The leaves are falling off the trees...aw, that's too bad.

I know, I know. You were all eagerly checking your computers daily for a thrilling update in the lives of the cutest little girls on the planet... well, here it is! I'll get better, I swear. It's overwhelming to have to pick key moments and pictures from the last 2 months- I can't believe summer is over! We kept ourselves pretty occupied with the zoo, Greenfield Village, outdoor walks and photo shoots!

I love just taking pictures of everyday events- like Evelyn showing baby Kate the moon. By the way, in case you're wondering, Katherine's legal name should be changed to "Baby Kate" since that is all we call her. A family friend joked that she will be standing at the altar someday.."baby Kate, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband..." We'll see about that, but for now it suits her perfectly! 

Evelyn enjoyed our neighborhood block party, where she got a Michigan "M" tattoo and was giddy with excitement over seeing the firetruck and meeting the fireman. She thanked them for being helpful and saving people's lives. The fireman looked extremely touched- it was a sweet moment.

 Paul has been getting in on the action too-- mostly by hanging out with Kate while I put Evelyn to bed, or the occasional bike ride with big girl. I know I've said this before, but I always knew he'd be a great dad to girls- he is proving me right! Evelyn adores him, and when he comes home from work every night she says, "Dadda, I mit (missed) you today, how was work?"

Speaking of big sister Evelyn, she is quite the little drama queen. The picture on the far left is her "I'm getting in trouble and I feel guilt" face, the upper right is her sweet and innocent, and her smile is joyful and contagious. Side note, you'll see the merry-go-round again in a later picture- it's a fan favorite at Greenfield Village, even though all the grown ups would rather take a swift kick. In the big child-rearing picture it's a pretty easy sacrifice :)

Favorite activities include bubbles, cuddling, and playing in the bouncy seat! 

Ah, Greenfield Village. A place I remember going all the time when I was growing up- and now to go back with my mom and grandma and daughters is nostalgic and, at times, surreal. 4 generations in a place that celebrates history and the contributions that generations before us have given to our modern world. Evelyn loves the train and the "put put" cars, and of course the stomach churning carousel, but just to see her in a place that was so meaningful to me and my family is incredibly fun.  She wanted to "teach" in the little schoolhouse- she sang the ABC's from the front podium. Nap time always comes too soon, when we have to pack up and leave after lunch, but we have a few more nice days coming up-- in fact, we're going tomorrow!

Left: admiring the instruments in the "music house" at Greenfield Village.       Center: Dancing to the music!                 Right: Her best Elvis impersonation. 

If you know Evelyn at ALL, you know she is OBSESSED with singing, instruments, marching bands and anything having to do music. I'm only going to say this because I'm unable to see you all rolling your eyes at me, but she is very gifted in music. Seriously. Give the girl any piece of music and she can identify what instruments are playing, who in her family plays them (daddy plays trombone, mama plays flute, uncle Pete plays tuba, grandma plays clarinet, and uncle Dan plays football. Accurate enough.). She knows the difference between a Cello and a Bass (who knew?) and she claims she wants to play the trumpet in the marching band someday. We're lucky enough to have uncle Pete in the Michigan Marching Band, and we're going to see him play the halftime show in the Big House on October 13th. She can't wait! We're also going to see the Seaholm Marching Band this Friday night at the football game- she literally shakes with excitement when we talk about it! We constantly watch shows about music and bands-- we even listen to John Phillip Sousa in the car instead of  typical "kid songs".  

Someday she will be a talented musician... however, we're not holding out for any Olympic athlete dreams...

 Activities this summer-- picking strawberries, collecting rocks (seriously, a favorite pastime- our driveway is gravel, so she picks "special rocks" (they all look the same) and puts them in her collection on the sidewalk), reading and bubble blowing. She also loves giving check-ups and has given them to everyone she knows: "heartbeat... guut. check your ears... guut. eyes, guut. blood pressure, guut. Now shots, just a pinch, don't cry!"

Kate's big news is that she's 5 months old and is starting solid foods! She has only had baby oatmeal and banana, but she grabs at the bowl, at the spoon and at my face to try to get me to go faster. She's definitely ready for solids- I'm excited to try new foods with her! Next up? Sweet potatoes! She's belly laughing now, and really likes to do her "exercises" where Ev will take her arms and move them up and down for her. Great big smiles!

 We took a little trip to the Franklin Cider Mill the other day with our BFFs Mason and May May mama (Lauren) and the kids loved it! Doughnuts, pumpkins and ducks, what is there not to love? Too many bees for my weenie daughter, though!

And then there is the only REAL fall activity-- MICHIGAN FOOTBALL! Really, any kind of football, but mostly Michigan. With uncle Dan on the team, we feel especially entitled to being crazy fans, and making sure that Evelyn knows all the words to "Hail to the Victors". Don't worry, we're getting there. She's got the tune and the fist pump down, though, that's a start! Kate's just happy to be with her sister-- every time she comes in the room, Kate lights up. It's awesome to see!

