Life in OC

Two weeks post moving and things are starting to feel a little more settled.  Here's a little taste of life so far and a tour of our first floor (bedrooms are upstairs, but sorry, no pictures of those yet)...

Half of the living room...

...the other half = Lilia space.

The twins shrine.  We don't have much up on the walls....except here.  Hanging up Kirby for the first time in 5 years was a top priority.  There's more up on the other side of the room, but you get the idea.

Our big girl turned 11 months just after we moved here.  She's been loving the space so much that she's starting to take 4-5 steps before lunging into mom's arms.  Full fledged walking is not too far off!

Our favorite thing to do lately is pull everything out of cupboard, bags, and boxes.

When mom's at volleyball, dad takes over....wardrobe and all.  Living in Raider town, I'm going to have to make sure to reverse any damage done once daddy's away at school.

Just sitting on the front step helping mom husk the corn, but I guess someone couldn't wait for supper!

Mmmm....so good that she ate almost the entire ear.

cousin love

Hey Hannah...come check this out!

If we go right up those steps, there's a nursery FULL of toys!

C'mon...don't even ask your mom...it's fine!

mhmmm...mhmmm...I like your game plan.  Let's go!

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Declan closing his eyes for the kiss...

...and thinking it was quite funny.  Lilia isn't quite sure what to think.

Sweet kisses from Hannah...and still not sure about this whole kissing thing.

june

a journey through our june in pictures...

proud daddy and his daughter on father's day

Takin a ride in the tractor...

and on nana and papa's john deere atv.

Nana was so willing to walk and walk and walk with Lilia.

She loved it and i loved the break! :)

Perfectly symmetrical tears - she's even cute when she's sad...

...papa's tickles usually make things better too.

her new form of communication - fish kisses

little family photo before tyler and heather's wedding

the girls with grandpa and grandma

this is how she feels about taking her 10 month picture...

sorry mr. moose, now that she's constantly on the move, 

there are much more interesting things to see!

the beginning of the end

Today was Matt's last day of school at Timothy...ever.  It seems weird to say it.  This last day marks the beginning of the end of our time here in the western suburbs, and with it will come a whole lot of transition.  I'm not one to like final good-byes, so hopefully starting the process now will help me out.

Summer also means that I'm done babysitting.  No more tshirt batman capes and masks...

...and Lilia will have to play with her ol' dad instead of her usual playmates :)...

...but we are excited for more time with Matt, cause our little girl is growing up like crazy right before our eyes.  Already 9 months, she loves to walk with our help, make fishy faces, read her flip books, and talk like crazy.

Bring on summer....we are ready!

first twins game

Over Memorial Day weekend, Lilia was able to experience her first Twins game at Miller Park. She was a trooper the whole time, even took a nap for innings 1-3 so she could be awake to see the Twins win!  I think Lilia may be a good luck charm for them :).

Now that she has mastered the nose scrunch, this is her new smile she loves to flash.

This just melts my heart no matter how many times I see it...

Rainy, cold tailgating doesn't stop these two from having a good time!

And just because... happy belated Mother's Day to me :)

all grown up and graduated

Few things have made me realize how fast life speeds along as seeing my little sister graduate from college.....COLLEGE?!?!  Wasn't it just a few years ago that I would force her to let me braid her hair, teach her volleyball so I had someone to pepper with, and stare up at the same glow-in-the-dark stars in our bedroom talking about my wedding plans?  Ah yes, time races on.  I could not be more proud of my sis and so happy I could be there for her big day. 

Lilia was excited to be there too :)

tulip time

Last time it was "April showers bring a flood."  This time, it's April showers bring May snow.  Lilia and I went to Iowa for her first Tulip Time, and I was excited to be back after a 9 year absence from the food and festivities....but let's be honest, I mainly missed the food.  But what do you do when over 2/3 of Tulip Time gets cancelled because of snow coming down sideways, temperatures hovering around the freezing mark, and weather you wouldn't call decent even in the dead of winter? 

Well, first you snuggle under the blanket in the easy chair with Papa to watch a little Gunsmoke...

...hang out with big D...

...look out the window in disbelief of this May snow...

...sit on Nana's lap...

...and use uncle Ben as a booster to look out the window some more.

And when the weather finally clears enough to make a quick Tulip Time appearance, we donned the wooden shoes (thanks to Aunt Bailey!)...

...found some of the few tulips in bloom...

...and watched an afternoon parade together....

...to see the best part of the parade, by far - cutest little Dutch boy I've ever seen!