Museum & Art Fair

This weekend Mike went out of town for a wedding, so I asked his dad & step mom to come down for some extra hands with the girls. Was SO nice to have them here to both entertain Izzy and to allow me to sleep in both mornings! Saturday we kept very busy: museum in the morning, shopping during nap time (Bob stayed home with the girls) and the Carmel Arts Festival in the evening. I ran into countless friends at the Fair - I just love living in Carmel! So much fun...

The Children's Museum was offering free bicycle helmets & fittings. We didn't think she'd be big enough to fit into a helmet...
...but we were wrong!!! Should have known with her big noggin!
A little ride in the race car

Water play

Endless carousel rides with Grandpa

Strolling through the Fair

Mommy and the girls...sorry that Izzy is showing her food, this was the best picture she'd give us.

ps- Today is Delaney's 1 month birthday...we're surviving!!!

Sisters, picture day & creative gifts

Tummy time for Laney means playtime for Izzy!

Love that they are staring at each other
Picture day at school...
My very talented girlfriend, Lori, made this frame for Laney. Can you stand how beautiful it is?! She's the same friend that made Izzy's butterfly mural for her bedroom. I swear Lori needs to start a business! P.S. - those are Laney's feet in the frame!

And Jaime got Laney these uber cute bloomers - now I want a pair for Izzy!!! So stinkin' cute!

Little of this, little of that...

Izzy has been very interested in what's going on in the kitchen (she must get this interest from her father, clearly!) and has helped Mike bake a cake and me bake brownies this past week! She loves watching them bake through the oven window!
This pic is from the Monon, when we went to meet Molly for lunch at Bazbeaux's.

Tummy time for Delaney...

She's a rock star already!

Smiling at daddy...

...and snoozing on daddy!

She just can't hide it...

Izzy's "excited face." She's so excited, she just can't hide it! This face NEVER gets old. You simply ask her to show us her excited face and without fail, this is what you get. She holds her breath and squeezes so hard, I swear she's going to give herself a hernia one of these days!
This is Izzy's sad face. We're working on her emotions and expressing them with her face. Her most recent is HAPPY! She runs around the house yelling HAPPY and smiling. Then we switch to SAD, then EXCITED. It's a roller coaster around here, folks.
ps-Thank you to MOLLY CONNOR (www.mollyconnor.com) for taking these pics. She's my personal photographer and Izzy just so happens to LOVE HER. So do I :) If you are even THINKING about getting newborn or family portraits done for your holiday cards, you should book with her NOW! She has amazingly special rates right now and does phenomenal work. Trust me, she's profesh.

Mid-week Adventure

As most of you know I have a hard time sitting still. Being home on maternity leave is a bit of a challenge for me, as I'm not the biggest fan of just "being" at home. I have to find daily outings...walks to the park, library, etc. I am on an endless pursuit to fill my calendar with daily events to look forward to and make the days fun for us all.

My dear friend, Meg, has Wednesdays off and she graciously invited the McCulloch girls to play with her and her boys today. YAY! A fun outing and a change of venue (for some reason I just had to get out of Carmel today)! So we loaded up and made the trek down to Broadripple for some quality time with the Moosbruggers.

This is not the best picture (sorry Meg!), but I had to show you what Meg carried the bambinos in: a garden wagon! Meg put a blanket down and we loaded Izzy, Jude & Oscar into the wagon with some snacks and we were OFF! We first fed the ducks (and geese) on the canal and then went to a park for playtime.
Izzy thought this was so funny...she kept quacking at the ducks and then was blowing them kisses as we left! We had SO MUCH fun with the Mooses...a very big thanks to Megan for entertaining us all and for a yummy lunch. BOTH girls are fast asleep as I type this, so we may have to have more outings with this crew!
Delaney continues to be a great sleeper and eater. She is spending more and more time awake, even following us with her eyes and becoming more social. Still a champion sleeper at night, allowing me about 7 hours of sleep total (which I'm more than ok with). However, she has just started having a fussy time in the evenings...where Mike and I have to take turns trying to soothe her. Walking outside with her and bringing her into the "panic room" (downstairs bathroom with an exhaust fan the strength of a jet engine) are ways that we're coping.

