Brown Bear, Brown Bear - Georgia

Brown Bear, Brown Bear 

What Do You See?

A birdie get you!

Happy 3rd Birthday Georgia & Madelyn!

Yesterday two of my favorite people turned 3. Someone recently told me that when you have little ones the days go by very slowly while the years seem to fly away. I couldn't agree more. As I look through photos of the girls over the past couple of years I start to miss those chubby little cheeks and the gummy baby grins. However, I am so in love with the curious developing minds and budding personalities it makes it a little easier to handle the fact my babies are growing up.

From where we started to where we are now is a little mind boggling.

 

Happy birthday, ladies! I am so happy to be your mommy and to have watched you grow over the past 3 years. I can't wait to see what this year brings!

Chicago!

A big part of Maddy & Georgia's birthday present this year was a trip to Chicago to visit the Shedd Aquarium. So we got around early in the morning and headed out for the 3hr drive. We got there and sat outside to fuel up with some snacks/lunch before we headed in.

So happy to be enjoying the beautiful sunshine...

Well... then we spotted some hungry seagulls and the girls were a little frightened so we let them sit on the table.

Then this guy approached. A red winged black bird. As many signs stated, they are very defensive of their nearby nests and are known to dive bomb an unsuspecting passersby. Well, apparently they are also hungry and noisy.

and sooooooooo FRIGHTENING! Mr. Blackbird decided to join our table and everything just fell apart. Craig and I were torn between laughing, staring incredulously and trying to soothe and find a solution. I am not sure this picture even captures the state the girls were in over this MONSTROUS bird.

The solution was to walk back to the car, carrying 2 hysterical children while Craig followed with our lunch and the FedEx lady laughed at us. Luckily they are not very large children.

Ok, we have now survived our lunch attack and are headed into to enjoy the aquarium. We saw some fish but the girls were begging to see the penguins. I'm not gonna lie, I also love the penguins.

I need to take a moment and comment on what an AMAZING baby, Sofia is. She was so happy and content all day. She took in the sights from Craig's carrier and briefly napped every once in a while. Thank you to the Shedd for having a "nursing" room, I love that more places are including these. 

The stingray exhibit was enclosed in Plexiglas that you could walk on. Maddy was so cute, she walked around the perimeter and then reached for my hand so she could step onto the stingrays. She then told me "be careful mommy, don't fall on the fisheys."

It was a gorgeous Chicago day! Sofia is enjoying a catnap while we had a snack outside.

I need to include a special little section dedicated to the little boy who walked by us eating popcorn. I don't know you, but I really don't like you. :) In true toddler fashion, all Georgia wanted from that point on was POPCORN! Really difficult to locate, insanely expensive... popcorn. We eventually found it and all was well with the world once again.

We had to wait in a few lines. Once for the 4D penguin movie and again for the dolphin/beluga show. If you have a toddler or have been in the general vicinity of a toddler you know that waiting in lines is NOT their forte. Especially when they have been up too long without a nap and their feet are tired and they are probably hungry for something other than popcorn. So while Georgia sat with Craig up on a rock Maddy and I opted for the floor. This is how we wait in line... bonus points if you can understand the words to her songs.

The 4D penguin movie! Big seats, cute penguins, a short rest in a dark place and oh yes, the place where we realized Sofia had been neglected in all the potty breaks (sooooo many potty breaks) and had peed through her diaper onto her pants. Pants-less Sofia reigned for the rest of the day, and yes I did change her diaper on Craig's lap during the movie.

Waiting for the dolphin show. While in this area, no food was allowed... meaning I now had to confiscate said glorious popcorn and convince the girls the dolphins would want to take their popcorn and it would make them sick if they got it. Yeah. Right. They either knew that was ridiculous or didn't care about the well being of the dolphins. Sooooo I told them the lady in the very official blue Shedd shirt would yell at them if they tried to eat it. Sorry lady. The whole show Georgia kept telling me "lady loud, lady mean." haha 

The show was ok. Not as good as I remembered it being in the past. The dolphins swam and spun and jumped once or twice. The belugas were a hit with the girls. Sofia was being her usual rambuncous self.

The lighting was weird in their and this was the best photo I could manage in my 3 sec. window before the girls turned around or someone walked in front of us.

The dolphin show was our last stop of the day and we headed home. The girls were asleep before we were out of the city.

One last stop for a potty break and some ice cream :) Happy almost birthday, girls!

