Archive for the '71.Two kids-June 12' Category

Dan, Jenny and Freckle

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

The girls don’t see Dan and Jenny quite as much as they used to, but it’s always a good time when they do (see below). And Zoe already has fond feelings for, and is excited about, their soon-to-arrive baby. When I started to tell her yesterday about something (totally unrelated) we were going to do in mid-August, she interrupted me to excitedly say, “That’s when we’re getting a baby in the family.” And the other night when I sang what she calls “Family Song” (a lullaby during which we say good-night to all our relatives) she stopped me to ask, “Can you put in Freckle? And after he’s born we’ll change it to his new name.”

-M

Summer camp!

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Today’s the first day of summer camp at the girls’ school; we learned this morning that there’s a weather theme this year. (Avery is in the “droplet” group, and Zoe is a “lightening bolt.”) Both girls were excited at drop-off, but especially Zoe, who was dying to reunite with her beloved teacher. Erica actually sent her a letter at home last week (Zoe had previously invited her to be a pen-pal) and in it asked Zoe if she would serve as a junior camp counselor for the next eight weeks. I think it’s going to be a fun summer!

-M

More Madison pics – Avery

Sunday, June 10th, 2012

Here are the last batch of pics from Madison. Like I said, there were a lot!

-M

More Madison pics – Zoe

Saturday, June 9th, 2012

Zoe kept really busy during our trip – not only spending time with Grandma and Grandpa but also hanging out with Aunt Sandy and Coco, taking dips in my parents’ mini pool, and going down slides with me and Q during a quick trip one morning to Wisconsin Dells’ Mt Olympus. (We’re definitely going back there next summer!)

-M

Avery and her ears – two weeks later

Friday, June 8th, 2012

A quick break from our Madison pics to give an update on Avery. She had her post-op appointment with the ENT yesterday, exactly two weeks after the surgery. During our visit we learned her tubes looked good and, more importantly, her hearing is in the normal range. The doctor said it’s common for children with hearing-related speech delays to show significant improvement within a few months, so we’ve got that to look forward to. And we’ll see this doctor again in the fall, just to make sure everything still looks good.

SO relieved!

-M

Celebrating at the Splash Pad

Friday, June 8th, 2012

Another tradition while in Madison: having an early birthday celebration for Avery at the park/Splash Pad near my parents’ house. The girls had a lot of fun again (as did their cousins Tanner and Brock, I think). Thanks, G&G!

-M

Cows on the Concourse (again!)

Thursday, June 7th, 2012

It has become tradition to go to the annual Cows on the Concourse when we’re in Madison; this year’s event was last Sat. Like last year, we got to enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches and ice cream, see and pet a variety of cows and do other cow-related activities, and run around the Capitol. But this year for the first time, Avery (and Grandma and Grandpa) joined us, too.

-M

Madison trip

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

We’re back from our trip to Madison, feeling exhausted (today was an extremely long travel day) but happy. Last night the family took a long walk through the nature preserve behind my parents’ house – and it was just one of the many ways the girls got to experience the Wisconsin summer (or, technically, pre-summer) nights I love so much.

More pics (a lot of them!) soon.

-M

“Mommy, mommy…”

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

In honor of our trip to Wisconsin and subsequent air travel, I thought I’d share a mom-comment that made me laugh recently. Talking about her own upcoming vacation (sans kids), a woman on a TV show I watch said, “The thing that I’m most looking forward to about Costa Rica is sitting on the plane without someone saying, ‘Mommy, mommy.'” Let’s just say that I can relate!

-M

Pics from the vault

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

A few recent pics that haven’t made it up yet…

-M

“I’m a big sister”

Monday, June 4th, 2012

For the past few weeks, Avery’s favorite books have been two of Zoe’s “big sister” books; she’s a big fan of one in particular and had us read it to her over and over again before and just after her surgery. I can’t help but wonder: Is she trying to tell us something??

-M

Moving on – in song

Saturday, June 2nd, 2012

I fully appreciate that these videos might fall under the things-only-a-parent-would-love category, but I’m still sharing three songs recently performed by Zoe and her classmates. The first is my favorite.

-M

Moving on…

Friday, June 1st, 2012

Like last year, Zoe participated in her preschool’s “moving on” ceremony; unlike last year she really is moving on! The ceremony was so sweet – the teachers shared their thoughts about the students, who sang a few songs and told the group what they wanted to be when they grow up (anyone wanna guess what Zoe said?) – and was followed by a little reception on the playground.

Zoe has had an incredible time since starting school back in Aug. 2009; this year, during which she really bonded with her class’ head teacher Erica (below), was particularly special. As I told Erica and director Jan, though, I refuse to get (too) sad until the last day of summer camp, when Zoe will say a final good-bye to her school. For now, I’ll just be grateful for the wonderful memories.

-M