Sunday, December 25, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
* Penelope's Christmas Wishlist 2011 *
How and WHYYY is it Christmas already??? As much as I love Christmas, I'm just totally behind this year. It could be the fact that we don't have a Christmas tree yet (I'm working on it). It could also be the fact that I've been ill... or that there isn't any snow on the ground. These yards just look silly with all of their Holiday lights and sculptures without all the pretty lights reflecting off of a sparkly layer of snow.
...but I mostly think that it is sinking in, just how much I'm missing my family. We were REALLY hoping to make it back to Wisconsin sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it just isn't happening. Booooo.
Anyway... many have asked, so I guess it's about time to do this thing. Here is Penelope Christmas wish list:
As always, I can't say it enough, we LOVE LOVE LOVE the Tea Collection! It's by far our favorite baby clothing line. Their fabric quality is just worlds better than any other baby clothing I have come across and it's perfect for Penny's delicate skin. Not to mention that it's super super cute!
Penelope is in desperate need of size 3T play outfits. She's going to be outgrowing her 2t clothes soonish, so I was going through her bin of 3T clothes to find that we didn't have a single pair of cotton play pants. 15 pairs of denim, but not a single pair of every day play pants. The above outfit is from Old Navy... but Carters, Baby Gap, Jumping Beans and so forth would also be more than fine, as long as it's 100% cotton.
Penelope is still in love with books and we cannot get enough of them! The three above are ones that I know she would love. We have a stuffed animal of the mouse with the cookie, but never got the book. She is also very much in love with dinosaurs.
DUMBO! Penelope adores him! We checked it out from the library a few weeks ago and she's been asking about it ever since. It's one of the few Disney movies we don't have - I know they sell them on Amazon.com.
Penny has a pair of beat up, green froggy rain boots. She doesn't play outside without them. Sadly, she'll either outgrow or wear them out soon. We need a new pair of size 8 rain boots. I found the ones above on the Target website, but any print would really be fine.
Little girls panties, is there anything cuter? We spotted these at Target and fell in love. Penelope still loves Finding Nemo and is just starting to like Toy Story and Wall-E. I think the smallest size they go down to was a 3/4 , and that would work perfectly as they run a little small any way.
Penelope loves puzzles. We have a ton of them. A storage rack would be awesome.
We have all the brushes, the papers, the easel, the smocks and spill-proof paint cups... but we need more paint! Penelope is a paint-a-holic, so we're always running out!
Kind of an odd request... but if anyone happens to have a used Barbie car that they want to hand down to Penny - PLEASE do so. I found the one above at Target, but I'm not terribly impressed with it's style and quality... so therefore, I have decided that I am unwilling to pay $15.00 for said car. Ideally, we would love a 4 seater that is not pink... but if someone is willing to give her a used one, it really doesn't matter what it looks like, we would just really really like to have one.
A little bird told me that Santa *MAY* be getting Penelope a dollhouse for Christmas... so this would be nice for her little doll family to cruise around in.
Disclaimer: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NO NO NO BARBIE DOLLS! we're not ready for that yet :P
A little bird told me that Santa *MAY* be getting Penelope a dollhouse for Christmas... so this would be nice for her little doll family to cruise around in.
Disclaimer: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NO NO NO BARBIE DOLLS! we're not ready for that yet :P
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
New Primm on the Block
Say, "Hello!" to the newest member of our family!
Hunter David Primm
Born October 18th, 2011 at 3:56 p.m.
weighing in at 8 lbs. 15 oz. and 21 inches long!
This is Alan's brother, Steven's first child, with his wife, Jill!
It is so exciting to watch them bring another precious Primm baby into the world!
Hunter David Primm
Born October 18th, 2011 at 3:56 p.m.
weighing in at 8 lbs. 15 oz. and 21 inches long!
This is Alan's brother, Steven's first child, with his wife, Jill!
It is so exciting to watch them bring another precious Primm baby into the world!
