Fourth of July 2011

Another long weekend bites the dust.  Wish we had more on the calendar, but I guess I will take them as they come.  This 4th weekend started out very nice.  Mark took off a full day on Friday, I took off a half day and we still took the kids to daycare.  We did errands, went to lunch, and I got myself a massage.  I think these kids and my job stress me out more than I realize because I felt amazing after this massage - so much pressure in my back and neck relieved.  Ahh - makes me smile just thinking about it.

We headed to Western Michigan for part of the weekend to visit Uncle Ted, Aunt Ann, and cousins Charlie and Ben.  It has been a while since we've gotten together so was great to see everyone and get the kids together.  After a 4 hour drive, which normally takes 2.5 hours, our kids were not in the best mood upon arrival -Sawyer was a bit overwhelmed and did not like Murphy, the dog.  At one point not too long after we arrived she just went to hang out in the bedroom by herself.  She laid on the bed - didn't sleep, just hung out.  I went in to check on her a few times, and she would ask me where is the dog, is the dog out there with me. Isla on the other hand was digging playing in the pool and smily as could be.

After some fireworks and baths, Sawyer got a ride on Uncle Ted's boat.  She enjoyed herself quite a bit and sang "Row Your Boat" while out on the lake.

While the night was a little rough - Isla woke up when Sawyer went to bed, and couldn't get back to sleep - she was a happy baby the next day as well.  We played, read books, and went on walks, sticking around till just after lunch when we popped the kids back in the car in time for naps.  Both slept nearly the whole way home.

Sawyer had lost most of her shyness by the second day, and was talking and jumping all around.  She would even

run past Murphy to get to where she wanted to go which was a huge improvement from the day before.  She showed her cousin Charlie how much she loves to read, and would go into his room and talk herself through the books.  Aunt Ann even made her some pom-poms which have been a huge hit.

Happy to be home on Sunday, it still felt like we had time to recoup and rest up before the week started.  The whole family slept a lot on Sunday and Monday to catch up on lost sleep.  Monday we walked down the street for our town's 4th of July parade. It was a hot one so we stayed about 20 ft from the road under a tree, but Isla was digging the people watching and playing with her pom-pom.

Sawyer started out happy but quickly turned into a crying mess when the police and fire trucks were going by honking their horns and running the sirens.  We're starting to think she is just not good in crowds because was terrified of the people and the sounds - she just kept saying she wanted to go home.  After about 10 minutes of the parade, that's exactly what we did.  Brought her home, popped her in bed, and three hours later for her and Isla they were new kids. 

Spent the rest of the day/weekend just enjoying the nice weather we've had, and our backyard.  We all like sitting out there, far more than we ever used our rooftop deck downtown. 

Sawyer splashed around in her little pool...

And a little bonus picture from this week - taken at about 6am of Sawyer and Isla cuddling.  I just can't get over how big Isla is getting.  She is still not yet crawling forward, but can get her butt off the ground and be on all fours...she just doesn't know what to do next.  That said, the girl gets around better than anyone in her class.  They call her rolly-polly, and between rolling, spinning, and crawling backwards she's all over the place.  Curious to see when she actually masters this....