The Lodge

While we were in Florida, we took a day trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hanson and our family friends, The Hillarys. Aunt Glo and Grandma Hanson used to teach together and the families have remained friends ever since. It was pretty amazing that we were all able to get together on a Tuesday of all things! Thanks to all the Hillary family members for rearranging their schedules so we could see each other. We traveled about 3 hours south, near Orlando and enjoyed a wonderful day at The Lodge. The Hillarys own a peat moss farm and this lodge is on part of the farm. What a beautiful place, with a fantastic view. We enjoyed a BBQ lunch, relaxation in the pool, time to catch up with friends, and a wonderful sunset walk.





Annie chillin' in her beach chair






We'll keep working on getting a family photo with Annie smiling!



Lauren loved walking with this stick during our sunset walk. She told us she was Peter from The Snowy Day. The only difference was she was dragging her stick in the sand and Peter drags his in the snow.

Rosita

Last week we had a fantastic visit to Aunt Deb's house in Florida! She was more than generous from all the baby supplies she had waiting for us, to letting us borrow her Expedition, to all the wonderful meals she made for us and all the time she spend with the girls! A HUGE thank you to the entire Williams' family for letting us invade their house for a week. We had a great vacation!


One of the gifts Aunt Deb had waiting for Lauren was a floating Lobster. When we asked Lauren what she wanted to name it, she immediately replied with Rosita. What an interesting name for a Lobster!



Annie even had a chance to ride on Rosita.



Before we left for the trip, Lauren was so excited to ride on an airplane. She rode on one before, but she was close to Annie's age so doesn't remember that trip. Well, the airport and airplane turned out to be as exciting as planned. Lauren loved looking out the window with Daddy. She even followed along with the safety card when asked to.


Lauren enjoyed playing at the splash park in Aunt Deb's complex too, even though the water was really, really cold!


Aunt Deb and Lauren both wearing their ice cream shirts.


Waiting to check-in for our 6am flight. I think I took this photo around 4:45 am. The girls handled the lack of sleep pretty well and a huge thanks to Aunt Deb who drove us to the airport at such a ridiculous time of day!


What a sleepy baby! Both girls were wonderful travelers.

Easter 2011

We enjoyed a wonderful Easter celebration this past weekend! Here's a quick photo recap.


Annie and Lauren had matching dresses. I've always wanted to do that if I had two girls.
Annie has really started sucking her thumb often lately, even in the Easter photos.




The church down the street from my parent's house had an extremely well run Easter egg hunt complete with games, story time, and a craft. Annie hung out with Mammie and loved watching all the action. Lauren played a few games of Easter bingo and won two! She did a great job collecting eggs too.







Laura and Aaron came to spend some time with us Saturday evening. We had a wonderful time playing cards and hanging out while Lauren colored Easter eggs with Mammie.


Great Gram and Papa Bruce celebrated Easter with us. Annie loved the bunny Great Gram gave her and Lauren named the bunnies Tinkerbell and Cinderella.



Lauren was quite excited to meet the Easter Bunny at brunch. When she got up Easter morning she said, "Let's go find that rabbit," and then looked out a few windows trying to find him. We had to explain to her that the Easter Bunny doesn't stay, he just drops off baskets full of fun stuff and then leaves.


Family photo


Enjoying the sunny weather



Annie sported Papa's Tiger's hat.



Lauren discovering another Easter basket once we arrived home.

Happy Easter

PIZZA

Geoff was traveling again so Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Jon and Wilma came up for dinner. Really, Aunt Stephanie and Wilma joined us all day for lots of fun playing in the basement, and going to two parks! We thought it would be fun for Lauren to help make mini pizzas for dinner. What a fun and delicious dinner it was!



Step 1 - Get the crust ready.



Step 2 - Spread the sauce on the crust.



Step 3 - Taste the cheese.



Step 4 - Spread the cheese on top of the sauce.



Step 5 - Bake in the oven.



Step 6 - Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Family Day at the Zoo

Lauren has been asking to go to the zoo for a few months now. It was finally warm enough to bundle up the family and head out. Lauren's excitement, the active animals, and lack of visitors made for a wonderful family day at the zoo.