Alan, the proud Uncle :)
...and Penelope, the very curious cousin <3
No doubt, these two will become fast friends. Penelope has already renamed all of her baby dolls "Hunter"... after I have given them all carefully considered Beatles themed names... and constantly talks about him, "Dill" (Jill), "Vee-ven" (Steven), and "Why-eee" (Riley, their dog).
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Dang Queso-dillas
I have discovered a new love: tomato-less salsa. My MIL picked some up for me at Trader Joe's this past week. I usually don't mind salsa, I just leave the nasty chunks of tomato in the jar, when possible, and soak my chip in the juice... but she knows how much I hate tomatoes and thought I'd like this.... and... yep! Very much so.
So as an ultra easy, toddler friendly lunch I created this concoction for Penny, Alan and I. I used gluten free rice tortillas (also from Trader Joe's) and fried them up with shredded cheese and small chunks of tofu and cilantro and topped them off with some of the tomato-less salsa. YUMMMMM!
The rice tortillas are nice and crisp and, combined with the salsa, have a sweet taste. This just may be our new house favorite :)
So as an ultra easy, toddler friendly lunch I created this concoction for Penny, Alan and I. I used gluten free rice tortillas (also from Trader Joe's) and fried them up with shredded cheese and small chunks of tofu and cilantro and topped them off with some of the tomato-less salsa. YUMMMMM!
The rice tortillas are nice and crisp and, combined with the salsa, have a sweet taste. This just may be our new house favorite :)
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Watercolors and Toddlers
So, along with my occasional toddler meal postings, I'm going to try adding in some fun ideas for toddler activities on this blog too.
Today Penelope and I played with watercolors! yay! I love doing watercolors with Penelope because 1.) it doesn't require squirting a million little squirts of different colors so that she has a few colors to chose from 2.) I don't really care if she "mixes" the colors up on the pallet, because they're easy enough to rub down later on to get each color back to their original vibrance and 3.) it washes SO much easier than other paints! Not to mention they're cheap.
If your kid's like mine, they get bored after a few minutes and are ready to move on to something else. Painting with watercolors is pretty straight forward, so today I thought that I would share a couple of different techniques to keep your toddler interested in their creation.
When Penny and I start out, I try to give her something a little less exciting than a paintbrush. Today we used a straw.
Simply but a big glob of paint on the paper like so:
Then blow the paint around to create an effect as such:
fun! If your child is a bit older, they can be a bit more creative and use green and brown paint to create trees or multiple colors to make fireworks.
We didn't get too elaborate:
...Penny was bored of this after a few tries as blowing through a straw requires a lot of coordination and patience on her part.
So this is when we go for the brush!
...and when that starts to get boring, allow them to dip their hands in it. Penny likes to apply the paint to her hands with the brush, then slap it on the paper.
You can also color on paper with a white crayon before painting. The paint won't soak into the paper where the crayon is:
Today Penelope and I played with watercolors! yay! I love doing watercolors with Penelope because 1.) it doesn't require squirting a million little squirts of different colors so that she has a few colors to chose from 2.) I don't really care if she "mixes" the colors up on the pallet, because they're easy enough to rub down later on to get each color back to their original vibrance and 3.) it washes SO much easier than other paints! Not to mention they're cheap.
If your kid's like mine, they get bored after a few minutes and are ready to move on to something else. Painting with watercolors is pretty straight forward, so today I thought that I would share a couple of different techniques to keep your toddler interested in their creation.
When Penny and I start out, I try to give her something a little less exciting than a paintbrush. Today we used a straw.
Simply but a big glob of paint on the paper like so:
Then blow the paint around to create an effect as such:
fun! If your child is a bit older, they can be a bit more creative and use green and brown paint to create trees or multiple colors to make fireworks.
We didn't get too elaborate:
...Penny was bored of this after a few tries as blowing through a straw requires a lot of coordination and patience on her part.
So this is when we go for the brush!
