Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day weekend

What a fun weekend we had! Friday we headed up to Sister Lakes to spend the weekend at the summer house. The girls were SUPER excited for their first trip up there of the year. We got in around dinner time, had pizza with Grandma and Papo, played a bit then the kids went to bed. Saturday morning dad and mom went on a run but half way through our run, around mile 3 we saw lightning and headed back to the house. Soon a huge storm came through and the temps dropped. So we took the girls to Surfari Joe's to play at the water park, they had a blast. We came home for lunch then Grandma and Papo played with the girls and took them down to the Driftwood for ice cream while daddy and mommy went on a date (to a few of the local wineries and the chocolate garden - yum). We headed back and the girls really wanted to go into the pool but it was too cold (even though they made Papo go in so they could toss in their dive bombs and he could retrive them), so we had a BBQ and a bonfire. After the girls roasted a marshmellow Grandma gave them baths and put them to bed. We stayed up late and enjoyed the fire while the temps were still cool. Sunday is when the heat wave hit - we had breakfast then the girls and grandma and I went to a few markets for flowers and fruits/veggies. We came back and hit the pool. After lunch we packed up and headed home. We took the girls to DQ for a special after dinner treat (oh boy lots of ice cream this weekend, not a regular thing!)





















Monday we went to our town's annual Memorial Day parade. We walked over with our friends and then went to starbucks after with them. After lunch and a little rest time we took the girls to the pool since it is now officially open! Mia saw Lili and Sophie and was excited to play with them at the pool. She was having a blast jumping in and holding her breath under water. We came home for a nice bbq then put the kiddos to bed. They were wiped out from a long but fun weekend!










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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Last day of school

Yesterday was Mia's end of the year picnic. It was fun being her room mom this year. Her teachers were so great. One of the dads is a photographer so we took a picture of the kids and framed it for the teachers plus gave them each a $100 gift cert to our local Aveda spa. Mia had a blast with her friends - she plays with everyone. It's amazing how much she's grown this year. We were just talking last night how proud we are that she is confident and social and is a leader. We stayed on later after the picnic was over so she could play with Ben, Mark and Charlie. Annie had a blast running after her big sister and playing too. The kids are so cute with Annie.
This summer Mia will be doing
the summer Olympics at her school, bible vacation camp and swim lessons plus some programs at iron oaks, the library reading program in the parks and good ole safety town.

This year flew by! Mia will start 4 year old preschool in September again. We decided only 3 days a week again even though she would love to go 5 days - she has many years of school ahead I want her to have as much fun as possible.



Mia and Annie eating with Abby and Quinn








Mia with Charlie, mark and Ben.
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Monday, May 21, 2012

hot weekend

it was over 90 both Saturday and Sunday this weekend! So hot! Friday daddy came home early because of the NATO summit crazyness downtown stuff. We had a cook out then actually (it was still cool on Friday) had a campfire with smores. Saturday the heat hit, just in time for our annual 5k in Homewood. Dad pushed the girls and I ran alone. I placed 2nd in my age group! It was hot, I was expecting to finish little faster but considering the heat, very pleased with my result. Dad did great too and the girls had a blast, we played a bit at the park after since Mia's bff was there (her mom and older sisters ran too) so it was a fun morning. Then we did our errands and chores and ate out at the Brewery for dinner. It was movie night so the girls picked "underdog'" for their movie this weekend. Sunday after church we picked up a few more veggie plants for the garden then after lunch headed to the splash pad because again it was so hot out! We had another grill out then early bed since Annie did not take her nap. Much cooler today.




















Only picture I got of Corey crossing the finish.





Sunday, May 13, 2012

Annie's birthday celebration

For Annie's birthday this year we went to see a play in the city then went to the Rainforest cafe for dinner. The play was based on three Eric carle books the girls love and it was a fun show for them to see. We had a great time. Papa came on Friday to visit for the weekend and the girls played in our backyard all day it was so nice out - even ate lunch outside.
Annie received a bike, sit and spin and books from grandma and papo, dresses from uncle Brian, and a basketball hoop and ball from papa. She received money, gift cards and a few other toys from other family and friends She had a great birthday - thanks to all who made her day special.



