A New (to us) Park

One of our "to do list" items this summer was to visit a park that is new to us. Well, we found one a mere 2.5 miles away. For those of you in the area it's Oriole Park. Such a cute park, we had a picnic lunch and then let the girls play.

 Sofia liked the slide.

The city just added a small splash pad to the park, as it was only 60 something out that was not on our agenda. Ok, it wasn't on my agenda, or Craig's agenda. Apparently, Georgia had her own agenda.

CSA

This was the first week of many to come, where I found myself saying "what am I going to do with this??" This year our family has joined a CSA at Fat Blossom Farm. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Members of a CSA purchase a share of a farm’s production in advance of the season and receive fresh seasonal produce at a rate that is much lower than retail.  This arrangement benefits both farmers and members.  Farmers have a guaranteed market and money to buy supplies at the beginning of the season.  Members get fresh food at near wholesale prices and also get to know where their food is coming from and how it is raised. For the next 20 weeks we will be receiving fresh produce, including lots of things we have never tried. 

The point of this is to continue moving our family away from processed junk and towards healthier foods. In addition we want the girls to know where their food comes from. See the farms it grows on and the plants it comes from.

 Our first week we enjoyed spinach, green garlic, kale, arugula, radishes and red turnips.

For dinner that night we had some pasta sauted with lots of spinach and garlic with some mozz. cheese on top. The girls loved it, Maddy even asked for more spinach! This weekend we will be getting garlic scapes and shell peas as well as more spinach and kale. If you have any good veggie preserving tips or yummy recipes send them our way!

Planting Flowers

Over the weekend we added some flowers to our front. I am NOT a gardener. I know pretty much nothing about flowers, plants, gardens, etc. I know my mother is disappointed to hear this because she on the other hand is pretty knowledgeable in all of those areas.

So here was my first attempt at gardening with the girls, They were eager until they realized their hands were going to get dirty. Yes, Maddy is planting flowers in silver sandals :)

The girls picked out their own flowers...

Georgia was "helping" me dig holes... she was also flinging wood chips everywhere. So after we flung wood chips and dug holes I told the girls to put their flowers in the hole. Well, I think I needed to be a little bit more descriptive as to HOW they should put their flowers in the hole. They both threw their plants into the holes, upside down. whoops. haha. We followed that up by drinking from the hose and spraying each other instead of watering our new flowers. Looks as if I might need to teach them how to hire a gardener instead...

We didn't get any pictures of the finished product but I'll post some in a couple of weeks... if the abused flowers survive.

John Ball Zoo

Summer bucket list here we go! Over the weekend we visited the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids. We've been there many times now but this visit was special for a couple of reasons. The tickets were part of a Spring Celebration event for the Ella Bullis foundation which is an organization that provides support for families impacted by premature birth or infant death. It's a great organization and a cause that obviously very near and dear to our hearts, check it out if you get a chance. So that was the first reason this visit we special.

The second reason is this was the first time the girls were old enough/knowledgeable enough to engage in conversation about the animals they were seeing. Instead of me pointing out what the animals were, the girls were able to tell Craig and I what the animals were and tell us things about what they looked like, how they acted, etc. I love it! Every milestone they reach makes me think "this is my new favorite age!"


The zoo added a new wallaby exhibit. The wallabies are free to roam this certain area and will approach you if you are still and quiet enough.

Here is a photo of us and all our luggage! haha. We usually make the girls walk (makes for a good afternoon nap) but Sofia was sleeping when we arrived at the zoo and I wanted to bring some drinks and snack and a bottle along... and I wanted to use our fun new wagon! The girls hardly rode in it but oh well. Also pictured is our turkey friend. She followed us for quite a while... the girls were not fans. I can't blame them, if a turkey as big as me was following me around and making strange sounds I think I would be a little frightened.

Craig and the girls pet the sting rays. Well.... Craig and Georgia pet the sting rays. Madelyn was not interested so she hung out with Sofia and I.

Just before this photo we saw an ape of some kind picking at his butt. Oh man, if he only knew what a hot topic he was with all the little ones looking through the glass. "silly monkey" the girls said.

 I don't think this bear picture is to scale but it still made me laugh a little. Maddy looks so tiny.

The bears, who are generally pretty lethargic when we visit were up and roaming around. It was a beautiful day and most of the animals were up and walking around. The lions were even wrestling and growling which was a big hit for the girls.

Our last stop was the penguins. Sofia loved watching them swim back and forth in front of them. Of course I couldn't catch that in a photo :(

Madelyn was grumpy and tired and not interested in our photo op.