...and when that starts to get boring, allow them to dip their hands in it. Penny likes to apply the paint to her hands with the brush, then slap it on the paper.
Lots of fun!
You can also color on paper with a white crayon before painting. The paint won't soak into the paper where the crayon is:
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Penny Turns Two!
The inevitable has happened. Our baby turned two. I'm sure it'll get harder to believe, the older she gets, the taller she grows and the smarter she gets. Just as last year, we ended up with several parties instead of just one. We did, however go from 4 to only 3 parties this year.
First, we had her BIG birthday bash. It was only two days before we moved. I had wanted to have a going away party with all of our Mommy and Me friends that we have grown so close to the last few years. Penny had known some of the other babies since she was only 3 months old! Since it was only three weeks form her birthday, we decided to go all out and make it her Birthday Party so that she could celebrate and say goodbye to her friends.
We received an excellent group rate at Stonefire Pizza in New Berlin. We got a double room to party in and all of our guests got a $5.00 card for the game room and were able to help themselves to the all-you-can-eat buffet. There were also some fun toddler friendly areas, that made the location perfect for Penelope and her friends - a train table, a water table, a jungle gym and a play kitchen/pizzeria.
We had a TON of fun. Penny has been obsessed with Finding Nemo, so that was the theme. But since it has been quite a few years since the movie came out, the stores sell NOTHING with their characters, so a lot of improvising had to be done. I ordered balloons from Amazon and stickers from Ebay... the stickers were used to decorate the cupcake stand and the favor bags. I made a banner, using Nemo colors and the staff at Stonefire provided a projector so that I was able to project the movie on one of the walls. I made cupcakes with little Squirts on top - made out of gum drops and gummy peach rings. I also picked up some AMAZING cake pops from Starbucks.
It was bittersweet to watch Penny play with her baby friends and to talk with my mommy friends, knowing it could very well be the last time we would see each other. I've been so accustomed to being able to call on them whenever we were bored, that we've become so lazy, not having friend available to play with now that we've moved to California.
Penny had a blast. After her friends left, her, Alan, my sister, Michelle and I stayed behind to play games. Penny picked out a cute sea turtle as her prize as well as some temporary tattoos.
Alan's father got us annual passes for Disneyland as a house warming gift, so we met up with him at the park the morning of Penelope's birthday, which was also Labor Day this year.
We were able to take her on the Finding Nemo ride, which she loved, as well as some other fun rides. Later in the afternoon, we celebrated with Alan's mother, Alans brother, Steven and his wife, Jill at Lake Mission Viejo, just as we had last year.
Penelope got to swim, open presents and we had a picnic with Disneyland cupcakes for dessert and bday wishes.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
California or BUST!
We've moved! GAH! So crazy!
Sooooo... last January we decided that it would be a good time in our lives to move, if we were ever going to move. Penelope had gotten really sick around Christmas time with a form of bronchitis and we had found out that she would likely become that sick every time she caught a cold. I was the same way growing up. This also means that she will most likely have asthma too. Her eczema also got really bad in the winter months... so we started researching, and, sure enough, Milwaukee is rated the #2 worst city for asthmatics... and asthma is linked to eczema. Not good for either of us!
Up until now, Milwaukee was neutral territory for Alan and I. A four hour drive from my family, a six hour flight form Alan's - it wasn't too close to either and it was right where we had met. We LOVE Milwaukee, they have so much to offer a young family: festivals, museums, parks and lots of cool people. But as much as we love the area, it was just becoming clear that it would definitely be nice to have family around while raising our children.
My family lives in Northern Wisconsin. Not a big town at all, which also means squat for jobs. Alan's family lives in Southern California, which means lots of jobs, but everything costs a ton. Alan's mom has been an empty nester for quite some time now, and had two bedrooms available for use and California is considered to have the best climate for those with eczema... so our choice was obvious. We're moving to CALIFORNIA!
