Birthday bonanza!

Last Saturday was an exciting birthday party day. We had the privilege of attending three parties! Unfortunately, they overlapped in time so we divided and conquered.

Emily and I went to Abby's party at Pump It Up. Emily had a blast and I'm just happy we left in one piece :) (see videos below!)

The birthday girl

She eventually got the hang of it!

Our next party was at the West End and we had an hour between the parties so Emily and I grabbed some lunch at Crave. It was a fun, impromptu lunch date with my favorite preschooler! Side note: I highly recommend their chicken salad...bacon, avocado, sliced cashews, need I say more???

From there, Emily went to a much more low key, but just as fun, birthday party at Creative Kidstuff. The kids made masks and capes and played games. It was the first time I've dropped Emily off for a birthday party but the parents say it all went well and the kids were having a great time when we arrived to pick them up! You might be wondering what parents of preschoolers do with an hour of down time while their kids are at a birthday party. Happy hour. We do happy hour :)

While Emily and I were touring the city for kid parties, Patrick and Aubrey were celebrating his sisters' birthday with brunch. They had a nice time as well - even though Emily and I weren't there. Weird.

The next two weeks will be business as usual while we wait for our week long trip to Izatys Resort on Lake Mille Lacs! 

Uncle time

My brother, the girls' uncle, has Thursdays off work so we packed up some toys and headed out to his place one lovely Thursday morning for a visit. We played at the nearby playground, Greg and Emily took a short nature walk, picnicked and played in the yard. Emily also did her best to "woo" his cat, Bonnie. I think she's warming up to Emily :)

We talked about getting together again on a Thursday and check out a beach before I return to work and we're already looking forward to it! Thanks for having us over, Greg. We had a great time!

Three months

Aubrey is now three months old and doing great! She is the best little baby (in my opinion!) whose likes include watching her sister, chewing on her hands, eating, sleeping, smiling and laughing. Her dislikes include her carseat, waiting to eat and being left out. We love you baby and can't wait to see what the future holds for you!

Independence Day

This year we celebrated the Fourth of July with a preschool parade, fireworks, the Edina parade and a family picnic. 

We had a great long weekend are are looking ahead to a fun month of birthday parties for family and friends as well as our trip to Izaty's!

Emerging artist`

Emily has been very interested in drawing, cutting, painting, spelling/writing words and creating art lately. Below is a sample of her handy work! 

Beaded necklace!

The process isn't always pretty :)

This is me as a "wedding princess"

From top to bottom: Dad, Sammy, Maggie, Mom, Aubrey

Wrapping up June

As the calendar changes from June to July and Aubrey turns 12 weeks old, I find myself thinking back to my maternity leave with Emily. At this point I was going back to work and I'm so thankful that I am able to stay home a little longer with Aubrey.

I also remember four weeks ago when we started our summer schedule and I had both girls with me three days a week. I wasn't sure how it was going to go but it has gone very well! It helps that I have a plan and activity for every day that Emily is home, most of them involving soaking up the weather in some way! It also helps that Aubrey is such a happy, predictable, easy going baby!

This month we celebrated Father's Day, enjoyed plenty of time at the beach, pool, zoo and explored a number of new parks!

Happy Father's Day to the best dad I know! 

Beach time

I am extremely lucky to have this extra time every year with my girls and will surely miss it come the fall. Until then, we plan to make the most of the next two months as well!