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

Summer of sisterly love

Neither Alex nor I have a sister, so the sisters dynamic is going to be new to both of us, and although I already have the occasional anxious thought about their teenage years, for now, having sisters is pretty much the bomb dot com.  (And when they are teenagers and websites have somehow become obsolete, they will laugh at my dot com reference...moving on...)

Our girls really do love each other.  No one makes Sarah laugh like Hannah can, and Hannah is never more excited than when she gets to wake Sarah up from nap (well, maybe she's more excited for ice cream...but it's a close call).  We love watching them together, and although we know it won't be long before they start sharing fighting over toys, right now it's all about the love.

Porch-livin with Daddy

"Hello baby sister.  Can't I tickle you?"

A family that tummy times together, stays together...or something like that

The dresses, the camo blanket, the pink pool in the background...porch picnics are the best

Snuggles :)

Happy Independence Day America!

Hannah got a swing set for her birthday and it has been a highlight of the summer!

Wasn't sure where the groceries were going to go, but we had fun!

Blueberry Picking...again!

In one of my favorite summer traditions, we loaded up the car, caught the ferry, and made our way to the blueberry patch!  We got out early in the summer this year on a weekday afternoon between Daddy's work travels.  True to form, Hannah ate way more than she picked - it was so fun to listen to her talk about picking the blue ones and not the pink ones and chatting her way through the rows of berries!  And we didn't abandon the small fry either...Sarah just snoozed most of the time :)

Marching to the patch!

Don't worry girlie, you'll get your turn next summer!

In the meantime, Hannah will eat enough for both of you

Fresh blueberries are finger-lickin' good

The real pickers ;)

Ah home made ice cream after we pick...might be definitely the best part

Blueberry picking in 2014

Sarah is 4 months old!

Four months old!  Hooray Sarah!!  Four months brought three big milestones for this girl - rolling over, sleeping in her own room, and bedtime (maybe that's more of a milestone for us as parents, haha)!  We can't get over how happy Sarah is...she is such a relaxed, easy-going baby.  Her favorite thing to do is jump in her jumper, which is really fun for us to watch.  She and Hannah do such a great job making each other laugh, and keeping each other company - even at this young age!

At her check up, our girl was measuring 25.5 inches (90th percentile), 17 lbs 8 oz (99th), and 17.5 inches around the dome (99th again).  Another big one!

She's always got that little tongue poking out...and the cheeks!

Looking long and lean chubby these days!

Her sweet baby doll face

Nom nom nom

Just starting to sit up...and completely fascinated by her toes!

Rolling over gives her a whole new world to explore!  Watch out Leonidas!

For reference, Hannah's four month pictures