Lillian Makes Us Laugh

We enjoy taking advantage of the nice weather and dine outside. One time Lillian was convinced a bug flew up her nose during dinner.  Ever since, this is how you can find her when we're outside eating. 

Lillian seems to work well under pressure.  She reigns supreme with "5 Seconds Game":

I hope she's always able to keep her quick wit!

We Can't Keep up with Kyron Now

 

On July 12th, Kyron officially became a walker and life has never been the same since!

This is the typical state of our house while I'm preparing dinner.  Kyron LOVES to open all the drawers, pull everything out, and scatter as much as possible on the floor.  I know there are child safety locks that keep kids from creating such chaos, but I really don't want to drill holes in all of our drawers and doors, so I'm hopeful this phase won't last too much longer!

I was working at the stove when Kyron worked on getting himself into this position.  I was waiting for him to start hollering because I thought for sure he wasn't going to be able to get himself out, but I was wrong!  After her realized he wasn't able to go back into the cupboard any further, he figured out to maneuver himself out all on his own!

Kyron has figured out the benefits of climbing up onto the table before mom has completely cleared the table.  Notice he had to take one bite out of each pancake so he could call dibs on every single one...

Recently, Kyron has also been very helpful in organizing my pantry and kitchen

Every once in a while I'll find Kyron bent over checking out the world from a different perspective.

Sometimes it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who can't seem to keep up with Kyron.  He can't even keep up with himself on some days!

Eliana's Perfect Day - Take 2

 Needless to say, Eliana was deserving of a second run of her perfect day.  We pulled it off on July 4th and thankfully, it went off with no trips to the ER.

There may have been no ER trips, but there were some injuries from the day before.  We celebrated the 4th of July on Friday, July 3rd and did sparklers with the girls...Eliana was not smiling like this last night when she touched the hot part of the extinguished sparkler.

The girls were all pretty excited to paint their favorite Pokemon characters

Eliana was VERY excited to have an obstacle course.  Since it was a nice day outside, Geoff started setting up an outdoor course so he could include some fun water obstacles but Eliana squashed that idea right away, she was NOT going to be sweaty on her perfect day.  So to the basement we went!

Homemade pizza was the dinner of choice

Eliana had fun making a smiley face on her meal

I can't remember what inspired this dessert, but the girls LOVED making cone treats with fruit, chocolate, sprinkles, but most important:

WHIPPED CREAM!

Here's to an injury-free perfect day!

COVID-19 Continues

It's crazy that these kiddos stayed at home for three solid months.  When Hylie and Eliana had a dentist appointment in early June, we piled in the car and once the kids realized where we were headed they screamed, "You mean we're actually going in PUBLIC?!"

After three months of working from home, Geoff recently started going back into the office.  We sure enjoyed having him home--joining us for lunch, being around to celebrate little moments, and being able to sneak in a quick squeeze in the middle of the day.  However, we always did a double take when he came down in his typical work attire.  Welcome to the world of zoom video calls!

My calling at church is teaching the 7 and 8 year-olds with Suzanne Saatkamp.  We miss seeing our kiddos and have tried staying in touch with them in different ways.  This last Sunday we decided to deliver cookies to everyone in our class and asked the kids to prepare an "obstacle course" with sidewalk chalk so we could have a fun way to approach their door when we brought the goodies.  It was wonderful spending time with Suzanne and seeing our kids' smiling faces.

Working out in the yard has brought me much relief from the day-to-day challenges.  Flowers recharge me, and these tulips brightened my days so beautifully!

I ripped out all the bushes around the back patio and planted a garden in its place.  So far my little bunny fence has done its job!

Todd's Mini-Me

Recently, Geoff's Dad sent us a picture of Todd as a baby to see if we noticed any similarities--we were floored with how much Kyron looks like his uncle!

Instead of using one of those 'aging apps'--we can get a real glimpse into Kyron's future:

Well, I guess this is what's in store for Kyron should he experience quarantine and working from home for three months...

Piano Recital at Grandma's

Grandma held a family recital for the kiddos.  Everyone seemed pretty excited for the chance to participate and they all did a fantastic job!

Trip to Pennsylvania

I've always looked forward to time with family, but this trip to PA in June was especially wonderful and very much needed.  Life in lockdown was wearing me down so this change of pace was delightful.  Geoff packed up all his work stuff and was able to work from Pennsylvania, it was a treat to spend time with him in the evenings instead of being separated for a whole week.

The kids were ESPECIALLY excited to play with the cousins.  Playtime did not disappoint!  The minute Dean and Andrea's boys came over, the kids were on a mission to pack in as much as possible.  Hylie and Braddock were attached at the hip, building lego creations, doing poptropica on the computer, and making crazy paper creations--and guess who didn't get one snapshot of their fun?!

Kyron tried Grandpa's swing for the first time.  Right after I stopped filming his experience, he started giggling like crazy, but soon after became pretty leery about everything.  After we got him off, he definitely preferred the traditional swings to the spinning swing, ha!

With all the quarantining, I was wondering how Kyron would warm up to being around people he didn't remember.  For the most part, he did a pretty good job being with others and not just his mama.

Cousins were always available to get some giggles out of Kyron.

This little girl LOVED "riding like the wind" on Grandpa's motor bike.

Summer isn't complete without a S'more (in my humble opinion)

While we were there, my Mom celebrated her birthday.  I was so happy to be with her for the occasion.  It felt so good to prepare her dinner and give her a little bit of time off from dishes.  Dean and Andrea's family came over early to create this epic birthday greeting on the driveway.  Our girls were thrilled to help them out with the project.

We also headed to Raccoon State Park and had a BLAST playing in the sand and cooling of in the water.

This little boy was in HEAVEN!

Kyron wasn't too sure about floating in the water--he didn't last too long, but you couldn't get him away from the sand!

Singing to the Birthday Girl!

The girls pitched a fit when it was time to head back to Chicago.  Hylie bawled when we told her that no, it wasn't an option to move into Grandma and Grandpa's basement.  For one blessed week, life felt normal.  It was glorious.  Thank you for the wonderful time, Mom and Dad.