Family starts rolling in on Friday...

Friday morning and afternoon my family started rolling into town. It began with my sister in the wee hours of the morning, so when Izzy woke up and found out her Aunt KiKi and cousins Taylor & Dylan were asleep in her house...she went crazy! As you can see from some of the pictures, Izzy has a huge infatuation with Dylan...she wanted nothing to do with anyone all weekend except for him. Was cute.

Izzy snuggling Dylan
Waiting for family to arrive with her cowgirl hat on
My dad holding Delaney

More snuggling with cousin Dylan

Sisters

Nana, me, Anna, Aunt Celeste, Kim & Delaney

Cousins: Erin, Kim, Me & Shelly
Izzy *dining* with her second cousin, Reese

The men hung out in the basement doing "man cave" things. We had a low-key evening with pizza, salad and Paradise Bakery cookies. The *littles* played in (read: terrorized) the new play room and chased each other around the house. There were 5 second cousins under the age of 4 that night.

Mommy's boots, cereal bowl fun & new play room

This week I've been spending a lot of time organizing and cleaning the house, in preparation for my ENTIRE Keel family to be here in Indy for the weekend. Some are staying with us and most are staying at hotels (phew!). It's been raining and cold all week, so it's been the perfect time to be inside cleaning (and snuggling!). With this new weather comes out the boots and cold-weather clothes. My boots were at the back door the other morning and this is what I found Izzy doing...

The boots came up to her rear end...and she could hardly walk in them!

And this is what I found Izzy doing this morning...drinking her milk from her cereal bowl! Ever since I've been home on maternity leave, Mike has been getting up with Izzy in the mornings, allowing me to sleep in while Delaney is still sleeping. The extra sleep has done wonders for my energy during the day; however, it seems Mike is teaching Izzy some interesting new things!
And here are a few pictures from our recent dining room that we converted into a play room. As you can see, we left the armoire in there (it's TOO heavy & fragile to move) and all the wall decor...so we didn't necessarily *pimp* out the room to be a total kid-overhaul, as we are planning on this being our dining room once again in the future. Just added some outdoor toys and all her bulky toys that used to be in our living room. Love that there is a kid-sized table/chairs for her to sit and do crafts.

Hunkering down at Home...

This weekend was a very relaxing one in our household. Friday night our friends, the Falciones, brought us over dinner. I was able to snuggle on their little man (Christopher is 12 weeks old) and envy the fact that they are "over the hump" in regards to the fussy first 12 weeks. I am READY for the fussy evenings to be over. Not. Fun. But we're halfway there...

Holding Christopher

Cute shot of Izzy Lou

Over the past few days Jaime has been out of town, so we've had Luke at our place a few times. Izzy LOVED having a playmate and I LOVED having him over to wear her out. Plus, the two of them together is quite simply so stinkin' cute. They fight over toys like brother and sister, but they know each other so well that to watch them play and "talk" to each other is priceless.
Luke got Izzy a little kitchen kit (as she loves to help daddy cook and pretend cook) that has "Chef Izzy" on it and a ton of real cooking utensils (wooden spoons, spatulas, wire whisk, et al). She loves it and carries it around with all her supplies.
Showing off
Izzy always has to be doing what Delaney is doing...tummy time and all!

Saturday morning we went to a Fall Festival in Carmel (pony rides, fire trucks, pumpkin picking, etc.) and Izzy had a fun time picking out pumpkins with daddy. Her favorite part of the trip was getting a red fireman's hat to add to her dress-up repertoire at home.

She liked this one best, I knew because she tried sitting on it...I guess to leave her mark :)
And finally, Mike saw this (above) piece of wall decor in the Pottery Barn catalog and wanted to replicate it. He spent Saturday in the garage cutting, painting, banging up the wood and assembling to create this:

His rendition is not square like the PB one is, and has colors that compliment our family room. This is now hanging above our leather couch, in the room right off the kitchen. It's such a fun piece...and didn't cost us $399 plus shipping! Mike actually had all the supplies and paint in his garage so it was FREE. My kind of price tag :)

While Mike was crafting in the garage and working in the yard, I spent a large portion of the weekend cleaning the house. My entire Keel side of the family is coming into town next weekend for my Great Aunt Jane's Memorial service. Lots of family staying with us and at a local hotel...and we're hosting Friday night dinner and Sunday brunch, so the house needed a good cleaning. The basement was the least amount of fun (this is Mike's "man cave" and office space), as it isn't cleaned nearly as often as the rest of the house. But the carpets being steam-vacc'ed was the most rewarding, as you get instant results from your cleaning! Love freshly steamed carpets!

