Trains, Bdays, Nana...what a trip!

At Busch Gardens


Two weeks ago, Elise and Adam took a little "adventure" together. We realized not too long ago, that we hadn't been to Florida to visit his mom since Elise was about 6 months old. Since I'm too pregnant to travel that far these days, we thought it could be a fun for them to take a "daddy/daughter" trip together. We also made sure it would be a surprise for his mom! Amanda organized all kinds of details so the fun was maximized and "Nana" was totally shocked!
Elise and Adam decided to take Amtrak there (about 8 hours), and that ended up being a great choice. Elise LOVED the adventure of a train-ride, she wasn't strapped into a 5-pt harness carseat for a whole day, Adam got some work done and didn't have to drive all day...it was really cool. She STILL talks about it most days...the food on the train, the cool seats, the train horn, etc. Since I'm not a fan of 'unknown adventures', this was the perfect trip for Adam to test-drive for our family...maybe we'll do it again someday. (only bummer is that we had to get Elise up at 3:45 AM to get to the train station...she recovered by that night, but was looking a little ragged on the train!)

The actual time in Florida was perfect. They surprised Nana at work, spent a LOT of time at her pool, went to Busch Gardens one day (BTW-Active Duty military are FREE at Busch Gardens right now...YAY for military discounts!!!), had a fun Bday party for Nana, saw Elise's great-grandma, and ate lots of cake, ice cream, and other "special treats". =) Elise can't keep a secret...
Elise eating "Dippin' Dots". 100 degrees in south Florida in July

Elise, Nana, and Nana's best friend Brenda...coloring book time.

At Busch Gardens...waiting for the Log ride going overhead...waiting...
It's getting closer...."Daddy said it would be a little wet"!
Yikes! More water than she thought!

Overall, it was a great 5 days for them, Elise was WORN OUT for days when she returned! Ainsley and I had a good week, too. IT was SOOO QUIET around here without a chatty 3 year old, but we had a lot of fun. Trying to savor some 'down time' before baby boy is born (this month!!!), we move to VA, and life gets really crazy!

the family whirlwind, continues...

Sorry these pics are a little late, but I forgot to upload them before Adam took the camera to Florida for a week. =) oops. My brother Kelly was in town for a college friend's wedding (total coincidence), so he lengthened his stay by a few days so he could spend some time with us! It was a great time with him here, but we always wish visitors could stay longer. It's funny that Kelly, being the almost-34 year old single guy in the family, is absolutely GREAT with the 3.5 and 1.5 yr old girls. It surprises me every time (maybe I just don't learn so quickly!) how at ease he is with little kiddos and they LOVE him, too. He jumped right into coloring in the princess coloring books, 'babysitting' baby dolls, reading bedtime stories, and helping me out with sippy cups, pool-time, etc... We did spend one day at the Aquarium downtown, but I didn't even take the camera...just too much chaos at events like that. I 'm pretty sure he had fun at the Aquarium, but it's never a calm or relaxing trip! We even managed to squeeze in a 20 minute drive through the downtown historic district while the girls were eating lunch in the car. It was a great couple days, just unfortunately only a few pictures to show for it. =)

Another day...and more princesses!

In the "Castle"

A great deal on Craigslist last week (WE LOVE CRAIGSLIST!!!) brought 5 extra "dress up" outfits to our house (for just $5 TOTAL!!) and the girls couldn't be happier! 4 were actual princess dresses, but one was a leftover "dance recital" outfit from a 6 year old. Adam would NEVER ALLOW one of our girls to wear this outfit in public for any type of recital. However, I think it was adorable and ELISE was actually STRUTTING while wearing it. She thought she was so cool. We'll just have her wear it inside for now, I guess. They had a blast wearing the new dress up clothes, though. We had a tea party, built a "castle" under the table, had a dance party in the kitchen, and giggled a whole lot. =) I love my girls. (btw-I did wash all the outfits on HOT to disinfect them, just in case you were wondering...since they were used and I didn't know the people.)


This was the dance party in the recital outfit...I love that Elise was TOTALLY performing for Ainsley, who was in HEAVEN watching her big sister...Ainsley's smile was amazing.

This was her first outfit and she thought she was so cool...open mid-section and all...

I love when family visits!

