The Girls' Busy Day

TODAY I left the house at 9:30AM for a long day in Hershey (about an hour away)...I am in my girlfriend Gretchen's wedding tomorrow so I had a big day of wedding fesitivites (bridesmaid luncheon / set-up at the reception / rehearsal / rehearsal dinner / so fun...and in there somewhere I picked up Jonathan from the airport!).

In the meantime, the girls had a busy day! This morning, Aunt Kimberly came over at 8:30 to baby-sit the girls while Mimi and Corinne went to a dentist appointment.

Aunt Kimmi successfully put Kelsey to sleep while Calla was around (I will have to ask her how she did it!) and when Aunt Rin got home, the aunts decided to take Calla to the mall while Mimi stayed home with Kelsey. Corinne says Calla kept saying, "This is so cute" at everything she'd see in the stores! Oh boy. Sounds like a shopaholic to me!

Later in the day, the girls spent some time swimming in the pool..........

Eating snacks (fruit loops) with Mimi (pretty artistic photo, Mimi!)...

Driving in the car with the window down (nothing like the breeze going through those long locks!):

eating a snack at the mall.......(Corinne texted me this photo and said she had just told Calla that milk comes from cows...apparently this was news to her!)

This evening, after supper, Corinne and Caleb took the girls to VBS (Vacation Bible School) at our church. VBS is for kids 4 and older, but they do a long music part in the beginning where the kids can dance and sing around so Corinne thought they'd enjoy it! They definitely did! It was the last night, so they had music from 6:30-7 and then again from 8-9 and Corinne and Caleb took them to both sessions!

Corinne said Kelsey danced like a crazy person! Calla was getting tired and would occasionally sit on Corinne's lap, but she said Kelsey kept up the high energy! Hahaha.

below: Calla (in the car) was thrilled to receive a VBS shirt, CD, and badge! Yay

The girls have another busy day tomorrow because Jonathan and I will be in Hershey all day at Gretchen's wedding. They will spend the morning at Mimi's, and then Grandma and Grandpa are going to take them all afternoon and evening since my family will be attending my cousin's wedding. Lots of weddings this year!

The Joy of Board Games

TODAY I have to make it short since it's super late! We had a fun day at Mimi's house, especially Mommy because I went to get my nails done for the wedding I am in on Saturday. We had lots of visitors today...at one point, Aunt Kelly, Aunt Kim, Aunt Corinne, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Caleb, Pops AND Mimi were around. We missed Aunt Katelyn!!

Mimi and the girls:....exhibit A Kelsey looks cute

Exhibit B: Calla and Mimi being silly

Aunt Kelly stopped by at around lunchtime:

below: Grandma and Grandpa stopped in after supper.

Calla's newest favorite thing to do is play "board games." Obviously, she doesn't know the rules so she makes them up and then bosses everybody around. Grandma and Grandpa have a LOT of tolerance for this!

below: Calla (her hair is super straight after her bath) - she is making up some random rule.

Grandma and Grandpa, Calla and Kelsey playing "Sorry." The rules consisted of putting the pieces in specific places and shouting, "SORRY!"

Bathtime had just ended for Kelsey, obviously. She is all "bottom!"

After Kelsey went to bed, Calla and Pops and Grandma and Grandpa played for a while. Calla left the room at one point to use the bathroom with Grandma and said, "I'll be right back, boys!" We thought it was funny she referred to Pops and Grandpa as "boys." It's probably been awhile since they've been called that.

Before bed, Calla decided she wanted to eat a bowl of cereal. Pops is always up for a bowl of cereal.

Friday and Saturday are busy days for me, as I'll be spending most of the days in Hershey (about an hour away) at my friend's wedding. Aunt Kimmi is coming over first thing tomorrow to watch the girls while Mimi and Corinne go to a dentist appointment. You can wish her luck with the girls!!

Much Cuter Than the Girls

TODAY I woke up and Kelsey had slept the whole night through! Okay, well she had a little relapse at about midnight but other than that she woke up and was ready to start the day. Unfortunately, she woke up at 6 a.m. Sheesh!


This morning the girls and I went with Mimi to her Wednesday morning Bible Study. Calla made a castle last time she was there, so she was very anxious to return! I came a little late because I was waiting for Kelsey to wake up from her morning nap, and Calla was sitting at a table and coloring like it was her job. She was really concentrating!


