Back to the Grind

We had two wonderful weeks of vacation, but now it is back to work and school. I love my job and am happy to be back, but it sure was nice having lazy mornings with the girls and taking a nap every afternoon.

As this school year is getting dangerously close to its end, I have been thinking about some of the things I was nervous about when we moved last summer. Number one on the list was the transition for the girls at daycare. I worried about everything. Would Lucy have friends? Would it be as good as UMCC? (our previous daycare) Would the people that work there love our girls as much as the women at UMCC? Or very selfishly, would we as parents like the new place?

The good news is that the girls' new school is great. We have been so happy in pretty much every aspect. The transition has gone as well as I could have hoped.

One thing I LOVE about both schools is their willingness to send pictures during the day of the girls playing.

Here is Caroline today (she is the one on the left):

 Lucy building with blocks right before break:

Here's one that I got early in the year when I was still nervous. At this point the pictures were frequent. Maybe they do that for all new parents, or perhaps I hid my anxiety about as well as I always do :-)

Here's to you, Meme

It has been one year since my grandmother, Meme, passed away. I have been thinking about her a lot lately. I have so many happy childhood memories with her. When we were young, my brother and I would go to Meme's house every other weekend. I am sure that this provided relief for my parents, but it also gave us another person in our lives who loved us unconditionally (we were lucky to have many). Our trips to Red Robin, Christmas Eve at her house, walking to Katterman's, and so many other wonderful memories are things that I hold on to now that she is gone.

As I think of her today, I have two strong feelings. The first is that I am so sad that she never met either of the girls. We sent pictures and letters and such, but they never met in person. I am sure that Meme would have liked to see them, but most importantly I know that the girls would have loved her. She was always so generous, both in terms of her love and attention and the fact that she loved to give gifts - a fact that was not lost on me or my brother. While we clearly enjoyed the things we got, those presents are not what I remember now. I remember her laugh. I remember singing Patsy Cline with her in her black and white kitchen, and I can still hear her voice in my head. I remember that she came to our youth sports games. I remember that each weekend that we went to her house she had planned a fun activity for the three of us to share. I remember going to her house every Halloween to trick or treat. I remember going to Nordstrom and searching for the perfect shade of pink lipstick (for her, not me). I remember laying in bed at night with her watching Golden Girls and Empty Nest (two shows whose humor went way over my head). I remember her love.

And it is these memories that leads me to my next feeling: I am so happy that my girls love their grandparents and genuinely enjoy spending time with them. Even though the grandparents are not immediately accessible, there is no doubt that the girls feel the love of their Nana, Yoinkie, Cookie, and Grumps. Having a family that enjoys being together and that gets along is no small feat. We know of plenty of people who dread going to their in-laws' house or who don't have good relationships with their own parents or siblings. Steve and I feel lucky to not be in that situation.

So, here's to you, Meme. Even though you aren't here, I think of you often and miss you. Also, are you the one who put it in Steve's head that Lucy needs a drum set? I feel like that's a present you would have endorsed ...

Totally Normal

This is a totally normal scene at our house on weekend mornings:

So Much Fun!

Steve and I love that we have family on both sides that we enjoy spending time with. We especially love that our girls enjoy it too. In fact, we have to wait until 24 hours before any visit to tell them because they get too excited.

Our trip to Marion this week was no exception. The girls were VERY excited to see Cookie and Grumps, and they were sad to leave (we all were). But it's back to reality - school starts Monday and we need to get back home and into the groove.  But here are a few random pictures from our trip:

Snuggling with Cookie

39 Forever

 

So excited to play soccer (especially if she
gets to wear new clothes)

 

Swinging with Grumps

Did I mention she was always on the move?

Hanging with Grumps

Cookie dealing with a cranky Caroline

 

It was a good visit! :-)

Gardening

"Helping" Grumps with his garden

Who let this wack-a-doo have a weapon?

