back gifts for the girls); I didn't want to pay to ship things back. Always fun to get new clothes! After shopping, we met up with Nick in Millennium Park and walked down to the Field Museum. Nick is a lot of fun to hang out with, so we were glad he was able to meet up. Ryan and I wanted to see "Sue," the T-Rex completed with the most true and intact fossils which is at the museum; I still think dinosaurs are so cool to study. We thought the museum was free, so we were a little surprised when we got there and discovered it was $31 a person to see that exhibit. We only had a couple of hours and since Sue was standing where you could see her in the main hall, we decided not to pay for entrance. Instead, we headed back outside and walked across the street to see the new Soldier Field. Interesting stadium. I can see why it's described as a "UFO that sat on the old Soldier Field." By this point, we were all tired of walking, so we took a taxi back to the apartment. We all rested for a little bit (ahhh, a Saturday afternoon nap), and then got ready for the evening.

The five of us met Brock at Madge's Still, an Irish pub in old town. David had been telling me how they have some of the best ribs, tator tots and sweet potato fries, so that's what I had for dinner. He was right; it was delicious. I especially loved their sweet BBQ sauce for the ribs. After dinner, we walked over to Second City comedy club. This is a famous club that launched the careers of a lot of well-known comedians (many move from Second City to SNL)...Steve Carell, John Candy, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Joan Rivers and Peter Boyle to name just a few. There were six actors who put on a mostly-scripted show but there was some improvisation too. One improvised scene including pulling an older gentleman into a scene to solve a crime which was hilarious; another semi-improvised scene blamed the recession on one teacher who was cutting back on her diamond-purchasing. Another favorite scene involved two actors trying to explain how California upheld Proposition 8, but Iowa ("Iowa, America") allows gay marriage. I can't remember laughing this hard in a long time! Talk about a fun night out!

After returning to the apartment, the guys watched the Tivo'ed Falcons game while I had the chance to read a little. This was a wonderful way to wind down our trip. Sunday morning, Jan and Nick headed out before we got up because they were flying down to their Florida home for a few days; I didn't even get to tell Jan thank you until she called a little later to say they had safely landed. Ryan, David and I relaxed at home until we decided to head to D4 for a yummy Irish breakfast (fyi, delicious hot chocolate...Chicago is definitely a city that needs this good hot chocolate). After breakfast, we picked up our two carry-on bags (yep, I managed to squeeze everything in!), and David drove us to the airport because our flight was scheduled to leave at 1:30. I will very quickly say that because of bad weather in Atlanta, our flight was delayed for a few hours, and then we had a rough (aka, scary with turbulence) flight getting back, but I'm not going to dwell on that because that was the only thing that wasn't fantastic the whole weekend.

We got home about 7:30, and Mia had already gone to bed because she wasn't feeling very well, but Lily was very excited to see us. We had a happy two year old and a clean house to come home to; what a wonderful feeling and a perfect way to wrap up such a great weekend. We truly appreciate David and Jan hosting us for these several days; we will never forget this vacation!

Mia's Check-up

I forgot to mention that Mia had her 9-month check-up this past Friday. Dr. White said she is a healthy, growing girl. She now weighs 19 pounds, 11 ounces which is the 70th percentile. She is 26.75 inches tall which puts her in the 25th percentile for height. Her head is in the 60th percentile at 17.25 inches. For the record, she weighs at 9 months what Lily weighed at her one-year-old check-up! Personally, I think she carries about 10 pounds of the weight in her thighs...I love how chubby and adorable they are! We love our happy, beautiful Amelia; what a blessing!

More Stories

A couple more stories about Lily:

1. Ryan was playing with Lily today when she said "Daddy, you have a big head." He just kind of chuckled and said ok. She went on to say "I have a small head. Mia has a small head. Mommy has, umm, Mommy has a medium head." She really likes putting things in order; we hear "This one goes first, this one goes second, this one goes third" often. We also hear her version of how the order of something should go (way more than I want to hear). For example, I'll say "Lily we need to stop playing with the carriage and go eat dinner." Her response is often "No, we'll play with the carriage first and go eat dinner second." Right now if I tell her "no, it's dinnertime, so let's go" she'll comply. I have a feeling that won't always happen.

