Sing A Song

Jillian learns lots of songs at her preschool camp and sings them often. She has never, however, let me record her in concert until today. Unfortunately, she refused to put any clothes on besides the underwear she was wearing after she changed out of her swim suit. So, here is an underwear-clad Jillian singing her heart out. You just have to take what you can get, people. Enjoy!

Lately

I've been a bit disconnected from the blog in recent weeks. We've been enjoying summer, a first birthday, and hosting company. I'm going to attempt to catch up in this post by providing a rundown of what we've been up to lately.

Jillian and I have been enjoying "special time" at the RAC outdoor pool about once a week. We check A into the Kids Club and head outside for a swim and a treat. She tried her first Bomb Pop last week, which seems like a rite of passage.

These two are really into "playing" with each other. It doesn't last long, but it is cute when it happens. A little monkey-see, monkey-do with some buckets was the game of the minute on Friday.

Testing the limits of space and motor ability

 The garden is going great guns. I am almost giddy, and look forward to heading out to check the progress with Matt each night after the girls are in bed.

My fairytale eggplant plant is dripping with these lovely miniature eggplant. I am in love with their adorableness. Almost too cute to eat. Almost.

Finally! Our first tomatoes were ripe tonight. We've got about a hundred green ones still holding out on me. I hope they don't all turn at once.

I am over zucchini. I have roasted it, sauteed it, fried it, baked with it, and grilled it. It is still coming. We picked our first two cucs and two measly beans on Thursday.

Jillian is enjoying Kingdom Kids camp at her preschool two mornings/week. She made a cowboy hat last week during craft time, and I caught her jumping on her bed in her skivvies before bath one night shouting, "Howdy Partner!".  Have I mentioned I am nervous about her teen years??

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed a Fourth of July lunch at the Taunton's. It's so nice to have good friends who are also without family to spend holidays with. Jillian proudly displayed her patriotic wear

And Adrienne looked ridiculously adorable in hers. I was happy she fit in Jillian's first fourth of July dress!

Adrienne is trying lots of new foods. I am excited about the fact that she is crazy about pasta with pesto. My basil is also out of control, so pesto is on the menu regularly these days.

It's rare to say that we would choose to stay indoors in the summer in MN--but it really has been hot, so we've had to get creative at times. I made Jillian's day when I decided we were going to have a "race" to see who could blow the cotton balls across the floor the fastest using a straw. I still am an OT, after all.

Adrienne's birthday present finally arrived, and she is pretty proud of her new personalized big girl chair. She spends lots of time climbing in and out of it, and loves to read books. She is currently obsessed with three of them--Barnyard Dance, Goodnight Moon, and Dimity Duck (in that order)

Thanks to Shannon's advice, we are learning to care for Jillian's curly hair so that we can spend fewer painful moments trying to style it in the morning. Conditioner and finger styling have replaced detangling spray and a comb. Much, much better.

Adrienne can often be found pushing her stroller around (usually empty, but in this case, the doll actually got a ride)

I brushed off my cake decorating tips and decided to decorate A's smash cake. It was my first time decorating anything in almost 2 years, and I think it turned out pretty well. I forgot how fun it could be--and I'm already looking forward to tackling a cake for Jillian's birthday.

Reading bedtime stories from Jillian's children's Bible. I love this picture because you can see how concerned she is about "Go-ly-et (Goliath) and what a mean "monster" he was. She was relieved to learn about David's victory.

I spent a recent Saturday shopping in Minneapolis with a great friend. We left the kids at home with the dads early in the morning and didn't come home until after a leisurely dinner. It was bliss. I find it amusing (and sweet) that the dads spent most of the day together, too--they met at Oxbow, went out to lunch, and then reconvened after rest time for a dinnertime BBQ. They quickly figured out how us moms make it through the day--with the help and support of friends.

 We've spent many evenings outside on our deck. We finally bought some patio furniture, and it is so nice to have a place to sit and admire mother nature's handiwork

We are west-facing so shades are required. Thanks to J's friend, Malea, Matt found some fun ones to wear after A's party

I love this cool sunset--you can see beams of light fanning out above the clouds. Have I mentioned I really like living in the country?!?

