Todd's coffeepot fizzled out this past week, so he and Iris took a little trip to Wal-mart to replace it. As they were meandering their way through the store on the way to small appliances, Todd got a small glimpse of what his life is going to be like with two daughters:

Iris: (sweetly) "Oh, look. Bras for little girls!" (I think she was meaning the teeny little pre-teen bras)

Todd: (in disbelief) Um...yeah!.....they sure are.....let's keep walking!

Iris: (wistfully) I sure wish I was big enough to wear a bra.

I"m pretty sure Todd sprouted a few new gray hairs at the thought of his three-year old daughter being big enough someday to wear a bra. And oh, my dear, dear baby.....I hope it's a long time before we have to think of that because right now I can't bear the thought of you growing up!

Drop and Give me Twenty.....

Lydia recently accepted the 100 push-up challenge. So far she can do one, but she's hoping that with a little persistence and hard work she'll meet her goal of twenty in a row by the end of the week. Lydia is really serious about increasing her strength in preparation for crawling. Don't give up on your dream, Lydia. You can do it!

Beach Bunnies

Today we took our first trip of the summer to the swimming beach at Cuivre River. Is there anything better than being on a beach in the late afternoon with wet sand squishing between bare toes and children shrieking and splashing, watching the shadows grow longer and longer across the water as the day fades into evening?

Lydia couldn't wait to get into her monstrosity of a sea horse inflatable. Yikes! I had no idea that thing was so huge until we actually put air in it! I think there was probably room for both the girls in there. Iris floated around in her blue hippo. We seem to have a partiality to inflatable hippos at our house. Last year, we had a crazy yellow one which apparently didn't live to see a second summer. Todd swears I must have thrown it out during one of my household purges, but surely I would have saved that, right? Anyhow, it didn't make it hence the blue one we now possess.

Iris and I also hunted for shells along the shore which always thrills me for some reason. Maybe it's a connection to some lovely childhood memory. We took a lot of camping trips near rivers when I was little.

We headed home as the sun was setting. Happy lovelies in the backseat, Bon Iver on the radio.....ah, summer.....

Lil' Slasher

Did I mention that Lydia's name is really Lydia Scissorhands?

Sometimes her precious little fingers turn into slasher hands in the night, and we wake up in the morning to some version of this. What's she doing while the rest of us are peacefully sleeping in our beds, I always ask myself. She never cries....what does she dream about? I guess we'll be confined to the house for the next few days lest people at Target or the grocery store think I sliced my poor lovely's head with a razor blade!

On a side note, my wonderfully talented sister Emily has started a new blog which I am very excited about. She's just in the process of setting it up, but feel free to check it out here.

Well, we're off to keep a date with some nail clippers......

Fireman Iris and a Soon-To-Be Crawling Baby

Most people associate firemen with stuff like....oh, fighting fires, rescuing small kittens from trees, helping people.....you know, keeping our communities safe. They're not really known for their dancing. In fact, stellar dancing skills are probably not required to actually become a fireman. Not so at good ol' Station #9 (a.k.a Our House). Stellar dancing skills are definitely a requirement here. Check out Fireman Iris busting a move:

I bet you were expecting a video clip....well, I was going to....but Fireman Iris wanted me to sing along with her, and I was feeling a bit shy about you all hearing my voice. We were singing "Scotland's Burning", by they way. Do any of you Geneva folk remember doing that as a warm-up song in Chorus with Mrs. A? For whatever reason, it popped into my head today and I started belting it out during some playtime with the girls. Iris thought it was the greatest song ever. We probably sang it a hundred times while she danced up a storm...I mean, fire........

And here's Lydia.....on her hands and knees! This past week she has been trying really hard to figure out this crawling thing. We've been working with her, showing her how to move her arms and legs, and she's so excited she can barely stand it! Her one wish in the world at this point in her life is to be mobile. Rolling everywhere (which she does well) just isn't enough for Lydia. She wants to be able to chase after her big sister. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer.......

The Beginning of Summer

I know that today is really the first day of summer, I do.... but we were outside yesterday doing the whole sprinkler/wading pool thing, and I got great footage of the girlies. So, I'm going to ask you to pretend that what you're watching is actually from today. Hey, I have a good excuse - it's raining right now (not very summery weather, I might add. Shouldn't we be having lots of sunshine to kick off things?). I'm afraid I may not get a chance to capture the true essence of the First Day of Summer due to the uncooperating outside elements we have going on here. Just play along, OK?

Here's a clip of Iris and the sprinkler. Up until now, she's been a little wary of actually running through it. There's been a lot of running around it and beside it - taking care to not let a drop of water touch her skin.

As you can see, she's apparently gotten over any inhibitions she had regarding the sprinkler. Sometimes it takes her a little while to work up the courage, but then she plunges right in. Yeah, Iris!!

And then, my favorite.....is there anything sweeter than this? I love watching them play together.

Don't you LOVE Lydia's laugh? It makes me giddy to hear it! She thinks Iris is absolutely hilarious. I have to agree sometimes - Iris is such a little crazytown. She definitely keeps us entertained, that's for sure!

