Monday, April 27, 2009

as promised...

Careful, this just might melt your heart...


June laughs best of all for Andy. (Grandma gets a pretty good laugh too.)

PS- Scroll down to see what we have been up to lately... the kids are in bed early tonight, so I got nearly caught up on the blog! Woo hoo!

when it rains...

Andy's family converged on Chicago last week.
Grandpa Utah had a conference in Chicago.  Grandma came along for some time with Alli and Ruby.  Betsy was hired to photograph the conference.  Her kids came too.  Jen flew in from New York... because she is awesome like that.

Alli, Ruby, and June enjoyed some quality time with their cousins Lucas and Lily.  Lily is two months older than June, but apparently she eats her Wheaties (see photos below).

We had some hot weather.  We went to the park in shorts and t-shirts.  (Freedom!)  Alli convinced Grandma and Grandpa that ice cream was mandatory.  (Not hard for her to do.)

Grandma and Grandpa picked Alli up from school.  They were heading to the park where everyone else was playing.  Alli said something like this to them, "Let's just keep walking past the park to Dairy Queen, just me and you."  Grandpa and Grandma were kind enough to gather us all before going to DQ.

We took all of those Nicolls to the zoo. 
It got chilly (the zoo is often ten degrees cooler because it is right on the lake), so we got creative.  Ruby tucked her arms inside her shirt... and that is a onesie she is wearing on her head.

Lucas liked seeing all of the animals.

Were they texting each other?

No, but they like their Blackberries. 

the little cold that could

About two weeks ago Ruby, June, and I got colds.  We had runny noses and coughs and congestion.  Common colds.  No big deal, right?
June was stuffy, so she wasn't nursing as well as usual.  She wasn't draining me enough.
I got mastitis... again.  (I had it in February.  My fever got up to 104 degrees.  I was aching.  Chilled.  No fun.)
Ruby's congestion led to a double ear infection.  She didn't complain about it and I didn't know she was hurting.  Her eardrum burst from the pressure of the infection.  Then she was miserable.

Ruby and I are on antibiotics.  We are on the mend.

The moral of the story: Please remember to cover your mouth when you sneeze.  And wash your hands.



best dressed


Sometimes I wonder what people think as Alli scoots by on her way to school.

"Awesome."

This was "beach day" at Alli's school... or something like that.  She looked like a little parade float as she scooted to school.     
I love the way she dresses herself.  She enjoys fashion, but doesn't take it too seriously... which is just how it should be. 



one little, two little...


This little cutie has discovered her fingers.  She is fascinated with those wiggly digits.  She stares at her fingers in amazement, stuffs them in her mouth and gums them with her toothless mouth.  They make a great pacifier too... she smacks her lips with satisfaction. 
And sometimes she nods off to sleep with her fingers intertwined, as if she was saying a baby prayer.
I love those ten little precious fingers.  June too.



Sunday, April 19, 2009

Sunday singing


Enjoy!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Juicy!


Check out this behemoth!  Alli and Ruby were thrilled to feel him wriggling around in their dirty little hands.  The girls played with him for a few minutes, and then we watched him dig a hole and disappear into the rich, moist soil. 

This was the biggest worm I have ever dug out of a garden.  He would have won a blue ribbon at the county fair... if "biggest slimy worm" was a category. 

Does Cook County (a.k.a. Chicago) have a fair?  If so, I would like to go.  I bet it wouldn't be like the county fair where I grew up.

Post edit:  Let me clarify, I did not grow up at a county fair.  I grew up in Portage County.  And there is a fair for the county.  We went almost every year, but I was not raised there. 

Much better.


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

ticklish


This little sweetheart laughed her first real laugh today!  (This is one of my favorite milestones.  So important... humor.)  She is delightfully ticklish under her double chin. 
Her laugh is too cute for words... maybe I'll have to post a video.  Stay tuned...




Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Easter weekend

Our house is a mess.  A disaster.

You know how it is, a little time away from home means major catch up cleaning and laundry when you get home.

(Five loads... in case you were wandering.)

We went to Ohio last week and spent the Easter weekend with my family.  And we took Marissa back to spend a few days with my parents before she heads back to BYU-Idaho.  (This is going to take some getting used to.)

Here are some of the highlights...

Unlimited attention from Uncle Ben and his guitar. 


Alli and Ruby are excellent car-travelers.  Seriously.


Even Andy got a little break with his girls.  Relaxing.  Fishing.  Hiking.  Egg hunting.


We went fishing with the cousins at Little Turtle Pond... free fishing derby for kids!  Hot dogs were $1 and parking was free!  Dan's kids actually caught fish... with a little help.  Everyone else had fun doing other things.


Grandma and Grandpa had Easter baskets for all of the kids.  Ruby lined all of her treats up to count them.


Alli and Ruby were so excited for the big Easter egg hunt on Saturday.  Hundreds of treat-filled eggs were hidden in the back yard.  All the cousins were gathered while the adults hid the eggs.  Kids were released into the egg-strewn yard by age.  The youngest kids went first.  They savored each find, shaking the egg and holding it up proudly while parents tried to hurry them on before the older kids were sent on the hunt. 


Afterwards, everyone gathered in the living room to survey the loot.  Eggs and candy everywhere.




We went to a vegan restaurant in Akron.  Delicious!  Perhaps some of that wholesome-healthiness counteracted the candy overload.  Perhaps.


Finally, a sad goodbye to Marissa.  We miss you already!


Check out the Mars website for more Easter fun!

We can't wait to visit Ohio again!

(The trip was totally worth the cleaning/laundry frenzy.)







Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Silly April Fools Day Faces


Today there weren't many tricks at our house... just lots of smiles and silly faces.
 
PS- Ruby is wearing the cereal box helmet Marissa made for her.