Sneaky August

Hi folks! The summer has really flown by. We have broken out the pool once. Been to the Splash Pad a few times, hit up Taltree many times. Their new Children's Exploration Garden has become quite the favorite since it has animals AND things to climb on. The Railway Garden has fallen a bit in popularity. Mom still likes it for the predictable air-conditioned oasis and nice (easily accessed) clean bathroom. We've been to Fair Oaks Farm. It is truly an impressive operation. We've been to the Indy Zoo, the Michigan City Zoo, and this weekend we catch the Star Wars exhibit at the Indy State Museum before catching up with family poolside.

Cali is rapidly growing and becoming stronger. She recently transitioned to cloth diapers and is proving that her evacuations are far more powerful and voluminous than her sister's were. We may be abandoning cloth if the leaks aren't contained soon. She also drools like a fiend. I don't think she's teething, but she is very oral right now, so she could be in the early stages. She should be rolling over and sitting soon. Her neck strength is pretty impressive. She's usually pretty good at entertaining herself on her floor mat. Crinkles are her favorite right now. And burp cloths.

Tomorrow, she'll be 5 months old. At her 4 month appointment, she weighed 14 lbs, 5 oz. She is now around the 50th percentile. Her fuzz has gotten longer and lighter, but I doubt she'll have much hair before she starts walking. It might be a nice honey color to start though. Her eyes have lightened to Ellie's and my grey-blue.

Ellie has been conducting. I think she will be a very musical child. She sings quite a bit, and has expressed interest in all the instruments she can get her hands on. The summer has gone quickly this year since she is in Montessori from 8-3 daily. I think we'll abbreviate her schedule once school starts back up in the Fall so we can do more together. She's at a fabulous age where she can interact at a higher level and is starting to get interested in letters and numbers. I'm hopeful that she'll be an early reader simply because she loves books and stories so much that I can't wait for her to be able to experience the joy of reading them on her own.

E has been enjoying longer hair. Her go-to hair-style has evolved rapidly over the past 6 months from 2 tiny barrettes, to larger barrettes, pig tails, pig tails with barrettes for her bangs, loops, and now loops with a headband for her bangs and fancy flowery barrettes. I think the time for doing her hair has doubled just in the last week, lol.

P and I have a new venture. We're involved in a new local restaurant, Main+Lincoln with a really impressive and active group of people. P has been helping with demo and design of the bar. I have been helping with the identity and marketing. I'm excited to see what the final product will be. It should open in late 2013 and will be run by a pretty fabulous Chef.

I may be entering into a phase where I take on too much again. I've quit 2/3 of my original volunteer commitments to have time with the girls, but they've been replaced now by the restaurant work and the Tri Kappa Publicity Committee. It's less physical travel and design work though, so I can do a lot of it on my laptop while they play. As much as I don't enjoy marketing, it seems to keep sucking me back in. I do love planning and list-making. The silver lining is that I can put it on my resume if I ever decide to get back into the job market.

Caught by the cat.

Poor Grandma had to make an entire family of bunnies. Guess who has the clown nose....

Wave running with D.

No doubt telling him he can't do something.

Back at the beach the next day with Aunt Cat.

Cali in her office.

In the Otter tunnel at Michigan City Zoo.

Summer bounty.

The toad who lives on our deck.

Fair Oaks:  The milking wheel.

Mom's new haircut.

Less than 24 hours with the Vargi and she's a diva'd out princess....

Watching tigers at the Indy Zoo.

Girl's Night Out - Bob Schneider at Lincoln Hall, Chicago.

Almost 3 and finally swinging.

Dragging D onto the playground.

Half of the restaurant. (For more pics and progress, follow Main+Lincoln on FB.)

Ellie's new do.

Monsoon June

Here we are, nearly out of June. It has been a wet wet month. Someone told me last year we got 26 inches of rain and so far this year, we've gotten 27 inches. My veggie garden is loving it. However, we haven't been able to break out the pool yet. I am waiting for a dry Thursday through Sunday (since they mow on Thursday). I may be waiting for a while.

Today, we took the girls (and Grandma) on the Garden Walk. We made 3 gardens before stopping back at the house to drop the girls and Dad off for a nap. The first garden was one I've been curious about for some time. It's a brick farmhouse built in 1870 that has a very private yard protected by heavily planted berms, mature trees, and lots of shrubs. Turns out the owner is in my service sorority. And, she likes to garden :) That one was my favorite, but the others certainly offered a variety of styles and features.

Ellie has seen two fireworks shows this year. She doesn't really watch them, but she's done a good job of catching our enthusiasm for them. She's  not scared of them, which is nice. Thus far, we seem to be raising a relatively fearless child. I'm working with her to instill a healthy amount of fear in parking lots, streets, etc. Ellie's not much of a climber, but she's taken a few tumbles lately, so she's learning about gravity too. She might have a future as a stuntwoman though. She is pretty good at catching herself when she trips over her feet. There are lots of opportunities to practice though because she does so at least half a dozen times a day.

