Vacation

This year we stayed local and went to a magnificent house on Tilghman Island, right out side of St. Michaels. We felt...at home. It was perfect. The kids got to fish and crab off of the dock and the amenities were amazing. The house had a beautiful pool, screened in porch and playground on the property. We were able to go boating, tubing and crabbing on Pa's boat. We were pretty much sold that we will be moving to the shore one day...and we are counting down until then!

Ema and Pa had a HUGE tub in the master suite where Ema bathed the kids each night.

The kids loved going out onto the dock to fish and look at the crabs... although it gave me anxiety to be out there on a body of water with all them.

Claire was a natural!

We were all together...all of the time. It was such a great trip. 

This was day 1 of matching outfits that Ema provided... finished with new hair accessories!

Ema and Pa had a surprise each day for the kids, and one of those was a princess tea party. The girls LOVED it! They got to drink out of real tea cups, eat cookies, and dress up in new dresses!

Of course Claire got the bee dress.

another amazing surprise were luminaries! Pa bought one for each grandchild, and daddy... who is as much as a grandchild as the rest! 

Each luminary was lit in honor of a grandchild, and they danced around when it was their turn, singing and clapping as they watched it take flight. This was the coolest part of the week by far.

The girls were wooed by Uncle Shu and his guitar... just look at her!

And the infamous matching outfit photo session...

Can't believe I caught this!

Can't believe how big these kids are!

We are already looking forward to next summers vacation, with another grandchild to add to the mix!!!

Two!

Happy birthday to my favorite girl. Wow, two. Already? Boy oh boy has time flown. I am unbelievably happy with the toddler i get to call my daughter. I have never met such a sweet, kind, caring little girl. We are entering the world of "no", "mine" and "I do it myself"... I am praying my little bean stays as sweet as ever during this transition to true toddlerhood. Most of all, I hope she instills her kind heart in her brother. What a wonderful day we had...mommy and daddy gave claire a new easel to practice her beautiful artwork. She had a visit from her best friend Leila, who brought the most adorable outfit from gymboree!, cupcakes and momma a latte! We had dinner at ema and pa's house and went to Jimmie cone for dessert with Liam and Lillie, whom ema dressed as woody and princesses! Grammy surprised Claire and made the trip to give her a dumbo! If you know anything about my girl, she LOVES dumbo. What a wonderful birthday she had, and we are looking forward to celebrating her big day again at her fairy birthday party!!

Potty training

New special big girl and boy underpants from ema and pa!!

Ghetto sprinkler

Ema took out the hose for a good ol' fashioned ghetto sprinkler... It started with wet clothes and turned into a nakey party.

Vacation!

Finally... We made it to vacation, and I don't think we will go anywhere else ever again. This is heaven.

Test run

We had a wonderful family reunion today... We drove about half way to where we will be vacationing this week, to sandy point state park. We left at lunch time testing out a nap time car ride... We succeeded, a little late. When Claire finally fell asleep we were about 10 minutes from our destination. Hopefully she will be this peaceful for our drive on vacation!

Sweet

My sweet girl and her loving hands... Each time her little brother cries she will tell him it's okay... "okay wyditt" it melts my heart. She absolutely loves when his eyes are open and she can talk to him. I am looking forward to his response when she dotes over him.

Two year molars

...are the worst thing ever to strike our family. I wouldn't wish them on anyone! Claire is FINALLY feeling like herself again after THREE weeks of agony. And that was only the bottom teeth! After we brought Wyatt home Claire and daddy were hit with a stomach bug, then she got roseola- a virus which causes 3 days of really high fever followed by a rash. And on top of all that, she was teething horribly. We are finally past it and ready to move on ... Vacation here we come!