Memorial Day Weekend

Ahh, the sun has finally shown its yellow face around here!  After weeks of rain and cold, we had a nice, hot, sunny day yesterday! Perhaps summer really is coming?  We packed up some snacks and took a nice long walk by the lake yesterday morning, ending up at the rock beach where we sat and threw rocks in the water for a good half hour. 

When we got home, we went straight out in the backyard.  Ingrid got a new basketball hoop for her birthday, so she and Brendan played with that.  And the tball set from last year.  I sat on a blanket with Otis and marveled at how hot it was.

As soon as we stepped back inside, Ingrid passed out.  Her little cheeks were all rosy and she was just sooo tired from all that fresh air!  She slept for almost three hours, totally unlike her!  I took a nap with Otis, Brendan watched baseball, we hung out quietly, it was amazing.  I love breaks from all the chaos!

I decided to make summery things for dinner.  We grilled burgers and I made potato salad.  I also made a graham cracker crust pudding pie.  It was delish.  Ingrid has already asked for some this morning!  Otis' new spot for dinner time is his Bumbo which we set on the table.  He loves to be a part of things!

All in all a great Memorial Day.  I really love that Brendan works in industry now instead of academia.  School people don't take holidays.  They just work, work, work.  Now Brendan's job is closed on holidays!  He can't go in!  And he doesn't feel guilty about it.  Phew.  I hated holidays before because it was like pulling teeth to convince him to stay home and relax. 

My First Funeral (Sort of)

That's right, I'm 34 and I've never been to a funeral before this week.  How does that happen??  My grandpa passed away on Ingrid's birthday.  I wrote this about him on my other blog.  I love that guy.

I took both kids with me on a five hour drive to my sister's.  Thank god they were good and slept!  Ingrid read books and sang to herself while she was awake.  We stopped for pancakes.  I had a Harry Potter book on cd to listen to.  It was a nice day.

We ended up going to stay at a hotel when my sister's air bed broke.  I didn't want to sleep on the floor and I knew Ingrid was tired and overwhelmed with traveling, so it would be better for everyone if we contained her in a room where she couldn't bother anyone but me!  Otis was a dream--he nursed to sleep at 8pm and didn't wake up until we woke him up at 7:30am to go get breakfast.  This is the picture of a truly relaxed baby:

The next day we had a get together with my brothers.  It is so rare all four of us kids and all our kids can get together!  Ingrid just loves to play with all her cousins!

Ingrid decided to slide down the slide face first into a pile of mud pies they'd been making.  Add a snotty nose and this is what you get.  Ha!

The next day was the memorial service for my Grandpa.  It was sad but also a chance to see everyone and reminisce about him.  My cousin from Indiana was there, she has the same kids as me--a three year old girl and a baby boy.  Her son Max is five weeks old.  Otis is five months, remember?  God he's so tiny!  I always think he is so big, but then he gets put in his place by a sleepy newborn...

It sucks to have a death in the family, but it's nice to see everyone.  Especially with our enormous family that's spread all over the country--it's pretty hard to get us all together.  It's nice when we finally do.  I would prefer a family reunion next time, though. 

The Rainbow Party

Ingrid was so excited it was finally the day of her party!  We had some friends and family over and it was a madhouse.  Unfortunately we were stuck inside because it was raining, but in our new house it's not that big of a deal because we have space!  Last year I kept fretting it would rain because our house was teeny and there wouldn't have been enough room for everyone.  I love our house.

Ingrid put her party duds on and was ready to go. 

We hung up rainbow garlands, rainbow lanterns, rainbow balloons.  We had rainbow striped party hats and favor bags, lots of food and drinks, and everyone had fun chatting and playing. 

THE CAKE!!  It was amazing.  Our friend's mom made it, she did an amazing job.  White cake with buttercream frosting, six layers of yumminess.  Totally made the whole party.  Ingrid was begging to eat cake, she even got her own fork out and dug in before we could stop her!  That's my girl!

We are just so lucky to be back in Milwaukee and have such great friends and family.  They were awesome and got Ingrid tons of paints, markers, stickers and paper--she is going to be so entertained! 

Another birthday done.  Phew.  These things are exhausting.

The Monster is 3!

Today is Ingrid's birthday!  I can't believe it's been three years since she was born!  Time flies.  We're having a rainbow themed party on Saturday, which she is mega-excited for.  Today is just going to be low key playing and hopefully napping, as she got up at 5:30am today...

Siblings

We had some free time on our hands while waiting for friends to come over so I took some pictures.  My kids look nothing alike, even though they both look an awful lot like their dad...They are both adorable in their own ways, and I love them.  A ton. 

This one is right after Ingrid passed some seriously giggle inducing gas.  What is it with kids and farts? 

Five Months Old!

Another month has flown past.  Otis is now five months old and, I think, has mostly caught up to his non-preemie peers.  He's laughing and grasping at toys, he rolls over.  His favorite things are his sister and listening to patty-cake and the Wheels on the Bus.  I just had to go through his box of clothes to find ones that fit, and we came up with a bunch of wintery things that I didn't think he would fit into until summer.  But wouldn't you know it, we live in Wisconsin, where the weather sucks and is cold and rainy until June.  Lucky for us!

This is how Otis fell asleep in the Moby the other day.  Tell me how that could possibly be comfortable??

And here's what Ingrid was up to at five months.  We fed her solid foods?  I don't feel anywhere near doing that yet with Otis!

Our Weekend

This past weekend we went to the cottage for the first time of the season!!  That is one of my favorite things, it really means summer is coming.  I can imagine it being so hot and sticky you need the ten fans that are now sitting dormant.  I can imagine the kids screeching at the park that now sits still.  I can imagine the waves lapping up against the old metal slide that now sits on the beach instead of in the water. 

It was Otis' first time going, which meant that we needed to add him to the door.  We did a lot of going to the park, playing with toys, trying to relax.  It was fun.

We got home Sunday morning, Brendan made me French toast, I got to sit and sew for awhile, and then after lunch was cake!  Of course!  I would love a mani/pedi for Mother's Day, but cake is a close runner up. 

Another treat on Mother's Day was that Brendan finally wore the Moby and found out how nice it is to be hands free while Otis sleeps.  I love a man in a baby carrier.

Fat Man in his Bumbo

We got a Bumbo for Otis.  He likes it.

Dancing and Clapping

Forgot I was going to post these videos.  Finally uploaded a ton from our camera, there's one from the NICU and Otis looks so weency in it!!  Here are two I just love--one of Ingrid dancing (or "dancing") and one of Otis giggling from the fun of Pattycake. 

Sound of Music Party

Our friends had a themed birthday party yesterday.  I absolutely love Sound of Music, so I was excited for the party.  I had made the birthday girl's dress (green and white, like the curtain dresses) and I had the perfect dress for Ingrid to wear.  Awhile ago I got a dress from Alisha at Lishyloo and it was spot on for this party!

Otis needed something, too, so I whipped up a faux lederhosen shirt for him.  Gotta love felt!

Adeline seemed to have had a great party, and we felt lucky to be included in her day.  Yay Sound of Music!!