Evidence of the busy summer. Jillian is zonked at night. She continues to fall out of her bed, and often stays put for hours (or until I go up to adjust the thermostat and discover her).  I never cease to be amused by this sight.

Cousins

Cousin Jack (and his parents, Aunt Meggie and Uncle D) came up to MN over the weekend, and it was so fun to see the kids get reacquainted and spend time together. Jack had grown so much since Christmas and really is turning into a little man, which is a good thing because his little brother will be arriving in November. We are so excited for another cousin! I contemplated sending all my baby girl clothes home with them (because they didn't know they were having another boy until today), so I am glad I didn't make them haul the bins home unnecessarily.
We spent the weekend mostly wrangling the kids and ensuring they got to bed on time (or early, if possible) so that we could spend the evening chatting outside on the deck chatting the night away. I always feel a little sad anytime either of my sisters depart, but I felt more so that way this time in relation to the kids. I wish circumstances were different so that we could be closer and have our kids see each other frequently, help with childcare when needed, and experience daily joys/frustrations of child rearing. Maybe someday.
Thanks for coming to visit, Jack Robbers (what Jillian calls Jack Robert), we love you bunches!

Jack and A...a little water play on a hot day

Jack and Uncle D on the trail at Oxbow Park

Sisters in the wagon at Oxbow Zoo

Jack and A loved riding in the wagon together. They went on several "safaris" with Matt around our property, and spent most of their time at the zoo riding in it.

We babysat Jack while his parents enjoyed dinner out for their 5th Anniversary. He didn't look thrilled about the pink bib I put on him at supper...sorry, buddy, pink is all we know around here!

Celebrating A

We celebrated Adrienne on her actual birthday, with an afternoon ice cream social and water play. I wanted her party to scream summer fun--sunshine, casual conversation, cool treats, and bare feet. We kept the guest list small and preparations to a minimum (Matt might argue with the last part, but really, I did work hard to keep myself reigned in). I made some homemade ice cream sauces, baked/decorated Adrienne's smash cake, and rolled cake pops for Aunt Mal to dip and decorate when she arrived. Other than that, I focused on creating an ice cream dream for the kids--sprinkles, whipped cream, cones, etc--so that they could create whatever their little hearts desired (and it WAS fun to see what they came up with). Matt and Uncle John blew up the kiddie pool, we pulled out a couple of sprinklers, and I set out a bunch of bubbles. The kids came up with games in the water (my favorite was Jillian and Isaac's "cooking" game of making "chocolate mac and cheese" with some water, sand, and wood chips), the dads threw the football around, and we all sipped cold drinks and did our best to find any bit of shade in our sunny back yard on an unusually hot (for MN) summer day. At the end of that day, I felt grateful that the day was just as I imagined it would be. Tonight, I realized it was even better. You might recall that my dear friend and roommate from OT school, Shannon, drove all the way from KC when Adrienne was born to document our homecoming. Well, she did it again. She selflessly left her 4 sweet kiddos in the care of her very capable husband and headed up to share her talents with us. That in itself is no small feat, and as a fellow nursing mom, I appreciate that effort more than I can express. I am once again blown away at what she was able to capture, and am overflowing with thankfulness for the blessings staring back at me in the images--the moments big and small, the people, the relationships, and the memories we will always treasure. Thanks to Shannon, I can relive this special day anytime I want---AND, as a bonus, be reminded of all the sweet moments that are present (and sometimes seemingly hidden) within what Shannon calls "a real day".
I will share my favorite images within a blog post when I get the CD for purposes of documenting for the blog book, but for now, enjoy Shannon's blog post ( "happy birthday squeaks", dated July 9th)--you can read it here and watch the slideshow here

A Year of Adrienne

Dear Adrienne--Today you are 1. One entire year old. I will never forget the moment we met. You looked up at me with those deep blue eyes, and I was done for.

