Gymnastics Medal Ceremony

A couple of weeks ago Lucy completed her first session of gymnastics. She loved participating in the medal ceremony and still proudly wears her medal around the house. She had so fun that we signed her up for the summer gymnastics sessions as well.

She is holding up her medal saying, "Look what I got mom!"

Ta-da

She always wants to wear either a tutu or legwarmers to gymnastics class. She is all girl!

Her favorite part of class is when it is foam pit time! She has to wait all the way until the end of class before she can go in the foam pit and she eagerly anticipates it every time.

The above picture shows about how Lucy felt about returning to school for a six week program this summer! I think she was saying, "Hooray!" as I took the picture!

Summer is Here!!!

I feel like we have already had a jammed packed summer. I am currently looking to go back to work part time in a few months so I am really trying to take advantage of my summer home full time with the girls. We have had lots of play dates, fun at the pool, outings to the zoo and others places, and good times at the park. The great thing about living in the Chicago area is there are endless things to do with your kids, which is great for me since we all know how I like to keep busy!

The kids are taking a break from swimming to eat some watermelon.

Lucy with her good buddies Cole, Olivia, and Patrick at the zoo. She just loves playing with her friends and her mom likes hanging out with the their mommies!

Milo just LOVES his little Lila Bird.

Is there anything cuter than little kids taking a walk together while holding hands?

Lucy and Olivia after they applied "make-up" at the local Children' Museum.

Lucy "helping" with a cooking project

We had a picnic at the summer festival at Rehm Park. Lucy was thrilled that she got to have a Sponge Bob Square Pants popsicle.

Lucy is trying so hard to make the train move.

One day I took the girls to the Naperville Riverwalk since we had never been there and it was a perfect day to check out a new area. Lucy loved playing in the fountains and Lila enjoyed being pushed in the swing at a new playground.

The Bird Loves to Swing

Visit with VG's

Last month we met up with Don's parents in Grand Rapids. Don's mom was in town for her 50th college reunion from Calvin. We also love hanging out with Doug and Susie and their kids. On Saturday we went to dinner and had ice cream cones. And on Sunday we enjoyed a beach day in Grand Haven. The weather was glorious and there was a kite festival. The kite festival had all these incredible animal shaped kites and others as well. They were doing this performance where the kites were choreographed with music. It was so fun to just be outside with family and take in one of the first days of summer.

Aren't the cousins so cute together?

 

Grandpa VG did a great of helping Lucy to feel more comfortable on the sand. Lucy still has a hard time with the sand and can't stand it when it gets in her sandals! The kites were so amazing and Lucy was really excited when we approached the beach (after a 45 minute hike) and she saw the kites flying in the sky.

 

The fam!

 

Sooo Big!

I was feeding Lila bird and she started to show off her new skills. No words yet but plenty of noise.

Memorial Day in Kewaunee

Our Memorial Day at my parent's cottage in Kewaunee, Wisconsin was so much fun. The weather was incredible and we enjoyed going biking, kayaking, and BBQing. My parents bought outdoor toys and a big inflatable pool for the kids to swim in. The kids were in heaven and it was an exciting way to welcome in the summer months.

Some updates on Lila at 9 months: she waves, says "ba-ba-ba," she is ALMOST crawling and often launches herself at any item in sight. She can pull herself up into a seated position when lying down. And she is in the beginning stages of pulling herself up to standing. She is extremely busy and is very observant. She now has these little outbursts of laughter, usually in response to something Lucy does. She has her two bottom teeth (see below) and she is just getting her two upper teeth.

Doesn't Lila look adorable sportin' her sun hat and sunglasses? For those of you that believe Lila never smiles see picture below. I will admit it is hard to find of picture of her not smiling.

One afternoon my sister, Eric, my dad and I went kayaking on the Kewaunee River while Don stayed back and watched the kids. Nothing like drinking a few beers on a river on a beautiful afternoon!

One beautiful afternoon we took the kids on a bike ride through a National Forest in Door County. It was absolutely perfect weather and the bike ride was so picturesque. We put the kids in attached bike trailers. Lila got her own little comfy ride and of course Milo and Lucy had to ride together. Halfway through the ride we stopped at the beach for some snacks and for some fun in the sun (code for Lucy was complaining the whole time about the sand on her feet).

Best Buddies!

All of us chipped in and bought a bouncy house for the kids for birthday parties and family events this summer. It was a huge hit and was a great way for the kids to burn off some of their energy.