no offense to those I stood next to and supported when they said "I do"

Not in J. Crew's wedding collection, but, as a former bridesmaid with a collection of dresses I've never touched since the special day, I would have been ecstatic to wear this little number...

because he's part of the family, too...

...and seemed a little sad tonight as I was packing the kids' suitcase for the weekend...

where there's a will...

Please click here and watch this video featuring the cousin of a good friend.  If only we all had this determination...

little girl, big bed

Two weeks ago, we moved Grace to a big girl bed. I cannot believe how well she's done with it. I left the crib up as a threat ("you don't want to have to sleep in your BABY bed, do you?") and have really only had to use it a couple of times. We didn't have the option of gating her in since she's proven she can climb over them. Even though it's been going so well, I am still checking on her constantly to make sure she hasn't slipped out of her room. Sometimes, I find her in her room, still, but out of bed. Sometimes I find her in Sam's room. On the rare occasion, she has made it all the way downstairs. And sometimes, I walk in to this which makes me smile:

But this is what overjoys me:

Mom & Dad, I'll never forgive you...

My parents are obsessed with the game of Sequence. They play every day and keep stats on the outcomes of the games. Every time I call and they are both home, they are playing it. When we visit, we happen to play occasionally. My parents knew I enjoyed the game, so they tracked it down and bought me one for my birthday. And now...

Kris and I are obsessed with the game of Sequence...I'm not even sure why we pack it up and put it away when we finish a game, since anytime we happen to pass each other in the kitchen, we sit down and play a quick game. Thanks a lot, Mom & Dad. You two are empty nesters...I don't have time for this obsession!

water play

I cannot for the life of me figure out why I can't get this kid to take a shower.


Especially if this is the reaction I get when I turn off the sprinkler.

Alma revisited: part 2

On Sunday, we drove up to Newport, KY (which turned out to be a fun little mecca of shops and restaurants) to meet up with Kris' good friend from Alma, Mark, and his adorable family. We went to the Newport Aquarium which was a great size for little kids, but slightly pricey for the size of the place, to be honest. The kids really enjoyed it there and haven't stopped talking about the fish, sharks, penguins and frogs since. The same scenario took place that did with Kelly on Friday...we were finally able to meet each others' youngest kids. We are hoping to meet up again in September at the Cincinnati Zoo...it's perfect having a big city directly between us, now. Makes coordinating a visit a little easier. A few pics from the day:

Alma revisited: part 1

No, we didn't go there, but we did get to visit with friends from college this past weekend. Kris' good friend, Kelly, and her adorable family happened to have a wedding in Louisville on Saturday and we were so excited when they decided to work us into the trip. It was fun to have the kids all together and to be able to catch up in person. The last time we met up was at the Cleveland Zoo in 2005! So sad! We had never even met each others' youngest kids. Hopefully, we'll be able to plan it again before another three years go by.

Sam with his weekend crush

Although they had a great time playing together,
we had a hard time getting this group to smile for a picture.
Oh, well...what can we really expect out of a
group of kids ages 4, 3, 2 & 1?

29 and counting

As of yesterday, I am officially less than one year away from 30.  How am I feeling?  Old.  I guess it's better than the alternative, though, right?  Had a great birthday.  Kris arranged for the neighbors to watch the kids and we went out to dinner.  (I had one drink and definitely felt it. See? OLD.)  And he and kids got me jewelry to go with the dress I posted recently.  I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with how well he can coordinate an outfit.  Makes me wonder why I rarely see him in anything but a t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes...

Aquarium and other weekend photos to come soon...

parental public embarrassment #....nevermind, we're past the point of counting

We had a great day at the Newport Aquarium just outside of Cincinnati today. I'll share pics tomorrow, but had to share something quick while I was thinking about it. We were in the lobby of the aquarium waiting to meet our friends, the Skinners. A ton of people were filing in through the ticket gates. A guy, about 18-20, got into line and happened to be wearing a patch on his eye. Sam ran the six feet over to him and very loudly asked him if he was a pirate! Kris quickly apologized to the young man. I quickly slinked behind a giant shark out of embarrassment.

advise me!

