summertime

Wow! This has been one crazy summer. I feel like we have not slowed down for the past three months...big vacations, little getaways, friends and family in town visiting....all very fun and very exhausting at the same time.

Here's what the girls have been up to:

Claire just turned 14 months and she finally is CRAWLING...lazy baby! She is also pulling herself up on the furniture and really trying to stand on her own, so I know that it won't be much longer before she starts braving her first steps. I am enjoying the ease of her inmobility while it lasts!! She is really developing a personality and coming out of her shell....she's reminding me a lot of Madeline in that way. She loves to get her picture taken and will pose and say "cheese" endlessly. Her favorite trick to do is "soo big" with her hands up high in the air and the girls ask her to do it about fifty times a day :) She loves to perform but then gets very bashful and tries to hide...so cute. She's snuggly and lovey and loves to laugh hysterically. Her favorite words are mama, dada, uh oh, hi, here go, this, that and the ocassional thank you. She loves to "talk" on the phone...wonder where she gets that?? Emma carries her all around the house and places her on all of the furniture (little scary to walk in my bedroom and see Claire sitting in the middle of my bed alone)...we are working on this!

Madeline is as hysterical as usual. She spends literally every second of the day singing at the top of her lungs....and most of the time it's something from High School Musical. She is on a huge "Troy Bolton" kick (and a huge boyfriend/kissing kick for that matter). Ugh! She always confuses the difference between before/after and little/big and everyday has a story about what she's gonna do "When I am a baby" aka: when she gets bigger. She is getting ready to start playing soccer and is so excited that she's been wearing her shinguards as part of her everyday attire :) She taught herself to swim this summer and is doing awesome! She loves to explore underwater and makes me nervous because she barely comes up for air.

Emma is getting ready to start school in ten days and she can't wait!! She is so excited to be big. Her summer has revolved around obsessing over getting a pet (yeah right!) and working on her entrepeneurial skills. She literally begs all day long to either go to the pet store or to have a lemonade stand/sell homemade soaps door to door/host a jewelry party....you name it. She is so eager! Claire and Emma have gotten really close and it is so cute to watch the two of them together. When Claire first wakes up, or if she is tired or upset, she loves to curl up in Emma's lap and Emma couldn't be happier. It is so precious. The other day, Ryan took the girls on a date to the pet store and the movies and Emma got to pack and carry her own diaper bag to help daddy take care of Claire. I think it was the best day of her life! She felt so grown up and so special being daddy's helper. She is also going to play soccer this fall (crossing my finger on this one) and she's really excited about it so far. She loves practicing with daddy in the backyard.

While it may be hard for me to send my baby off to Kindergarten, this summer has been so chaotic that the routine of the school year will be a big relief. The trips and spontaneity of summer have been so much fun, but I miss the humdrum of everyday life. We have one last trip to Disney this weekend and then a week at home to recover before school starts.

I have just signed up as a rep for Stella & Dot Jewelry and I am excited to get started! I wasn't looking to add anything to my plate, but I stumbled upon the line and loved it and thought that it would be an easy sell. My first trunk show is in a few weeks, so we'll see how it goes. So far, I have loved the much needed creative outlet that it has given me. Since I've had kids, I've found myself looking for excuses to throw parties so that I could have something fun to plan and put my creative efforts into...now I can put that energy into picking out the jewelry, merchandising it and throwing trunk shows...yay! I've been obsessing over the paper goods and displays for my first show for two weeks now. LOL!

That's enough for tonight :)