Bonnie and Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was SO happy to meet my newest little cousin Bonnie! She is absolute sweetness. Uncle Ben and Auntie Rebeccah (and big sisters Morgan and Ashley!) all made a stopover in the quad cities so they could see the whole family. It's not often that we get the whole bunch of us together, and it was definitely a good time. Thanks for showing off your pretty little girl, and thanks to Bonnie for letting us play pass-the-baby! 

Backyard Buddies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I was a little girl, I loved spending the day outside in the yard, playing with my brothers and sisters and our friends. Now that I'm a Momma, I love seeing my kids playing in the yard with my brothers and sisters and friends!

A Tale of Two Birthdays

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can't let the east coast have all the fun...We celebrated a 1st and a 4th Birthday on our recent trip to Iowa. Elara and Zachary have a great grandmother that loves them very much. She did a phenomenal job decorating and picking out special cupcake and cookies for the party. We kept the theme simple, Purple for Elara, and Zachary's favorite color: Red! But grandma did it up good. :)

All's well that ends well.

 

 

 

 

 

There are very few things that terrify me more than flying with my kids. Really, I'm more than experienced, and usually over-prepared, but something unexpected (and probably awful) WILL happen. It's just inevitable. I was lucky for our trip out to Iowa, Paul was there to help with the kids. It's definitely easier when you have a second set of (adult) hands to manage everything. But if you can ignore the screaming, flailing child in your lap, and the scathing looks from your fellow passengers, you will eventually land at your destination. Just hand your child over to whoever is picking you up at the airport, take a deep breath, and maybe an extended bathroom break, and then enjoy the time you have left until the flight home!

The other white milk.

 

 

 

 

Elara Lily just doesn't care for cow's milk. Zachary wasn't thrilled either at first, but he eventually grew to love milk. Milk is a beloved thing to him, enjoyed with and between meals. He drinks water, but he'd rather have milk any time. But Elara has been "drinking" milk for close to 2 months now, and by drinking, I mean I offer it to her, and she spits it out everywhere. Sometimes she'll take a big gulp, because she thinks I've handed her a sippy cup of water, and then she dribbles it all back out down her chin onto her clothes or the floor. I didn't want to warm it up for her, because I wanted her to get used to having it cold. But after weeks of no success, I finally gave in and warmed it up. Still not even slightly interested. She just looks at me like, "lady. give. me. back. my. water."