And Our Trip to the Beach

Did I mention that it was nice out while we were in Marion? We also took at trip to the beach in Sandwich. Grumps came along with us and we all had a great time:

Another beautiful day

Grumps and Caroline bonding over rocks

I love this picture, but if you look closely you will see that Caroline is starting to cry.

And then she REALLY lost it and threw herself on the sand.
It is amazing how much sand ended up in her diaper.

Our original plan had been to finish off the afternoon with a stop at a local establishment for some lunch. As it turns out, when Caroline is fighting sickness she is NOT in the mood to wait for food. So we stopped at the only place where we knew we could get the food quickly and it would be something that she would eat: McDonalds. Parents of the year?

A Walk on the Canal

The weather in Marion was gorgeous, and we decided to take advantage of the spring weather with a walk along the canal:

 

 

 

It was a ridiculously nice day!

Enjoying some pre-walk snacks courtesy of Dunkin Donuts

I love Munchkins!

Stuffing their faces

We played with rocks (as usual)

Lucy and Dad throwing rocks into the water.

Lucy Goose

Caroline enjoying the sunshine

Say Goodbye to the Crib

Our girls certainly have some similarities, but there are very clear differences that are starting to show as Caroline grows older. For example, Lucy is very clearly more cautious than Caroline. (Side note: this is a direct result of Lucy inheriting my tendency to think too much.) Lucy has to warm up to an idea before she can act, whereas Caroline will jump in headfirst and ask questions later.

The first time we went to a water park Lucy was 3 and Caroline was 15 months old. Lucy would go in the kiddie pool, but we had to coax her to do anything else. Steve offered to go with her on other slides, I went down a big slide to show her that it was fine, we watched other people go ... it didn't matter. Finally by Day 2, Lucy ventured out of the kiddie pool and eventually loved it.

Contrast this with Caroline: she grew tired of the kiddie pool after a half an hour (after she was scolded by a lifeguard for going headfirst down the slide) and immediately wanted to go down the big kid slides. We cautiously went with her down a big slide assuming that one ride would freak her out.  Wrong. She loved it and boycotted the kiddie pool for the rest of our stay.

Take this same adventurous spirit (or lack there of) and apply it to sleeping arrangements. As a toddler, Lucy had no idea that she was physically capable of getting out of her crib. I am sure that even if she had an inclination to get out of her crib she was scared off by the fall to the ground. She was 3 years old when we finally transitioned her into a toddler bed, and the only reason that we made the switch was because we were getting tired of lifting 40 pounds of preschooler into a crib.

Now fast forward to nap time yesterday afternoon. We are visiting Cookie and Grumps, and so I took the opportunity to leave during nap time to go on a Target trip all by myself (it's amazing what you come to appreciate after you have kids).  I laid a very snoozy Caroline into her pack and play and left assuming that she would still be asleep when I returned. I came back an hour or so later to find Cookie in the driveway with Caroline. Cookie informed me that Caroline hadn't slept and that she had climbed out of her pack and play several times.

We all figured that she was just a little too big for the pack and play, and so we brought the crib out of the basement. Last night Caroline was wiped after having a very busy day and no nap. I laid her down into her crib and she immediately went to sleep. Crisis averted, right? Wrong. This morning around 6:30 am I heard some movement in her room over the monitor. I then heard silence and figured that she had gone back to sleep. I then heard a huge BOOM and crying that followed. Yep, she was out of her crib and not very happy about it.

So, I guess we are officially out of the crib phase. Steve and I are not happy about it, but Caroline appears to be very proud of herself.

It's official

It's official: I have become the annoying mother with a camera.

I accept my title, and display it proudly each time my children step out of the house.

There are worse things in life, right?

Here we are at the playground at Steve's school. It's enclosed and has lots of toys that age appropriate for both Lucy and Caroline. It is a great place to kill some time and get some energy out on a beautiful afternoon.

Cue the Lucy Goose photo shoot

This child loves the camera.

Caroline could care less.

Always on the move.  ALWAYS.

My monkey

Laying in woodchips - the usual.