Strikes and smiles

Can it be August already? We've had a busy few weeks here in Rockville. Harper has reached that critical developmental stage when you learn to say "Cheese" and pictures are never the same again.



I didn't say they weren't good!



Ida Jane is onto bigger talents - like medicine. Quoth the doctor: "What I can do for you?"



A lot of special events have happened here lately, too. Uncle Steve came through on his way from Florida to Iceland (DC is a natural stopover for this journey). Harper was a big fan of Uncle Steve's narrative skills.



And our best friend Fia celebrated her birthday. Here's a picture of the girls before the "big day"




Ida Jane and Fia at "party central" aka Fia's playhouse.



Scarfing down some birthday pizza:



Uncle Jeff, Aunt Kris, and Cousins Ryan and Katie came down to Baltimore, and we spent a great day with them at Chad, Jen and cousin Sami's house. Here's the brother and sister family shot. Yes, our kids are the ones making raspberries.




Here's Ida Jane with her Uncle and Auntie. It'd been way too long since we'd seen them both!



The girls were hanging off of Auntie Kris all afternoon. Here's Sami and Ida Jane sitting with Kris.



We've also been exploring the multiple offerings of Rockville. Here are the girls cutting a rug to the point of exhaustion at a town square kids' night.



And getting cool in the kid's pool:



Finally, this morning we went bowling for the first time. Harper was a bit too small to do anything other than run around and say "cheese".



But Ida Jane loved rolling the ball.



Strike!

To the lake and back

The girls had quite an adventure going up to Lake James in Indiana to visit their Nana, Papa, and lots of family.

Let's tee this one up with a popsicle shot:



This was Harper's first trip up there as a walker, and she didn't do much walking. It was more along the lines of running:



swinging:



and, of course, reading:



Ida Jane and Harper both enjoyed the new toys like intertubes and rowboats.







And our cousins Evan and Hayley were there as well!



Here's Ida Jane and Evan decorating the patio for a party.



And what would a trip to the lake be without a morning boat trip to the donut shop?



It's a great place to relax.





Of course, Olivia was with us, and she was chasing tennis balls for the kids pretty much every day. She's still sleeping that week off.



Then it was party time. The Zolls came up one day, and the girls had a blast. Here's Papa and Granddad with "The Hs" - Harper and Hayley.



Hayley was really cute, and a very good girl the whole time we were there.



Fortunately for her, she was the only kid who wasn't hit by a terrible stomach bug that knocked Ida Jane and Harper out for the second half of their trip. No pictures from that! (And no pictures from the Gerber day, either, which I have no excuse for. But I found out today that Nana forgot to break out her camera as well on that day, so I'm not the only one!)

After some much needed rest, the girls are settling back home in Rockville well. Mom took them to a garden play area at Brookside gardens, where they got to get in the dirt.





And, of course, there's the fountain at City Center, a great place for scampering and splashing:





On Sunday we went into the district for a morning trip which included a lovely sunny walk on the mall. Can you believe some tourists asked to get pictures of the girls as they trooped around on the grass? I bet you can!

Summer vacation

Summer vacation began with a NICU reunion picnic, put on by Holy Cross hospital at a local park. It was a really great time, it was wonderful meeting other families who went through some of the same stuff we did (many had more days in there than us) but all the kids were happy and running around, which was the best treat.

There was putt putt



And pick up soccer.



But the girls really loved the hula hoops.








There have been lots of other fun projects that Mom has arranged. Like our own Bayeau tapestry:





And a 7 foot puzzle that someone was very, very proud to finish.



Of course, some projects are not planned. Like building a "Dog Nest."



One thing is for sure, at the end of the day, it's good to chill out!

Last day of spring

It's been a long spring - with about 14 inches of rain since the first of May, if you can believe it. But now we're coming into summer, which means two months of Mama with her girls. On their first day, she had a great art project - "Driveway Painting." We have a concrete driveway here, and all you need to paint it is a bucket of water. The girls loved it.





Ida Jane also recently graduated from soccer. Here she is getting her diploma.



And here she is, scoring a goal. She's got skills!

Stepping into summer

Welcome to Washington. When it's not raining, it can be fun!



Here's Ida Jane hanging around in Cabin John Park. She's getting to be quite the daredevil.



On this trip, we went with bff Fia.



Here's two good looking ladies!

We tried something new the other weekend as well - a theme park! We went to "Dutch Wonderland" - a park designed for kids, and the girls loved it. Dad was able to take a couple of pictures before he dropped the camera at the waterpark. Fortunately, it's working again.

Here's Ida Jane and Mama on the tilt-a-turtle. Fun!



Could this next picture be titled anything other than "The Wrecking Crew?"



Harper enjoyed her first ball game, too. We watched the Orioles and the Tigers. Fortunately, (because the O's couldn't get a hit), we were able to stay through the seventh innning!


Let's go O's!



Someone's clowning it up, while the other one grabs a snack - same schedule, new venue.



Play ball!