You are a precious gift from God, made just as He intended you to be, and we could not love you more. Looking back, I was so nervous to become a mother of two. Now I wonder what in the world life was like before you---before your snuggles, before your smiles, before your giggle, before your kisses, before your ear piercing squeals of excitement. I am overcome with emotion as I consider how grateful I am for you. You bring so much happiness to every day, and have added a whole new dimension of fun to our family. When you are older you will certainly not remember this first special birthday, but I hope you will look back at this post and feel just how much we love you right this moment, as you are this very second--a special, beautiful 1 year old girl. Happy Birthday, sweet baby! xoxo Mommy

First Day

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

One!

The Things You Say

Oh Jillian, you are full of conversation ideas lately. The questions you ask, expressions you use, and words you fumble are true sources of delight in our day.

-I stubbed my toe on Adrienne's high chair one day, and Jillian very seriously asked me to come upstairs to her room. I entered and she said, "Mom, I'm the dr. I need to give you a checkout".

-When a large spider suddenly sprinted across the kitchen and I hollered at Jillian to move so I could get it, she asked (after I finished the job), "Was that close, Mom?" (yes, it was!)

-Currently, I am the book reader her bedtime routine. One night she had me read some kitty board book of Adrienne's. It was very disjointed and had no plot. At the end, I made a comment about it not being a very good story. Jillian sweetly replied, "Mom, this book makes me happy." (so we read it again)

-I informed Jillian last Tuesday that we were going to go to the local nursery for a Wee Wednesday gardening class the next morning. She had a few basic questions about what was going to happen, and then she matter-of-factly asserted, "The class is going to be in Japan". (I didn't know she knew anything about Japan, or that it even existed)

-We were set to have lunch with a friend last week, who happens to be the wife of one of Matt's colleagues. They were on the same Hawaii trip as us back in February so Jillian got to know Shirlyn pretty well. I told her we were going to meet Shirlyn over her lunch hour and eat at Pi pizza. Jillian asked, "Is Mr. Marcus coming?" (her husband's name is Mark) I said, "Who?" and she said in a sort of exasperated tone, "You know, Mom, he's the one who goes with Shirlyn".

-After helping her wash her hands the other day, "Mom, can I go to the moon sometimes?"

-In Target last week, "Mom, what's under the snow?"

-In the car on Friday, out of nowhere came, "Mom, I miss Devin. You remember, Brooke's....father. Yep. Her father, right?" (Devin is Brooke's husband)

-Matt put his new grill together this morning. Jillian was doing her best to "help" him. At one point she came into the house frustrated and exclaimed, "Mom, I don't have any destructions!" (instructions)

-While we were in Des Moines a couple of weeks ago, Jillian was being pretty naughty before bed one night and repeatedly disobeyed me. We have been talking about what the word "obey" means a lot, and I know she understands it. I finally asked her, "Jillian, do you remember what God says your job is as a kid?" Without a bit of hesitation she demonstratively waved her arms and shouted, "BE FRIENDLY!" (I stifled my giggle, of course, and affirmed that yes, she should be friendly, but that she needs to obey her mom and dad)

-And my personal favorite, while shopping in Hobby Lobby (what kind of crazy woman takes two small kids to Hobby Lobby???) last week at a time when Adrienne was clearly done with the shopping trip and was making her dissatisfaction known, Jillian said, "A, you are killing me!!" (It was even funnier in the store because a fellow shopper overheard and thought it was hilarious).

Father's Day

Today we celebrated Matt in his role as a dad. I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again and again: Matt is a great dad to our girls. I love to watch him grow as a father with each passing year, and nearly burst when I watch the way they both look at him. It's clear they are crazy about him, and the feeling is certainly mutual. It's such a blessing to have such a fantastic dad, and then to marry someone who turns out to be a fantastic dad. I really hit it big.

The girls and I schemed and decided that Matt really needed some official decor for his work office. I printed and framed my favorite pics of he and the girls....

 And Jillian assisted by answering some interview questions about him. The responses are good for a giggle. My personal favorite is as follows. My dad likes to wear......."underpants". I'm glad she realizes the importance of such garments!

 We spent another morning unsuccessfully shopping for outdoor furniture, and then enjoyed an impromptu picnic on the deck for lunch.

Happy Father's Day, Matt! Surely you know you have no bigger fans than the three of us girls.