Before we left for the zoo Lauren kept talking about going up and down on the merry go round. I couldn't figure out what she was talking about until we walked into the zoo and I saw the carousel. Then it dawned on me!


Watching the dolphin show. Notice Lauren holding onto Annie's hand. :)



Annie sure was excited to be outside in the warm sunshine too!

Banana Pudding

One day last week we adventured into the activity of cooking again. Lauren loved measuring, pouring, and mixing the ingredients, as well as licking the spoon. However, when it came to tasting the banana pudding, Lauren's exact reaction was, "YUCK!" Geoff and I loved it though. How could you not? A mix of bananas, orange juice, applesauce, and peanut butter. Yum, yum!



Love seeing my daughter sporting the CMU t-shirt! Especially with such a huge smile.



While Lauren and I were busy making the pudding, Annie wanted to be included in the action as well. She is becoming very vocal these days! Ironic that we were making banana pudding at the time, seeing as her nickname is Banana.

Daddy was in Milan so the girls went to Michigan!

A few weeks ago, Geoff traveled again, this time to Milan. The girls and I packed up and headed back to Michigan for the week. Thank goodness for all the extra help and fun adventures.


Lauren and Annie were able to go see the butterflies at the Meijer Gardens with both sets of grandparents. I love how excited Lauren is in the photo.



Annie got dressed up for the occasion.


It wasn't all that warm, but we headed out for a few walks anyway.



Lauren loved pushing Papa on the swing.



Friday night was ice cream night! Papa took us to get ice cream, but it was way too cold to eat it outside, so we took it back home and ate it there. While enjoying her ice cream, Lauren kept her jacket on and pulled out her camping chair in the family room. Looks like a pretty comfy place to eat ice cream!


Lauren is modeling her beautiful hat she made with Grandma Hanson.

What a wonderful week we had with all our family and friends in Michigan. Both girls had so much fun playing with all their Michigan friends and going on new adventures with their grandparents. I appreciated all the extra hands!

4 Month Check-up

Annie's 4 month check-up went very well. She is almost 13 lbs and Dr. Siegel was very pleased with how interactive she is. The tear duct in her right eye is still blocked, so we talked a bit about that. Hopefully it will clear up on its own, but if not she will need to have a procedure done around the time she turns one. She also received two shots at the appointment. The first one didn't bother her at all, but she sure felt the second one. What a little trooper!



Annie started eating cereal Monday evening. She LOVES it! Her eyes light up and her legs, especially her right leg, kick like crazy when she sees the spoon coming. She also tries to hold the spoon on her own. I'm not sure exactly how much cereal makes it into her mouth, but we will keep practicing. Complete opposite of Lauren. Lauren didn't like the cereal at all in the beginning and cried when we fed it to her.


Annie is reaching for many toys now. Her playmate is her favorite place to play because there are so many toys to look at and reach for. Sometimes she still rolls onto her side, but she mainly stays on her back now because all the toys are above her. And of course, Lauren is still her favorite toy and I think Annie is Lauren's favorite toy too! Lauren does a great job of sharing or at least trading toys with Annie. Their interactions are really enjoyable to watch.

Check out my new haircut!

Lauren has been asking to get her hair cut for a few weeks now, so when we spent some time back in Michigan last week, we took care of that wish. Lauren just LOVES her new haircut and we can't believe how much it makes her look like a little girl. Miss Laura, Lauren's hairstylist, does a wonderful job of being patient and calm with Lauren. Lauren loves playing with Mr. Ducky (a little quacking puppet) while getting her hair cut too. I couldn't believe how still Lauren sat the entire time. On the way home I overheard Lauren talking in the back seat and she said, "I love it, I just love it!" So cute! Oh and she insisted upon sitting on this little bench in the entry way of the salon to get her picture taken before we left.

Hairy Update

Last Monday Hairy sprouted!



Lauren was so excited to check out her friend.



On Thursday, Lauren wanted to touch the grass sprouts.




Geoff just took this photo about 10 minutes ago. Before we know it Hairy will need a haircut!