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!

Sunday quickie

It was an exciting day yesterday, as we had a yard sale along with many of our neighbors. Ida Jane and Harper enjoyed all the activities. Of course, Mom and Dad were too busy making deals and watching kids to take any pictures.

But today was rainy and cooler, and so we had time to take some pictures.

Here's one from earlier in the week Mama took of Harper in her car seat.



Ida Jane has been loving the berries we've been getting in from the south. Here she is after cleaning out a bowl of strawberries and blackberries.



And here are the girls posing in their beautiful flower outfits.

Happy Mother's Day!

It's been a lot of fun around the house as Harper gets more interactive, and we can all spend more time outside with the nicer weather. Of course, for Mother's Day weekend it'll be rainy and cool, but that's how it goes.

Here are the girls, hanging out on the couch.



Ida Jane recently got some sunglasses, which she loves. She's too cool for school in these bad boys:



And here's Harper modeling some age-appropriate fashion - a bib!



With all the nice weather, it's been trip after trip to the park. Here's Ida Jane with her best friend from next door, Sofia, heading out in the wagon (it's the only way to travel).



And, last but not least, a nice movie of Harper checking out her mobile and being cute in general.