We also finished the dining room-turned-toy room project. I bought several different storage pieces for all the toys, books and dress-up, so as the room looks organized and presentable instead of mass chaos. We are LOVING having our living room back to an adult space (there are still toys in here, but they are hidden in the armoire under the t.v.) and not cluttered with toys. Drove me crazy, constantly picking up/putting away (one of my faults, yes). Now the toys can be strewn throughout the toy room and it is out-of-sight, out-of-mind for me. I can handle that room being messy and not feel like I have to pick it up before I go to bed (like I had to in the living room). Was one of Mike's novel ideas that has transformed our house. He even brought in the Kangaroo Climber from outside (after cleaning it up) and Izzy just LOVES being able to play/climb on it indoors (thanks, Mom!). The winter will be lots more fun with so much to do in her new toy room (plus, the nanny is fired up for all the new play space, too!).

Izzy's 2!!!

Izzy woke up to balloons, a tricycle and presents galore this morning...
She immediately threw aside the gifts and sat on her new Schwinn Roadster!

She loves her new cowgirl hat and galoshes from Grand Roo!

Attempting to learn how to ride the trike with daddy

So stinkin' cute!

We had a wonderful day celebrating Izzy's 2nd birthday today...we woke with gift opening (which was hilarious, as she tore through all the gifts - something we've never seen before...Christmas should be fun this year!), followed by a trip to the Children's Museum, a 3 hour snoozer, bike lessons, a long walk, and then lots of play time with her new toys. Was so much fun to celebrate Izzy's life. I did some quiet reflection and am overly grateful that she is a part of our lives. She is so boisterous and dramatic...she brings so much life and laughter to our house that we couldn't imagine our lives without her. Happy Birthday Izzy girl!

Newborn(ish) pics of Delaney

Once again, Molly has taken some amazing pictures...she never disappoints. After showing me a picture on her camera during the shoot I said, "Molly, that's beautiful!" To which she replied with, "Yeah, I know what I'm doing!" And she does. The proof is in the pudding.

Check her out at http://www.mollyconnor.com/

Bouncer, party & tomatoes

Mike came home Friday with an early birthday gift for Izzy: a mini bouncer complete with 150 balls! Izzy immediately fell in love and was giggling all night while jumping & playing. Mike claims that "this is just what daddies do," meaning spoiling their kids with extraordinarily large toys that are loads of fun. I suppose it is. Needless to say, we're transitioning our dining room into a play room for the next year. Not only do we not entertain (who has the time or energy with 2 small children?) but the toys are becoming too big and cumbersome for our living room. Should be a fun place for the girls to play while they are home with the nanny!

Loving her new toy
Static hair...Mike found this hilarious
Catching her breath

Daddy joined the fun
Saturday morning I woke WAY too early (considering I only had 5 hours of sleep) to join Jaime & Lori for some garage sale-ing. I scored by finding a double jogger, ballet shoes for Izzy's dress-up repertoire, and 100 milk storage bags (I paid $6 for these - they retail for $40!!!). I was most excited about the storage bags, and my girlfriends thought I was crazy. Anyway, after that excursion, I returned home just in time to join the family for a birthday party for Max Musgrave (2) and Jude Moosbrugger (1). There was pumpkin painting and cupcake decorating for the kids...while there was pumpkin donuts & chili for the adults. Was so much fun to catch up with the entire Musgrave clan.
Painting
Sunday afternoon Izzy and Mike picked tomatoes from our garden...Izzy ate the entire (large) tomato on the spot!
And finally, we met Luke & Aunt Gi Gi (Jaime) at the park this evening to get the kids some fresh air (and Jaime & I some girl time). How cute are these two?!

Delaney's namesake

My girlfriend, Jaime, is in her 2nd trimester of her 2nd pregnancy. She just posted on her blog about a song that her husband introduced to her that has moved her to the core. Jaim has an instinct that she is pregnant with a little girl. If this is so, I'm curious if she'll name her Zoe (the song's title)? Also, I hope our girls grow up together and become as close as Luke and Izzy have. Anyway, her blog posting inspired me to share where we got the name for Delaney.

As most of you know, Mike and I have been long time fans of Jimmy Buffett. We've gone to his concerts every summer since we met (and sometimes twice!). Mike has a favorite song that Jimmy sings called "Delaney Talks to Statues" that is about a father's love for his daughter, Delaney.

Delaney talks to statues

As she dances 'round the pool

She chases cats through roman ruins

And stomps on big toadstools

She speaks a language all her own

That I cannot discover

But she knows I love her so

When I tuck her 'neath the covers

Father, daughter

Down by the water

Shells sink, dreams float

Life's good on our boat

Delaney draws me pictures

She finger paints the sand

We chase the dogs and hop like frogs

Then I do my bad handstand

She's growing up too fast for me

And asking lots of questions

Some I know the answers to

And some I'm looking for suggestions

Father, daughter

Born by the water

Surf's up, sun's down

Life in a beach town

And some of the things I've seen

Maybe she won't have to see

But there's a lot I want to pass along

That was handed down to me

Delaney talks to statues

As she dances 'round the pool

She chases cats through Roman ruins

And stomps on big toadstools

She speaks a language all her own

Just a little like her mother

And she knows I love her so

When I tuck her 'neath the covers

Father, daughter

Down by the water

Shells sink, dreams float

Life's good on our boat