I purchased this dress this past weekend for an upcoming wedding. Loved the cut as soon as I put it on.

Anyone have any thoughts on accessories? Let me know what you think!

"responsibility" is his middle name

Recently I purchased a Melissa & Doug responsibility chart for Sam. He's been randomly asking for different Thomas & Friends engines to add to his collection and I figured this would be a good way for him to earn them while also offering positive reinforcement for good behavior since the old daycare was citing issues with hitting (which, as I expected, has not been an issue at the new daycare).

How's it going, you ask? Great! He is very proud of himself when he earns a magnet and since it has several responsibilities that you can switch out, I'm able to target things that he may be having issues with from day to day, so he is reminded to not splash in the bath or to listen to his teachers or pick up his toys, etc., etc. Check out the below video of the first time he filled up a whole row. (We aren't going by day, as the chart is layed out. I covered up the days of the week, and he is awarded a prize when he fills one whole row which may take several days.) I highly recommend it to anyone with kids around his age. Grace seems a little too young for this, yet, but I will definitely be purchasing a second one for her in a year.

an afternoon picnic

Kris's site company picnic was held on Saturday. It was ridiculously hot and humid, but we still enjoyed a yummy lunch and a few minutes of play in the carnival-esque inflatables before the rain hit. This one was none too happy about it:
Or maybe it's the fact that she is hot and sweaty, covered in sticky snow cone juice, awake a half hour past the beginning of her normal nap time and sitting in a full diaper (I figured that out a few minutes after I took this picture).

The boy, on the other hand, went to town splashing in the rain:
After the thunder started and we made him come under the pavilion, he insisted on being held in my lap which left me soaking wet. Oh well...it was a nice cool down. Took a quick drive by the Kentucky River per request from the backseat on the way home then promptly put everyone down for a nap. They were tuckered out from all the fun and crashing from the snow cone sugar at just the right moment to give me a chance to sneak out and do some shopping. I'll post my big find later this week...

it's a beautiful day for a neighbor...

Oh how I love Fred Rogers...

Anyway, big news: we are finally starting to get to know the neighbors! And even better: they are delightful! The couple across the street from us decided to take the initiative to have a neighborhood get-together on Friday evening. Six couples (including the hosts) were present along with our kids and one 5-month-old (whom I will volunteer to babysit anytime...she's a doll!). We proved to be a very diverse crowd...black, white, gay, straight, parents, science nerds, creatives, foodies, entrepreneurs. And everyone hit it off great. We've decided to try and get everyone together on a regular basis and Lynn and Angie already volunteered to host the next one. The kids were a big hit on Friday, but we are planning on finding a sitter for next time...hopefully Kris and I will still be interesting without our little accessories (who both walked in like they owned the place and controlled the crowd the whole evening).

vacation recap

So I've decided to do this all in one post.

The week in MI was great. We started out around the tip of the mitten...dropped the kids off with Kris's family and headed over to Petoskey to help good friends, Scott and Nikki, celebrate Scott's accomplishments...the man has FINALLY completed his formal medical training, so if you're in need of a good orthopedic surgeon in the future, let me know and I'll hook you up :)

me, Nikki and Karyn (two of my old roomies from college...
am pumped to have all five of us together in October!)

We spent the next few days with Kris's side of the family. Mostly we just hung around Kris's grandma's house and relaxed and played in the yard.

We had a chance to visit with friends one evening. Sam and Grace had a blast running around with their kids. Country living is a whole new world to them! They visited the chickens and pheasants they raise, checked out the hunting dogs, played with the two house dogs, dug in the sand and ran around in the woods. They talked about it for days afterwards!

We headed to the playground and the beach one other day. While there, we decided to stroll through the marina to look at the boats and were lucky enough to catch the end of a sailboat race. As the first boat rounded the bouy and the horn blew, I pointed it out to Sam and he said, "Those silly pirates!" I love the way his mind thinks :) A few pics:

Sam looking for his "grasspopper". Maybe I should have his eyes checked out...
I wouldn't think he would need a magnifying glass to find this one!