And for those of you who have made it this far, let me reward you with some of my favorite Evelyn-isms from the past 2 months:

First of all, the title-- my sensitive daughter doesn't like autumn because she feels bad for all the leaves that are falling off the trees. She'll hang her head and shake it back and forth and say, "Aw, that's too bad".

August:

After nap
"Baby Kate, are you so excited to see me?"

Coming downstairs in the morning
Ev: "woah, mama, good stepping!"
me: (laugh, look upstairs)
Ev: (looking behind her upstairs) "DID YOU HEAR THAT DADDY?"
Apparently I say that a lot...

Dinner at Gaga + Pops' house, Lions game was on
Ev (to Joe):  "no TV at dinner, Jojo!"
30 seconds later her was flipping his fork absentmindedly...
E: "JOJO! No playing with fork!"
She is my little rule follower!

Ev: "Dadda, work ok today?
Paul: "yeah, work was fine"
Ev: "Daddy, you golf today?"
BUSTED!!! :)

On the OLCC playground with Grandma
Ev: "baby Kate jealous of me"
Grandma: "what?!"
Ev: "baby Kate so jealous- me have so much fun!"

September:

When she sneezes she says "I bless you'd"

Paul: "What's the best place to be in the whole world?"
Ev: "With mama. And gaga's house"

Playing outside: "mama, I think flies like me because I'm funny"

Looking at Kate's baptism picture: "oooh, mama, baby Kate get married. She looks beautiful."

I'm amused every day by my girls-- check back soon for more! 

Are you listening to me?

Last week I turned 29 (even though I still look 19- how is that possible?). I always joked that I needed a "birthday week" when I was younger, and this year I really got a whole week of birthday celebrations! Lunch at my grandma's house on Thursday, a birthday dinner on Sunday with my family, and a morning of shopping and a nice lunch in Petoskey with my mom and my girls on my actual birthday, which was Monday. In 29 years I've traveled the world, been married for 6 1/2 years, and have 2 beautiful girls. My mom always says flowers bloom in my path, and I couldn't agree more. If I were to order a life, I'd almost certainly order mine. I don't think there are many people who can say that.

We were up north again last week, and FINALLY had a campfire down by the lake. We enjoyed smores and a rainbow-- it was the perfect evening! Construction is in full swing for the barn- they have poured cement and put up some of the metal structure. It won't be too long before the house gets started! It will be my mom's field of dreams- if they build it, we will come. All 4 of us kids (5 with Paul!) love Up North, and have such great memories of it from growing up. We will come. And we won't mess it up. We promise.

Katherine is 3 months old and is blowing every benchmark out of the water. She is the happiest baby, always smiling and laughing. She will try to sit up if you lean her against a pillow- she's a very independent and active little lady! She isn't rolling quite yet, but I think any day now she'll be on the move. The pediatrician said when she was born that she was "lean and strong" and has continued to assert that she is one of the strongest newborns he's ever seen. She has perfect head and neck control- which opens the world of front facing carriers pretty soon!

Evelyn continues to be hilarious. She catches me off guard by repeating things that I'm not even aware that I say! She was putting her baby doll to sleep the other night, and she said, "I've had enough! Put head down and close eyes!" She has also been known to whip out the, "are you listening to me?" every now and then, which just makes me laugh. She loves the pool and the outdoors- I don't know what she's going to think when it starts getting cooler and we can't play outside every day. Until then, we're enjoying every minute of the sunshine that we can!

Summer is flying by...

Ok, so there went my intentions of updating this blog regularly... it's been almost 2 months since I last wrote! I'll try to catch everyone up: Ev's 2nd birthday, pool, grandma and pops' house almost every day, zoo, air conditioning, library, Orchard Lake, Up North, Michigania, pool again, more A/C (the heat wave trapped us inside almost as much as a snowstorm!), and more Up North.... got it? That pretty much sums up the last 2 months for us, we've done a lot and been surprisingly on the go for having a 2 year old and a newborn!

Evelyn's favorite place is "gaga's up north house" where she plays on the beach, runs around the gigantic church camp complex, watches the snorts dig up the dirt (yay, the new barn has finally started!), and just enjoys being with her family. She loves listening to the loon, and picking blueberries and raspberries. The water is warm and full of fun things like minnows and frogs. She's a little freaked out of nature, but then again, this is my child who was afraid of strawberries last week...