So Wednesday, August 17th was the day. We were able to spend one last, gorgeous summer living in Wisconsin (so we were able to get our fill of good memories, at least :P ) and were able to attend all the fun family festivities that occurred.
We were fortunate to be able to have my baby sister, Mikala live with us the entire summer. She was a HUGE help, I'm so glad we were able to get in some good bonding and I was able to work on packing up our belongings, have an Estate Sale and still get in all of our usual activities without going completely crazy.
The rest of my family came down the Friday before we moved to help with loading the moving truck. We had a going away party that night with some of our Milwaukee friends and Alan's coworkers. My parents were good sports and came too :) It was nice to spend the extra time with them and they were able to come to a birthday party we had for Penelope with our Mommy and Me friends.
Monday, we picked up and packed up the moving van... which was HUGE. Alan had to work that morning, so I was so thankful to have my daddy, the trucker there to drive it home and back it up into the driveway for us! We had Penelope's Birthday Party that day and, in the evening, we loaded the heaviest furniture to the back of the van. My brother, Ryan and his family came by to visit that night and the girls had a BLAST playing around in the back of the van. We've decided that we just need to open up one of these babies the next time we all get together, they were so entertained. Penelope was FILTHY in no time.
We spent about five hours loading the truck, which I thought was pretty good! My sister, Michelle watched and played with Penelope, Mikala and I carried things from the house to the van, my dad arranged all of the boxes in the back of the truck all while my mom cleaned the house spotless. Everyone ended up leaving that day, after Alan and I thanked them by taking them out to dinner.
It was pretty sad to see them go, especially since I knew that they were pretty sad about us leaving. We're hoping to be able to visit sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas... but Alan needs to get a full-time job first, so we can afford it!
Penelope and I flew out of Milwaukee really early Wednesday Morning and Alan stayed until Friday, so that he could finish up his week at work. He left in the moving van with our dog, Sophie and made it into Santa Ana by Monday!
We're getting pretty well settled in. It's like a game of tetris, trying to find places for our things among Alan's mother's, but everything is going well. Alan has been getting some good freelance jobs that could lead to a full time job, which is his goal. So fingers crossed everything works out! Penelope and I are on the hunt for a play group. We don't know anyone out here with kids yet, so it's a priority for me to find Penny some other children to play with!
Sooooo... last January we decided that it would be a good time in our lives to move, if we were ever going to move. Penelope had gotten really sick around Christmas time with a form of bronchitis and we had found out that she would likely become that sick every time she caught a cold. I was the same way growing up. This also means that she will most likely have asthma too. Her eczema also got really bad in the winter months... so we started researching, and, sure enough, Milwaukee is rated the #2 worst city for asthmatics... and asthma is linked to eczema. Not good for either of us!
Up until now, Milwaukee was neutral territory for Alan and I. A four hour drive from my family, a six hour flight form Alan's - it wasn't too close to either and it was right where we had met. We LOVE Milwaukee, they have so much to offer a young family: festivals, museums, parks and lots of cool people. But as much as we love the area, it was just becoming clear that it would definitely be nice to have family around while raising our children.
My family lives in Northern Wisconsin. Not a big town at all, which also means squat for jobs. Alan's family lives in Southern California, which means lots of jobs, but everything costs a ton. Alan's mom has been an empty nester for quite some time now, and had two bedrooms available for use and California is considered to have the best climate for those with eczema... so our choice was obvious. We're moving to CALIFORNIA!
So Wednesday, August 17th was the day. We were able to spend one last, gorgeous summer living in Wisconsin (so we were able to get our fill of good memories, at least :P ) and were able to attend all the fun family festivities that occurred.
We were fortunate to be able to have my baby sister, Mikala live with us the entire summer. She was a HUGE help, I'm so glad we were able to get in some good bonding and I was able to work on packing up our belongings, have an Estate Sale and still get in all of our usual activities without going completely crazy.
