my little mermaid

When she was 3 years old, Lil took her very first swimming lesson. She sat by the side of the pool and watched the other kids swim for 2 weeks. When she was 4, we tried private lessons. She cried for two hours before every single lesson until eventually we gave up. This summer, when she was 6 years, 4 months, 2 weeks, and 1 day old, the most cautious child on earth took her vest off and swam!!! 

Summer Lovin' (part deux)

Where was I? Tipton, Indiana. My aunt and uncle's storybook-perfect property. 

This creek runs in front of their property. We saw an enormous tortoise swimming downstream. Not very toddler-friendly, but oh so picturesque. 

LOVE this bridge!

My kids had serious driveway-envy. My Aunt Jessica met us there too. We hope to make our visit a summer tradition. 

After what seemed like days and days of driving, we finally made it back to Atlanta. After five short days at home, we went to the lake for a week.

Swimming, boating, water-skiing, biking, eating Grandma's country cookin'.

What would summer be without a slip n' slide?

Bowling with Jonathan....

The highlight of the summer for Lilly and Jonathan was horseback riding in the mountains. That very same week, Lil got to go tubing down the Chattahoochee River through Helen, Georgia. A fawn jumped into the water to say hello. 

Back in the ATL, we spent some time with good friends.

Lil discovered Bindi The Jungle Girl this summer, and quickly became her #1 fan. The show is all about animals and Lil now wants to become a vet. She used to want to be a waitress at Cracker Barrel. Must be the biscuits. 

Lil lost her 2nd top tooth and officially looks like a 1st grader. 

We went to the zoo.

After our day at the zoo, the kids created their own zoo with Legos.

It was WAY too hot to cook, so we ate strange meals like this. We also spent a lot of time at the local Farmer's Market. Lil is becoming quite the locavore. Local peaches, local milk, local eggs. She's a bit of a snob. 

Stay tuned.....

Summer lovin' had me a blast

School started Monday and now I'm reminiscing about our summer. Don't get me wrong, I was ready for school to start, but our summer break was lovely. The perfect mix of go-go-go and lounge around the house all day. A couple of trips, quality lake time, plenty of down time, and a few milestones. Here are the highlights:

Lilly took a class at our community garden called 'The Stream Runneth Over.' 

Salamanders and crawfish are cool, but not mosquitos. She didn't even last the entire hour.

While Lilly was getting devoured by mosquitos, I took this sweet photo of Jonathan on a swing. 

Please don't grow up too fast, Jonny boy.

The kids and I drove to Louisville and spent some time with Grandma Peg and Pop. Grandma won't let me take a picture of her, but this is her kitchen. Uncle Aaron was Lil's playmate for the week. 

He's just as much fun as any 6-year-old.  

See? Aaron's friend, Meg, was great with the kids too. I wish they lived about 7 hours closer.

I could really use more babysitters.

Aaron crawled all the way upstairs with 47 pounds of Lil on his back. 

He also taught me how to do the vortex trick with my hoop!

From Louisville, we drove to Tipton, Indiana, home of my Aunt Helen and Uncle Jim. We had a great time visiting and the kids had a ball exploring their lovely property. A garden, a creek, woods, fields of corn, and a long, flat driveway. What more could a kid want? 

They even have a well-trained dog. I want one of those. 

Maybe Daisy could train CJ? 

My cousin's family brought scooters over for the kids to play with. 

Jonathan had to get in on the action. Cousin Austin was so kind and patient with my kids.

We played badminton (I always have to spell check that word)

and practiced our hooping. A great time was had by all.

And that was just June. Time to get ready for church. To be continued.....

Lil's Kindergarten artwork

I was SO thrilled when Lil brought these masterpieces home the last day of school!! 


Lil's version of Pete the Cat:

Statue of Liberty

Starry Night

Lil's self-portrait

Love

Quote of the day

 Today's quote comes from Lillian Ashe, age 6, who said, "These shorts are a little bit big. Maybe I shouldn't wear them until I earn a little weight." 

A couple of weeks ago, Lil lost her top front tooth. One minute it was there, hanging out of her mouth, making her mother cringe.

The next minute, it was gone!

What a difference a year makes

I've really neglected this blog lately, partially because I've started a food blog, but mostly because writing about my everyday life isn't much of an escape from it.

I took this sweet picture of Lilly the other night and gasped when I saw it. What happened to my baby girl? She looks like she's 10 years old!

So, I did some reminiscing on iphoto and this is what I found:

Lilly, just one year ago at her preschool graduation, May 2009. The difference between a five-year-old and a six-year-old is mind blowing. Here's a picture of Jonathan that very same day. 

Who says bald isn't beautiful? He was just 10 months old, still a baby in a sling.

Of course, a couple of days later, he started to walk.

And here he is today, not even 2 years old and already addicted to the Blackberry. We weren't sure if his hair was going to stay red when he had so little of it. I think the verdict is in. 

So, I'm recommitting to this blog. No fancy prose, just pictures of the day-to-day. A time capsule for my children, who are growing up way too fast. An expression of love and respect for my dear Aunts, who long for hand-written letters, but are genuinely appreciative of my silly blog posts instead.

My little girl turned 6!

My, how time flies. One day they weigh 7 pounds 2 ounces and are waking you up to nurse every 3 hours (or in Lilly's case every 2), and you're thinking you'll never again get a full night's sleep, and the next thing you know they're 6 YEARS OLD! SIX sounds SO much older to me than FIVE. She suddenly looks so much older too, teeth falling out every time I turn around and outgrowing all of her little girl clothes. As every mom knows, size 7/8 is located in an entirely different section of the store and the styles appear to have been designed for Lady Gaga, whoever the heck that is.

For Lil's birthday, we decided to forgo the traditional stressful, messy birthday bash in favor of a big day out on the town. I took 3 of her best girlfriends downtown for lunch at R. Thomas, to a puppet show at Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts, and to Krispy Kreme for dessert. When I told the girls that they will enjoy girls days just as much when they're my age - no husbands, no boyfriends, no pesky little brothers - Lil's friend, Sofi, shouted, "Like Bunco night!"

Lil's buddies, Tatum, Sofi, and Zoe

The owner of R. Thomas does some amazing magic tricks. Lil was SO thrilled when he showed up.

He also has quite a collection of birds which he likes to randomly hand to unsuspecting patrons. 

Yes, mom, I washed my hands.

In other less exciting news, my birthday is the day after Lil's. 35 sounds so much older than 34.

Oh well, life is good.