2. Last night as I put Lily to bed I told her I was going to work early in the morning and wouldn't be at home when she got up. She said "What you have at work?" so I replied "a lot of papers." She thought about it and said "I no want to go to work. You go to work, and I'll bring you Chicklita (aka, Chick-fil-a) for lunch. Okay? I'll do that tomorrow." What a sweetheart.

Mia update:
Mia picked up her cup and drank from it all by herself today for the first time. She is just about to take her first steps too; I'm convinced she will take them this weekend while Ryan and I are in Chicago. We'll see. She absolutely loves to stand up and balance by herself, and she has gotten pretty good at it. She has also gotten good at sitting down instead of falling forward when she stands. She has also improved on walking around when we hold her hands. She is really learning a lot of skills right now. It amazes me everyday to watch her.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Church...

It takes us about 20 minutes to get to church on Sunday mornings. We had nursery duty this morning and unfortunately we were running late which, of course, stressed me out. Lily kept Ryan and me laughing though the whole way. Here are few things that got us giggling.

L: Are we in Mommy's car or Daddy's car?
A: We're in Mommy's car.
L: That right. Daddy's car is broken (it was in the shop getting a new catalytic converter on Friday).
A: Daddy's car was broken, but he took it and got it fixed.
L: Who fixed it?
A: Gary (the shop is Gary's Auto Repair).
L: Oh. What her parent's name?
This cracked us up because she always likes to know the names of the parents of her friends. I guess this is because anytime we're getting together with friends will say "We're going to see Parker and Macey and their mommy and daddy." Lily likes to say "Yes, Brian and Jill!" She does this with most of our friends. In fact, after church today, she saw Charlie and Lisa and asked them where Charlotte was (unfortunately she was at home, sick, with her grandmother). I think she likes putting people and faces together.

A few minutes after the above conversation, I may have been going a little faster than the posted speed limit (mom and dad, ignore that statement). From the back I hear, "Whee! Mommy this car is just right for you!"

Since we were running late, we all ate breakfast bars in the car on the way over. Lily ate about half of hers and then broke the rest of it in half. She handed half to me and said "Mommy, I share with you. Daddy, you already had one."

At some point, out of nowhere she said "Mommy, I be crazy! Daddy, you be crazy too!" Ryan replied "Is that where you get it?" Lily's response "Uh-huh." So true.

I'm telling you, she cracked us several times on the way in!

We also had tons of fun with Lily and Amelia this weekend as we went swimming. Friday we went to Indian Hills Country Club to celebrate Doug's birthday. Lily and Ryan had fun swimming and catching up with friends in the water while Mia and I had fun hanging out with friends out of the water. Saturday afternoon we all joined my Dad at their neighborhood pool. Lily had a blast jumping in from the side, pushing Mia around in her float, playing on the stairs and going near the fountains. Good times all around!

This evening Lily helped me cook again. I let her stir the sauce to pour over the chicken (I don't let her touch the raw chicken yet since she still sucks her thumb) which she thought was cool. She also helped me keep an eye on the pot so I would know when the water was boiling. Not too exciting of chef work tonight, but I still enjoy having her in the kitchen wanting to help. She told me several times that she liked the chicken; I thought that was really sweet to say with no prompting.

Treats with Daddy

Ryan was at home with the girls today, and he decided to do something special with Lily while Mia napped this morning. They made Rice Krispy Treats. Lily loves to cook. Anytime we're making something in the kitchen we hear "I help! Go get step stool!" Most of the time, she's able to help us mix, stir or just give an overview of what's happening: "It's beeping! It's ready!" or "It's cooking in the hot bubbles!" are things we often hear. Even though it slows the process a little, I try to let her help when possible because I want to foster her love of cooking; I have visions of us cooking and baking together as she gets older. I have also heard that kids are more likely to eat something if they help prepare it which makes sense to me. I asked Ryan if she helped today. He replied that she mostly helped by leveling off the measuring cup of Rice Krispies by eating them off the top. Well, whatever works!

