Author: Hylie Woodhouse

For weeks Hylie has been talking about writing a book and giving it to the library.  She asked me to staple some pages together and she got busy writing a story and drawing the illustrations.  On Thursday afternoon we made our way to visit the library and Hylie couldn't wait to hand over her work.  She kept asking me if the library would put a "new" sticker on the spine like all of the other books when they first arrive.

The librarian on duty was extremely sweet and read Hylie's book  from cover to cover, complete with character voices.  Hylie was grinning ear to ear after Miss Jess finished reading and praising her creation.   When Hylie ran off to play I mentioned to Miss Jess that Hylie was hoping her book would get a "new" sticker placed on it.  She jumped up from her chair to make that happen and then placed the handmade book on the bookshelf. A few minutes later a mom browsing the shelves picked up Hylie's book and started reading it! I wish I had captured the look on Hylie's face when she saw someone reading her book!  She was over the moon!

As we were leaving the library,  Miss Jess let us know she's hopeful to see a sequel.

 Thank you,  MGPL for providing this sweet smile!

Front Door

I finally took the time to make side light curtains for our main entry-way so now you can't see into our broom closet, ha ha!

Here's what it looked like before:

It's nice to not have your vacuum cleaner and broom be the first thing to greet your guests!  Ha ha!  

But next up: painting the trim around the door...am I the only one whose to-do list continues to grow no matter how many projects I tackle?

I also got some silk hydrangeas and put together a new wreath.  I can't tell you how therapeutic creating and crafting is for me!

A Visit to the Shedd Aquarium

This month, the Shedd Aquarium opened its doors for all Illinois residents to come free-of-charge.  We got wind of that and decided to check this place out on Tuesday.  The only way we could fit the trip in was to go right after Hylie got home from school...which meant skipping nap time.  I was a little nervous!  But the girls loved every moment and were so well-behaved...the rest of the week was completely off, though.  Ha ha!

 When I asked Hylie if she wanted to pet the Sting Rays, she looked at me like I was insane.  "Don't they sting?"  But after I reassured her these Sting Rays wouldn't harm her and she saw everyone else completely enjoying the experience, she decided to give it a try and loved it!

 Eliana LOVED the penguins!

 Even though the museum was open to all Illinois residents, it wasn't super crowded.  These two had this submarine all to themselves--tons of buttons to push equals complete kid-paradise!

I kept Lillian strapped to me all day, but just before we left I sat her on the ledge to watch the fish up close.  SHE LOVED IT!  I felt bad that I didn't think to do it sooner!

We'll definitely be visiting again, it was amazing!

Trip to the Beach

The girls and I have made several trips to the beach this summer, but a few Saturdays ago, Dad got to come with us!

 Eliana cracks us up, we rarely can get a posed smile from her.  If we ask her to look at the camera and smile, this is usually what we get, ha ha!

Lillian Update

So a little over a week after Lillian turned 11 months, this little thing cut two teeth (one on the top and one on the bottom) and started scooting around and doing other tricks!

Lillian - 11 Months

At 11 months, Lillian is becoming quite the chatter box, she'll sit there and gab your ear off whether you're listening to her or not, ha ha!  She loves being carried, especially when it's in the carrier strapped to mom.  (Which is good, because when you're the third kid, you're in there A LOT!)  She pushes up from her tummy to a sitting position, can stretch like it's nobody's business, and continues to love being where the action is. 

This little thing LIVES TO EAT!  She is an amazing eater with a never-ending appetite!  Even though she is still all gums (that's right, no teeth at 11 months!) that does not stop her from gobbling down all the table food we give her.  And she's a little messy, too...

She's FINALLY holding her bottle on her own.  This skill took her awhile to figure out, but I think it's mostly because she loves being held, so if she refuses to hold the bottle, guess who is being held, right?

She's becoming quite the Mommy's girl and doesn't easily go to other folks, but every once in a while she's distracted enough to let mom have two free hands.

She's a little cuddle-bug, too.  Sometimes she'll fall asleep in my arms at nap time and I just can't let her go, especially if the house is quiet.  One of those times I noticed her little ear print on my arm when I finally decided to let her go and put her in her crib.

Lillian is also a little thumb sucker when she's tired.  The minute that night-time bottle comes out of her mouth, that thumb is inserted without missing a beat!

Our monthly photo shoots are getting trickier, she may not be mobile, but if I'm just three feet away from her and not holding her, she gets grumpy!

Still can't believe we'll be celebrating one year with her soon!  Boy, do we love you Lillian!

Happy Birthday, Geoff!

We celebrated the man of the house in the middle of September.  We had some friends join us for dinner on September 10th where Geoff chose the menu of Chicken Al'Alba and pudding for dessert.

Here he is singing along with everyone--I love how his mouth and Hylie's are almost identically shaped, ha ha!

Then on Wednesday, September 13th, we showered Geoff with some gifts to hang up in his new office (Geoff recently moved from cube life to an actual office!) along with some edible gifts (Geoff's favorite type of gift to give AND receive!)

We sure love you Geoff, you bend over backwards to provide for us and keep us laughing.  Here's to another wonderful year!