Evelyn turned 2 on May 23rd, I can't believe it. I know everyone says that, but really, I CAN'T believe I have a little walking, talking friend. Emphasis on the TALKING, this girl can already chat your ear off. She is a constant stream of consciousness, and is so hilarious, I want to write everything she says down. Here are some gems... We were walking at Greenfield Village and she stopped in her tracks and said "uh oh, I no have seatbelt on." Everything pretty or new she says, "ooooooooh, wooooow loooook mammmmmaaaaa" in the most dramatic voice possible. I asked her what was fun at gaga's up north house- "pops". We're potty training using M&M's as a reward (the child will do anything for "cocoa candy") and she saw my uncle coming out of the bathroom at Michiganina and said, "yay, you get cocoa candy now!" She handed me one of Kate's diapers and said, "awww tute (cute) mama, a little baby diaper!" She's practicing her French and will occasionally say Bonjour or merci beaucoup instead of hello or thank you. SO cute. We saw a garbage truck on the way to Grandma's one morning and she said, "ew, yucky truck. Me like nice and clean." She's a total clean freak! And, finally, to prove she's 2, upon entering her room after her nap the other day she immediately crumpled and said "NO! MINE!" I laughed and said, "are you 2?" She stopped yelling and smiled and said, "yep."

Katherine Laura was baptized on May 26th, and it was a beautiful service. Full of love and well wishes, I was so proud to have such beautiful girls. My family is the best!

Michigania is always a highlight of the year for our family, but increasingly so as Evelyn gets older and is more able to enjoy it. They have activities for every age, and every interest, so life there is never dull. It is a wonderful opportunity to see everyone and to get some ceramics cranked out. Evelyn and Kate were surrounded with love and attention- Kate bounced from one person's arms to the next, and Evelyn always had someone to come with her when she started looping about "show me" (when she needs to show something to you). We had 17 people in all, and everyone had a great time. Uncle Pete is on staff again this year, and Uncle Joe wishes he were again. We had a nice week- week 1- with a few torrential downpours, but mostly sun and perfect temperatures. We're already looking forward to next year!

This is Kate at 2 months old. She continues to grow and change all the time... which is I guess what babies do :) She is smiling, even laughing (we call them Sheldon laughs, if you've ever seen the Big Bang Theory, you know what I'm talking about) and she is so engaged in everything. She is the BEST baby, and is currently sleeping through the night (10pm-5am pretty consistently).

She's fascinated with her swing, and looks up at the birds and "talks" to them. She loves her lion and her panda on her other bouncy seat-- she could sit there all day enjoying life. My mom said, she's good, and then she falls asleep, then she's good again. You'd never know she was there, apart from the squawk if she's hungry, or the giggle at one of her toys. Evelyn will come up to her, squish her and say, "awwww she loves me!" Judging by Kate's face most of the time, she doesn't so much in the moment, but they're already developing a strong sisterly bond.

Life with 2 girls continues to be challenging and amazing. If you've gotten this far, thanks for caring, and I'll update again before another 2 months go by!

"more zoo, peese"

I can tell we're going to be spending a lot of time at the Detroit zoo this summer. We went with our besties Lauren and Mason (AKA May May and MayMay Mama) and had a wonderful time as always! Evelyn loves animals and knows a sound, a song, and a fact for just about every single one of them! She told me a big long story on the way there about how the zebras are scared because they need to run from the lions (insert multiple "roars" and screams). Has she been watching the National Geographic channel when I'm not looking? She belly laughed at the penguins swimming and jumping around, and had endless stories about how the kangaroos jumped to the animal talent show (thanks to the imaginative Little Einsteins show on the Disney Channel for that one!). On our way out, she kept saying, "ooooone more time zoo peese, got it?" I promised we'd go back soon. Probably tomorrow.

Kate was a dream, waking up only to eat and look around for about a minute before checking back out. We call her our little treefrog because of how curled up she likes to sit, so I had to get her picture with the treefrog stuffed animal. It was a beautiful day, and my first official day out in public with the 2 of them by myself! It was a complete success!

We've been on a ton of walks around our neighborhood this week. Evelyn is a chatterbox, pointing out every flower, squirrel, bird, yucky mud puddle and blade of grass. Every once in a while she'll interrupt her constant stream of observation chatter to ask me for fruit snacks or the playground. This weekend we'll be headed up north-- can't wait to take Evs to the beach on our lake and have her take in all the new scenery!

Welcome to our crazy, beautiful life!

It's almost summer, and as life with 2 kids starts to become the new normal, I decided that I wanted somewhere to record our adventures! Instead of spamming innocent people on facebook, I'll post more pictures and stories on this blog instead- so check back often if you want!

This week Kate is 3 weeks old, and I'm finally feeling like myself again. After almost 2 months of bed rest, and then 3 weeks of recovery (thanks to my amazing mom and husband for taking care of me and Evs!), I'm back to being a fully capable mom, and it feels good! Evelyn is happy because I'm not "stuck" anymore-- I'm finally fun again :)

We're looking forward to a summer full of walks to the park, trips up north, outings to the zoo, lots of family time and all the pool and beach time at Orchard Lake that we can handle!

Here it goes... enjoy our family story!