Stopping to smell the roses

On Sunday after church, we went with Corey, Gill and the Hills to the Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival. It was nice to walk around and see everything in bloom. The kids loved the music band and the art center. I even walked away with some herbs (with the help of Gillian) that hopefully I will not kill instantaneously!

The half year mark

Anna turned six months old while we were away on our trip. She's been rolling over like a pro and even getting very close to sitting up. She babbles constantly and is very ticklish. She's been eating better, including a range of pureed baby food. Sleep is another story, but we're hoping that improves once those two front teeth pop through (they're on their way) and once it warms up at night. She continues to adore her big sis. They have conversations and everything. We're cherishing the sibling love now before it turns to bitter rivalry over toys and attention.

The Oregon trail

We recently returned from a week-long trip to Oregon with Eric’s family! At 4:30 a.m., our own version of the Oregon trail started by flying 3,000 miles with a potty-training two-and-a-half-year old and a teething six-month old (and we lived to blog about it!). The girls did fairly well on the airplane for Anna's first flight (no passenger revolts) with the exception of a little panic attack by Emilia when we first took off. The girls had a blast spending time with Grammy, Poppy, Aunt Melissa, Uncle Bob, Owen (three) and Henry (almost two). There were lots of great memories made throughout the trip… here are the highlights:

On Easter, we went to Bob and Melissa’s church, ate lots of delicious food, decorated eggs, hunted for treats and found fun baskets from the Easter Bunny.

On Monday, we drove about three hours south of Portland through beautiful and snowy – yes, snowy – mountains to Redmond. We stayed there the remainder of the week in a timeshare thanks to Eric’s parents. We visited the High Desert Museum, where the kids were able to interact with animals and get a glimpse of life on the Oregon Trail.
We visited a local farm to ride some horses. Emilia must have gone 20 laps on her horse. Even Anna wanted to be a little cowgirl!

We went to the Sun Mountain Fun Center for some indoor fun, including Emilia's first experience bowling.
The big kids got to go on a fun bike ride with Uncle Bob and Aunt Melissa.We took advantage of one of the many pools at the timeshare for Anna's first swim!
We hit up lots of local parks and playgrounds. We attempted to hike and fish. No fish, but lots of deer!The big kids had a lot of fun hanging out together - especially at bath time. I didn't have an "appropriate" photo of them in the big whirlpool tub at the timeshare to include, but that was a big hit!The kids had a great time throughout the week... cooking with Aunt Melissa... reading stories with Uncle Bob... being fed by Poppy... snuggling with Grammy.

The trip was also a real turning point for Emilia on the potty. She was almost always in big girl undies without incidents and even went BM on the airplane potty multiple times (TMI, I know)! In the end, we were exhausted. Thank you to Grammy and Poppy for your generosity and to Bob and Melissa for being such great hosts and chefs!

Spring style

Before we left on our trip, I desperately needed a haircut. Emilia was jealous, so she ended up getting in the salon chair, as well. When all was said and done, she had lost about two inches of hair and gained a really cute bob style for the spring (not to mention a lollipop).