Michigan Favorites

We took so many pictures during our summer trip to Michigan, it has taken a long time to go through them all! While there will be more pictures to come, I thought I'd start by posting some of my favorites. 

So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are some of my favorite shots of the girls in Michigan.

Happy Babies in the Pool

Beach Beauties Sporting Sunglasses

Smiles and Silly Faces

A Cool Evening on the Deck

Girls in the Garden

Goin' to the Chapel of Love

Mike and Rachel were married on Saturday, June 9th in Michigan. Emily and Addison got to have the very special job of flower girls. Since Emily isn't walking yet, and Addison isn't quite ready to walk down the aisle, the girls got to ride in a very fancy wagon.

On Friday, we drove three hours or so from Sue and Larry's house to Grand Rapids where the wedding was going to take place in a beautiful arboretum. The girls rehearsed their roles, and we had a great time at the rehearsal dinner.

The soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Palte

Emily and Addison wore their Michigan dresses for Uncle Mike, a U of M grad

They took their roles very seriously and immediately started practicing untying ribbons

What a good looking couple!

Aunt Rachel made the girls awesome fishing toys with personalized buckets

The day of the wedding was just beautiful. Blue skies and sunshine made the already gorgeous outdoor wedding just perfect. Mike and Rachel are so in love, and it was wonderful to watch them tie the knot.

Chris pulled these precious girls down the aisle in their dresses made by CeeCee

Romance 

Auntie Allison was a great help and held Emily during the ceremony 

Addie was pretty worn out afterwards, and cuddled a bit with Uncle Eric

Congratulations, 

Rachel and Mike! 

We love you!

A Few of Our (Current) Favorite Things

Emily

Saying "Uh Oh!" 

It started "uh uh" a few weeks ago, but has evolved, and now she's always looking for an opportunity to say it.

Playing Peek

Peekaboo used to just happen with blankets and towels, but now it's become a bit more subtle. We play peek around the corners of furniture, the edges of water bottles, the brims of hats, and, most recently, if I'm sitting down, Emily will come up behind me, put her hands on my shoulders, and play peek around my shoulders.

Anything WATER

Bathtime, so much fun. Pooltime, even better! Splashing in the yard, drinking from the sprinkler, turning on the faucet on Mom and Dad's big tub...all of these things make for a great time.

Meeting new people

After being in a crowd, Emily is all revved up. This is one little extravert. It takes her some time to warm up to a situation, but once she's comfortable, she is quite the little ham!

Mirrors

Speaking of hamming it up, she loves to watch herself ham it up!

Little People

The dump truck is fun, the school bus is amazing.

Putting things in and taking things out

Got something small and something you can put it into? This girl will want to play!

Addison

Ears

Her left ear is preferred, as she loves to tug it while sucking her right thumb. But someone else's ear (even a baby doll's ear) will surely get some lovin' too.

Dress Up

Give this girl a hat and a purse, and she'll walk laps around the house with a huge grin on her face!

Babies

Baby dolls are truly a favorite for Addison, and real live babies? Well, these will bring sheer giggles. She laughs when she sees Annalea's face in her picture book, and yesterday little Annalea was treated to some Addie snuggles and real kisses (not like the bite kisses she gives Mama!)

Chase

"I'm gonna get you!" sends her into the race with squeals of delight.

Velcro

Whoever invented this stuff, genious! The noise, the ripping, it's amazing!

And things that both these girls can't do without?

Being outside, big kids, and cottage cheese

The Knee Walk

In case you haven't seen it yet, this is how Emily's been getting around for the last month.

More Fun with Hats

We've been having a lot of fun with hats around here these days.

Our new Cape Cod Cutie hats came in the mail and never made it up to the girls' closet. They were too much fun to play with, so they've been living with the toys.

Addie loves walking around with a hat on her head

Who's that little lady in my kitchen?

Checking out what Emily's up to 

Enamored with a baby doll Mama had when she was little

How do I look?

Emily's new "knee walk"...it's the best way to get around!

We took a trip to Michigan for Uncle Mike and Aunt Rachel's wedding this month, and while we were packing, Emily had quite a wonderful time trying on hats!

Mama's hat's just a bit too big

But knee-walking blind is so much fun!

Ah! This hat fits nicely!

Hammin' it up!

Ever since getting back from Michigan, the Cape Cod Cutie hats, along with the zip-up hoodies, have stayed with the toys because hats and zippers are just so much fun.

Last night, I decided to take it up a notch and dedicate an entire bin to "dress up" toys. We have hats, purses, jackets, and the tutus the girls wore when they were itty bitty! When the girls got up this morning, I surprised them with their new dress up box, and the tutus had to go on first, and then the hats came out!

My camera was set on a 10-second timer, so when I snapped this shot, it did a lot a beeping and flashing before actually taking the picture. Emily hammed it up for about 8 seconds, but then started getting confused. Addie started clapping to the beat of the beeps.

Oooo, what else is in here?

I'm ready to go to the store, Mom.

Wait, maybe I want to wear this hat instead.

Hiding behind the couch (where a chair is set up to protect the plant - genius, Daddy!)

Where shall I go today? Decisions, decisions...

Tutu untied, Emily knee walks with a train 

Sweet Girls

Baby Nectarines

We are so excited because our nectarine tree is getting fruit this year! It got fruit the first year we were in the house, and then we discovered it is an every-other-year fruiting tree.

The girls have discovered the fruit, and even though the nectarines are tiny and sour right now, they're still fun to chew on. Luckily, our raspberry bushes are going crazy right now, so there's a much tastier alternative to offer when the backyard munchies strike.

The girls are becoming pretty good friends, and every day there is at least one giggle session full of inside jokes between the two of them. Their laughter is heartwarming music, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.