Memorial Day!

What a great Memorial Day weekend! After a morning of ML playing soccer and Greg coaching lacrosse, we headed out to our friend's lakehouse for the weekend. This is our 4th or 5th year going and it's such a relaxing time. It's only about an hour away, but it really feels like a vacation! This year was a bit different because 4 of the couples had babies - so we knew it was going to be an adventure.

The babies did really great, especially considering we had 4 pack-n-plays in 1 room. Yes, you read that right - 4 babies sleeping in one room! During the day they napped in shifts which worked well, then at night we put them down one by one...and they all went to sleep. Amazing. We were sitting outside by the fire and around midnight one of the babies woke up...which woke all 4 up. So all 4 moms were inside rocking their respective child back to sleep. It was a riot! They all went to sleep within 10 minutes and slept the rest of the night. Not bad! We had all said that we were in it together and no matter what happened, we'd survive. It went so much better than what we expected.

Lily even got to go on her first boat ride which she LOVED. She had so much fun giggling and playing with the other little ones.

There are a bunch of pictures from the weekend, so I may do a couple blog entries so it's not just one huge post!

Justin giving us words of wisdom from his cigar aficionado magazine.

We had a cornhole tournament and I came in third - so I won my money back! I was quite happy as I came in just behind Mrs. Hellyer who is the cornhole queen.

Such a happy baby.

The whole gang (minus the photographer, Steve, Joey, Stacy and Justin). So, really just a partial picture of the gang. :)

Peyton not too sure about the hammock.

Can't really tell it from this picture, but Morgan is in a life vest swimming out to the kayak.

Evan and Carter hanging out.

Lily loving the outdoors. She looks quite comfortable in the chair in a chair!

Tara and Pepe

Setting up our wine tasting. Everyone brought a bottle or 2 to taste - there was even homemade wine in the mix!

Blowing Raspberries & A Roll

Another video of Lily blowing raspberries. Sometimes she does it with such gusto, her whole chin and shirt will get soaked (and you, if you're holding her!) I love that she's figuring out new things and changing each day.

Lily's Giggle

Lily's new favorite things are blowing strawberries and giggling. It's funny because once she gets started, she doesn't stop! We don't know exactly when the mood will strike her, but she starts laughing...we start laughing...we must have a little comedian on our hands.

Lily at the Lake

Here's a quick little video of Lily and Evan at the lake. I haven't learned the art of editing videos, so I've just added the rough cut. One of these days I'll take the time to edit!

This is what I love about little kids - they don't need expensive toys or the latest gadgets...just give them a balloon and they're happy!

Yikes!

The other day I was taking a shower and heard a loud crunching noise and then what sounded like glass shattering. What the!?!? I looked out the window and saw a huge (or what seemed like huge to me) tree branch that had fallen and landed on the middle of our new patio table. Oh.my.gosh. My first thought wasn't about the table, but the fact that Greg was just out there with the dog 5 minutes earlier and we were all out there all day long. Greg, Lily and I sat out there and had breakfast after a nice run in the neighborhood. Lily took a nap and Greg and I resumed reading the paper and a book and probably sat out there for 2-3 hours. Then my mom came over to watch Lily while I played soccer and Greg coached lacrosse. Mom and Lil' were sitting under the umbrella for a couple hours and my mom even did some yard work while Lily stayed under the shade. So, we figured someone was out there for a little over 5 hours throughout the day.

There was no wind, no rain...nothing. The tree branch had probably been broken during the wind storms last fall and decided today was the day to come down. The telephone and cable wires both were snapped. It stinks that our table, a chair and the umbrella got broken, but that's stuff that can be replaced. And stuff is all it is - I just thank God nobody got hurt.

So, if a tree branch falls in the forest, who cares if it makes a noise or not. Just be thankful nobody is under it!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

Greg's brother Adam just turned 15 and Greg always likes to do some activity with the boys for birthdays which I think is pretty neat. We decided on dinner and the Reds game and Lily wanted to come along too! It was a great Friday game with fireworks afterwards (although it was past Lily's bedtime so she didn't get to stay -although we did let her stay 'til the 7th inning stretch). We also figured it would've been way too loud for her anyway. The Reds won which was exciting for her first game! Lily just lounged on our laps the whole time and made some fans herself with the people around us.

It was a really nice evening and everyone had a great time. Happy 15th birthday Uncle Adam!




With paci...

Without paci...

I'd really rather have a pretzel or some of those peanuts...

Lily & Noah

We visited Lily's friend Noah (and his mom Liv) the other day and went on a nice walk. Boomer even got to stay and play out back with his buddies Belle and Charlotte.

Lily whispering in Noah's ear..."let's ditch our moms and go to the park!"

High 5 little man!

I think this picture is so cute - Noah is only 11 weeks old (and Lily is 6 months) so her feet are dangling over the edge a bit...

Lily Loves the Outdoors

I think if she could spend every minute outside, she would! She definitely loves being outdoors. She is perfectly content sitting in her Bumbo at the table - she likes being a part of everything. We grilled out the other night and the weather, food and company were just perfect. I even made the dessert on the front of the recent Better Homes & Gardens - and it turned out pretty good! Just call me Chef Boy R Bea...or Cole rather...

Thanks for a great evening!

Fun at the Zoo!

Kristen and I took our little people to the zoo the other day and had a great time. It's nice having a pass because you don't feel like you have to see everything there - you can just go for a few hours here and there. The day we went was so crowded, though - I think every grade school in the city was on a field trip!

I kept picking Lily up to see the animals and she really liked the hippo and the manatees. She was mesmerized looking at the manatees and fish - I think because her face was close to the glass where the fish swam right in front of her.

Looking forward to more summer days at the zoo!

Later that day we took a walk with Alicia and her puppy Riley and were cracking up at Lily holding on for dear life. Or steering the stroller - maybe she was trying to do a little of both.