When I came home, Lily greeted me with "Mommy! I have a surprise for you! Pick me up so I can show you." She pointed on top of the stove and said "We made Rice Krispy Treats! They are really sticky...like waffles." I thought it was funny that she compared them to waffles because she doesn't like to eat syrup on her waffles probably because she knows how sticky syrup is. Our friends, the Lundquists, came over for dinner and after we ate (Ryan grilled delicious hamburgers for us), we shared some of her Treats. I had forgotten how delicious they were! Thanks Ryan and Lily!

Good Morning!

I walked into Mia's room this morning, and there she was, standing up and holding on to the side of her crib! I'm so glad we moved the mattress down to the low level a little over a week ago, or she would have been over the side. I cannot believe how quickly she is growing. She just started crawling about 2.5 weeks ago while we were at the beach. She pulled herself up for the first time last week, and she tries to pull up on just about everything now which has led to a few bumps. I have a feeling she is going to be running around after Lily before we can say "go!"

First Day!

Today is the first day of the Parents Morning Out program! Lily and Amelia will both attend Bethany UMC this year. Ryan, Lily and I went to their open house last Thursday to meet the teachers and see their rooms. Lily is going to have Miss Danielle and Miss Tricia as her teachers this year; they are both very nice, and it seems like they have a lot of fun activities planned. Mia is going to have Miss Stephanie, Miss Gwen and Miss Nicole in her room. They are all sweet ladies who seem to love little babies! The greatest part is both girls are in a room with only one other child (for right now). They are both in rooms where younger children may be promoted up if that fit seems right, but for now, it's just them with one other child. Also, Lily's classmate is a little girl named Kaitlyn who was in her class last year. I am hoping they will be friends with one another.

This morning, everyone got dressed, ate and we were out the door on time. Lily even seemed somewhat excited about going to school. As we were driving down the road, Lily looked out the window, laughed and said "There's the moon! There's the quarter moon!" Sure enough, there it was. I thought that was pretty cool that she recognized the stage of the moon. Thank you, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Halloween episode.

We arrived at school and walked them in to their rooms instead of dropping them off in the car pool line. Lily started getting upset that we were leaving her, but it was not a hysterical upset like in the past. We left her and promised we would see her soon. We then took Mia to her room. She smiled really big and immediately and happily went into Miss Stephanie's arms. We reviewed her schedule with Stephanie and left with no tears (mine or Amelia's!). As we walked quickly past Lily's room, we noticed she wasn't crying anymore, so we felt good about leaving her.

When we picked the girls up, Mia was very happy, and Miss Nicole said she had a good day; she also commented on what a happy baby she is. I couldn't help but agree. Lily came out a few minutes later, so we all got in the car. As we pulled out, this was our conversation with Lily...

Me: Did you have a good first day of school?
Lily: No!
Me: What did you do today?
Lily: I no do anything!
Ryan: Did you sing?
Lily: No!
Ryan: Did you color?
Lily: No!
Ryan: Did you read books?
Lily: No! I no do anything!

Get the picture? When we got home, we looked over the teacher's notes from the day and apparently Lily did very well. There were check marks next to "shared toys," "used manners" and "listened to the story" plus a few other good remarks that I can't remember right now. I asked Lily about them, and she got very excited when I praised her for sharing and taking turns with Kaitlyn. Turns out she did do something!

I know this will be a little bit of an adjustment for her as she returns to the "school schedule," but I think this will be another great year for her. I think Mia is going to adjust easily and have fun too; they read to them, take them on walks, let them nap and just have all sorts of fun at that age. I think our girls are very lucky to be involved in this program.

Fun Pictures

Here are several miscellaneous pictures taken around the house during the week since we have been home from Florida. There's always something going on!

Lily enjoys this little viewfinder. She has Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stories to see on it and also some African safari animals to watch. She has gotten pretty good at keeping it on her eyes while she changes the picture.

I simply can't get enough of those blue eyes.
Ballet - Lily style.

Mia was having a blast riding Dusty (with Daddy's help).

Mia and Ryan having fun together. He's such a great dad!

Mia looking cute after her bath.

Lily loves blowing bubbles!

Bubble-covered feet!

Look at all those bubbles Mommy!

Now on to the sidewalk chalk drawing portion of the evening (or "walk chalk" as Lily calls it).