We have a few more pics from when my (Erica) brother Paul and sis-in-law Jen were visiting over July 4th weekend. Although United Airlines lost Jen's luggage for a day or so, she was a great sport about borrowing stuff and dealing well with the inconvenience. =) She's so great. Jen has also made a LIFELONG friend in Elise b/c she brought the greatest princess dress ever. You'd think it was actually made of gold the way Elise talks about it, wears it with the utmost care, and the way her eyes just LIGHT UP when it's just in the same room...I'm not kidding, either. Here are a few other pictures form the weekend in general and especially of Elise in the dress. (Another GREAT gift they brought was a "make your own princess crown" craft kit...so that's the explanation for the crowns they're both wearing. =) We've played Princess dress-up at least 4 times in the last 10 days, too...that's been fun. Enjoy.

Paul with a happy "Normal Ainsley"

Paul with the alter-ego "Drama Queen Ainsley"

Another great visit!

Two weeks ago, my (Erica) brother/sister-in-law Paul and Jen were able to visit us for about5 4 days and we all enjoyed it so much! On July 3rd, we borrowed our friends' speedboat for a great day out on the water. Once again, the girls LOVED it! I think Paul and Jen enjoyed it a bunch too. Coming off their faster=paced city life, I think it was a little shock to them to be in our total "Suburban way of life". (I'm not sure why that part is underlined, but I can't seem to un-do it. I'm not trying to emphasize anything in particular.)
Anyway, the time on the boat was great. The weather was perfect, water was nice and calm for most of the trip, we stopped at a cool dockside restaurant for lunch and air conditioning, drove (do you say "drove" when you're talking about a boat? floated, pulled up?) to Ft. Sumter which was cool. It was just a great day overall...we loved spending time with them and SOO wish Chicago was closer!
More pics and stories later about their trip...

Elise rockin' the pigtails!
Ft. Sumter...smaller than I thought it would be.
Ainsley driving the boat with Daddy
Elise was the photographer for a few shots, too...here's Uncle Paul
Elise spent a lot of time on Jen's lap...it was cute.

Gardening...or, Worm Farming

We know that Elise enjoys playing in the dirt, but we were so proud when she started picking up worms today while "helping" Adam in the yard. The first one she was a little unsure, but that was it. She would pull them out of the ground, and run them to the garden (The "Farm" as Adam calls it) to put them "back with their friends". It as ADORABLE and, of course, she was filthy in no time at all. After digging on her own a few minutes later, she came across a bunch of really tiny frogs (really tiny like the size of my pinky fingernail...they were so cute). She fearlessly started chasing them, picking them up (poor things...may some of them Rest In Peace), and relocating them to the garden as well. =) She was very proud of herself, too, and was explaining to me that the holes she dug were going to be frog houses once it got dark outside. Of course they were.
Ainsley started off a little hesitant in the dirt, but then fully embraced it. Yay for her! She had a cute dress on, so I took it off and once again she was running around in just a diaper. That seems to happen a lot around here. I snapped a few pictures during the hour or so we were outside. It was a gorgeous afternoon and I was so thankful for the great time with Adam and the girls.

Ainsley these days...

Although I CANNOT believe that Ainsley is 17 months old, she really is growing up right in front of us! She's ADORABLE (although I'm a little biased, of course) and has some SERIOUS spunk, too. Although still not talking at all (she only says "Mama, Dada. Daw (Dog), and Bye-Bye"), she communicates a ton in other ways. She also understands SOOO much of what we're saying and it's funny to watch her waddle around and really develop a personality. She has a special love for Elise's shoes and puts them on all the time to walk around the house. She also likes to find other people's shoes by the door and bring them to you, put them your feet for you, etc...and then she's SO proud of her accomplishment! I can't think of any specific stories from the last couple weeks, though...She is a TOTAL DRAMA-QUEEN which is funny. At the drop of a hat, she'll turn on the tears, cry hysterically for 3 minutes, and then stop as quickly as she started. As neighbors/friends get to know her better, they just laugh it off like we do. Here are a few cute pictures:

Playing in a baby-doll crib. She fell out seconds later, ended up with a nice bruise on her head.


I put this in b/c the dress is my favorite item of her clothing! It's just precious.

She was playing inside a plastic bin and Elise kept bringing her toys fill up the bin. She was completely buried after just a few minutes, laughing the whole time...