The rest of my family came down the Friday before we moved to help with loading the moving truck. We had a going away party that night with some of our Milwaukee friends and Alan's coworkers. My parents were good sports and came too :) It was nice to spend the extra time with them and they were able to come to a birthday party we had for Penelope with our Mommy and Me friends.
Monday, we picked up and packed up the moving van... which was HUGE. Alan had to work that morning, so I was so thankful to have my daddy, the trucker there to drive it home and back it up into the driveway for us! We had Penelope's Birthday Party that day and, in the evening, we loaded the heaviest furniture to the back of the van. My brother, Ryan and his family came by to visit that night and the girls had a BLAST playing around in the back of the van. We've decided that we just need to open up one of these babies the next time we all get together, they were so entertained. Penelope was FILTHY in no time.
We spent about five hours loading the truck, which I thought was pretty good! My sister, Michelle watched and played with Penelope, Mikala and I carried things from the house to the van, my dad arranged all of the boxes in the back of the truck all while my mom cleaned the house spotless. Everyone ended up leaving that day, after Alan and I thanked them by taking them out to dinner.
It was pretty sad to see them go, especially since I knew that they were pretty sad about us leaving. We're hoping to be able to visit sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas... but Alan needs to get a full-time job first, so we can afford it!
Penelope and I flew out of Milwaukee really early Wednesday Morning and Alan stayed until Friday, so that he could finish up his week at work. He left in the moving van with our dog, Sophie and made it into Santa Ana by Monday!
We're getting pretty well settled in. It's like a game of tetris, trying to find places for our things among Alan's mother's, but everything is going well. Alan has been getting some good freelance jobs that could lead to a full time job, which is his goal. So fingers crossed everything works out! Penelope and I are on the hunt for a play group. We don't know anyone out here with kids yet, so it's a priority for me to find Penny some other children to play with!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Penelopes Birthday Wish List!
How is this love muffin seriously about to turn two already???
Penny and I accompanied Alan to a work conference in Illinois a few weeks ago. They held it in the same place as they did last year, the Lincolnshire Marriott. As soon as we found out we would all be able to go, I knew exactly what outfit I was packing for Penny to romp around in :)
We had a blast playing on their jungle gym, taking advantage of their swimming pools and hanging out in the room while Alan was at work. I had completely forgotten about the left hand pic, there was a cuter one that I had known well, but when I went to find it to compare with the picture on the right, this one was found and it matched so much better. I love that her expressions are so similar! Highlights how much she has changed in the past year.
She is becoming more and more a child rather than a baby with every day that passes. She has quite the vocabulary: She literally learns a dozen words a day. Today her big one today was, "Dadda.... look... I'm naked! I'm naked, Dadda! Look!" as she ran into the house from swimming in the yard. She was still wearing most of her swim suit... but she was close. I was just impressed that she knew the word "naked"!
We have been cracking down on potty training the last few weeks. She has shown interest since she started walking, we just never made the time to sit down and be consistent with it until recently. We're about 75% of the way there. Definitely need diapers during naps and on outings still... and we're working on wearing underwear right now. She can't always get them down in time, so we end up with some accidents still. She has the right idea though and I anticipate that she'll be all the way there by her birthday next month.
Penny and I accompanied Alan to a work conference in Illinois a few weeks ago. They held it in the same place as they did last year, the Lincolnshire Marriott. As soon as we found out we would all be able to go, I knew exactly what outfit I was packing for Penny to romp around in :)
We had a blast playing on their jungle gym, taking advantage of their swimming pools and hanging out in the room while Alan was at work. I had completely forgotten about the left hand pic, there was a cuter one that I had known well, but when I went to find it to compare with the picture on the right, this one was found and it matched so much better. I love that her expressions are so similar! Highlights how much she has changed in the past year.
