The Long Break from Blogging and Some Summer Fun!

I apologize - I haven't updated the blog in a looooooong time.  And the longer it went undone, the more pictures there were to add, the more intimidating the idea of going through and posting all of them became - it was a vicious cycle!  So, I'm going to apologize again, because I'm not going to add all of the missing pictures - there are simply too many to go through at this point  :/ I'm sorry!!!

And now on to some summer fun:

We ended spring with a spur of the moment road trip to MN for my grandmother's funeral.  We were sad to say goodbye to Grandma Rose, but happy to spend some quality time with our family.  While there, Hannah and Michael helped Grandpa Mark work in his garden - a favorite activity for all of them!

Hannah helping Grandpa Mark in the Garden

The Cousins: Michael, Andrew, and Hannah playing games and entertaining themselves during Grandma Rose's memorial

Next it was time for Hannah's preschool graduation - our little girl is growing up so fast!!  They sang songs, received their diplomas, and visited with friends while eating some yummy cake.

The graduates singing songs for their families

Hannah with her diploma

"I've GOT to curtsey!!"

Hannah loves Pastor Jana!!!

Hannah spent most of this spring preparing for her big dance recital.  The studio was putting on "Excerpts from Narnia", and Hannah's pre-ballet/jazz class performed as the open sea surrounding the Dawn Treader.  Hannah did great, and is looking forward to dance classes starting back up in the fall.

We had a lot of rain in June, but July is finally heating up, and we're enjoying the sunshine!  The kids have a great little wading pool in the backyard, and we all love relaxing on the porch.  We've taken some walks down by the beach, and fed the geese, ducks, and turkeys at Hovander Park.

Finally, Baby Meghan isn't a baby anymore!!  Our little toddler is growing and exploring and learning a little more every day.  She's not quite walking yet, though she can stand by herself and loves to take walks while holding our hands.  Meghan is enamored with the kitties, and thinks Hero is her best friend (Hero agrees!).  She loves to be read to, and her baby doll Karen is almost always clutched close to her, and ALWAYS sleeping right next to her. 

Fall Fun

We've had a great time this Fall exploring the apple orchard and pumpkin patch, playing outside, and getting ready for Halloween.  

Meghan's first ride on the swings

Chilllin' in the grass

"The girls"

Michael is a little concerned about "the girls". . . . .   

 Hannah's preschool took a trip to the pumpkin patch, and Michael thought to was great that he got to ride along in the train with them. . . . . until they went through a rather large mud puddle, then he just wanted to be done.  Hannah picked out her pumpkin to use for Daddy's night and Michael helped Mommy and Daddy find a few for our house.

Michael and Hannah riding the train at the pumpkin patch

The next day was Hannah's class costume party, and Michael, Meghan, and Mommy came by to watch the costume parade and listened to the songs the class had prepared for us. 

Hannah's preschool class costume parade

 That night was Daddy's Night at the preschool, and Daddy and Hannah had some big plans for their pumpkin - this year Hannah was very specific about wanting a cat.  We carved our own pumpkins at home over the weekend and Michael insisted on turning his baby pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern - it's about the size of a fist, but Daddy made it work!

Daddy's Night at the preschool

 Michael and Hannah thought long and hard about what they wanted to dress up as this year, and finally chose things that we weren't actually sure we'd be able to pull together! (It's amazing what you can find for sale on the internet!!)

Michael the orange triceratops, Hannah the pink cowgirl, and Meghan the little piggy

6 months

Meghan is 6 months old!!  She has started eating table food - and LOVES feeding herself!!  She is rolling and bouncing (yes, bouncing - not crawling) around everywhere, and enjoys finding Michael and Hannah's toys to chew on  :)  Meghan loves to do things for herself (the toddler attitude has kicked in a bit early!) and, though generally easy going and happy, she's excellent at letting us know when she needs our help.  She has started signing her favorite word (milk), which Hannah thinks is fantastically funny.  Hannah and Michael have started remembering some of the words we signed with them and have tried to "teach" Meghan, but so far she's content with asking for milk.

5 months old

Meghan is 5 months old already!  She is SUCH a happy baby - smiling and giggling for everyone  :)  She is rolling over both onto her tummy and back now, and can scoot while on her back (looks like a crab walk - she holds her bottom in the air and pushes around with her feet and arms) if she wants to get anywhere.  She is growing bigger every day - at her 4 month check up she was just under 16 lbs and 26.5 inches tall!!  That certainly explains why she's growing out of Hannah's clothes faster than I can pull them out of storage!!  :)  Meghan is thriving on the loving affection and attention of her big brother and sister - they give her hugs and kisses and read stories to her every day, and love to help pick out clothes, retrieve blankets and nuks, and even throw away dirty diapers  :)  Mommy's little helpers, for sure!!

Meghan - 5 months old

All ready for School

Hannah is super excited about the start of the new school year!

First day of a new preschool year!  Hannah was thrilled to be going back and seeing her friends and teachers again  :)

Our pretty ballerina!  Hannah loves dancing around the house, and thinks that  going to a "really real ballet class" is SO much fun  :)

August 2011

August was full of fun for us!  Meghan turned 4 months old, we spent a great day at the fair (and then Mommy and Daddy went back for a concert sans kids), Meghan started rolling over, and we planted a couple of new trees.

Meghan - 4 months old  :)  

Michael LOVED the animals at the fair - didn't care so much for the rides. . . .   :)

Hannah thought the animals were an ok way to pass the time until the rides opened - then she and a friend tried out ALL the rides!

Meghan rolling onto her tummy - -getting this feat on film has been difficult, as she stops moving as soon as she sees the camera!   

Michael and Hannah helped Daddy plant a new Magnolia tree in our backyard

This happy little frog found the new tree we planted in our front yard - there is another frog who has claimed the Magnolia  :)  Needless to say, Michael thinks the extra frogs in our yard are fanTAStic!

Pictures on the Beach and Dinosaurs at the Zoo

Before Grandma Cindy and cousin Andrew headed back to MN, we met with a photographer and had the kids' pictures taken on the beach. 

"The Cousins" - Michael, Hannah, Andrew, and Meghan

After saying goodbye to our guests, Hannah and Michael were excited to spend a day at the zoo - they were even more excited when they found out that there were dinosaurs at the zoo!  They have both been WAY interested in dinosaurs for several months now, and the thought of seeing "real" dinosaurs was thrilling  :)