Hylie's 4th Birthday

Look who turned four today!

Hylie enjoyed turning one year older and getting spoiled by her friends and family.

Grandma and Grandpa surprised Hylie with her very own princess castle!  It was sweet watching Hylie and Eliana play together inside this mini-palace and at one point, Hylie was so excited to read to Eliana while they were in their new cozy quarters.

Hylie waited all day for the planned events to take place.  We had our neighbor friends over for dinner and cake and then Hylie finally got to open gifts...just before bed!  Ha ha!  The poor thing just had a few minutes with all of her new goods before she had to call it a night.  She certainly is looking forward to playing with everything tomorrow!

 I was pretty excited at trying my hand at this rose/ombre cake.  I like how it turned out for the most part...

 but believe me, it wasn't impressive from all angles!  I don't know what to blame more, the warm weather or my poor decorating skills that caused all the sliding and sagging, ha ha!

 Hylie 'posing' by her number 4 poster.

 A room full of people, and no one pointed out that I put the "4" candle in backwards!  ha ha!

 Eliana definitely enjoyed Hylie's menu tonight!

 Hylie trying out her new ballet shoes.

 In addition to all her gifts, we also gave Hylie one of my favorite childhood toys that Grandma has kept safe all these years: A Barbie Fashion Head where you do her hair and make-up.

 She just keeps growing and staying in the 90th percentile!

How we love you, Hylie! We so enjoy your fun, spunky, curious, loving, observant, thoughtful and helpful self!

Botanical Gardens

The girls and I got to go to Chicago's Botanical Gardens with a friend, Marcia Johnson, from church.  The garden had a butterfly exhibit which was a total hit with Hylie.

Dining Room Chairs

So, technically, I shouldn't be posting this yet because the dining room chair project isn't done...but I decided to celebrate the half-way point.

This week I finished four of the eight dining room chairs--and found out just how time consuming this project really is!  Each chair takes a little over seven hours of work to complete.  I told Geoff I wish we had eight tables and one chair!  I've found that I enjoy painting large, flat surfaces over skinny, spindly things--so yes, when you look closely at these chairs, you'll find drip marks and brush strokes.  But despite the flaws and imperfections, I'm grateful to say that I do love how they turned out!

BEFORE

Then I...

sanded the seat,




















applied 3 coats of wood stain,






















sanded and primed the back and legs,




















painted one of the two coats,

and then once the second coat of paint was applied: Voila! THE BEAUTIFUL AFTER! 

Only four more chairs (aka about 30 hours) to go!

30 Weeks

We had another ultra-sound today and got a special look at the baby.  This little one looks sweeter than ever...and bigger!  The doctor let me know the head is measuring four weeks ahead and the baby is almost 4 1/2 pounds.  He didn't tell me how much a baby normally weighed at 30 weeks, so I, of course, went home and looked it up--they average just under 3 lbs.  Sometimes I think it's better to not know certain details, right?

When Hylie saw this picture, she was convinced it is a boy: because the baby doesn't have any hair, ha ha!

Eliana's Stepping Out!

While we were in PA, Eliana basked in a large audience and showed off some mad walking skills.  She still chooses to crawl as her main mode of transportation, but we're getting closer!

Pinball Date

While at Grandma Camp, Geoff and I got to head out one afternoon-KID-FREE!  We enjoyed some time at a local arcade.

Geoff tried his hand at the "Hercules" pinball machine, the game was so huge it used a cue ball!

Geoff in his element.

After watching Geoff in action on some of these super complex pinball machines, I told him he no longer could claim he was not a multi-tasker!  Ha ha!

Thanks for the fun time out, Mom and Dad!

GRANDMA CAMP!

Last week our family headed to Pennsylvania so the girls could experience Grandma and Grandpa Camp for the first time.  Boy, was it an epic week!  Grandma and Grandpa packed in tons of crafts, activities, sweets, and surprises.  The kids were constantly on the go and always eager about each event.  We had oodles of fun and made a ton of memories with family.

CRAFT TIME

Tool Boxes, Tie-Dye Shirts, Sand Painting, Humane Society Service Project

Grandma reading a story about each person doing their part to make the world a better place.  We then dove into making items for the Humane Society.

ACTIVITIES

Movies (not pictured), Lawn Games, Grandpa's Swing, Water Activities, Cook-out, Mini-Golf, Swimming, Build-A-Bear, and Pinata

Getting the hearts ready to put in their stuffed animals

Filling Rainbow Dash with fluff

 Giving Rainbow Dash a bath

Grandma stepped in to finish the job!

FAMILY TIME

 Bridger and Eliana

 Eliana got into her cousin's bag and started trying things on for size, boy was she proud of herself!  We were waiting to see if the under-roos would ever make it on her head...but she stopped at draping them on her arms.  Ha ha!

 Hylie and Braddock

 Pap Pap and Great-Grandma

Grandpa playing with Eliana's "little piggies".  When he'd finish one foot, she would offer him her other!

Everyone was exhausted at the end of each wonderful day.  Hylie would be so tired she wouldn't even realize she rolled off her bed!

Grandma and Grandpa, thank you so much for a delightful and memorable week!  We loved each and every second of the fun!