She is becoming more and more a child rather than a baby with every day that passes. She has quite the vocabulary: She literally learns a dozen words a day. Today her big one today was, "Dadda.... look... I'm naked! I'm naked, Dadda! Look!" as she ran into the house from swimming in the yard. She was still wearing most of her swim suit... but she was close. I was just impressed that she knew the word "naked"!
We have been cracking down on potty training the last few weeks. She has shown interest since she started walking, we just never made the time to sit down and be consistent with it until recently. We're about 75% of the way there. Definitely need diapers during naps and on outings still... and we're working on wearing underwear right now. She can't always get them down in time, so we end up with some accidents still. She has the right idea though and I anticipate that she'll be all the way there by her birthday next month.
As requested, here are some ideas as to some things Penelope would surely love for her Birthday:
- Penny LOVES playing house and taking care of her baby dolls. She currently has three baby dolls, two will likely be donated before the move because they are not the best quality and are too worn to hold on to. The 3rd is a fabric doll, which she loves, but it seems that she has been gravitating toward the plastic, more realistic looking baby dolls now. The doll pictured above is from the American Girl store - she's called Bitty Baby. The Diaper bag set is from Pottery Barn Kids.
- Penny loves helping mommy clean! This toy vacuum by Target's brand, Circo is super cute!
- We will be having a Finding Nemo themed birthday party for Penny on August 15th. She LOVES the movie. I downloaded it to my ipod for her, so every time she sees my ipod she SQUEALS, "Memo! Memo!"
- Tea is our favorite clothing brand of all time. Above is our current favorite outfit from their new fall line, however we would definitely love anything from this company!
- As far as clothes go, we are in need of size 3T cotton 2-piece pajamas, size 3t undies, and size 7 or 8 shoes/sandals! All outfits should be bought in size 4t as we are pretty set for 3t clothes. Please remember that Penelope has eczema, her skin is very sensitive, so she cannot wear synthetic fabrics. 100% cotton is a must!
- The above cuteness is a lunch bag by skip hop! I saw it while shopping the other day. I die! We have their Penquin backpack and love it :) They also have matching eating sets and bibs. TOO CUTE!
Penelope is graduating from her high chair, we will not be bringing it with us. Sans eating tray, this booster seat would be perfect for giving her the extra height she needs at the table.
- Books! We can always use more! We are starting to build a library of hardcover books, as Penny is graduating from the board books. She has been showing an interest in I Spy and pop-up books lately.
- Gift Cards: we plan to build Penny an addition with a slide to her current swing set, so gift cards for Home Depot would be appreciated. Other stores we frequent: Old Navy, Target, Baby Gap, Gymboree, Crazy8, Pottery Barn Kids, Toys'R'Us
Some other fun ideas:
Play-doh and play tools
finger paint and paper
coloring books
Melissa and Doug paint brushes and paint cups
...anything Melissa and Doug for that matter...
stickers and/or sticker books
play tunnel
deep purple chuck taylor / converse shoes (size 7 or 8)
saddle/accessory bag for the Trunki
wooden play food sets
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
So I may or may not get around to actually finishing this post... but I thought at least I would update with photos. I keep wanting to update all the way back until the last post... but we've just had WAY too much going on lately, so I'm just going to post about the past week...
It starts with a wedding - Alan's good college friends, Angie and Craig got married on July 3rd at a farm in Deerfield, WI. The wedding was simple and sweet. The ceremony was held in the yard and the reception was in a renovated barn. Very cute.
The sunset was gorgeous that night and it was an amazing view to see all of the families mingling and the children playing in the fields just behind the barn. We couldn't help but snap a family photo :) It was such a beautiful evening.
We were able to spend the 4th with both of our families - I do believe this is the first time we've actually gotten to spend a holiday with both of our families, due to geography. We chilled out all morning and headed over to Alan's Aunt's house in Brookfield for dinner. Alan's cousin Trevor and his family was up, we usually only see them once a year, so it's always fun to see how big their kids have gotten.
Trevor's daughter, Elliot stilled remember Penny from last year. She is absolutely smitten with her. She came running when she saw Penny and barely left her side the whole time we were there.
