Outer Banks!

We arrived at our vacation cottage safe and sound on Saturday evening. It's been a very busy two full days here.

Here's Mom, Ida Jane, Harper, and Olivia, all taking a walk out on the beach:



Ida Jane loves playing in the sand.



We went to the aquarium, where it was the Year of the Frog, one of Ida Jane's favorite animals. They were giving away free frog masks, so Ida Jane (and Dada) got to hop around like frogs for a while:





Harper got herself a stuffed clownfish, which she really enjoys as well:



At the end of the day, it's nice to talk Olivia for a walk.



More later!

Parties and piggies

Before we begin, Ida Jane has a few words to share, from her new big girl bed.



Now, the title of the post promises parties and piggies, so let's get to it. We had a great time at Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary this weekend. Poplar Springs takes in rescued farm and lab animals and provides them with happy, long lives. Ida Jane loves visiting her friends there. Here she is, making friends with a pig (whose name, we later discovered, is Suzie Q).



Other friends we met included goats, sheep, chickens, and a rooster who came up to Ida Jane to holler "cock-a-doodle-do" which was very impressive. She's been saying it ever since.

The other big event this weekend was our best friend Sofia's birthday party. Here's a "pre-game" picture, before we converted Ida Jane's crib into a big girl bed with rails.



Harper is quite the social butterfly, and got all dolled up for the big party:



She wasn't quite sure what to do with her party hat, though:



What a great weekend!

A birthday, and more

Amy celebrated her birthday last week. What better presents could she ask for than her two girls?




Harper is getting so strong! It's going to be hard to keep up with her once she goes mobile. Here she shows off her head strength:



And here she is, ready to join her sister at a pool party:



Ida Jane, at our neighbors the Smiths, is ready to jump right in!



Did we mention Ida Jane loves doing her hair now? Here she is with pigtails!



Harper likes to participate in all play activity, and, when she gets her own time in her chair, she prefers if Ida Jane comes over to help her learn.



(Daddy is experimenting - slowly - with some HTML changes to the site. It will improve shortly! If you haven't noticed, our blogroll has expanded a bit, and updates to show who's got the latest post).

Fourth fun

Ida Jane and Harper had a great time in Indiana and Ohio over the Fourth.

Ida Jane got to ride in the grandkid rowboat, custom built by Papa:


Harper got to spend lots of time with, and give lots of smiles to, her Nana:



Ida Jane enjoyed the bigger boats, too. And, yes, she knows she looks fashionable:



It got even better when Papa showed her how to honk the horn:



Harper met her Great-Grandma Gerber for the first time, and got lots of kisses.



What a fun time!

On the farm

Ida Jane and Harper have had a great time here at Nana and Papa's. There's been a lot to do, and a lot of people to meet.

Ida Jane loves all the flowers and going for walks outside.



She also tried her hand at golf, which was interesting. Hopefully she won't develop her dad's slice.



And, of course, cousin Evan came down for a visit from Michigan, and they had a lovely tea party in Nana and Papa's basement:



Harper, never one to play second fiddle, was also busy socializing. Here she is hanging out with Aunt Jen:



And here she is with her Grandmama Zoll:



It's been a great time so far, and there's more to come!

Summer's almost here

It's been good, if busy, times in Rockville with the girls growing up so fast. Harper is getting very interactive, and loves to smile at everyone - her sister most of all.



Although, sometimes, Harper's not quite sure what to make of all the attention she gets in return.



Ida Jane has been loving summer - one reason is all the lovely dresses she gets to model.



Ida Jane is also learning to experiment with sound in all sorts of new and interesting ways. Here she is, creating some... "progressive" music.

Cinderella

Somebody has been an extra big help around the house, now that her baby sister is here. This weekend Ida Jane helped water flowers:



While Harper played on her playmat.



And she helped rake up some leaves:



While Harper took a nap (can you believe how big she is? She just turned two months on Sunday).



And even though she took a quick break to call some friends and family



Soon it was back to washing down the siding while Harper snoozed in her stroller.



After all that work, someone else needed a nap with her best friend, Herman, curled up with her.



What a busy weekend!