As for Isabelle, she's been protesting her naps the last few days. From the sounds of many friends, toddlers tend to do this when a new baby enters their home. They don't want to miss a thing and therefore remain awake. I really can't complain too much, as Izzy simply reads her books in her bed, doesn't cry or yell out, and has yet to get out of her bed on her own. We simply give her the quiet time that she needs. However, after 1.5 hours of her reading in her bed this afternoon, she FINALLY tuckered out and succumbed to a much-needed nap. Phew. Hope she's back on track now.

Pool time fun...

Saturday after nap time we headed to the Sopko's house for some pool time. Mike has been in MBA class with Jim for over a year now and they have a 23 month old as well. The pool was heated and so was the air (wouldn't you know it that temps are finally in the 80's!), which made for a very fun evening!

Not a huge fan of the tube
Loved the water table...

...and the floating lounger

Izzy loved the hot tub, as it had lots of bubbles!

Jumping into the water (over and over again) and counting along with daddy 1-2-3

Izzy & William jumping to their daddies

Loves being thrown into the air!

Sunday morning Izzy spent some time in the yard with Mike kicking the soccer ball around

And Sunday afternoon Grandma Laura & Grandpa Bob stopped in on their way through town. They were here for several hours of playtime, dinner, bath time & bedtime. Was a fun way to end the weekend...we wish they lived closer!!!

Carmel Automobilia Car Show

Saturday afternoon we met the Fellers a Bub's Burgers on the Monon in downtown Carmel. After lunch we walked Main Street to check out imported, muscle and classic cars dated as early as 1929. Was a good time being with the Fellers, eating yummy food, looking at beautiful cars and running into friends!

Izzy & Luke fine dining
Too cute not to post

Their big "cheeses"

Love this pic b/c the boys are pushing the babes

1929 Buick

1960 MG

Delaney's 1st real bath...

She's thinking about it....
...and she hates it! Good times.

Friday at the park...

As previously mentioned, I have been trying to get out of the house every day. Be it a walk around the block, the library, museum, etc...I just NEED to get out of my house for my own sanity (and Izzy's). Friday afternoon the girls and I took a drive (this time we spared ourselves the mile walk for an air conditioned car trip) to the park. Mike met us there on his way home from work and to his surprise, he found Izzy on the SWING!!! All summer long she has loathed the swing, screaming each time we put her in it. This trip we couldn't tear her off the swing, even when there were other kids waiting, she wouldn't share. "My swing!" she'd say. I'm sure other parents were thrilled to hear that :)

On the playground
Again, Delaney missed out on all the action

The happy girl swinging away!

Week 2 at home...

Today Delaney turned 2 weeks old. I really feel like the last two weeks have flown by. I've struggled a little with getting out and about, but am challenging myself to make a DAILY habit of either walking, running an errand, or going on field trips with the girls (I can't believe I'm saying "the girls!"). Each day gets better, as I'm better prepared than the previous day and know better what to expect and how to plan. Pre-school and visitors have helped tremendously. Thanks to all who have stopped by for either a brief visit or a very long visit. I welcome ALL visits to break up my days.

Once again, Izzy is enjoying playing in her sister's apparatus
I catch her in this one often :)

Yesterday Amber and Etta stopped by for a visit. They spent several hours at our house and was so thankful for her company!

Amber's little girl was quite fussy - so Amber did lots of walking with Etta while she was here; walked laps around our 1st floor, walked laps around our large backyard, walked laps around our block. All the while NOT complaining one bit. In the last 24 hours Amber has discovered some soothing techniques (thanks to Katie and 'The Happiest Baby on the Block') and I believe Etta has turned the corner with her fussiness. Phew!

Izzy walked some laps outside with Amber and Etta

And yesterday we picked up Luke from school around 3 to bring him home for a playdate with Izzy. I actually was begging Jaime to pick him up from school so as to entertain Izzy...and it turned out Jaime needed some help as she had to stay late at work. Perfect! Izzy and Luke played their hearts out and had a great time. I hope we can do this again, REAL soon!

Theses kids freak their freak when Yo Gabba Gabba comes on!
We had Delaney's 2 week appointment today...and she is growing quite well! She weighs in at 7lbs 12 oz (over a pound from her birth weight!) and has grown over 1/2 an inch. She is following in her sister's footsteps, as her HEAD is in the 75% percentile. Her height is also in the 75% (Izzy was, too, early on, but evened out) and her weight is in the 50%. Laney still has some facial birth marks (nose and eye) that the Pediatrician says go away by their 4th or 5th birthday; however, for the rest of her life, whenever she gets embarrassed the red marks will reappear. I think they give her character :)