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Friday, May 11, 2012

Mothers day tea

Today I went to school with Mia for her class' Mother's Day Tea. It was adorable. We had some refreshments and visited with the other moms. Then mrs wexler read us the story "my mom is magic" that was really sweet. The kids sang a few songs and told us a poem. Then we each got to pick out a china cup and saucer and plant a flower inside. Mia also painted me a brick to put in my garden. It was a great morning and I felt so special to be Mia's mom :)












Mia's best friend Sophie (left) and Abby (right)



Her lovely teachers Mrs. Woods and Mrs. Wexler who adore her too!


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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Annie's check up

Today Annie went see Dr. Roome for her 2 year old check up and all looked great. She is 24lbs (Mia was 26) and 33 inches (Mia was 32). Here are some highlights. Like I've mentioned, Mia was so academically advanced at this age I didn't realize it. But Annie is smart in other ways and learning a lot

* talking in short sentence, loves saying 'yep, nope, ok'. Says more than 50 words and repeats nicely. Starting to use the term "remember" when telling us stories she has experienced.

* recognizing circle, triangle, star, heart and square and some color, a few letters, she knows the ABC song and can count up to 10. She is starting to dress herself and has gone on the potty a few times. She tries to emulate Mia so much that she picks up on things quicker than Mia did in non-academic areas.

*I call her the 'tornado' because she is all over the place, Mia would be able to work on puzzles or color for hours at this age, Annie is very active and has a short attention span...but she also does what she likes and will play very nicely independently. She is not a follower by any stretch and is very secure and confident in her play. She is an explorer for sure!

* She loves playing house, loves swinging at the park and climbing high things, she often goes on her own to play but plays nicely with others. Every morning when we drop Mia off at preschool, Annie goes into the house area or the car area and starts to play. She will be ready for preschool and confident knowing her big sister was in the same classroom. When we pick Mia up, Mia is usually on the playground, Annie will join right in on the play and several of Mia's friends often take Annie's hand and play with her.

*She is the sweetest little thing ever, she will rub my arm or give me hugs, say Love You, and is just a cuddler. One night we had an awful Thunderstorm that lasted several hours, corey ended up sleeping in Mia's room and I ended up brining Annie into bed with me, she went right to sleep cuddled up to me (Mia would never sleep in our bed in situations like that, instead she'd wake up thinking it was time to play).

*Annie is a pretty good eater. She has grown fond of fish (cod and salmon mostly), avocados, all fruit, carrots and humus, she LOVES guacamole and loves to dip things and loves any form of pasta. We are switching her officially to skim milk now which is nice. And she is super excited to be eating the big girl vitamins now too (anything she can do like Mia, she is ALL about).

*Mia and Annie generally get along although they have their moments of fighting when it's time to share. When they are experiencing something new or around new faces they usually hold each others hands, Mia becomes very protective of Annie. It's so sweet to watch. They have been renacting "Little Red Riding Hood" in our back yard using the grass as the forest and the playhouse as Grandma's house - it's super cute to watch and hear their dialogue.

It's so interesting to see their personalities and how different the girls truly are from one another. I am so thankful for this time I have to be home with them to experience it all - it's worth all the sacrifices as this time goes by too fast.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Happy birthday daddy and Annie!


































we had a great day celebrating the double birthdays today. This morning we started the day with some special pancakes and maserated strawberries. Then we headed to Lincoln park zoo with our friends. Annie insisted on going to the zoo for her birthday. Then we picked daddy up from his office since we were in the city for a picnic lunch in Grant Park then took him back to work. The girls and I headed home to make our birthday cake (our triple chocolate favorite birthday cake) and grandma Caporale's spaghetti sauce for our spaghetti and meatball birthday dinner. After daddy came home we ate then we let the girls stay up a bit later to play in Annie's birthday present - a playhouse for the backyard. They had a blast! The weather was perfect today and we all had a great day. Annie goes for her check-up Thursday then on Saturday we are going to Victory Gardens theatre in Lincoln Park to see the Eric Carle play then out to the Rainforest Cafe for Annie's birthday. Papa is coming to visit and grandma, papo and uncle Brian are all coming with. Should be fun!
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