A few of our favorite things

Ahh summer.  Even though you are ridiculously hot and I've gotten more mosquito bites than I can count, we still love you.  In no particular order, here's what we've been up to this summer between travel and visitors and monthly photoshoots...

Some day she may get too old to enjoy the horses and the sheep, but for now, they are still a favorite

Chocolate ice cream + white pants = mom fail.  Totally worth it.

Bubble bath in the kiddie pool...that counts as clean, right?

Pancake breakfast dates with Daddy are all about "pancakes, syrup, white milk, and BACON!!!"

My little shopping sidekick

The minis and their 'moothies

At least one child is napping...the other is mostly "resting quietly"...I'll take what I can get.

We've got another fan of the swings!

That smile is everything.

How can she be this big already??

My little yard work sidekick

Summer nights on the swing set

Ready, set, gooooooo

Sarah is 6 months old!

Happy half birthday Sarah bear!  Our happy girl just gets happier and happier...and chubbier and chubbier!  At her 6 month check up, she clocked in at 27 inches (90th percentile), 20 lbs 14 oz (99th), and 18 inches around her head (99th).

Sarah is loving being 6 months old.  She loves to sit up and grab for her toys, she loves to roll around, and she LOVES to eat!  So far, she hasn't turned her nose up at any of her solids...I think she's just happy to be at the table with her sister joining in on the fun!  She still really enjoys her jumper, and enjoys swinging in the backyard.  She's got two teeth poking through, and besides a few tough nights of sleep, she's taking her teething in stride.  She's also getting chattier - blowing bubbles with her tongue, babbling, and laughing a lot.

Little angel face

Rolls on rolls on rolls

Her little lips just kill me.  And her giant cheeks.  And the double chin. 

Mid spit-talk

Oh hello happy.  Stay squishy forever. Love, your mama

Happy is her default setting.

What a grin.  She'll be making cheesy faces with her sister in no time.

For reference, Hannah's six month pictures

I got my toes in the water...

This summer we pulled the trigger on a real, honest to goodness, week long family vacation at the beach.  It was completely lovely.  We rented a condo in Atlantic Beach, NC, right on the ocean with a big pool and a kiddie pool.  We put away our phones, relaxed the schedule, and broke out the beach towels.

With only one day of rain (which we spent at the aquarium watching the turtles and melting down at the gift shop), it was all beach - pool - beach - pool, with naps and snacks in between.  Sarah ate some sand, floated in the cabana, and hung out in the tent.  Hannah owned the kiddie pool, made sand pies, and made up new words (more on that in a minute).  Alex and I traded off jumping waves and boogie boarding, relaxed during naps, and just enjoyed being together, all four of us, after a long spring of newborn nights for me and work travel for Alex.  It was rejuvenating.

Love her beach hair

Mmmm sand pies with sea shells on top

Every time a wave came, Hannah would yell, "Maganino!!!"  No idea why.

Chasing rings in the kiddie pool

Teaching her mermaids to boogie board

Oh Sarah, you do know how to rock the beach.  Vacation looks good on you.

Hanging out in our tent with this squishy girl!

Sweet little napper.  Oh yes, she sucks her thumb.

Sister snuggles!

Staying up late making forts!

I swear Sarah was having fun too...even if her face suggest otherwise ;)

Beach Weekend 2014

Busch Gardens fun!

This summer we took advantage of living so close to Busch Gardens and got season passes...and it's been a blast!  Even in the heat (and we've had plenty of that), this has become a favorite morning activity with friends or evening activity with Daddy.  Sarah's just along for the ride (since she can't ride anything...see what I did there), but Hannah hasn't found a ride she doesn't like.  From the carousel to Oscar's Whirly Worms to the lady bug cars and more, we've loved exploring all the park has to offer its young visitors.

This girl even loves the tram from the parking lot to the park...on a BG date with Mama!

Riding the horses with some of her sweet friends

Even grown ups get to ride sometimes!

Mostly Sarah looks like this...

And sometimes she looks like this...

Mmmm ice cream treats

Elmo's Tower goes "up up up and down down down"

Isn't she lovely

Becoming a big sister brought a lot of changes for our firstborn, and it's been important for Alex and me to carve out time for "dates" with her - a pancake breakfast before school, or even just a solo trip to the grocery store.  No doubt that Hannah loves her sister - she loves to get in Sarah's crib after nap time, to sing to her, to "read" her stories - but we know it's been hard to have Mama and Daddy's attention be divided.

I never want to forget all of the milestones this girl is blowing past all the time.  It seems like just yesterday I was amazed listening to her say "go potty ga-ga (doggy)" on our walks, and now she chatters non-stop all day like a certified big kid, noticing everything, pretending, learning her letters, counting, and making us laugh with her jokes.

We've had our fair share of timeouts and meltdowns, fights over brushing teeth and taking turns, but on balance, Hannah gets sweeter and more fun every day.  When she reaches each new stage, I keep thinking, "okay, now this is definitely my favorite age," and 2.5 is no exception!

Sarah is 5 months old!

This month, Sarah mastered the roll, and unlike Hannah who was fond of the barrel roll, Sarah rolls all the ways - front and back over both shoulders...which means she can go places.  These days, if I set her down, she's never in the same place when I come back, which means the floor is once again clear of anything Sarah can't chew on.

And chew she does with her first tooth getting ready to break through!  More on that next month!

I can't quite capture in words the sound she was making here...sort of an amused grunt.

The smile.  And the tongue.  Always with the tongue.

Getting better at sitting up!

Mastering the roll.  And making Michael Jordan proud.

Exploring her feet

If Leonidas was smart, he would stay out of her reach...she doesn't understand "don't pull hair" quite yet.

Little baby push ups

For reference, Hannah's five month pictures