Macie is 17months old today - VIDEO

Now, Caroline sits back and watches while Macie steals the show!

Caroline is 17months old today!

Yes, Macie is in this video, too, but she was choosing to not participate in our games :)

The Gabe Variety Show - VIDEO

The girls had SO much fun hanging out with Gabe! He never stops!!!!

Burning up in Bellingham!

The girls and I headed up to Bellingham yesterday to visit my parents and got the treat of hanging out with Gabe, too, who is at their house for a week to go to camp. We tried hard to stay cool and ended up spending most of the time playing in water. Gabe was VERY entertaining!

Ama, Daco, Caroline, and Macie out to lunch!
C and M with their sweaty curls

Caroline trying to kiss Gabe through the glass :)
Macie in a bucket just her size

Gabe helping Caroline get in the sprinkler!

Sleepless in Seattle

It's hot. Really hot. And, it's hard to sleep when it's this hot out. The girls are turning into little melting babies! Here's Macie after a more successful night of sleep in the basement - she put on the eye-shade and nightgown all by herself! I guess she's ready for a nap!

Our first Baby Dolls

Merry Christmas in July! That's what the girls got to celebrate this week when they received a package in the mail from Mimi and Papa in Atlanta. Macie and Caroline were beside themselves with excitement when they opened up their presents and found baby dolls!!!! They love carrying them around by their legs, hugging them, poking them in the eyes, and biting their heads (basically like Macie and Caroline treat each other!). Obviously, they LOVE their baby dolls. Thank you, Mimi and Papa!!!!

Getting Jack ready :)

Yesterday, the girls and I got to visit my friend, Angie, who is due to have twins in the next month! We had so much fun seeing her (I wish I'd gotten a picture of her belly) and playing with her two-year-old, Jack.

C, M, and Jack hanging out - the girls are wearing their 60's retro dresses from Ang! So cute!

This picture is of Jack giving Macie a "hug" - well, tackling her! She loved it, despite the fact that he outweighs he by 15+lbs!!!!

And, here's Caroline and Jack giving each other a kiss.... ahhhhh....

What's cookin?

Mike and I found this play kitchen along with a box of plates, bowls, spatulas, and pots at a garage sale last weekend. The girls love all the doors and knobs and are starting to pour and stir - I'm already dreaming of homemade lasagne....

Kitch-a-cah

The girls have watched the last 15min of Tour de France coverage with me each morning this week and are so excited to see the bicycles! Macie, over and over again, points to them and says "kitch-a-cah" which is obviously her way of saying "bicycle" while Caroline points and says "da da! ba!" which, I'm pretty sure, means "Dad's on that bike right there next to Lance!" It's hilarious!

Go, Dad, Go!

Macie and Caroline cheering for their Daddy at the finish line of the Seafair Triathlon. He did great!

Mt. Rainier - so pretty!

We love the wading pool!

Caroline hanging out with Finkey

Look at all these toys and all these kids to play with.... Ah, Seattle in the summer is aaaawesome!

Whidbey Island 7/09

Macie finds a car just her size.

At the beach - did you know you can actually EAT sand?

Mike and Caroline

At Choochokum Art Festival in Langley - Max and the girls dancing and then holding hands! (No, we didn't mean to put them in strollers that match their shirts, but it is kinda cute!)

Mike, Macie, Sarah, Caroline, Max, Emily, Ben and lots of roses

mmmm, breakfast

Check out the water!

C on the playground






Mike and Macie

Macie - so silly!








C - so many options!

M and C

Ahhhh, relaxing!

Macie sure knows how to kick back on the porch - where did she learn to sit like that?

Who was the Poopetrator?

Viewer discretion advised! This is a gross story, but one that needs to be told for posterity (or for blackmail later in the girls' lives! :)

A few nights ago, we went to the park by our house and went in the wading pool. It was sunny and warm out and the water temperature was perfect. The girls had a blast splashing around with all the other kids! After we got home and had dinner, it was bath time. Macie and Caroline were having fun in the water, when I realized there was something floating around - LOTS of somethings floating around. EW! Mike was off on a bike ride, and I started panicking - How do I get the girls out of the water, but still get them clean? How do I round up all the poop? YUCK!

I was considering my options when Macie reached down and grabbed a plumped-up raisin out of the water and was getting ready to eat it - I knocked it out of her hand and knew I had to act fast. I got the girls out of the tub (still contained in the bathroom), picked up all the pieces of poo and put them in a cup, drained the tub, got each girl in the shower with me and lathered her up (while the other one screamed), and got them out of the infected area! Whew!

When Mike got home, I told him about the drama, and he LAUGHED and LAUGHED! .... Until he realized that I'd left him the bathroom room to clean and disinfect, cup of poo and all. YUCK!

By process of elimination (get it?), based on diapers the next morning - I think Macie was the ONE!

PS - Mike came up with the title for this post - isn't he clever? :)

Tour de East Coast - Part III

Sat. June 27 - We got up and drove from Avon, CT to Killington, VT. I went alone with the girls (and listened to Car Talk), while Uncle Bob, Aunt E, Lexi, Rich, Reed, Lizi, Andrew, and Schuyler came a little later. Meanwhile, the West Coasters - my mom (who decided to come last minute because she was recovering from a bad bike accident), my dad, and Cheryl, Gabe, and Jonathan - were flying across the country and driving from Newark to to VT. We settled into our new house and Bob showed the girls how to eat pasta by putting it on your fingers first -cute!

Sun. June 28 - Time to Hike! The whole gang went for a hike up Killington Mtn. It was sunny and hot and there were lots of mountain bikers to watch.

Mon. June 29 - The girls turn 16months old! We also decided the house we had rented was not going to work, after the freezer had melted most of our food, the shower handle had fallen off and virtually broken my foot, and the stairs were too steep. The rental agency found us a new house, and since it was raining - we didn't mind spending the day moving and chilling out.

Tues. June 30 - Sunny morning (unusual for the week!), so dad and I decided to take Macie and Caroline in the packs for another hike. It was beautiful and foggy and they did great - napping for the first hour and then enjoying watching the chair lifts and alpine slide for the next couple of hours. And, at the end, they got a picnic!

Wed. July 1 - Well, to be honest, the Wednesday and Thursday are kind of a blur. It rained a lot, so we played in the pool, got our nails cut, watched the toddlers play, took baths, etc.

Fri. July 3 - SUNSHINE! We went to a national park and hikes the beautiful trails and ended up at the Pogue, a big lake. It was a great day to be outside!

Sat. July 4 - Happy 4th! Here's all the babies (Lizi included?!) in their flag shirts from Cheryl. It was a long trip home - 5 hours in the car from VT to Newark, 3+ hours in the airport, and a 6 hour flight (Macie threw up twice on dad, so it made it seem even LONGER!). But, we made it! Mike picked us up from the airport and we saw a couple fireworks on the way home - well, the girls didn't, they were finally asleep!