Kelsey walked right over and wanted to sit next to Sissy, so I sat her down. Then I said (fully believing she didn't understand), "Kelsey I will be right back." INSTANTLY, she burst into tears! I must say that when I leave, because she knew exactly where I was going! I rushed out of there in a hurry before she could chase me down!


But Kelsey did really well after about twenty or so minutes of crying (oh dear). Mrs. King (the lady in charge) said that as long as Kelsey was eating fruit loop cereal, she was okay! Ha. I was so glad that she recovered. That's a first!


Mrs. King thinks Calla is going to be artistic. That would be nice! She would take after Mimi and Uncle Caleb. At lunch, she still hadn't done enough coloring so it continued:



Kelsey didn't have time to color. She wanted to eat. (Actually at one point, she motioned for a crayon and paper.)


Busy, busy. She likes to make weird markings and say, "See? I wrote my name!"

After lunch, the girls napped. It was a beautiful day so I got to enjoy some relaxing time laying on a raft in the pool! It doesn't get better! Once the girls woke up, Mimi and I took them swimming. Calla practiced jumping off the side and kicking in her tube.

Apparently, swimsuits make the girls want to dance! I love this picture:

Calla singing

Playing is so much more fun in your swimsuit!

After supper, I went to get my hair done so Uncle Caleb was in charge of the girls. He played with them for an hour and a half and they were giddy and excited when I got back. He said they spent a lot of time pushing each other in the doll stroller! It's so cute to see them playing together (although they certainly do their fair share of fighting over toys!).

I put them to bed at the same time. They do really well sharing a room. Kelsey likes to hollar at Calla from her crib. At naptime, Calla said to me, "Why isn't Kelsey sitting down??" (Kelsey was standing at the side of the crib.) I guess it gets confusing when there's rules for one and not the other!

Callaism~

~ This morning, Calla was looking at pictures and found one of Uncle David. "Uncle David is just so cute," she said. She pointed at him again and said, "Uncle David is so much cuter than the girls." I said, "what girls?" and she said, "These girls!" and pointed to Kelsey and herself. Haha. That really got my funny bone.

Kelseyism~

~ Another tooth is on its way! I think Kelsey has two more on the top coming through. We'll have to wait until Daddy arrives on Friday to know for sure! He's the official teeth-finder.

Our Leisurely Day

TODAY was another laid-back day at Mimi's. After Kelsey's morning nap, the girls and I joined Mimi and Aunt Kelly at Aunt Kimmi's house. I wanted to see all her wedding gifts "set up." It's so fun to "play house" at somebody else's house! I guess I will have a chance to do that again since we are going to have rearrange everything after the flood. (Yes, I refer to it as "the flood.")

For lunch we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Kelsey is usually the first person to start eating and the last to finish! She loves trying new foods. It is so fun to see such a healthy appetite, especially when I am often force-feeding Calla after five bites! Although Grandma made some of Calla's favorite foods so she didn't have any trouble at lunch.

This afternoon, Kelsey took a short nap so she and I took a dip in the pool with Mimi and Uncle Caleb.

below: Mimi got her a personal swimming pool! She is making such a silly face.

She loved playing in it today. she looks like such a boy without a swimsuit.

Haha...I just wanted to give you some perspective on how teeny this pool is!

Just her size!

Calla took FOREVER to fall asleep! I finally told her that I would come get her out of her bed in five minutes (it was already 3:15!) and she eventually settled down and slept. As a special treat, I moved her from her bed to the crib. She was very excited and feel asleep right away once she was moved!

Haha she looks little in here!

When Corinne came home from work tonight, she brought a dog that Stephanie our neighbor has for sale. It is a brown lab and is soo cute. I don't think Mimi and Pops are interested in another dog, but Calla and Kelsey were VERY interested.

Initially, Calla insisted on staying on my lap. We watched as Kelsey danced and yelled and waved at the dog. She even gave it a huge hug (unprovoked!). After fifteen or so minutes, Calla got up the nerve to "pet it's bottom." (She only did this after she was reassured that he wouldn't be allowd to lick her.) And after a while she gave her a hug too! At dinner time, she told Pops that she saw the dog that Mimi and Pops were going to buy! We all got a big laugh over that one.