Grace going golfing...I hope her golf skills reflect her father's and not her mother's!

Enjoying a snack in Papa Verle's old favorite chair.
He used to sit in this chair for hours because
he didn't want to disturb the sleeping cat in his lap :)

On Thursday, we drove down to my parents' so we could spent the 4th there. I was like a little kid...I hadn't been home for the 4th festivities in YEARS. I was super excited! This was the first year that the kids could really appreciate the 4th of July. They had a great time despite some apprehension over the fireworks :)

Grace on the car ride downstate...I couldn't resist taking a pic!

Thursday night we sat around the campfire and ate s'mores while Grace serenaded us with "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" for at least 45 minutes.

On Friday, we squeezed in a quick visit to Papa's work (where the kids were very excited to see the bulldozers and steam) before heading to the the parade. The kids loaded up on all sorts of goodies at the parade...we came home with almost as much candy as we do on Halloween! Friday evening we headed to the fireworks and were able to squeeze in a quick visit with Ashlie, Mark and the girls before settling in on the beach for the show. Sam had told us that he was scared of the fireworks, so we had been talking them up for days hoping he would do okay. By the time they were going to start, he was excited about hearing them "go boom boom!" But it went south FAST! He was screaming and crying...I thought he would eventually calm down, but he never did! And it all ended with the poor kid peeing on me...cracking up about it now...my poor, disgusted cousin was sitting next to me in the van on the way back to my parents' place. I ALWAYS pack extra clothes for the kids...never have I needed them for myself! Needless to say, I changed immediately upon our return to the house. Grace was a firework watching fool...she sat on her grandma's lap the entire time and "ooohed" and "aaahed" with the crowd.

Saturday, we went to the annual flea market which Kris now refers to as the biggest junk sale he's ever seen. I love it! Even if you don't find any hidden treasures, it's great people watching and excellent hot dogs, nachos, elephant ears and ice cream. Since the Friday night fireworks experience went so well, we decided to go to another show on Saturday! Totally different setting, though...instead of being on the beach with a gazillion other people, we were a couple of miles away from the show and in my cousin's field with other family members. I told Sam that if he was scared he could sit in the van since it would be right there. He worked hard to psych himself up for the big event. The show started and he said he was excited and liked them now! A few minutes later he decided he was a little scared. He sat in his little lawn chair and pulled a big lawn chair in front of him so he could still watch through the slits. :) We eventually did end up in the van, where we watched the finale. Whenever anyone has asked him if he has gotten to see fireworks since, he has replied, "Yes and I did not enjoy them." Too funny. A few more pics:

Loving the s'mores...I had to ask my grandma to not include her normal
1/2 of a chocolate bar for the kids...probably wouldn't have proven beneficial
in getting them to go to sleep less than an hour later!

Going to see the bulldozers! I told Sam that Dad's hard hat has his name on it
and he turned and told Grace, "See. His hat says 'Papa' on it." :)

Garrett and Sam
(We're trying to convince Garrett to come be our "manny".
So far, he's not biting.)

Waiting to get more candy at the parade.

A little scared of the fireworks...

And a family shot from the 4th
(probably not the best one we got, but the funniest)

And that's that. We arrived home on Sunday evening wishing we didn't have to return to work the next day... I'm now counting the days until our long weekend getaway the beginning of August.

And we're back!

Well, we've been back since Sunday, but have had a little glitch in our internet service over the past few days (am hoping it holds out until I can get this posted). Service will be arriving tomorrow to fix the problem. Our week off was really nice. Kris and I enjoyed being completely unaccessible from work for a few days and stealing a day away from the kids to visit friends. The kids had a great time visiting with family and the family had a great time playing with them (we've come to realize that the kids are received with a little more enthusiasm than us!). I'll be posting highlights over the next few days since we had a jam-packed week!