Candid-ly Speaking...

After all the wedding hoopla, I feel like it has been a really long time since I have devoted a few moments to taking pictures of my girls.

Well, in my photo-saturated sense of reality, a really long time actually adds up to a few days, but who's counting?

So, today, I share with you some shots of my lovelies...

Little Siblings...

So, the four of us were playing in the front room this evening, and I made some remark about having another baby. Tyler, as usual, balked at the idea. So, I turned to Sassy and this is how our conversation went.

Me: Sassy, would you like a little brother or sister?
Sassy: No!
Me: Aww, why not? Wouldn't it be fun to have a little brother?
Sassy: I dunno.
Me: Would you rather have a little brother or a little sister?
Sassy: ...A brudder.
Me: You would?!? That would be fun, wouldn't it?
Sassy: Yeah, and I could play wif him...

The conversation continued for a moment or two, and Tyler and I smiled at the fact that we had convinced Sassy, although very hesitant at first, that she would enjoy a new sibling.

Moments later, I was leaving the room, and Sassy turns to Ty and asks...

...If I get a new brudder, where will Little A go?

HA! We just convinced her to give her sister away, or so she thought. And she was totally in agreement.

I ♥ Chicago! & other ramblings...

My summer traveling is officially over. I'd like to send a huge thank you to Kelli and Randy, who gave me a fantastic reason to take yet another trip to Chicago this month.

Oh, and did I mention it was without my kids?

I missed those stinky bugs the 5 days I was gone, but it was soooooo nice to relax a little bit and enjoy the peace and quiet for a few moments here and there. Silence is a beautiful thing, let me tell you. Especially when you haven't heard it in 1184 days.

The wedding was fabulous and beautiful and breathtaking and fun. I can't believe they pulled it off in such a short amount of time. Being there, you would never, ever guess that this thing hadn't been in the works for a long time. It was so meant to happen now. They are so happy together!

I am relatively pleased with the pictures that I took. I mean, I could sit there and tear them apart for days if I allowed myself to, but I don't think I will do that. I think that what I captured is a good representation of the entire day, and I think that once I edit through them ( all 1758 of them), I can give them a finished package that they will be pleased with. If worse comes to worse, they can at least be at peace with their monetary investment. Giggle.

Could they have gotten better pictures from somewhere else? Absolutely. But, it will be more fun looking back at them and remembering that I was behind the camera...

...well, at least for me, it will be.

---

Oh, and you wanted to see a picture of my new hair, right? Well, here you go:



I am really liking it. Oh, and I am totally going to build a M.A.C. cosmetics studio in my basement and have a live-in make-up artist to make me pretty every day...

It's funny, because I posted this picture as my profile pic on facebook, and I swear, I got about 25 comments on how nice I looked. It made me sit back and think that maybe I really should put some more time and effort into getting ready each morning. I did feel pretty spectacular that day. I have friends who swear by getting all dolled up every morning. I may just have to try it and see...

---

My husband is a total nerd. We have been talking about some home improvement projects that we would like to take on to make our finished basement appear to be actually finished even better.

So, today I get an email from him with actual CATIA drawings of our options. Really? I mean, who has time for that?!?

---

Little A has a new favorite thing to do since I left. She has her tongue out constantly. She cracks up if you stick your tongue out to her. She totally does it for the reaction. She is seriously becoming quite the ham...

---

I can't believe how much I have slacked off on blogging this month. We have been so busy and gone so much of the time, but still... I'm not going to lie, I miss it a little! Does that make me weird?

---

Did anyone else watch The Bachelorette last night? Am I the only one who thought Ed was the sexiest.man.EVER? I swear, if Jillian didn't pick him, I was contemplating booking another flight to Chicago to track him down and proclaim my undying love. I kid, I kid...

...sort of.

Pray for Stellan!!

Just got back from Chicago this morning, started catching up on my blogs, and it's not good news for sweet Stellan. Please, please pray for him and his family.

Looks Can Be Deceiving...

She may appear to be sweet and innocent...

Dirty Birdies...

Sassy: Can my rest be over, mom?
Me: That's fine, but you are going to have to play quietly in your bedroom.
Sassy: Why?
Me: Because your sister is still sleeping, and I need to take a shower before work.
Sassy: But, I fink I'm a dirty birdy too, mom.
Me: Oh, and what does that mean?
Sassy: I fink I need to take a shower, too.
Me: Oh, do you?
Sassy: Um, yeah. And my dolly. She needs a shower, too.
Me: ((Thought bubble- Yeah for family togetherness...)) OK. Just this once...

Lawrence & Kansas City

This past week, Tyler landed a side-job in Lawrence painting the exterior of Lynzee's Grandma's house. He left Monday, and Lynzee and I decided to follow Tuesday after MDO with the girls for a little getaway through the weekend.

