Amishville Strikes Again

We took the girls to Amishville on Saturday to spend time with Sarah's extended family during their annual camping trip. We didn't spend the night this year with Felicity being so little. But here's a little photo recap of a few of the things we did this year...

Lily, Miriam, and Izzy heading toward the "farm".

Grandma and Miriam

"Swing me!" says Vivian.

Your wish is my command.

Checking out the farm animals.

Like this fancy rooster.

Photo-proof that Felicity was there.

Viv got to peek at some baby pigeons.

Up at the stage, Miriam put on a performance.

Viv joined in.

They LOVED it.

Whole family shot...minus just a few family members who couldn't make it and a sleeping Felicity.

Color mash-up.

Last Morning

"Last Morning." This is how Vivian references anything in the past. We love it. While kids are trying to get a grasp of the world, they come up with some adorable, interesting, not-quite-right concepts. Like when a one year old waves backwards, as if trying to tell herself goodbye. Or this morning, Miriam asked if Aunt Nichole was Aunt Maria's mommy. Well, they are together a lot. And they look similar. And Nichole is older than Maria. But no, not her mommy. Generations can be a particularly difficult concept to get your head around. Especially when your cousin Andrew (Dad's nephew) is the same age as your aunts (Mom's sisters). 

And on a completely unrelated note, we made these lemon shortbread cookies this week. Saw the recipe on Pinterest. Lemon. Yes. Shortbread. Yes. Together. Double yes. You will not regret making them...

...unless they turn out as ugly as ours did. No. We take that back. Even if they're not half as attractive as the originals, you'll be sooooo happy you made them. And then you'll need to go buy stock in butter.

By the way, this little Felicity. She's starting to drool and has gone up a clothing size. It begins.

Cute cute cute.

Two Months!

Felicity turned two months old while we were in Chicago last week. When we got home, we took the "monthly picture".

She's getting more and more alert, loves to have coo-ing conversations, smiles all the time, likes bathtime, wants to be held upright as if she is standing (already trying to keep up with her sisters), and as you can see, she eats well. And this girl is a SLEEPER. She sleeps A LOT and in long stretches. She'll go 8-10 hours at night before demanding to eat. And then right back to sleep again. We couldn't have designed a better baby!

Jump.

This morning, Mommy heard things falling in the garage...but didn't go out to investigate. Must have been the wind. Right?!?! The garage door wasn't open, so that actually makes no sense. The house settling? Sure, we'll go with that one.

Later, when taking out some trash, she found THIS:

A LARGE, confused bullfrog. After Mommy, Daddy, Miriam, and Vivian chased it out of the garage (it took four of us because the creature apparently wanted to stay), we got the camera for pictures.

So we could prove how massive he really was. Maybe the pond behind our house needs to be checked for growth chemicals.

Last week we took a quick trip to Chicago. Time for a change of scenery and Tim was actually not insanely busy with work for a few days. So we sped off into the wild traffic of the Windy City.

The girls loved staying in a hotel. They got to color and play with magnetic dolls. And their parents took the time to just cuddle and watch TV in the morning. (They, of course, would never dream of arguing on vacation - see above.)

We got to see Uncle Michael, Stella, and Michael's new girlfriend (who was very nice!). The highlight of the trip for the girls was the Chicago Children's Museum on Navy Pier!! Miriam could have spent forever in their little kitchen area. Vivian loved playing with all the water toys. They're asking to go back again soon.

Yes, we did actually take Felicity with us - she was missing out on all the photo ops! (By the way, what color do you think her hair is?)

Oh, Getaways, you are so good to us.

She's Got The Look

Vivian has started dressing herself. Today that means a backward shirt. Not bad. 

Some days it's backward, inside out, upside down. Several shirts have taken a real beating around the neckline...stretched out and never to regain their former shape. 

But she's so proud of this new skill that we're willing to sacrificing a couple shirts in the name of practice.

Speaking of clothes...we caught her outside in this cute ensemble earlier this week. These are the pictures we'll enjoy most when she's a teenager.