Calista is growing well. She holds her head up pretty well and should be ready for less supported baby-wearing pretty soon. We might even see some full-fledged rolling here soon. Sometimes, she will roll from her tummy to her back or side. She's currently in a size 2 diaper and fixing to move up to 6 month clothes. I'm still trying to find the motivation to transition to cloth diapers and move her into her crib from the bassinet in our room. Since she's been sleeping through the night for a couple months now, it seems like there's really no reason to delay. We still use the rocking feature of the bassinet, although she  really doesn't need the incline and she's almost too tall/long for it.

E was having accidents at school for a while and when we tried to express disappointment she had a few meltdowns. So, we've been working more on positive reinforcement instead of negative. She's been responding well and takes great pride in telling us when she's had a "dry pants" day.

This summer has been full of exceptions to the normal rules. We've been to the drive-in three times (Ellie doesn't fall asleep until 10:30 or 11), with another visit planned this week. The two "late nights" with fireworks, and all sorts of goodies like lemonade, orange juice, cake pops, several visits to the ice cream parlor, extra screen time, and pushed naps (which today did not work out so well) are causing me to stress a little about too many treats. I realize that summer is for having fun and that I have a tendency toward stick-in-the-mudism, however she's so young that it's hard to communicate to her that these things are special when they seem to be happening all the time. Tonight, Ellie lost it in the bath because Dad told her that she was going to bed afterwards. She wanted to go to the movies. And, when she learned THAT wasn't happening, she bargained for fireworks. She had to settle for keeping a book in bed since it's not a school night. And, she was perfectly happy to do so.

Father's Day was a success. Dad did get a big hint when a few days before Father's Day, we got two subtle BRIGHT ORANGE Shutterfly packages (thanks, a lot, Shutterfly!). One of the packages contained his "sentimental" gift of an 8" x 8" photo book skimming over the past year or so of highlights. He also got a tennis ball key-keeper alien that goes on the fridge (Ellie and Isis both agree that it does not belong to Dad), a Star Wars game of Operation, and an egg separator (because Mom hears all).

Aunt C had a pretty good birthday, I think. We had her pick out a cake. I guessed she'd go with something pistachio. And, she did not disappoint. She picked out this one, a triple layer pistachio-apricot monstrosity with a cream cheese frosting. The celebration was quiet for a 30th, but we dragged her along to the company picnic and "gave" her a fireworks show for her birthday. She also got to split an elephant ear. We're tentatively planning on a Bob Schneider concert in Chicago for a delayed celebration since C is all about her music and Schneider is an old favorite.

Aunt C and Ellie at Ogden Garden looking at the fishies.

No paparazzi!

Smiles

More smiles.

My romaine the day before the deer found them :(

Ellie and Daddy at Forest Park.

Ellie finding her groove at the Splash Pad with Cousin Soph.

Playing on the dirt pile at Butterfly Park.

Cali asleep before the "Man of Steel" started. Too bad it didn't last.

Ellie's new favorite activity. Mixing colored water outside.

The dogs in a rare moment of companionship.

Aunt C making a wish.

Ellie practicing the family trade of flower arranging.

A little Chicken of the Woods.

A small sample of our foraged snack Thursday. 

The ominous sky right before it opened up on us.

Naptime Bonus

I realize it hasn't been a month, but the Midget fell asleep during tummy time and I have a couple minutes.... Sunday, we went to the drive-in again. However, it rained almost right until the movie began, so we got a little damp (see pic). After the back of the truck was soaked, I decided to watch from the comfort of my car with Cat and Cali. It was truly the way to go. If the concession stand had served decaf, it would have been pretty perfect.

About the only thing I've accomplished since my last post is to hook up my rain barrels. I went to check on the garden after a week of rain and discovered the empty one had fallen on my biggest broccoli head and broke it off. So, I fixed the rain barrels. They should both be full now because it has been so wet the last week. I hope it stays dry for a few days. And, this Spring breeze is awfully nice.

New on the to-do list is developing an identity (logo) for Cat's new business idea. She has been offered a job and starts June 3rd. However, it is as a PRN Companion Homemaker, so she will still have the flexibility to get this off the ground and do some traveling.

I also need to track down some windchimes. There is a young woodpecker who recently discovered our (cedar) house. The final straw was this morning when he decided to tap out a wake-up call right outside our open window at 5:45 am. Cheeky little devil!

I'm also pretty stoked about my Father's Day project. P really outdid himself this year, and I've been struggling to come up with something on the same level. However, we only have room for so many framed pictures and ceramic whoozits, so I had to come up with a different idea. Check back next month to see how it went.