Tonight after dinner Mimi and Pops took Calla with them to get their passport pictures updated at Wal-Mart. I put Kelsey to sleep, and then I took Calla to Grandma and Grandpa's to play while I took a Wal-Mart run (we were low on diapers!). When I went to pick up Calla, she did NOT want to go. She cried and cried. She and Grandma and Grandpa were in the middle of a rousing game of "Sorry" and bedtime was the furthest thing from her mind!

Somehow she convinced Aunt Corinne to "lay with her" and a few minutes later I found them both passed out! I am wondering if Corinne really wants to share a twin bed for the night....better go wake her up!

Kelseyism~

~ Kelsey is doing better at imitating words! Yesterday she clearly said "Pop" and today she said something but for goodness sakes I can't remember what it was. I'll have to mention it tomorrow!

below: a couple pics of Caleb and Calla playing "people" yesterday

Boodle

above: Kelsey getting a drink (-:

TODAY I need to get my act together and take more photos! This is one from Aunt Corinne's phone. She said she was filling Kelsey's cup, and Kelsey leaned in to drink from the sink. Ha.

This morning the girls played with Mimi's toys. I tried salvaging some of my wet shoes. Eek. Corinne and Pops spent a long time on my laptop, but it doesn't look very promising at this point. (And it doesn't turn on.) So I am a little sad about that (okay a lot sad). I definitely need one for work, so we might have to revive an old desktop. Yikes.

For lunch Corinne made me her trademark tuna salad/bruschetta/salsa sandwich (which she needs to start selling ha). And after lunch, I put Calla down for her nap and then Kimmi, Corinne and I went on an impromptu shopping trip.

I may or may not have picked something out for my nephew-to-be arriving in October. (-: I also picked out a birthday outfit for Calla's 3rd birthday. I can't believe she's turning 3! Two still sounds like a baby, but three is OLD! Oh my goodness.

I was positive Kelsey would fall asleep in the car on the way, or in the stroller while we were there, but my girls like to prove me wrong and Kelsey stayed awake! Aunt Corinne carried her around for a while, which was nice.

Tonight we hung out at Mimi's...Aunt Kelly has been here a lot since Josh is in Africa on a missions trip for two weeks. It's been so fun to see her so much! And Grandma and Grandpa stopped in to see the girls. Kelsey was giggling at Grandpa.

Caleb and Pops worked on Caleb's car for a while in the driveway, and Calla loved being out there. She sat with Caleb in the car for a while, and he took her for a ride down the driveway and back. When they came back inside, they played "people" for a long time. I remember growing up and playing that, so I don't think she'll outgrow it any time soon!

Callaism~

~ Corinne and Calla went over all her nicknames that people give her, and Corinne asked which one she liked the best. Calla said, "Boodle!" and then corrected Corinne throughout the day when Corinne would forget to call her Boodle!

Kelseyism~

~ Kelsey has finally figured out how to go down the one step down into Mimi's living room. Maybe she'll figure out a flight of stairs soon! (She still just stands up at the top and hollars for someone to get her!) For one step, Kelsey will sit down and slide off the step. Yay she's growing up.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Caleb! Love, Calla and Kelsey

TODAY was Caleb's 18th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UNCLE CALEB. We were so excited to spend it with you!

This morning we went to church. Calla was happy to go, but Kelsey cried when I dropped her off. Corinne's girlfriend, Cat, was in the nursery and reported later that Kelsey cried for 25 minutes straight. She said she kept at it at a very loud intensity. Poor boo. Eventually she settled for Cat and Cat got her to go to sleep! (I think she was exhausted from her loud cries of disapproval for the nursery.) When I went to go pick her up, she was all cuddled and sleeping on Cat. Poor Kels! I was glad she got some sleep.

After church, Corinne and I took the girls to Grandma and Grandpa's. They made them lunch, and baby-sat them this afternoon while the rest of us went out to eat in honor of Caleb's birthday. He choose an Asian Restaurant, and it was awesome. I kept thinking of Jonathan - he would have loved it.
below: opening gifts at lunch

Kelly (Josh is in Africa), Kim, Jon, Corinne, Mom and Dad and I went along to help celebrate. Thanks, Cabes, for picking such a delicious lunch spot.


Mom and I spent a lot of time today in the laundry room cleaning dirty/wet clothes! This evening we stayed home from church to keep working (Kelsey was tired) and Calla went along with Corinne.

Corinne was in charge of the 5-year old class, and Calla was happy to be with the big kids. Corinne said she spent forever coloring, and they also went to the playground (she said all the kids were running and Calla was too but was soo far behind so Rachel and Nadia stopped and waited for her to catch up!). I think Calla is going to think she is a big kid soon.

