July 2013

Whew!  After a very full June, we eased our way into July rather slowly.  Now, we still kept ourselves busy with some very fun things, but throttled the pace down quite a bit.

One of the new things we ventured into was the world of toddler dance - yep, I enrolled Jane in a summer dance program, and no surprise to anyone - she loved it!  She was unusually shy at first, but really got the hang of it and asked to be enrolled in more dance this fall.  She is taking ballet and tap, and although her enthusiasm for it is at an all-time high, I regret to say her actual "talent" is lacking a bit.  She moves around like she has geriatric hip problems, but is super focused on her "moves" and trying to perfect them.  During Parent Observation Day, Jane looked absolutely miserable the whole time as compared to her smiling, giggling peers, but when she got in the car, she shouted "Mommy, I LOVE dance".  It's baffling to me, but something tells me my confused state will only continue as she grows up...

We did a lot of other fun things in July, like attended my friend Rachel's wedding in Nky, hosted the Forman family here in Rochester for a week, went boating and swimming in the lake, rode bikes, played outside a lot, and last but certainly not least - Evan prepped for his eye surgery!  We were skeptical that this time around would prove fruitful as we tried 6 months ago and he didn't qualify due to some rare "scars" on one of his eyes.  The doctor said she'd look again and luckily this time around he was able to get the surgery.  He was an absolute trooper and has recovered nicely.  He is loving life contact and glasses-free and we are grateful that everything went well!

Getting ready for her first dance class!

Not sure what to make of this face..

A little shy during the "tap" portion

She is insistent of watching her dance teacher the entire time and doing everything precisely as her teacher does it.

Evan suggested she not follow Billy Elliot's footsteps in front of her...

A rare date night at Rachel's wedding - and a week before eye surgery!

During the Forman visit to the Midwest, we hosted a sundae party complete with every topping you could imagine - I think nearly everyone went back for seconds and thirds!  (Reminds me of birthday parties when we were growing up - sundae parties were my mom's way of feeding the entire neighborhood kids!)

Jane and her idol, Maddie

All the grandkids enjoying ice cream!

Silly time with Aunt Leslie

We spent a lot of time on our driveway and in the cul-de-sac riding bikes and hanging out.  The kids love opening their "camp chairs" and just hanging out.

Love this picture!  (I know, I know...I say that in every post!)

Enjoying popsicles the only place suitable for eating popsicles...outside.

Swimming in the lake - the kids love it despite the absolutely freezing water.  Daddy and Papa are brave!

Jane hanging out....

...then tormenting her brother.  This is a frequent event at our house.

We also experienced another first in July.  Here was Luke one Friday morning before we were heading out to lunch...

By dinnertime, his left eye had started to swell and "seep" liquid from a weird rashy-looking thing.

This was before bedtime and when I really started to get worried and wonder what in the world was going on..

Completely swollen shut the next morning.  A call to the doctor had told us that he was having an allergic reaction to a mosquito bite!  We had no idea, although we had noticed that all summer long he would get huge welts where he was bitten by mosquitos.  Insane and I'm sure the first of many "I have no  idea what is going on with my child" moments.  Huge shout out to Aunt Katie who was the recipient of numerous call, texts, and pictures on an hourly basis asking for  her medical expertise!

Flower Girl and Ring Bearer of the Year

As previously mentioned, Jane and Luke were asked last year to be the flower girl and ring bearer in our friend's wedding in June.  Joe and Kristen frequently babysit for us, and Evan has known Kristen all his life as she is the little sister of a friend of his.  Our kids love when they babysit and we couldn't wait to share in this special day with them!

We weren't exactly sure how things would go, or even if they would understand what was going on, but yet again our kids prove us wrong!  Once we began talking to Jane (a few months ahead of the big day) about wearing a pretty dress and dropping flower petals, it was all over from there.  From thence forward, she was all about all things wedding!  She loved trying on her pretty dress and getting new fancy shoes to go with it (which she wears constantly around the house), but her brother still wasn't sure what to make of everything.  Getting fitted for his suit was a bit more anti-climatic for him.

We had a great time at the rehearsal dinner and suprisingly the kids were both well behaved.  The next morning was a real treat for Jane as she was invited to join all the other bridesmaids to get her hair done at the salon.  This was a HUGE deal for Jane and she loved all the attention.  She even sat perfectly still the entire time the crew (at one point there were 4 ladies working on her hair....how is that even possible?!) sprayed, combed, braided, tweaked and styled her 'do.  She loved it and I also enjoyed seeing her so happy!