Happy First Day of Summer!

Shoes are a Girl's Best Friend

Before I go any further with this post, I must give a little warning.....

Em, if Ava is reading this with you, you might want to cover her eyes. Because if Ava is anything like Iris, she's probably not going to be very happy with what I'm about to show.



Are you ready?




OK.




Here it is:

Yes. That IS Ava's slipper that she so graciously handed down to Iris. And that IS Lydia - not a new pet or anything like that. Hee, hee. This slipper has become Lydia's newest love. She is developing quite the shoe fixation (notice I said fixation NOT fetish which is a word I find slightly creepy and not one I want to use in conjunction with my six month old daughter), and this fancy little number is her favorite. Shoes will just be hanging out, innocently minding their own business lounging by the wall or on a rug - but if Lydia spies them a gleam comes into her eye, and she begins frantically trying to get herself into a position within reaching length. We had some friends come over with their little boy for small group, and Lydia would have been the happiest girl in the world if she could have just managed to get a hold on one of his sandals (they WERE super cute!). I'm excited - imagine the shoe shopping expeditions we will have once she's older! Todd just rolls his eyes - he's thinking about how that's going to work considering our current closet space. All I can say is this: Once Lydia starts crawling, the shoes in our house better watch out!

Finger Foods

Lydia has moved on in the solids journey to trying out some finger foods. I gave her one of those biter biscuits last week about which she was very enthusiastic; however, she choked on a little chunk causing some mild panic to occur in her mother! She was able to cough it back up and all was good. Whew! So, in order to avoid a replay of that scenario, we've moved on to these rice rusks that dissolve more easily in her mouth when she chews on them. Lydia LOVES these - I think in part because they make her feel like a big girl. She especially likes when Iris helps her eat those fruit puff cereal thingies - and she's been doing a pretty good job of getting them into her own mouth as well!

Like Mother, Like Daughter...

Over that last month, we've been implementing something I like to call Independent Playtime. For 30 minutes every day Iris goes down to our basement and plays BY HERSELF. During that time, I'm able to e-mail or blog (yay!) or do chores uninterrupted, Lydia gets to take her morning nap in peace and quiet, and Iris gets to work on valuable skills like being able to entertain herself. It's a win-win situation for everyone!

Occasionally, however, I WILL spy on her just to see what she's up to - especially if it's been really quiet. Imagine my surprise and delight to discover that instead of playing with toys this past week, she's been doing this:

She's a girl after my own heart - I often sneak in some reading during Independent Playtime too! Oh, that both my lovelies will grow up to cherish books!

It's fun being a girl!!

I slowly drift back to reality from daydreaming to hear a small voice saying this:


"It's all right. I'm NOT yawning. I'm just practicing my scary face!"


Ummm.......OK.

Bonne Terre

We took a day trip on Saturday to see the largest underground lake in the world located in an old ore mine at Bonne Terre. Just think: while Todd was buying tickets in the little General Store he was standing barely ten feet above a vast tangle of caverns and tunnels that go on for miles in all directions!

We did the walking/boating tour which basically means that we first got to walk around and look at the mine up close, and then we actually got to go out on the lake in a pontoon boat. I tried to imagine what it must have been like to work underground in near total darkness hauling out the material. Especially when our guide showed us the primitive tools and methods they used early in the mine's history. What excruciatingly hard and dangerous labor. And all for a dollar a day!

The lake is amazing - very clear and very deep. It's a hot spot for scuba divers from all over the world who come to explore the never-ending labyrinth of tunnels. There's actually a lost city left over from mining days somewhere at the bottom complete with bowling alley and movie theater! They were hosting a treasure hunt for divers this particular weekend, so we got to mingle with lots of rubber-suited, flipper-wearing, mask-toting men and women. During our boat ride, Iris got a kick out of seeing them swimming underwater searching for coins. It is dark down there! We had a really hard time getting good pictures as you can see. The only natural light comes from a tunnel barely ten feet wide up to the surface - this is how they got the boat we were riding in down there! It seems hard to imagine, doesn't it?

We had a great time together as a family. It was a hot day in our neck of the woods, so it felt great to be down where it's always cool. Iris and Lydia both did great! After our tour, we perused through the gift shop. Places like these always have the best assortment of jimmy crack. When I was little, this was the part I loved best - sorting through the shelves of interesting one-of-a-kind toys. Iris got a dinosaur head that opens and closes its mouth when you pull a lever.

Our happy family after a good, good day...........

Our little lovelies in their new matching sunhats.

This isn't their best photographic moment I know, but they were sooo cute I had to try! It's tricky getting them both to look at the camera at the same time! They were getting ready to go on an outing to the park with daddy.

Iris: (jealously eyeing daddy's face) I can't wait until I can grow a beard!

Daddy: Girls don't grow beards.

Iris: Awwww ma-a-n!

The Boundary Waters

Todd had such a wonderful time on his camping/fishing expedition to the Boundary Waters. I created a slideshow of photos for our family blog, but if you'd like more information regarding his experience, Todd will be posting his daily journals and links/facts about the area over at Todd's Mindbloggler. Take a look!