A genuine smile. Cali is shaping up to be a more demonstrative baby than (stoneface) Ellie.

Our silent auction basket. Worth $400, it went for $200 :(

Soggy drive-in with makeshift umbrella.

Sisters, just hanging out together.

Always a lady with ankles crossed.

Wearing a diaper cloth chapeau by Dad.

Communing with Dad.

Oh really, Dad? Tell me more....

Napping on the job.

Our first *official* family pic with Cali.

Springing into Summer

Currently, Cali is a little over 2 months. She weighed 10 lbs. 13 oz. at her 2 month check-up. Incidentally, Ellie weighed 10 lbs. 14 oz. at her FOUR month appointment. The younger one has settled in to a nice little routine. She has her last feed of the night around 8 and then sleeps for 6-9 hours. It's kind of awesome. I hope it lasts. I can't tell you how long it took Ellie to sleep that long, but I know it was at least 15 months before she did that regularly.

Overall, life is flowing along nicely. Since Aunt Cat has been with us, I don't stress quite so much. She takes care of cooking dinners most nights and is usually around during the day so I can run out to the yard or get on the computer with both hands to take care of Tri Kappa publicity (Like our page!) I'm anxiously awaiting Friday since that will mean that The Taste is behind me for another year.

I'm behind on weeding and pruning this year, and I still have to hook up my rain barrels properly, but the garden is planted and mostly looking pretty good. I'm excited to be trying kale, rhubarb, celery, beets, broccoli (purple and green), and beans this year in addition to my standard peppers (I'm giving them one more shot), okra, tomatoes, tomatillos, herbs, romaine, cucumbers, zucchini, lots of new strawberries, and raspberries. I'm trying a lazy square foot gardening technique (which means I just cleaned out my seed stash and then panicked trying to squeeze everything in). My purple asparagus rose from the dead this year. I've had 5 stalks, 4 of which are now 3 feet high and lying down in full leaf. I need to get a cage. Next year, I'm hoping for a full bunch. For insurance, I planted two more Mary Washington asparagus plants this year. I'm a little scared what the garden will look like by mid-July. With luck, it'll be a lush maze of green. I'd love to plant some fall squash and pumpkins, but I don't think I have room. And, since I can't manage to weed my current garden or containers, perhaps it's better if I don't create another bed for now.

Aunt Cat has had a couple of good interviews in the last week and keeps thinking up new possibilities for business ideas. Her latest is pretty good (IMHO). She is in the process of joining a local church and has been volunteering a couple shifts per week at the local organic farm. Because of her, P has been running more regularly. And, we've been shamed into more recycling and more timely dishwashing. If she gets hired soon, I'll be scrambling to fill the void.

We went to the drive-in Saturday with both girls and Aunt Cat. It was quite cozy in the truck bed, but miraculously the patch P adhered to the air mattress last year held and our derrieres stayed nicely off the truck bed through both feature films (The Croods and Iron Man 3). The new digital projector was delightful, however, the biggest news was in the concession stand. We discovered that the 49er carries funnel cakes, which may be reason enough to head back soon regardless of the film. Ellie was a little wired and bounced all over the truck bed through most of the first movie. Although P took her early to get a good spot and they played with other kids for a good hour, she stayed up until Iron Man 3 was underway (about 10). Luckily, she slept in Sunday like the rest of us.

P has been really enjoying his birthday present to himself. He bought a MakerBot (home 3D printer) and has been running it nearly 20 hours a day since it arrived. (That may or may not be an exaggeration.) Thus far, he has printed a flock of owls, a tiny model of the new plant, a few Yodas, a Darth Vader head, a cup holder change organizer that fits under his sliding armrests, a retro rocket model for Cali's room, a few things for Ellie's "sound of the day" at school, avocado pit holders, and a watering spike attachment for a 2 liter bottle. I'm sure I'm forgetting several others. There have been several misfires due to technical limitations and design flaws, but he's having a blast working through them.

He and Ellie have been going to swimming lessons on Saturday mornings. Ellie loves the water. I honestly believe that half-hour class is the highlight of her week. We've had some warm days already, but I'll have to break out the wading pool soon. We may even make it to the lakeshore sometime this summer.

Aunt C and Lil C catching Z's together

P's birthday cake – 3 layer chocolate peanut butter cake

Ellie with a postcard Grandma sent from New Mexico

Ellie sporting the Summertime trifecta:  Summer hat, sunglasses and sandals

My exotic purple asparagus

Keep trying to get one of her elusive smiles on camera, but the dimples are cute too

Swim class

Goofing around at Ogden Gardens

Dad knocked Mother's Day out of the park!

Smiling at Aunt Cat

A semi smile

Ellie and David at the Taltree Discovery Garden

MakerBot

Cali