We then left to head to the wedding location (ceremony and reception in one place) for pictures, and the real fun began.  We quickly arrived, dressed both kiddos and waited patiently for their turn for pictures.  But, of course, nothing is that simple. What do you get when you add 1 mischievous little boy + wide open spaces + lots of attention from people?!  An over-excited and curious Luke, who wondered what would happen if he pulled a red gadget from the wall!  Yep, right before his turn for pictures, Luke pulled the fire alarm and set off the loudest noise ever, that scared the dickens out of him and sent him crying for the next 10 minutes...right before getting his picture taken.  Lovely!

With the fire alarm crisis behind us, they both cooperated fabulously for the outdoor pictures (it was a hot muggy day - just ask this 6-month pregnant lady!), and we scurried off to "borrow" the bride's room for an hour or so to decompress before the wedding actually started.  All was well, until Luke had to go to the bathroom (not potty)....and then go again...then go again.  Not our finest parenting moment realizing we gave him applesauce for lunch, then apples for a snack, then apple juice while waiting.  We narrowly avoided ruining his entire suit before showtime.  With stress at an all-time high, we made our way back to the wedding location and tried to entertain a 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old who hadn't napped and very excited to go bolting down the aisle.  I had to find my seat at the front so Evan stayed back with them.  Right before it was their turn, Luke turned to Evan and stated he needed to go to the bathroom again.  Evan, in sheer brilliance, rushed both kiddos off to the bathroom, and quickly "took care of things" in just enough time to send them down the aisle.  

And the result?  They were perfect!  Luke carried his pillow like he owned the place and Jane diligently dropped rose petals (with lots of finesse) along the aisle.  They even sat still during the ceremony (thanks to the help of snacks) and didn't cause a ruckus, something that was petrifying to me!  

The ceremony concluded and we were off to enjoy the reception...and enjoy we did!  We ate, drank, danced, took silly pictures in the photo booth, danced some more, stayed up waaay too late, and pretty much had an amazing time!!  Great memories for us and the kids!

A dapper young man.

Getting ready to head out for pictures

I love this picture.  They actually both did really well for the pictures.

The smirk on Luke's face here is priceless!

If we look tired, we were.  Especially the one on the left!

Luke turned around to pick up the 1st rose petal that Jane dropped.  Evan had to tell him to keep going although he was very confused why Jane was dropping things.

Charging down the aisle without a care in the world

Same smirk.  He owns the place.

Yes, Luke, we feel the same way about you pulling the fire alarm.

A very happy family!

Already has a way with the ladies. 

Nearing the end of the evening...slowing down for sure...

Mini-milkshakes and cheeseburgers were served at the end of the wedding.  Our kids didn't pass on either.

Milkshake mustache just to prove he hung on until the end!

June 2013

Well, June proved to be the busiest month for us yet in 2013!  It was full of exciting and fun things, but it definitely wore us out!  We enjoyed going to a friend's house for a cook-out and to watch the annual Round Barn Festival parade; had Aunt Katie, soon-to-be-Uncle Andy, and Uncle Joel here for a visit; got excited about Jane and Luke being in our friend's wedding on the 22nd; and last but certainly not least, I enjoyed wedding dress shopping with my mom and sister for her wedding next May!  We absolutely stayed busy this month but it was a wonderful time as you can see below.  

**Pictures from the wedding in another post as there were so many good ones, and any proud mom would want to dedicate an entire post to showing off her cute kiddos all dolled up!

Enjoy!

Mommy giving clear instructions:  wave to everyone, run and grab candy, and then bring it back for Mommy to eat!

Looking like real pros!

The real reason Jane loves when Aunt Tatie comes to visit: there is always a pedicure on tap.  Who wouldn't enjoy this?

Someone looks right at home on the water

Grumpy Gary would not smile for the picture.  Apparently he wasn't as excited about carrots as Jane was.

Getting the gear all ready for fishing.  Clearly, it wasn't the ideal day to be on the water (yes, it did rain on us), but the kids were very excited to learn how to fish.

"Now, what's that you said Andy about catching the biggest fish?"....

..."Oh, nevermind, I can do it without even looking!"

Jane being Jane.

Such concentration.  Her daddy was very proud.

Uncle Joel trying to keep Luke warm.  This always involves some sort of torment as well.

Painting pictures for daddy for Father's Day.  Luke has about a 3.7 second attention span, but I was proud of this picture he did and Evan enjoyed it as well!

I know I won't hear the end of this, however, in my defense, Luke loves doing whatever Jane does and he was insisting that he wear a bathing suit like Jane.  Just to clarify, he only had it on for about 10 minutes and ran around the house.  On another note, check out the muscle tone on that kid.  He is one solid dude!