June...

Where has June gone?!

My inner California girl is tricked every year by the gray, cloudy skies of June and as I wait for summer temperatures to arrive June seems to slip away. (although, this June has been fairly decent AND we were in California for 10 days!)

Here's a little bit of life from this month!

Clara and I went to the Portland Ballet to watch our friends Annie & Hope perform. We enjoyed dinner out together and the performance. Clara's friend Natalie was there too, so the girls had fun watching the dancers together. Afterward we waited to see Hope & Annie. When they walked out of the dressing rooms doors, Clara and Natalie ran over and gave them big hugs. It was very sweet! I was thankful for a fun night out with her.

Following our night at the ballet Clara wore her ballerina dress every chance she got. She didn't hesitate to head outside to help Matt in the yard. Anytime we are at home it is her outfit of choice!

Maggie is our little eater! She has a radar for snacks & food and will crawl towards the kitchen when she sees me head in there. She continues to try a variety of foods. And now she has 2 bottom teeth that help her out! I think she was enjoying some beans here!

I just love her little smile!

 This photo is evidence that we have had some sunny days and that they've even been warm enough to get out the pool and water table. In this picture Clara is playing hairdresser. She loves to get Maggie's hair wet and pretend to cut and style it. Maggie likes the water so much that she doesn't seem to mind!

(Note the tutu under the apron!) 

Clara all dressed and ready to go pick strawberries! We picked almost 10 lbs. Hoping to head back for raspberries & blueberries!

More to come on our California trip....

Drawers, cabinets & crumbs

13 months.... The age (at least with our two girls) where their little world begins to rapidly expand, curiosity leads them to explore the unknown rooms, cabinets, drawers and and place anything that is smaller than their fist into their mouth. Lately it is a constant battle to keep any and every crumb, dirt, scrap of paper off the floor.  It is as though Maggie has a sixth sense about where these items might be and immediately gravitates there! She is cruising along the furniture & crawling at rapid speeds!

Clara at 14 months

Maggie at 12 months

 I love looking at pictures of the two of them at the same ages. It is fun to see their similarities and differences in appearance, as well as personality!  Thankful for these two!

Celebrating Maggie

Just a few pictures from Maggie's little birthday party! I was planning on having the party inside, but much to my surprise it was a beautiful day! The temperatures were in the 70's and 80's that weekend. (A friend reminded me that the weekend that Maggie was born was a beautiful one, too. So maybe she just brings the sunshine!) We were able to take the party outside. The kids brought swimsuits and we set up the water table and sprinklers. Matt grilled and we enjoyed a great afternoon.

A little pre-party picture of Matt and the girls.

Natalie and Clara came out pretending to be firefighters in snowsuits and raincoats (yes, it was 75 degrees at the time). They  ran around putting out the fires in the yard. It was quite entertaining! They have such great imaginations!

Our friends, Ben & Molly (and Will, who should be making an appearance soon!)

Lily, standing by, watching the "firefighters" work

Eating some birthday cheerios

After a quick wardrobe change, these two were ready for the sprinklers.  Here, Clara has them "warming up". I don't think Clara ever actually ran through. Natalie, however, was up to the challenge!

Maggie loves the water table and was happy to have Natalie playing along with her!

Out came the swim suit (after the dress was soaked!)

Fitz & Laurel hanging out with the birthday girl

These three looked so cute all lined up on the picnic bench patiently awaiting cupcakes & ice cream.

Maggie was ready for action the moment we set the cupcake in front of her!

Totally focused

The girls on Maggie's actual birthday. Clara wanted to wear her pink dress to church to match Maggie's. Sweet girls.

I think we could have just gotten balloons for Maggie for her birthday and she would have been totally content! I love her face here.

Love these girls!

Happy 1st Birthday, Maggie!

Happy 1st Birthday, Maggie!  I can't believe our little baby is already a year old! We have been so blessed by this sweet girl. She is a gentle, smiley, curious, happy girl.  Her smile and laugh melt my heart. She dearly loves and pays close attention to her sister.

2 weeks

3 weeks

3 months

5 months

8 months

11 months

Birthday Celebration #1 with Grandma B!

No holding back when it comes to her first cupcake!

A few notes about Maggie at one year old:

Sleeps: 7:30pm - 6:30 or 7am, sleeps through most nights, takes 2 naps

Moving: Crawls everywhere (quickly!), cruises along the furniture and will walk holding hands

Eats: Loves cheerios (of course!), bananas, pears, prunes, beans, eggs, rice, pasta, applesauce, muffins, and as of today, cupcakes!

Plays: She will play with anything that her sister is playing with at the time! Blocks, farm house, trains, dolls, Little People & animals

Favorite books:  Shake a Leg, Moo, Baa, La, La, La, Smiles

Teeth count: 0

She is such a joy. What a good and perfect gift from God. So thankful to be her mom!

Morning Walks

About once a week Clara will join Matt in walking JB. She is usually still in her pjs or some sort of princess dress. This particular day she had a nightgown, silk dog pants, polka-dotted sweatshirt, her converse & of course, a necklace. She cracks me up.  I always love to watch them as they head down the street together.

Upon arriving home she always launches into telling about JB's adventures on the walk or what they saw.  She is quite observant and quick to share with great enthusiasm. (As shown below!)

Passing on Traditions

The week before Easter our dear friends Sharon & Rich invited Clara & Maggie over for a special Easter project.  Our friends Brooke, Natalie & Lily were also invited.  Natalie is Clara's age & Lily is 6 months older than Maggie.  Sharon told the girls to bring their aprons, as things might get a little messy. Clara was very excited!

When we arrived, it felt as though we were on a Food Network show! Sharon had everything prepped and ready to go! She began by telling the girls that when her kids were young they would always invite some friends over on Palm Sunday and make these special decorated cookies.  She had a magazine with pictures and instructions to show the girls. It was so cute to see them studying the pictures and listening intently to Sharon!

The girls drew their own shapes on paper, then we cut them out and traced the outside on the special shortbread-like dough to create the cookie. They were excited to get to make such a big cookie. Then the waiting began....baking & cooling feels like an eternity to a 3 & 1/2 year old! Luckily, there was a lot to do! Mr. Rich took the girls outside to explore a bit, had a little Easter egg hunt (mostly just playing with a big pile of eggs!), and then the girls returned to the house to play with some toys.

Then the fun began! The frosting & candy decorations were a big hit!  The girls worked on getting their cookies just right (which meant piling candy on top until the moms cut them off!).

Sharon with the girls and their finished products! (For some reason, I can't ever get both girls looking at the camera with eyes open at the same time! At least Sharon is looking!)

Brooke & Lily watching as the girls got started.

Maggie playing with some of Sharon & Rich's toys

I'm grateful for friendships and traditions like these that are shared and passed on. Memories like these are not soon forgotten!

Sunny Monday

Sunshine makes any Monday a little better! A picnic makes it even better!

A couple weeks ago Clara wanted to surprise Matt with a picnic lunch.  She brought down the quilt and attempted to get it all set up herself. When he got home she was out laying on the blanket waiting to eat her lunch.

Following lunch we had some cookies & of course, Matt had to do the old "what's in your ear" trick, that still brings amazement and great joy.  I love the look on her face! Priceless.

Clara says, "It's a miracle!"