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| Our handmade cupcakes with plastic dinos on top. |
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| Daddy was on Madelyn patrol- she loved the gym! |
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| The Birthday Girl |
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| If only you could hear the roar that goes with this dino face! |
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| Jumping fun |
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| Family shot |
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Zoe's Birthday Party
We decided to have Zoe's 5th birthday party at The Little Gym in Thousand Oaks. She had been to one last year and really enjoyed it, plus it is super easy for the parents (me.) We spent the days leading up to her party buying and making decorations and creating cupcakes. It was so much fun to share in her excitement! We hadn't had a "friends" party in three years, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't remember the one when she was two years old. The theme for this year's party... DINOSAURS!! (big surprise, I know!)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
East Coast Trip
It has been almost a month since we've been home from our trip, and I am finally getting around to posting about our experiences. I think I kept putting it off because we did so many things, saw so many people, and took so many pictures- the thought of trying to organize it all for the blog was a little overwhelming. So here's a quick rundown of our two weeks:
Flying with the girls went better than I ever expected it would. After much deliberation over booking a non-stop flight or one with a layover, we went with the layover. I'm not sure I would do it that way next time, but it worked and it was nice to have a little break to stretch our legs and let the girls walk around. Buying a seat for Madelyn and having her fly in her carseat was the best move we made- totally worth the extra 300 bucks. I really don't see how we could have done it otherwise. We also used this neat little dodad called the traveling toddler (thank you Andrea!!) that allowed us to attach Madelyn's car seat (with her in it) to a small rolling suitcase. It was a breeze rolling her through the airport and up and down the aisles of the plane. The only hang up was attaching and detaching it at security and when loading and unloading- but holding up a few strangers was worth the value in the end. On the way back it was just the girls and I which was a bit more challenging. To say I was nervous would be the year's biggest understatement. Luckily, it went really well-not that I'm interested in doing it again anytime soon. Zoe and Madelyn did amazingly well adjusting to the time zones, sleeping in different houses every few nights, and meeting lots of new people. These girls are pro travelers!
Highlights from our trip:
* splashing in the pool
* playing on the swingset
* Mt. Gretna Beach and Lake
* Lake Tobias Animal Park
* Dutch Wonderland
* Hershey's Chocolate World
* eating Lancaster County food
* visiting with aunts, uncles, cousins, & great-grandparents
* seeing old friends from high school and college
* watching my daughters bond with their grandparents
Thank you to all of our hosts who went out of their way to make our stay fun and comfortable. Thank you to all our families and friends who visited with us. We love you all and look forward to the next time we can be together!
Flying with the girls went better than I ever expected it would. After much deliberation over booking a non-stop flight or one with a layover, we went with the layover. I'm not sure I would do it that way next time, but it worked and it was nice to have a little break to stretch our legs and let the girls walk around. Buying a seat for Madelyn and having her fly in her carseat was the best move we made- totally worth the extra 300 bucks. I really don't see how we could have done it otherwise. We also used this neat little dodad called the traveling toddler (thank you Andrea!!) that allowed us to attach Madelyn's car seat (with her in it) to a small rolling suitcase. It was a breeze rolling her through the airport and up and down the aisles of the plane. The only hang up was attaching and detaching it at security and when loading and unloading- but holding up a few strangers was worth the value in the end. On the way back it was just the girls and I which was a bit more challenging. To say I was nervous would be the year's biggest understatement. Luckily, it went really well-not that I'm interested in doing it again anytime soon. Zoe and Madelyn did amazingly well adjusting to the time zones, sleeping in different houses every few nights, and meeting lots of new people. These girls are pro travelers!
Highlights from our trip:
* splashing in the pool
* playing on the swingset
* Mt. Gretna Beach and Lake
* Lake Tobias Animal Park
* Dutch Wonderland
* Hershey's Chocolate World
* eating Lancaster County food
* visiting with aunts, uncles, cousins, & great-grandparents
* seeing old friends from high school and college
* watching my daughters bond with their grandparents
Thank you to all of our hosts who went out of their way to make our stay fun and comfortable. Thank you to all our families and friends who visited with us. We love you all and look forward to the next time we can be together!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Swim Lessons
It's swimming lesson time again! Zoe is progressing really well this year (after a bit of winter regression) and she's having lots of fun. Her only obstacle is her self-confidence. My challenge is occupying a busy little 14 month old who wants to head straight into the pool, while trying to watch all of Zoe's new skills. Great job kiddo! We are proud of you!
PS. Darryl loved giving his new lens a try while snapping these pix of our little fishy!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Walking and Talking
This little girl has done so much growing up since her 1st birthday! She started walking 10-12 steps at 13 months, and now she is a speedy little biped!
The uneven beach made her a little more wobbly than usual, but she loved having the wide open space to explore her newly learned skill!
Madelyn also had a language EXPLOSION- here are the words she is saying now:
up, hi, bye, go, no, moo, neigh, baa, apple, help (today she even said helper), mama, dada, ball, duck, hot, hat, ack (for quack)
She also makes the "oo-oo" sound for monkey, makes the elephant sound, says her version of "meow" for cat, and roars like a dino!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Mugu Beach
There are some moments that I wish I could bottle up and keep forever. Playing at the beach today with my beautiful family was definitely one of them.
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| My beach babies |
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| Zoe and Darryl busy building sand castles. |
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| Chilly girl=snuggle time for Mommy! |
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| Maddie loved having a wide open beach to run around on! |
The Numbers
2 kids
2 parents (only one on the way back-yikes!)
1 convertible car seat
1 booster seat
1 umbrella stroller
1 umbrella stroller
3 carry-on backpacks
4 suitcases
8 hours flight time
3,000 miles
Being back on the East Coast for the first time in 15 months and seeing all our families- totally worth it!
** Details and pictures coming soon!**
** Details and pictures coming soon!**
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