Time.

A weekend together...priceless!! Jeff was able to spend some time at home over the weekend so we enjoyed some fun family activities. On Friday night, Jeff met us at the Jumping Monkey for some bouncing castle fun and then we dined together as a family in PUBLIC! We ate at TGIF's and the girls were great. Lily ate her entire meal in about 2 minutes and Em...she basically ate constantly the entire hour we were there. We definitely have some good eaters on our hands. I guess they are just like their Mommy and Daddy.

After Jeff worked on Saturday morning, we spent the entire afternoon at Ocean Breeze Waterpark. It was Jeff's first time with us, so Lily was excited to show Daddy how much she loves the water slides. It was an extremely hot afternoon so Jeff and I took turns on a few of the large slides. It was a great afternoon. I really miss having Jeff around, especially on the weekends. That evening we enjoyed a summer feast of hamburgers, pasta salad, watermelon and corn on the cob. Although Jeff had to work on Sunday, we enjoyed every minute we had together as a family. Thanks for trying to always be in two places at once Honey!

13 Months

*Loves to climb on EVERYTHING and can easily climb on top of the kitchen table, coffee table and every piece of furniture in the house

*sleeps 12 hours a night consistently (finally!)

*Is completely done nursing, but hates whole milk

*Eats 3 large meals a day and snacks, her favorites are fruit, mac and cheese, french toast, yogurt drinks, cheese, crackers and pasta salad

*Wears 18 Months, size 4 diapers and size 4 shoes

*Loves the water (pool, water park or tub)

*Can walk and run very easily

*Some words she speaks: mama, dada, doggie, baby, diaper, Emma, cracker

*Has found her voice and yells at her sister when she steals her toys

*Takes two naps, but is slowly transitioning to one

*Loves her sleepy bear, big elephant and any baby

*Finally will sit and listen to books, her favorites are PJ Time, Fuzzy Fuzzy and The Going to Bed Book

*Drinks nonstop all day and especially loves what ever her sister is drinking

*Has SUPER curly hair, the bluest eyes, a huge toothy smile and the sweetest laugh

*Loves to chase Daddy and Lily around the house

*Understands and can follow directions very well (put that back, get down, close the door)

*IS INTO EVERYTHING!!! There is no way to baby proof, she is just so busy

*LOVES to give hugs and pat your back

*Can give kisses, wave bye bye and plays peek-a-boo

*Has a temper and likes getting her own way

*Loves to dance to music

*Isn't interested in TV at all, except for the occasional Elmo's World

*Loves to be held and is a bit of a Mommy's girl

We love you Emma...can't believe you are already a busy little toddler.

"My Future's So Bright...

I've got to wear shades!"

Keeping Cool

Things you do when the Air Conditioning is out for 2 days...

SO SO GLAD IT'S WORKING AGAIN!!

"My Favorite Things" Girls' Night

The Evite:
Host:
Irene Prager & April Kouhoupt
Location:
My House, Virginia Beach, VA
When:
Thursday, June 19, 8:30PM

*Please join me and my sister, April for a Favorite Things party June 19th. Just bring 5 items under $5.00 to share with the group. Some examples include, your favorite lip gloss, magazine or chocolate. You'll all get a fun bag to take home with you. We'll be serving heavy appetizers and drinks...so come hungry. Hope to see you all soon!

We had a wonderful turn out for our girls night. There were 9 of us total (sorry you had to miss it Michelle). Everyone came with their favorite things to share. We had great food, which included; feta pasta salad, veggie ranch pizza, cheese & crackers tray, stuffed mushrooms, chocolate strawberry truffle cake and chocolate coffee bars. We also enjoyed wine and margaritas (mango, strawberry and regular flavored). Thanks to all of you that helped with the cooking.

During the evening we did a few fun ice breaker games and everyone got to know one another. We also shared our favorite items with the group. I brought Bath and Body Works hand soap and Lindt chocolate. The girls were all very creative with their favorite items. In my goody bad I got a $5.00 gift card to Coldstone Creamery (my FAVORITE ice cream), B&BW shower gel, magnetic pad and pen, hand sanitizer and corn knobs. There were frames, candles, magazines, even the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

Thanks to all of you for coming and enjoying a relaxing girl night. I look forward to the next one....

Tea Anyone?

Lily set up this tea party all by herself. Of course I joined her for some yummy onions and cookies!

April's Summer Visit

June 16-June 21: My sister, April and my niece, Cailyn along with their friends Jackie and Emily came to Virginia Beach for a week long visit. It was a WONDERFUL week. I loved every minute I was able to spend with my sister and sweet niece. All the kids played really well together and we jammed in many fun activities. Some of my favorite memories are listed below:

- A week with family!

-The kids playing in the backyard and eating popsicles

-GOING TO A PEARL JAM CONCERT....YAY!