Lily says she looks like "Daisy Bo Peep" in it because it reminds her of the outfit Daisy Duck wears in a particular episode of Mickey Mouse Clulbhouse!

Lily being a great big sister and reading to Mia.

Sweet kisses!

Hanging out together and getting big hugs!

I love these girls!!!

Saturday with the Hooks

What a great Saturday! I feel like we have been running around a lot recently, so it was nice to just have a day to relax at home today. This is what our day looked like...

Both girls decided today was an excellent day to sleep a little extra today! We didn't hear a peep from either of them until 8:45. Lily is usually up between 7:00 and 7:30 while Mia wakes up about 8:00. This was a wonderful way to start the day. Ryan got up to give Mia her bottle (letting me rest awhile longer which was greatly appreciated), and he turned on Dumbo for Lily to watch while Mia ate; this is one of her favorite movies, so she was excited. After Mia finished up, she was content to sit/crawl on the floor playing with toys while Lily continued with Dumbo. This let Ryan lay back down for a little bit. A few minutes later Lily came and asked me to come watch Dumbo with her, so we had fun singing the songs together and watching Dumbo fly.

When the movie it finished it was time for Mia's morning nap, so we put her down and she fell fast asleep quickly. Ryan, Lily and I ate some breakfast and then we told Lily her surprise for the morning...coloring Easter eggs! She had so much fun with this at Easter that we bought a couple of extra dye kits the day after Easter. She was so excited! We cleaned up and started getting everything ready (I had boiled the eggs the night before). Lily is very big into helping with things these days, so she wanted to help get ready. First, she helped by dropping each tablet into the cup. Next, she helped me count three tablespoons of vinegar for each cup. Then she helped me watch the cups to see when the bubble stopped coming up which means the tablet is dissolved and water could be added. At this step she helped by handing me each cup so I could add the water. Finally, she helped by stirring each cup to make sure the vinegar and water mixed well.


With the dyes ready, we put on her apron (an old Opteum dress shirt of Ryan's) and headed outside. I showed her how to gently drop each egg into the water, and then she did every other one of the eggs; she did great at not throwing them, but gently placing them so they didn't splatter and spill everywhere. After 29 eggs (one was cracked before I boiled them) had been colored and dried, she couldn't wait to put the stickers on and put them in her basket. After that, she had a great time showing them to Ryan, counting them, lining them up like a caterpillar and giving one at a time to Mia (she started by giving her two but Mia immediately clapped them together cracking them...lesson learned). Overall, those 50 cents spent on day after Easter dye kits has proved to be some her favorite entertainment of the summer! I'm glad we have a couple more kits left to do this fall!

After cleaning everything up, it was lunchtime so while I gave Mia her lunch, Ryan drove through Chick-fil-a. I told Ryan what I wanted and as soon as I finished Lily said "I want milk, french fries, a book and chicken." Guess we know what she likes! Of course, she ate a few bites of my fruit too (and I may have had a few of her fries). She loves Chick-fil-a, and really, who can blame her? It's always a tasty lunch.

After lunchtime, I had fun just playing with the girls. We read books, did a puzzle, encouraged Mia to crawl (she's getting faster everyday) and simply had fun. Lily then asked to watch a "Baby Little Einstein." She has really started enjoying the Baby Einstein DVD's again which is a little funny to me, but I think she really likes seeing all the animals and toys in it. Actually, we watched one the other day that had some sign language in it, and without my prompting, she started imitating the sign language. She still loves Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse, but this is something she has rediscovered. Mia is starting to like them too, so this gave me about 20 minutes to get some things cleaned up a little which was nice. After this it was nap time. Both girls went right down (as usual), and slept for over two hours (not usual, at least for Lily).

After naps, it was time to get dinner ready. Ryan was going to make his fantastic pizzas for us; this is one of our favorite meals. Of course, Lily wanted to help. So, great dad that he is, Ryan let her help make the dough by counting out the cups of flour, pouring the salt in, watching the yeast get ready, etc. She loved it. We all played for an hour while the dough rose, and then Lily was excited to help Ryan again. While I fed Mia dinner, she learned how to roll out the dough which she thought was awesome. She kept saying she was helping with the "pizza toe." We also made some garlic knots with the extra dough, so she loved helping to "paint" with the dough with olive oil and herbs using the pastry brush. We had a delicious dinner while Mia took her short evening nap (the girl loves to sleep), and then a yummy cherry-banana fruit smoothie for dessert.

