Sun-Drenched Summer

Has one truly lived until they have put aviator sunglasses on their chubby baby?

Or heart-shaped glasses on their two year-old?

I don't think I grew up in a world with toddler sunglasses, much less toddler sunglasses in the Target dollar bin.

I think I smile every time I see my kids put on sunglasses, and that makes it a dollar well spent.

Orelia has changed Bennett from "Boosky" to "Booey" these days.

Booey adores chewing on a pair of sunglasses almost as much as his sister enjoys wearing them.  Big sister is an accessories maven.

 I must not just be me who enjoys good child-sized eyewear, because they were present at back-to-back birthday parties last weekend.

Orelia considered herself very glam in a star pair.

Two pairs are better than one, apparently.  Who can argue with this girl?

We are spending our sun-drenched summer with our toes in the air.

With our sunglasses on.

And with smiles.

Stay cool, kids.

A Long Post About Bobby

We recently had John's mom and brother out to visit, and everyone had a great time.  They were flying out to witness Orelia's first dance recital and take a trip to Yosemite.

Bennett would usually wake up from his nap a little before Orelia, so the family would head outside for an impromptu photoshoot with our blue-eyed baby.

Bobby is always eager to be in photos, which makes my job a lot easier.

Grandma is always willing to take photos as long as her grandkids are involved.

Bobby requested on multiple occasions that I write a super long post all about how wonderful his visit was and how helpful he was.

Well, here it is.  Cheers to the man who gives Orelia manicures and pedicures on demand.  To the only person who has ever given Orelia a haircut.

 To the walker of Harper.  To the cuddler of Boosky.

To the always enthusiastic, eager, and entertaining Uncle Bobby.  We miss you dearly.

Celebrating the 4th

 It's so much fun celebrating holidays with the kids.  This was Bennett's first Fourth, which made it extra special.

 I was eager to put my kids in their red, white, and blue finest, just like every other parent on social media.

We were lucky enough to celebrate with a four day weekend, which makes any holiday even more fun.

The kids aren't old enough to stay up for fireworks, but thankfully they slept right through all the noise.

 We had a BBQ with a few other families and Orelia was eager, as always, to have a "party with friends."

No summer BBQ is complete without watermelon, and all of the kids had tons.  

Bennett was covered from head to toe in watermelon juice by the end of the day.  That and some snuggles with Daddy were the highlight of his holiday.

We are so grateful to live here and raise our children in this wonderful country.

We hope you had happy Independence Day with your families!

Under the Sea Recital

 I can't believe Orelia is old enough to have dance recitals, but apparently she is.

 She was in ballet class for months with two of her best friends.  Most evenings the moms got to watch them rehearse for the last five minutes, and usually Orelia would either just stand there doing nothing or she would be a wild woman running around.  Needless to say, I wasn't sure how the actual recital would go.

 Luckily we had our very own hairdresser on hand for the big day.  Uncle Bobby made our girl the perfect bun.  So we knew she would at least look good.

 I snapped a few photos before we dropped her off a couple of hours before the show was set to begin.

She was really excited to perform and I was so proud of her for doing something like this.  

 Her group was made up of the littlest kids in the show, and their dance to "Under the Sea" was adorable and hilarious and amazing.

 The best part was, Orelia actually danced!  She didn't do all of the moves, but she did plenty of dancing.

She especially shined during the finale ("Last Dance" by Donna Summer) where she did plenty of boogie-ing.  

Cheers to these three ballerinas on their first recital!  

We had a great time watching the show as a family.  I'm so proud of our girl!

Father's Day

We spent a fantastic Father's Day morning up in San Francisco.

 We went to our favorite park- the one with unparalleled views - after picking up pastries that are worth the 30 mile drive alone.  (Orelia's face is covered in chocolate from her beloved cookie.)

It was John's choice to come up here, and we were all glad he picked it.  We literally had to drag Orelia away when it was time to head home.

While Orelia was off befriending everyone in sight, Bennett snuggled with Mom and Dad.

 He also ate some croissant and downed two pouches, Boosky style.

I really wanted a Father's Day picture of John with both kids, but Orelia was having too much fun to oblige until the very end.

Orelia and Bennett are so lucky to have this engaged, dedicated, fun, thoughtful, kind, and giving man as their dad.  I am so thankful to have him by my side.  We love you, John!

Truckee

We went to Truckee for Memorial Day with a group of friends, and poor Bennett managed to sneak into only one photo.

Bennett is at the age where a vacation just means sleeping in a strange bed.

Orelia, however, especially loved this trip since it meant she got to be with her friends the "whole days."

Truckee is a town off of Lake Tahoe, and since we never actually made it to Lake Tahoe, we now have an excuse to go back.

When our friends invited us up for Memorial Day, I immediately said yes and pretended to be a laid back person capable of traveling with my children where I didn't know anything about the sleeping arrangements.

Luckily, Orelia absolutely loved sleeping in a room with her friend Gemma.  They were a bit rambunctious every time we put them down, but Orelia did get a surprising amount of sleep.

With her trusty (albeit a bit small) Spider Man boots, Orelia was ready to go on hikes through the forest.

In her favorite party dress, of course.

Even when we went to see the snow at Squaw Valley, she was wearing this party dress and no pants.  I cannot get this girl in a pair of pants.

There was quite a bit of rain that weekend, so Orelia got to do her fair share of jumping in "muddy" puddles a la Peppa Pig.

On a neighborhood walk we convinced the kids this was the "best friends log" so they would sit down and take some photos.

Orelia is holding onto her Squaw Valley lift tickets ("credit cards") for dear life here.  Those cards went with her everywhere that weekend.

Say "chocolate cake!"

This is what a toddler looks like at the end of a long weekend full of "sleepovers," fort building, and nature walks.  Exhausted.  Ratty hair.  Happy.