The 4th {a little catch-up}

Happy Fourth of July (2010)!

We spent the weekend at the Lake House with my parents, sister Kels, Aunt Judy and Uncle Kenny, and cousins Gary and Erin and their little guy Caleb. The weather was awesome the entire time, although it is really starting to get stifling hot during the middle of the day. I will have to get some of the pictures my mom took throughout the weekend, because what I came home with on my camera is really lacking! When you spend most of your time changing diapers, kissing boo-boos and wiping noses, you forget to pick up the camera.

On our way out of town to the lake house, we stopped at 2Toots for Ellie's complimentary birthday lunch and cupcake, complete with hot pink train whistle (which Robbie confiscated immediately because, you know, anything train related belongs to him in this family. And yes, we had even gotten him his own cupcake and whistle!).

On Saturday, after picking up Tom's Donuts in the morning, we spent the day playing in the yard, boating and swimming at the sand bar. Robbie continues to be an expert boat driver, thanks to grandpa's training. We decided to check out the fireworks on the lake that evening (we've never been!), and idled (sort of... shhh!) over to Lake James from Snow Lake to take in the show up close. It was really fun and there were so many boats on the water with us, but at night all you can see is the little lights which are red and green, mostly. It looked like Christmas in July. The firework display was impressive and I am already excited to keep Robbie awake next year so that he can join us. (Rob stayed back at the house this year with both sleeping babies. He is so good to me.)

Sunday was the 4th, and we discovered that there was going to be a local parade in downtown Angola, so we donned our most patriotic outfits and grabbed Aunt Kelsey and went to check it out. Like the fireworks, it did not disappoint. Even the old lady sitting behind us on the sidewalk was sweet, and kept offering me her lawn chair as I was holding Ellie. However, it was blazing hot and although I was able to live with the sweat dripping down my back, I could not ignore the pink cheeks and lethargic dispositions of my brood. We left after taking in 30 minutes worth of the best small-town parade I've ever been to. (Did YOUR parade have a 'ghost car' that blared creepy music and was decorated with fake

cobwebs and glow in the dark halloween masks? I didn't think so.)

While the kids were napping (aka: passed out from heat exhaustion in their beds), Kels and I snuck away to Meijer to gather up party supplies for my mom's birthday, which also happens to be the 4th of July! We enlisted the help of Gary and Erin and decorated the dining room with red, white and blue crepe paper, balloons, and 2 cakes. Mom was floating in the lake on a raft with Aunt Judy, so she never suspected a thing. If only we had considered the fire hazard presented by a mini flag in the cake ablaze with candles, it would have been perfect. We'll call it a fun memory instead.

Aunt Judy reading to Robbie...

Caleb cruising around with his walker!

The trip home was just as memorable... we left on Sunday evening and were entertained by fireworks displays the entire 3 hour car trip! The kids were almost as entertained by it as I was, and the 3 hours home felt like 20 minutes. The view of the city and suburbs from the top of the skyway bridge as you enter the city from the south was breathtaking. As far as we could see, fireworks were exploding and we could see dozens of displays in every direction.

Monday was a day off work for Rob, so we spent the day catching up on sleep, cleaning the house, unpacking from the trip, running to the outlet mall, working in the yard, and grilling out. Ellie surprised me at one point in the afternoon when I left her in the family room playing, and came back minutes later to find her crawling around the kitchen! Apparently she figured out how to climb stairs the first time she tried, and thankfully didn't hurt herself (it's only a half flight, but they ARE wooden stairs). She was happy to repeat the performance this morning for me, although this time I was right behind her. She's into climbing now, and it's hilarious to see her lift one leg up while she's standing when she wants to get up or over something. It usually happens in her crib, as if she's going to try to climb out... you know, with one foot hovering 3 inches above the mattress. :)

To wrap up a terribly-written blog post, here are a few updates:

- Ellie can now pretend-feed her baby dolls bottles

- When you ask her where the baby's eyes are, she points to the eyes and says "Eye!"

- She is starting to stand on her own by letting go of furniture.

- Every diaper change is a battle of wills. Many of them end with Ellie's arms pinned to the ground by my legs as I wipe poop as quickly as I can from her bummy and typically the carpet after all her struggling to get free. ::sigh::

- Robbie loves to tell us stories about things that have happened in the recent past, and goes on and on (and on!)... if he runs out of words to articulate what he's trying to say, he substitutes with "dehd dehd ju ju ju". His mind is working faster than his mouth can keep up with.

- He tells us when he's about to poop, and one time requested to use the potty. He was successful. I was floored. We will not be potty training, however, until the summer is over. Judge all you want. We have had 1,000 reasons not to leave the house for the better part of the year (weather, illness, etc.) and now that it's warm, we are getting out! Potty training can wait.

- When we're out in public, Robbie likes to talk to strangers. He will offer to anyone nearby, "Name is Robbie!" {my name is Robbie}, and ask, "Is name?" {what's your name?}. I usually have to translate... it gets confusing but I think it's sweet! Like everyone wants to know who he is, in his world.