Playing "I spy" ? ...with Trevor's oldest child, Declan.
Big squeezes before we left!
After dinner at Sue's meet up with my brother, Ryan and his family in Port Washington for their fireworks show. They had a new beach that wasn't too far from where they were setting of the show in the harbor. We still had a great view and it wasn't as loud or crowded.
It continues to amaze me how fast children grow. When did my nieces start to look 13??
Penny wasn't terribly impressed with the fireworks. As with everything else she encounters for the first time, she gave her typical glare and then decided she didn't want anything to do with them...
...she buried her face into Alan's shoulder and fell asleep!
On the 5th, they had "Kids Fest" downtown - families got free admission to Summerfest between Noon and 3:00pm, so Mikala, Penny and I went while Alan was at work.
(...oh, yeah... I forgot to mention... we have been super lucky to have my baby sister, Mikala stay with us for the summer to help watch Penny while we pack and enjoy our last summer in Milwaukee. We move to Santa Ana, CA on August 17th!)
Penny has discovered bounce houses - and LOVES them. So we were sure to get the "unlimited bouncing" wrist band and she was able to bounce to her heart's content.
Mikala had never been to Summerfest before, so we had a lot of fun, despite the super heat. It got over 100 degrees that day! Thankfully, they had a fun splash pad with sprinklers for the little ones (and their mommies) to run through :)
On Wednesday, the 8th, Mikala and I took Penelope to her first Brewer's game! Mikala's youth group from back home had come down for the day to go to the game, so we were able to meet up with them for the evening to tailgate and watch the game.
Penny had loads of fun - Mommy let her eat all of the classic game day favorites... we had hot dogs, chips and, of course, COTTON CANDY! She sat really nice the whole game, which was a huge relief since we were in the very top row and the cement stairs were right in front of us. She loved watching the players and would clap and cheer with the crowd.
We also had our first family camping trip this week. Mikala, Penny and I headed up to Harrington Beach State Park in Belgium, WI on Thursday and Alan joined us after he was done with work on Friday... but we only stayed until Saturday Morning.
We had the perfect weather: no rain, lots of sunshine and a warm 75 degrees! The park was just beautiful, they had a mile of Lake Michigan beach that was split into two areas - one side was a dog beach, and the nicer side was for everyone else. They also had an old quarry that is now a lake that me and the girls hiked around before Alan came. My sister-in-law, Jenny also joined us on Friday with her two daughters for a swim.
We were able to break in our new tent, a purchase we made with a few of the many gift cards we received for our wedding. We love it! It has two big rooms - one can be split in half, so we make that our sleeping quarters, with us on one side and Penny on the other... the other big room, we use like a screened-in porch. It's nice to have an "indoor" place to put all of our equipment and for Penny to play in the shade.
We actually had a smaller tent that Mikala slept in, so we had plenty of room. Our site was really nice - it had plenty of trees for shade around it and was private. We couldn't see any of the other sites, since we were surrounded by tall grass and trees, which was nice. It was nice and grassy too, so we could walk around in our bare feet and Penny didn't get too dirty :)
Things have been getting ungodly busy around her, it's insane. Not going to lie, I'm starting to get freaked out. As excited as I am for this move, I'm just as scared. Mostly because we're not 100% sure of how things are going to be in terms of jobs and insurance and how everything is going to fit into the moving van... but things will be fine no matter what happens. The logistics of everything is just starting to hit me in these last few weeks. I've had to take two HUGE carloads of boxes to the Good Will these past few weeks. I have been selling many of our larger items and all of my wedding stuff on Craigslist, which is a full-time job in itself, e-mailing and meeting with people. We've been doing good and packing is on track.... hopefully. This house seems to be getting emptier and emptier and it's just a little sad to be leaving. We love Milwaukee and have grown to love this house, our home for the past four years.
