Daddy's Home!!

This weekend ended up being extra special because Peter came home on Saturday which was a week earlier than expected!   All three of his girls were so excited to have him home.    Here are the pictures from the week.......

Last Sunday Sarah Avery fell asleep on the way home from church so Susannah and I decided to have a picnic lunch behind our building while SA finished her nap in her car seat.

Of course, that didn't last nearly as long as I had hoped, so SA joined us for the second half of our lunch.

I think we may have had our nine month growth spurt this week because she wasn't sleeping well.

And she was eating and drinking like a champ.

Best way to remedy a sleep deprived week???   ICE CREAM.

And Starbucks.    By Friday I was at what we can safely call my wit's end.   Single parenting is no joke.   And it is even less of a joke when your baby isn't sleeping well.   I think SA sensed that I needed a reprieve though because on Friday morning she took a two+ hour nap in the stroller while I walked around downtown and enjoyed the sunshine.   It's amazing what a couple of quiet hours will do for a mama's soul.

Before we knew it though, it was time to go get this big girl at school.   We went by the bakery for our Friday afternoon pretzel.   

And then we came home to cook dinner.   This little fairy jumped around the kitchen and kept her sister entertained while I cooked. 

SA's growth spurt quickly morphed into teething episode #2.   Overnight, she went from eating everything I put in front of her to refusing everything I put in front of her.   On this night, she had thrown all of her food on the floor.   

But then, when I sat her down on the floor for a second to clear the table before sweeping, she started chowing down.   Apparently it is more fun to eat off the floor than in a highchair.   If this had been Susannah I would have freaked out.   But since she is the second child, my response was "Bon App kiddo!"

Saturday morning Daddy came home bearing lots of gifts, the highlight of which was this Elsa dress that sings and lights up.   

Susannah was beside herself.

SA was excited to hang out with Daddy too.

He dove right in and started reading to his girls despite his jet lag. 

Later that afternoon, we headed to the biergarten and stopped to make a wish in this fountain on the way home.

Tackling the hike to the biergarten.  Susannah was so happy to have Daddy home, she talked the entire way. 

Daddy let Sarah Avery try a bite of our blueberry cake.

Jumping from the highest step she could without breaking her neck.  

Sidewalk chalk.   Daddy drew a giraffe.

Susannah made dinner......pizza!

Sunday morning before church.   Is it me or does she look like she is 12 in this picture??

After church we headed out of the city for a little afternoon hike.   

We did this hike when we first moved here.   It was so crazy to think that Susannah was only 2 years old then.   

If I remember correctly, that day, Peter ended up carrying her for a lot of the walk.   Not this year.

This year, she led the pack the entire 3k.   

Everything was so peaceful and so so green.   

Picking a flower. 

Peter said this view looked like a puzzle and it was true.   It did.   

After our walk, we headed to a little lodge for some coffee and cake.  

The playground was right off the terrace so it worked out perfectly.

SA even got to swing like a big girl. 

And slide.    

That's it for this week.    Happy Memorial Day to everyone.   We love and miss you all!

Happy Birthday to Mommy

This week was busy and fun........until Friday that is, which is when the Birthday Gods decided that my first 33 birthdays had been way too happy and decided to make 34 a little more challenging.    Other than that, we had a wonderful visit with Grammy.   We had so much fun and stayed so busy, in fact, that I didn't take nearly enough pictures.   But here are the ones that I did manage to snap.....   

Susannah went to school the first half of the week so Mom and I took this one out to lunch so she could try out her new sun hat.   

Sarah Avery has officially mastered the art of waving.   

She is very proud when she does it and expects applause and cheers every time.  

We tried to take some daily pics to send to Daddy.

Grammy was excited to get to accompany Susannah to both swim lessons and ballet class.   

To say that these two love each other would be an understatement.   

Grammy soaked up every bit of time with these two that she could.   

Love these pictures.  

After Susannah's ballet class, we headed to the playground on base and SA had her first go in a swing. 

She loved it for the first five minutes. 

Especially when her big sister was pushing her.

Wheeee!

Susannah did some climbing and playing too.   After all, a playground is so much more fun when you have on a leotard.   

 And then all the fun came to a screeching halt just in time for Mommy's birthday, as that night Susannah came down with a stomach bug.

So this is how we spent our Friday.    And to add insult to injury, I also had a migraine.   Thank goodness Mom was here to help with Sarah Avery.    

Peter brightened my day by sending these though.   

 And then by Saturday morning, Susannah was back to her old self and my migraine was significantly better, so we got dressed for the first time in 48 hours and headed out to get some fresh air.

I knew she was feeling better when she spent so much time accessorizing her outfit before we left the apartment.

Back with a vengeance.

Sarah Avery slept the entire time we were in the park so this one and I had some good quality time in the sunshine.  

After playing for a while, we sat on a sunny park bench and played "I spy."   It was such a fun morning.

Then we came home to feed this wild child.  

She is already into EVERYTHING and then when she acquires EVERYTHING, it goes straight into her mouth.   Like yesterday when she managed to take my earring off and put it in her mouth.   After she knocked it off my ear, I scoured the floor for at least three or four minutes before I noticed that she was smacking her lips like she had something in her mouth.    I try not to think about what life will be like when she is really mobile.   (insert shudder here).  

Well, that is it for this week.   Grammy, thank you so much for a wonderful visit.    We miss you already!