-Watching the kids have a blast at Ocean Breeze Waterpark

-"My Favorite Things" Girls Night (separate pics/post to follow)

-Coldstone Creamery

-Making a water slide out of the slide in our backyard

-The kids enjoying Chuck E. Cheese (Thanks Grammie Shaw)

-Lots of girl talks with Ape

-The kids playing hide-and-seek with Jackie

-An entire week of sunny, hot weather

-Shopping

-Yummy BBQ and margarita's

-The kids playing on the swing set

-Lots of hugs from Cailyn

-All the help from my sister and Jackie

-Meeting Emily...a super sweet little girl

-Walking the boardwalk and playing in the sand

-Watching Em, Lily and Cailyn bond

-Sharing a wonderful week with my sister....I miss you already sis!

Reconnecting

When living here in Virginia Beach the first time, Jeff and I were able to meet some really great friends. Now that we're back, many have moved on to different duty stations. Our good friends, Maritza and Bryan were friends we met the first time around and are now stationed outside New Orleans. Over the years we have stayed in touch and watched their family grow.

Maritza is originally from Virginia Beach and decided to come home this summer with her kids. We were really excited for the opportunity to reconnect and get all the kids together for a visit. On June 16th Maritza brought her gang over to meet the girls. It was really great to meet Elena and see first hand how big (and busy) Nate is. We had a wonderful play date. The kids kept busy with crafts and played outside in the pool while Maritza and I caught up. Lily was so excited to play with Nate and actually rivaled his energy level.
Thanks for coming over to visit Maritza, Ellie and Nate...it felt like no time had passed!! We hope to enjoy a few more visits before you head back south. (And Bryan....Ellie looks JUST LIKE YOU!!)

Father's Day 2008

The girls and I had a great day with Jeff. He actually only had to work for part of the afternoon so we enjoyed some quality time together as a family. Jeff's father's day started out with him sleeping in, a rare and special gift all by itself. Once he woke up the girls were so excited to give him their presents. We went shopping earlier in the week for a few things and Lily made a craft at summer camp. They also helped with the entire wrapping process (what a project that was). Lily picked out some new shirts and a few of the Frog and Todd books to read with Daddy. He said they were his favorites as a child so it will be something special for them to share. Em decided to go with a more traditional gift. She chose the new John Adams novel by David McCullough, as she knows how much her Daddy enjoyed 1776.

We truly had a great morning just lounging around and playing with the girls. Lily and Emma loved all the special attention from Daddy. They have really missed him these last 2 months. In the afternoon we had a birthday party to attend. It was private party hosted at a facility with several bouncing houses and slides. The kids had a blast jumping and sliding with Daddy. Em especially loved the slide and eventually mastered it on her own. All in all, it was a great day with Jeff. Even though he had to sneak off to work during the party, we hopefully were able to show him how much he is loved and missed. Happy Father's Day to you Hon...you're the BEST Daddy to our little girls!

Daddy Day

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful fathers I know. Enjoy your day!

Congratulations Brooke and Josh!

MAY 22, 2008:

Brooke (one of my good friends from UMaine) and her husband, Josh welcomed their second little girl on May 22nd. Here is an email from our friend Abby who saw Brooke at the hospital.

"Taylor was born on Thursday at 5:55pm. Brooke was induced at 2:00pm and pushed her out in 2 minutes, what a pro. Taylor is 7lbs, 12oz and 20in. long. Sydney is loving her new baby sister. Brooke looks fantastic and both are doing well."

Congratulations to Brooke, Josh and Sydney. We can't wait to meet Taylor!

Another Hot Day, Another Waterpark

On Sunday we visited the Aeropalms Waterpark on Base. For $5.00, I must say it is quite a bargain. There are several slides for adults (and 2 for children), a children's pool, snack bar and free life jacket rentals for the kids. We took our friends this weekend for a few hours to beat the heat and we had a blast. Lily was a little afraid of the deep water (we think the ocean waves scared her the day before), but warmed up with some coaching. Within the hour she was swimming around in the deep pool by herself. Jeff and I were able to ride the slides too, thanks to our friends Beth and Bryan. Although we bought season passes to Ocean Breeze Waterpark, I'm sure we'll be coming here as well. The best part...Jeff being able to spend the ENTIRE day with us.

The Start of Beach Season

June 7th: Here are some pictures of our first day at the beach this season. The break was rough, but with temperatures of 100 degrees, it felt so refreshing to jump in and cool off. It was Emma's first time actually walking in the sand. Lily was a little overwhelmed with the waves and just wanted to play in the sand. Beth, Jeff and I were all knocked over by the waves at some point...which made for lots of laughing. We couldn't stay long because of the extreme heat, but we all enjoyed the cool water and ocean breeze.