Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Dear Acadia,

Happy third Birthday! It seems like overnight you went from our little girl to our big girl and you like to prove that you are almost every day!

You're an energetic little girl who loves to be outside. If you're cranky or bored or I just don't know what to do with you when you go outside that all changes. You love to go to the park and run and swing and ride the slide "all by myself".



 

You love food and will eat almost anything! Recently you had lobster for the first time and after one bite said, "Mmmmmm, I like lobster". You also love when we go out and get treats. Chocolate covered marshmallows seem to be a favorite.

 

 

Not only do you love to eat, but you love to help mama cook. Every Sunday you're right next to me with your wisk and measuring spoons helping me make pancakes.



You love animals.  A couple of months ago you were scared of everything, but not anymore.  If you see a doggie you immediately want to go up and say hi and pet it.  But you love all animals.  Recently we went to a petting zoo and you pet everything from deer to goats to bunnies.  You even made sure to say good-bye to them all before we left.

 

 



You're also turning into our little fashionista.  Gone our the days where Mommy or Daddy could dress you.  You want to pick out your own clothes and even accesorize.  You're still a tomboy, wearing Cars undewear under your dresses, but these days you pick dresses over jeans and pink over blue.




It's amazing to see you grow and see you do new things almost everyday.  You melt our hearts (and give us more gray hairs) daily and we can't wait to see what you get into next.  No matter what though, you'll always be our special little girl.

XO,
Mommy and Daddy



How could I forget....

The best part of the trip...

Bob and Mary rented a stand up paddle board for Scott and me. We had so much fun riding around the lake, but for Scott it was a little more so. He had his little surfer girl with him a few times and his heart just melted. I see a lot more beach vacations in our future!

North Woods 2012

A couple of weeks ago Scott, the kids, and I took a little vacation to Northern Wisconsin. It was a full week of leisure at Scott's parents lake home. It was great!

Bob and Mary surprised Acadia with her first bike. To say she liked it is a bit of an understatement. All she wanted to do was ride it. When it rained we even brought it into the basement to keep her busy.

We also hit up Jim Peck's Wild Wood park. It's a cross between a petting zoo and a regular zoo. There's bears, lions, and tigers that you can't pet. Almost everything else is out roaming. I think Acadia pet everything she could and surprised us all when she did. From deer to goats to a pot bellied pig, she touched it. She even went into this bird house and fed the birds and let them sit on her (sorry Dana). For the girl who has been scared of little dogs, this was amazing.

Rylan was there too, but he stayed in the backpack most of the time. He liked the animals and even pet the deer. His excitement turned to tears though when the deer went from licking his fingers to biting them!

Bob was excited to take Acadia on the train...

And Acadia loved spending time with her grandparents...

Poor Rylan though had a rough go on this trip. He seemed to have a reaction to one of his vaccines that he got about a week before we left. The second day of our trip he broke out in a terrible rash and had about a 105 degree fever. Basically he had the measles.

He did a lot of hanging out indoors, without much clothes to keep him cooler.

But once he started feeling better he made up for what he missed!

Thanks Mary and Bob for a great trip! Can't wait for the next one!

Fun Fourth

We didn't have any plans for this 4th of July but our day ended up being busy and fun!

We started out running in the YMCA's firecracker 4. It was a four mile run around a neighborhood not too far from ours. We loaded the kids in the double stroller and hoped it wouldn't rain. I haven't ran in forever and it was tough. Thankfully Scott pushed the stroller and with Acadia cheering "Go Mama!" I was able to finish. I might have even gotten bit by the running bug again! Scott and I both forgot our phones so we don't have any pictures, but the kids really seemed to like being in the stroller together.

In the afternoon we went out on a friends boat for a cruise around the harbor. We all loved it and it was so much fun seeing the kids faces. Thankfully we did get some cute
pics.

A day at the beach

Yesterday was hot and sunny so we decided to take the kids to the beach. While Acadia could have stayed there all day Rylan wasn't the biggest fan. The water was cold and sand was blowing everywhere. We did get a few cute pictures though.

Eclectic

That's how I can best describe Acadia's wardrobe. Most days I let her pick out her own outfit is I can avoid an argument. I guess this is what you get!

Our Camping (Mis)Adventure

Scott has been dying to take the kids camping since Acadia was born. I was putting it on hold until they got a little bigger, but it seemed they were both big enough to give it a go. I think after yesterday we're going to have to wait just a little longer!

We reserved a campsite at a place that's only a mile or so from our house. We figured that way if we forgot something or if the kids melted down we could just go home. Well, good thing we did.

We waited until after the kids took naps to head out. Scott went to the campsite to set everything up while they were sleeping. That way we weren't trying to get the tent up with two crazy kids all over the place.

By the time we got there it was about 4:00. Enough time to relax and take the kids to the park before we started dinner. Acadia and Rylan both loved the park. That is, until all the big kids started running around playing some sort of sword fight game. So we headed back and started cooking dinner. You would have thought the kids didn't eat for days. They both were grabbing for anything and everything and screaming the minute they finished what they were eating.

I should also mention that at this point we almost ran out of clothes for Acadia. We were going to be out for less than 24 hours. I packed extra clothes for both kids knowing that we might need a change. In about two hours I was down to the last clean pair of underwear for Acadia...and I packed FOUR extras! Our little girl was having too much fun to be bothered with telling us when she had to pee. I thought I was going to have to go home to get more if this kept on.

At this point I put Rylan to sleep in the pack and play and crossed my fingers that he would sleep while Scott took Acadia to the park again so she could run off some energy before bed. Rylan fussed for a few minutes, but went to sleep great.

When Scott and Acadia got back we got her ready for bed. Then we all went in the tent to lay down together. We got Acadia a blow up kids bed thinking that she wouldn't want to sleep on the ground in her sleeping bag. Before bed she was jumping all over it so we thought we were all set. Nope. When it came to going to bed she wanted no part of it. So Scott and I laid on our airbed with her in between us. After a few minutes she said, "home". Ummm, what was that? Again, "home". We asked her if she wanted to sleep in the tent and she said no. Then we asked if she wanted to sleep at home in her crib and she said yes. Now Rylan started making some noise so Scott and I looked at each other and decided to pack it up. The gates to the campgrounds closed at 10:00 so it was either leave then, or be stuck with an unhappy toddler. Sure enough when Acadia woke up today, the first thing she said was, "It's camping day". No kiddo, that was supposed to be last night.

We'll try it again when they get a little bigger. Or maybe just bring another pack and play for Acadia. She's never slept in a bed by herself so maybe that is all we need. We'll see. But we definitely have some good memories from trying.