Sum up of the last week: teeth, hikes, and flowers

Last week, Amelia gave us a big surprise by getting her first tooth at just 3 months 1 week old. Both of her big sisters had their first two teeth come in right around 4 months, so I just wasn't expecting this. Just when I was thinking that maybe a chiropractor visit was needed, I felt that sharp little edge in her mouth and knew why she was so disgruntled. And then a few days later, the second tooth made it's appearance. Suffice it to say, those days felt so very long. She clung to me, just me, the whole time, wanted to nurse constantly (but would puke up the extra milk since she just wanted the comfort, not the sustenance), and didn't sleep worth anything. I hope and pray that this isn't what it's like for the rest of her teeth, because it's going to be brutal if it is.

I should probably mention that within 20 minutes of finding her first tooth, she also rolled over on the freezer for the first time. I was putting on the Moby wrap to go for a walk so I set her down on the deep freeze (I do this all the time since this is where her carseat is when we get ready to go). She proceeded to just flip right over from front to back like it was no big deal. Good thing I was right there and she was lying so that she rolled across it, not off of it! We are now at the lovely stage where I can't set her down anywhere but the floor unless she's tightly buckled in. Since then, she's rolling in all directions (go big or go home I guess) and gets upset fast when she gets stuck, which is like every five minutes. This age has so many love/hate things going on.

You can't really see it, but it's there in all of it's painful glory

Last weekend, we headed to the lake to spend time with my parents. Right away on Saturday morning, we headed out to Glendalough State Park to hike on our favorite path. The hike is 3.5 miles, so we didn't do all of it. Instead, we turned around at about 1.25 miles, had a picnic, and then (accidentally) went for a swim. Well, Josie went for a swim. She was quite shocked when she tripped in the water and ended up soaked from head to toe. All she'd wanted to do was wade with Audrey and Grammy... :)

Josie was able to hike all of it without any complaining. Even after getting soaked, she just changed into Audrey's back up clothes and continued on her way. This girl has quite the appetite for exercise and activity. I'm so thankful that I don't have to fight her on this and that she seems to truly enjoy it.

Audrey on the other hand just doesn't love it. She slumps her little shoulders over and sulks if she's feeling tired (or bored or hungry or ____ ). She constantly asks to be picked up, but then wants down so she can set the pace - as slow as she can stroll no matter how fast the rest of us are going. Part of it is her age, but I do think it's part of her personality. She's pretty laid back and doesn't seem to think we need to hurry to get anywhere. Hubby and I talked about it and know that we have to really make an effort to keep her moving and keep it fun so she grows into it as she grows up. So funny how different these girls are.

Don't they look cute wearing their granddaughters' backpacks? We had to load the picnic food in something and they were just a little too heavy for the little girls

  

So many emotions when you are two

That night, hubby and I snuck away to have a date night while we had built in babysitters. (Quite the perk of staying with my parents!) We went to Zorbaz and had a huge appetizer of nachos with a pitcher of beer while we sat right by the water. It was pretty perfect. No bugs yet, entertaining people to watch (who doesn't love to people watch?) and a breezy evening with just enough sun to keep us warm out on the patio. Hopefully we can do this again before the summer is done.

My date and my view

On Sunday, we got up and out early enough to go to church in town. At our church, the girls go to what is equivalent to Sunday school part way through the service and stay with us just for the music and prayer before the message and the music at the end. At this church, we didn't want to put them in Sunday school since we don't know anyone (not really comfortable sending the kids off with strangers) and don't come regularly. I don't think the girls knew what to expect and still had a lot of energy built up from who knows what. They kept us on our toes, even with the fun bag of books and coloring materials. Next time we go (this coming weekend) I think I'll have to pack a different bag of unknown goodies so they have more to keep them busy and quiet. Amelia, of course, needed to be held while standing so I wasn't much help with the older two. Hopefully, now that they have experienced it once and it is more "known," it will go better the next time.

After church, we stopped in to briefly say hi to my grandma and then headed back to the lake. We expected rain all day but instead had cloudy, cool weather perfect for outdoor playing. Josie was constantly requesting to play outside, so we spent time on the dock, playing in the "forbidden forest," and playing on the little playground. It was a great afternoon and evening.

That can't be good for the future of this egg.

On Monday, it rained and rained so we hit the road to a town nearby that had quite the amazing toy store. The kids were enthralled and got to have a treat of frozen yogurt, and I got some birthday and Christmas ideas. I ended leaving with a puzzle and a card game accessory (for little hands to hold all of those cards, we have one already but two girls means there is always a fight). It was a good time waster while we waited for the rain to pass.

It finally did just before we were ready to go home. Quickly, we sent the girls outside for some fresh air and room to run, and they ended up looking for treasures (rocks and sticks) so they could build a house. I don't think they made a lot of progress, but at least they were outside.

This week, we spent time at a few different parks, got a tour of a garden nursery, and got to visit with my good friend Emily who was passing through town on her way back to Texas. Josie and Audrey went outside to play while she was here and came back in with a huge bouquet of dandelions (always) just picked for her! It was sweet. She was touched (or at least acted like she was wink wink).

Look at that crazy hair and wacky smile (Josie's, not Emily's who looks much more put together), but even more impressive, look at those dandelions!

After all of this activity, we were long overdue for a day at home. Wednesday was a tough day attitude-wise, so Thursday we hunkered down. The only time we left the indoors was to walk over to say a quick "Happy birthday" to Grandma before practically running home to beat the incoming thunderstorm. I think we all feel refreshed and ready for another fun weekend at the lake now. :)

How we all felt on Wednesday after all the crazy activity and outings