After that came bathtime and bedtime for Mia. After giving her a bottle, I read her a little book that had some animals in it. I started making the animal sounds to accompany it (there was just a sheep, tiger, cat and dog). She thought this was hilarious! She really loved that the sheep said "Baaaa." She was cackling with laughter which only made me laugh. What a precious sound to hear her laugh. Ryan gave Lily her shower while I put Mia down, and then I got Lily ready for bed. She still loves to learn about the cities on her ABC board, and tonight we talked about Kathmandu, Nepal. Such a fun time of the evening. Both girls went to sleep without making a sound, and I hope they have a wonderful night's sleep.

If only every Saturday could be so relaxing and wonderful!

Numbers Girl

For a few days now Lily has been learning to count to 100 by tens. Actually, she usually counts to 20 and then starts with 30, 40, etc. She loves to count anything and everything! She also enjoys playing with my big calculator that I use when I work at home. Funny thing is I remember enjoying playing with my dad's big calculator growing up. I don't know...maybe we have another little CPA in training at our house?

Fun with Lily

1. Yesterday Lily came out of her room carrying her big brown teddy bear named Oatmeal. She declared "Oatmeal is my bestest friend in the whole world," and gave him a big hug. Then she asked who my best friend is, so I told her Daddy. Next she asked who Mia's best friend is, so I said "probably you." She replied "No, probably baby Claudia and baby Macey." Claudia is the one-month old daughter of our friends, Doug and Julia (and Vivian's baby sister) while Macey is eight-month old daughter of our friends, Brian and Jill (and Parker's baby sister). Since Lily is friends with Vivian and Parker, I thought it was pretty cool that she was putting all their little sisters together as best friends.

2. This morning I was feeding Mia a bottle at the kitchen table while Lily ate breakfast. When she finished, she got down and went into our bedroom. I heard an odd noise, but I thought Lily had turned the tv on and was flipping channels. Wrong. A few minutes later, Lily peeked around the corner, and said "I have a puppy dog!" I replied "Oh really? Let me see." She walks out dragging about 6 feet of dental floss behind her with the little container at the end. She pointed to it and said "That's my puppy dog Claudia! I'm puppy-sitting!" She carried (i.e. dragged) Claudia around for about 30 minutes. Wow, what an imagination!

3. While drinking lemonade at Bubba Gump's last week and while drinking a smoothie last night, Lily would take a sip and then lick her lips. She looked at me and said "I have to stick my tongue out to make the juice taste better." It was really funny to watch her though because she would take a sip, put the glass down and then with a very intense look on her face, stick out her tongue several times to lick her lips. Ryan and I realized she rarely drinks anything sweet (she really loves her milk and water), so this was a pretty new and fun taste for her; she wanted to savor every sip!

Florida, Part 5

Lots of fun pictures taken during our vacation week in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. You can read about our trip in the four posts below these pictures. I tried to narrow the pictures down, but we had such a great time that was really difficult to do! Enjoy!

Florida, Part 4

More Florida adventures...

Mia hit two big milestones while we were in Florida, and I felt they warranted their own blog entry, so they wouldn't get overlooked in all the other writing.

First, she started crawling!!! She has been going backwards and in circles for several weeks now, but she finally started going forward. She only takes a few "steps" at a time, but she is getting the hang of it. You can see the look of determination on her face when she knows she wants to go forward towards a person or toy, and then she is very happy when she reaches it. Look out world, here she comes!

Second, Mia figured out how to go from lying down on the floor to sitting up! It's pretty funny to watch actually because it's apparently not an easy task to do. She struggles with it right now, but she gets a little better each time. This of course means we now need to lower her crib mattress which we're not excited about, but we don't want her to sit up and tumble out of her crib. We'll do that very soon, I'm sure.

Yea Mia! We're so proud of her and are constantly amazed at how big she is getting each and every day!