Wednesday, we took the girls to The Free State Brewing Company for lunch. They have delicious black bean quesadillas, and it's one of my favorite places to go when we are in Lawrence. After lunch, we drove to Wonderscope Children's Museum of Kansas City. I have to say, it was a bit run-down compared to some of the other children's museums I have visited, but the girls had a nice time. The had a hospital/health area, a tot spot called Small Wonders, a water-play room, a market/pizza shop, and an arts & crafts room.

Sassy giving LMB a hug in the Small Wonders room:



Little A playing in Small Wonders:



Sassy taking care of her baby is the "hopsital":



LMB and LuLu shopping at the market:



LuLu enjoying water-play:



Sassy & LuLu in the water area:



LMB in the water area:



Thursday, we headed for Overland Park and had lunch at red robin. Then, we went to the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead, a free attraction for the kids. It was pretty fabulous. Beautiful land, well-kept, lots of fun things to do... I would go back there any time! The girls enjoyed spending time outside, smelling the flowers, sliding down the barn slide, feeding the baby goats with bottles, milking the pretend cow, and fishing.

Sassy gearing up for the farm:



Sassy and the pretty flowers:



Sassy and LMB checking out the fish pond:



Little A, happy as a clam in her stroller:



LuLu exploring the little children's garden:



Sassy and Nana feeding the goats:



LuLu taking a turn on the barn slide:



Sassy milking the pretend cow:



All 4 girls chilling out on the cow bench:



Sassy extremely excited to feed the baby goat:



The feeding:



Sassy on her pony, Cowboy:



Sassy and LMB peering at the bait:



Lynzee helping Sassy fish for the first time:



Thursday evening, Lynzee and I went to Z's to have our hair done. I was really unsure about what to have done, but I decided to take the plunge, if you will, and chop it again. It's also a lot richer in color. I will post a picture as soon as I can.

Friday, Lynzee and I took the girls to KC for the day. Tom'a parents offered to watch the girls so that Lynzee and I could have the day to ourselves. We went to the plaza and did some (mostly) window shopping. I found Kelli a "bachelorette" gift, or whatever you want to call it. Technically, she had her bachelorette party already. We'll call it a pre-wedding gift. We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. We may or may not have made a stop at Exile to see Dr. Dave. It was a nice, relaxing day. After we picked the girls up, we met one of my old college roommates for dinner. Alex hadn't seen Sassy since she was 5 weeks old, and has never met Little A, so that was nice.

Saturday, we took the kids to the Crown Center. We enjoyed lunch at Fritz's Railroad restaurant, where instead of servers, a train brings your food to the table after you phone it in. It was a lot of fun for the kids. We went to Kaleidoscope as well. Unfortunately, Sassy and Little A didn't get to enjoy very much of it, as this was right in the middle of Little A's tumultuous fit.

Sassy and Lynzee's niece E waiting outside of Fritz's:



Little A waiting for Fritz's:



Sassy showing off her cool train engineer hat:



Little A stripping off her hat:



Sassy waiting as the train dropped our food:



Some of the pictures from Kaleidoscope that I managed with Little A in one arm:






Ty finished the painting job Saturday. Sunday, we spent the day, just the four of us. We took the girls to lunch and a movie, and then to The Toy Store, a really neat toy store in Lawrence. Sassy picked out a Corolle Les Trendies Doll:



Little A chose a photo cube by Amazing Baby:



We made it home, safe and sound last night. I am trying to enjoy my 72 hours of home-based bliss before I hop on a plane to Chicago for the wedding. Stay tuned...

11 Months...

...and 2 days! I CANNOT BELIEVE Little A will be a year old in less than a month!

Little A celebrated 11 months this past Saturday, and I can officially say it was the most difficult one we have had with her in her entire 11 months of existence. I still don't know exactly what the culprit was- she was fine one minute, and then proceeded to scream and write for almost 2 1/2 hours to the point of nearly taking her to the emergency room for fear of intestinal torsion or something...

Maybe is was teething? Gas? The fact that (in retrospect) I think her little toe may have been getting irritated in her shoe? Just being generally overwhelmed and hitting her breaking point? Not sure. NOT FUN.

But, this is supposed to be a positive post, right??

Little A, you are getting to be such a big girl! You are so sweet-natured, and you get compliments all the time on what a happy baby you are. Just like your big sister was at this age, almost anything can cause you to break into a huge, toothy grin, and we ♥ it!

You LOVE saying "Hi" and waving to everyone. You have really started waving to just about anyone who will look over the past 2 weeks... those little waves aren't just for Mommy and Daddy anymore.

You are quick! You can tear across the house in no time flat! You have pulled up a few times onto furniture, and I have a sneaking suspicion that more of this will emerge any day now!