This evening the birthday celebration continued with some ice cream cake. Grandma, Grandpa and Mom-Mom came over for dessert and presents. Kelsey missed the whole thing because I put her to bed early, but Calla LOVED the ice cream cake. She kept asking for more and more, so Kim gave her some of hers and later on Calla said to everybody, "Is everyone done with their ice cream cake? Who has some for me?" Ha

Calla finally went to bed so I could play a rousing game of Settlers with the birthday boy. I didn't win.

Here are some pics:
Caleb and Calla, last summer

Caleb first meets Kelsey (also last summer)

Caleb and Corinne hanging out with Calla at the pool last August

Caleb came all the way from Pennsylvania for Calla's 2nd birthday!!

Caleb and the girls at Christmas

Caleb and the girls in May

We love you Uncle Caleb! He spent a long time playing on the floor with the girls this afternoon. We missed seeing him last year on his birthday, so it was nice to see him in person this year!

The Big Flood

Catching up....here's pics from our day in downtown Chicago!

below: the girls' first train ride! I know the girls aren't looking but I like this pic of Corinne:

look at Rin and the boos!

Haha I shared a seat with the stroller! You should have seen me hoisting this 35-pound piece of plastic up the steps onto this train.

Kelsey LOVED the train

Why wouldn't she? She was having so much fun

Calla and I

Things got silly.

The train was just hilarious

THE BEAN! We hit the bean towards the beginning of the day. Calla loved it

Ha I love how Calla's legs are crossed.

Rinnie and the kiddos

Me and the kiddos

A friendly stranger took our picture

Haha we ran into a segway tour....these people made Corinne and I laugh

Kelsey's first nap!

Corinne picked up the Congress Hotel.

Calla took this one for us! Not bad, huh?

Rin and Calla loved the fountain!

Us and that beast of a stroller

artsy pic by Rin

This was the family fun tent ....we couldn't keep Corinne out of there

Corinne provided free demonstrations

Arm-tricks

Fun foam stuff to play with

Walking through the city...Corinne calculated we walked 7.7 miles!

We stopped for a delicious little lunch at Corner Bakery

Posing on our walk. We were trying to get Calla to take a nap so she had her pacifiers.

We caught a kids' show at the Navy Pier

The girls took a little Thomas train ride at the Navy Pier

A view from the Pier

Two hot girls in a stroller

Checking out the boats

After our fun day, it's hard to bring up a sad subject. But here's some pics from the Big Flood:

YESTERDAY we woke up at 5am to inches of water in our basement. The amount of inches depended on where you stood in the basement, but it looked like our bed had landed in the middle of a river. What a disaster! Jonathan and I took our sleeping girls upstairs (where they promptly woke up, of course) and thankfully, with the help of Opa and four guy friends from church, the water declined, all the contents of our basement were moved upstairs or in the garage, and the carpet was ripped up.

The timing of the water could have been better. I was packing to leave for PA (Corinne and I thought we'd leave at around 1pm on Saturday), so there were two suitcases full of clothes, stacks of clothes on the floor waiting to go into suitcases, shoes out, hanging clothes half in the water, my jewelry bag on the floor, etc. Right now my laptop is in the process of being dried out so we are all praying that it works! I am very afraid of turning it back on....or, going to turn it on and it not actually turning on.

But the timing certainly could have been way worse - Corinne was there, and was a huge help with the girls. Plus it could have become dangerous if the water would have reached the electrical outlets. I am so thankful to God for protecting us! And very curious to discover His reason for "our flood." Everything happens for a reason, that's certainly not lost on Jonathan and I!

So far we've certainly discovered we have very helpful friends - especially the four guys who came over and worked for hours carrying stuff upstairs. It was so gracious of their wives to spare them. Jonathan was also invited to our friends Jeff and Brooke's house for dinner and to spend the night. Three girlfriends also split up some wet clothes to wash and dry.

Jonathan decided it'd probably be best for Corinne and I to leave as planned, since the girls were in the way and a complete distraction. I piled the van full of wet clothes and shoes and we left shortly before 1pm.

Our trip went really great! We made a stop at 3:30 for a snack and then again at 6:30 for dinner at Panera (yay). We drove into PA at around 12:45a.m. It went really well. Phew. Glad to have that over with!