Shapes

I don't know if this is a big deal or not because I have no basis for comparison, but I think it is pretty cool that Molly knows this many shapes before she turns two. I have to celebrate these little milestones, you know because she hasn't slept through the night in weeks!

The summer so far in pictures

We have been having lots of fun adventures around here this summer and I admit I am not very good about remembering to bring the camera. I am much more likely to take a picture with my phone so there are lots of good ones on there, but I haven't figured out how to put those on the computer yet. So here are the limited pictures I have taken so far this summer.


This was this morning at Gray's Lake. Molly loves water, just like her Mommy and had fun running around the path. She also climbed a tree for the first time (or I set her up in a tree and snapped a quick picture while hoping she didn't fall out).


These next pictures are from the 4th of July. We went back to Grandview which has become a fun yearly tradition. Molly enjoyed playing with her cousins and most of the parade, although she could have done without the sirens and clowns.

We also took a fun trip to Chicago to visit the Mead's. I took exactly one picture the whole weekend. Fail! But at least it was a cute one of Molly and cousin Lauren outside the Shedd Aquarium.

Molly is following in Daddy's footsteps and has discovered a love for Oreo's.

She is also into the book Pinkalicious and calls it the cupcake book. She is very interested in cupcakes and so we made some and I let her decorate them. The funny part is she doesn't like to eat the cupcakes. Her exact words are "Don't yike it!" So we packed them up and delivered them to friends and family.

Playdoh has also been a favorite activity this summer. It has been a test of my controlling tendencies to let her do what she wants with the Playdoh and use the tools as she wants to use them instead of how they are 'supposed' to be used. :-)

The zoo has been another favorite outing this summer. She especially loves the giraffes and everythime we see a giraffe on TV or signs or in books she says "I saw him other day." She also loves riding the train at the zoo. It is a real highlight!

So there you have it, our summer in pictures. I am glad we are going to be home for the next several weeks as we have had lots of travel lately. Next weekend is Molly's birthday and so we have lots of family coming in for that and I have some major party planning to get done! We also have a visit from Gammy and Lumpy coming up and in September a trip to Colorado. Lots to look forward to. Thanks for checking in!

Conversations with Molly

I am loving staying home with Molly. I don't really know how to explain it other than to say I feel like I have finally found what I was meant to do. I don't miss anything about going to work and am kicking myself for not doing this earlier. We are still finding our rhythm some days, but it is so worth it. Here is a video of a conversation we have had a lot lately!

San Diego Part Three...The Game

One of Mike and my lifetime goals together is to visit all 30 major league baseball parks. It is actually for this reason that we chose San Diego for a vacation. It was a park we wanted to see and the Cardinals happened to be playing there at a time we could get away. I'm pretty sure this was Mike's favorite part of the trip. We got to be pretty close during batting practice to some of the big stars on the Cardinal's team. Plus, the Card's won!

San Diego Part Two...Coronado Island, The Pacific Ocean and A Cool Bar

Here are some more pictures from our trip. We spent one of our days taking a Trolley all around the city and one of my favorite stops was Coronado Island. It was so beautiful and fun and we got to stick our toes in the Pacific Ocean, a first for me. We liked it so much we took a ferry back to the island later that night for dinner.

Cool sandcastles being built by a professional on the beach. Seriously, he had business cards and everything.

Hotel Del Coronado

I love this guy!

The hour or so we spent on the beach was hands down my favorite part of the trip. I don't really know how to describe how close I felt to Mike. Uh, gag me, but it's true...

Slightly cheesy, but we were caught up in the moment.

Even though we enjoyed our time alone together, Molly was always on our minds.

This was a really cool Irish bar in the Gaslamp district called The Field. We also went to several other bars on our trip, our favorite being The Regal Beagle which was a tiny bar that featured all local beers and was recommended to us by our water taxi driver. It was a total hole in the wall that we never would have found on our own. Fun, fun times.

San Diego Part One...The Hotel

Yes the hotel gets it's own post. It was definitely one of the major highlights of the trip. All credit goes to Mike who obsessively researched for MONTHS and made sure we were staying at the nicest hotel, with the best view, for the best value, in prime location. All I had to do was show up and ooh and aah at the view. It was heavenly. For anyone wondering it was the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

These are the two towers that make up the hotel. We were in the one on the left.

This was the view out one of our windows.

This was the other window. That is Coronado Island in the background.

This is in the lobby that connects the two towers.

So fancy.

Ch-Ch-Changes

Things around here have been pretty exciting and changed pretty drastically lately.

1. Mike and I took a trip to San Diego. It was awesome. I can't really even put into words how much we enjoyed ourselves and how good it felt to spend 4 uninterrupted days together. And Molly had a great time at Gammy and Lumpy's house. We were truly able to relax knowing that she was in such good hands.

2. I turned 30. It was a quiet affair spent at my parent's house with my siblings and their families. It was perfect. I don't really feel any different now that I am "in my 30's."

3. I quit my job and am currently a stay at home mom. About 2 months ago we received word that Molly's daycare would be closing. Mike and I both felt pretty strongly that we didn't think it was fair to put Molly in a new daycare setting after being at the same place with the same kids and staff for almost 2 years and honestly, this is something that has been rolling around in my head for a while now. I feel like the past 2 years have gone by so quickly and a mojority of that time Molly has been in someone else's care. That makes me sad and I want to make things different from here on out. Unfortunately the money tree we planted in the backyard hasn't bloomed yet, so I am working on lining up some part time work.

So, there you have it big events and changes. All good, looking forward to an exciting summer with my "silly bean."