We thought you were a big time splasher in the sink, but forget that! Now that you take big girl baths with Sassy, watch out! You think it's the greatest.thing.ever to play in the bath with big sister. You are very much enjoying your elephant towel that you got for Christmas, too.

You are trying more and more new foods each day. Recently, you have starting taking bites of the banana straight out of the peel! You have also tried cantaloupe, bread, bagels, yogurt, cheese, and chicken. So far, you have liked almost everything you have been given!

Little A, you are Mommy's sweet little girl, and I am going to treasure the next 29 days of your babyhood. Happy 11 months!

Chicago

Oh, what a trip we had!! We left Friday, July 3rd at about 4:30 AM. We always make a stop is Des Moines- it is about the halfway point, and our old college roommate still lives there. As a spur-of-the-moment decision, Ashley decided to hop in her car and follow us to the Chi for the annual 4th of July party before heading to visit her mom in Ohio! Who hoo!!

We were basically thrown into the 4th of July madness as soon as we arrived, getting the house ready and all (after everyone stopped ogling the children like they were the last ones left on earth, of course). The 4th of July was a ton of fun, as always. For our family, it's practically bigger than Christmas! Well, maybe not bigger, per se, but it's the one time of year where you are sure to see everyone who is anyone to us!

The girls had adorable matching sundresses from Wal-Mart this year- Sassy's was red and Little A's was blue. Here is Sassy showing off her 4th of July attire:



Sassy sitting on Uncle Mikey's (aka Uncle Monkey's) shoulders:



Me and one of my besties, Miranda:



We also celebrated my cousin Kaitlin's high school graduation. She is going to Illinois State next year for communications. She is as smart as a whip and super funny. Oh, and she's also drop-dead gorgeous, she just doesn't know it yet. Ah, to be 18 again... not that I was EVER DDG...



Here is a pic of the girls. Kelli and I are only 4 months apart, and we grew up like sisters. Kait came along 9 years later, and the rest is history!



Here's one of Ash and I. It was SO great to actually be able to spend more than a half hour with her in passing. Suffice to say, we did a lot of catching up!



Here's one of Little A and my dad, affectionately known as Graycop by my girls! Oh, you need the story behind that one? OK. We used to refer to him as grandpa, and Sassy would sort of say grandpop when she first started talking. Well, then we referred to him as grandpop, and she started calling him Graycop. We thought it was hilarious, it totally stuck, and now he will be Graycop forever more!



Fast-forward to later in the evening... it is complete tradition that several people get thrown in the pool, fully clothed, every year. It's just a fact of life. It is how you are "christened" into our family. Several of the guys make it their mission to traumatize various party-goers. The only people I have ever seen spared are the very young, the very old, and the miserably pregnant. After many years, they have gotten it down to a science. Someone works on making sure that cell hones and wallets are removed from pockets well in advance. Then, the sabotage begins.

This year, Kelli's fiance Randy heard that he may be a victim to the heinous crime, so he decided to cry Uncle and jump in himself. Then, he threw Kelli in. Well, the guys decided that it didn't count unless he was thrown in, so off he went. Here is the aftermath:



The following day, we just laid by the pool, ate leftovers, and relaxed. The sun actually made an appearance, unlike the previous day, and we had a nice time. Sassy terrorized everyone with the squirt bottle that Uncle Joe gave her to play with:



Little A enjoyed some bonding time with Uncle Mikey:



Here is Kelli and Randy's adorable Labradoodle puppy, Morty:



We spent the next few days staying with Kelli and Randy at their condo in Rolling Meadows. Monday, Ty and I took the girls to Woodfield Mall and did a little shopping. Tuesday, we drove up to Grayslake and spent the day with my parents. Here are a couple of cute pictures I got of Sassy in Auntie Kelli's yard:





Wednesday, Kait and I went with Kelli to look for a wedding dress. She and Randy moved up the wedding from next May to July 25th of this year due to a combination of health concerns and financial reasons!! We are so pumped, but it is crazy tyring to put a wedding together in 2 1/2 weeks. More to come on that front... Thursday, we went to The Motherland Ikea:



We did wedding stuff all night Thursday evening. Friday, we packed up the car, said our good-byes, and headed to Rockford to spend the day with Miranda and the gang. We took the kiddos to Sappora Playworld and got a few cute pics... the twins are now officially bigger than Little A:





Miranda made us some fajitas and her world-famous guacamole. YUM! We turned in early, and let ourselves out the door at 4:30 AM. After a long car ride, a horrible pit stop at a blazing hot Cracker Barrel with no working air conditioner, a subsequent free meal, and listening to The Little Mermaid infiltrating the front seat 672 times, we arrived back home, safe and sound. Ah, Kansas... There's no place like home!


So, now we leave town again, we jet-setters, we... See you all next week!