It's 50 degrees and raining outside. Fall weather is officially upon us and I still have a lot of summer fun to document here on the blog in order to get caught up. I can't say I mind... looking over these sunshiny photos is doing my heart good on a gloomy day. My blog updates my get fewer and farther between, but I refuse to let it go. This little corner of the internet has become a keepsake for my family and therapy for this sappy mommy who can't come to grips with how quickly it's all flying by. Here's the second half of our summer at a glance...
We were having such a great time celebrating the 4th of July that I forgot to take photos! We love the community we live in. One perk is that we live in such close proximity to great friends. For the 4th, I loaded the girls in the stroller and we walked a few streets over to our friends Adam and Lindsey's house and crashed their block party for a little bit. Avery loved running around with the other kids, eating her first snow cone, and having her face painted (which is the only photo I took the entire night). From there, we walked down just a few more houses and joined Scott and Amy and the rest of our church home group for a party (Erich met up with us there when he got off work). The kids had a great time running around in the sprinkler and keeping cool while the adults had fun eating too much great food and talking the night away. Scott and Amy have a perfect view of the city fireworks from their backyard... it was the perfect place to enjoy the show without the crazy crowds. What a wonderful night!
For the second year in a row, we enjoyed a free event called "Sandtastic" hosted at Levis Commons, the outdoor shopping mall down the road from our house. They set up a huge sandbox in the middle of the street and fill it with toys for all the kids to play with. They also have sand sculpture demonstrations, live music, and other family fun. Norah and I sat on the sidelines this year and watched Avery and Daddy play in the sand, but I'm sure next year Norah will want to be right there in the action (this year she just would have eaten the sand).
Avery and Daddy sporting their shades in the hot sun.
I love that Erich got this candid moment on camera on one of our summer trips to Marysville... Avery and Grandma enjoying a lunch picnic in the middle of Grandma and Grandpa's backyard garden oasis. It's a sight to behold, and the perfect place for a picnic!
Our church hosted a summer festival and baptism celebration in the church parking lot complete with live music, free food, huge inflatables for the kids, and most importantly... 400 people were baptized that night, including our good friend Tari! Avery immediately zoned in on the hugest inflatable at the party, The Screamer, and declared she wanted to try it. I was a little nervous as we waited in line... all the other kids going on this particular inflatable were twice Avery's size, this one wasn't really meant for the 3 year old crowd (It was even taller and more steep than it looks in the picture). In order to get to the top she had to climb up a steep and difficult ladder. I was worried that she would have a hard time making it up the ladder, or that she would get to the top and then get scared and freak out and Erich or I would have to climb up after her. I should have known that would not be a problem for our little adventurer! We have a video of her going down the slide but I couldn't get it to load. In the photo above you can see tiny little Avery climbing up the ladder in her green skirt.
In August we enjoyed a visit to a paint your own pottery studio here in town. Avery loved painting a tile while Erich and I worked on a coffee mug with baby Norah's footprint (yes, it was a two person job!). For his first Father's Day, I made Erich a coffee mug with Avery's baby footprint on it. He requested that we complete the set with a Norah mug. It was a fun little trip and I'm thankful we could support this new, locally owned business in Perrysburg.
The first part of this post was all about what Avery has been up to, but have no fear... Norah has been having some fun of her own! She was present at all of the previous events I mentioned, but she was usually sleeping in the stroller. She has been plenty busy at home though, always on the move and looking for adventure. She seems to be following in her big sister's footsteps in that she has no fear and loves to look for trouble! She's a rough and tumble girl. Above is a picture of her first time trying blueberries. She liked them :)
Avery sometimes mistakes Norah for her own real life baby doll, as evidenced by the fact that I found Avery giving Norah a (rather fast) ride in the doll stroller! Norah was cracking up and loved it, but after I took a photo I suggested that this might not be the safest activity for these crazy sisters.
This busy girl is always getting into something. One day I found her stuck in the magazine tote...
and the next day she got stuck in the toy box. Norah's not afraid to dive headfirst into just about anything (including the toilet once when the bathroom door got left open... yuck). She keeps us on our toes!
This summer was definitely double the fun with two girls to enjoy it with. Norah is a treasure in our family and I'd argue that she might be one of the happiest babies on the planet. She's a content baby girl and doesn't have much to complain about. I can't believe we're already approaching her 1st birthday... this has been the fastest year yet!
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