I definitely know it would be a lot less of an emotional move if we were moving in the winter. Summers here are perfect... but I have to admit, it's just TOO hot a lot of the time. I'm looking forward to the milder temperatures, and I'm sure Penny is too. Wisconsin weather does horrible things to her skin. This summer has been the worse for her eczema because of all the humidity.
I know my asthma will be a lot better too.
I can't begin the think about how fast these last four weeks will go... as I am still trying to comprehend how the last few months have passed so quickly. It's just been such a whirl-wind, with the Wedding, our trips to the Dells, Florida and my Family's home up north, my surgery and having Mikala here and packing and trying to enjoy the summer and Milwaukee... whew!
I'm ready ready ready for it though :)
It starts with a wedding - Alan's good college friends, Angie and Craig got married on July 3rd at a farm in Deerfield, WI. The wedding was simple and sweet. The ceremony was held in the yard and the reception was in a renovated barn. Very cute.
The sunset was gorgeous that night and it was an amazing view to see all of the families mingling and the children playing in the fields just behind the barn. We couldn't help but snap a family photo :) It was such a beautiful evening.
We were able to spend the 4th with both of our families - I do believe this is the first time we've actually gotten to spend a holiday with both of our families, due to geography. We chilled out all morning and headed over to Alan's Aunt's house in Brookfield for dinner. Alan's cousin Trevor and his family was up, we usually only see them once a year, so it's always fun to see how big their kids have gotten.
Trevor's daughter, Elliot stilled remember Penny from last year. She is absolutely smitten with her. She came running when she saw Penny and barely left her side the whole time we were there.
Playing "I spy" ? ...with Trevor's oldest child, Declan.
Big squeezes before we left!
After dinner at Sue's meet up with my brother, Ryan and his family in Port Washington for their fireworks show. They had a new beach that wasn't too far from where they were setting of the show in the harbor. We still had a great view and it wasn't as loud or crowded.
It continues to amaze me how fast children grow. When did my nieces start to look 13??
Penny wasn't terribly impressed with the fireworks. As with everything else she encounters for the first time, she gave her typical glare and then decided she didn't want anything to do with them...
...she buried her face into Alan's shoulder and fell asleep!On the 5th, they had "Kids Fest" downtown - families got free admission to Summerfest between Noon and 3:00pm, so Mikala, Penny and I went while Alan was at work.
(...oh, yeah... I forgot to mention... we have been super lucky to have my baby sister, Mikala stay with us for the summer to help watch Penny while we pack and enjoy our last summer in Milwaukee. We move to Santa Ana, CA on August 17th!)
Penny has discovered bounce houses - and LOVES them. So we were sure to get the "unlimited bouncing" wrist band and she was able to bounce to her heart's content.Mikala had never been to Summerfest before, so we had a lot of fun, despite the super heat. It got over 100 degrees that day! Thankfully, they had a fun splash pad with sprinklers for the little ones (and their mommies) to run through :)
On Wednesday, the 8th, Mikala and I took Penelope to her first Brewer's game! Mikala's youth group from back home had come down for the day to go to the game, so we were able to meet up with them for the evening to tailgate and watch the game.
Penny had loads of fun - Mommy let her eat all of the classic game day favorites... we had hot dogs, chips and, of course, COTTON CANDY! She sat really nice the whole game, which was a huge relief since we were in the very top row and the cement stairs were right in front of us. She loved watching the players and would clap and cheer with the crowd.
We also had our first family camping trip this week. Mikala, Penny and I headed up to Harrington Beach State Park in Belgium, WI on Thursday and Alan joined us after he was done with work on Friday... but we only stayed until Saturday Morning.
We had the perfect weather: no rain, lots of sunshine and a warm 75 degrees! The park was just beautiful, they had a mile of Lake Michigan beach that was split into two areas - one side was a dog beach, and the nicer side was for everyone else. They also had an old quarry that is now a lake that me and the girls hiked around before Alan came. My sister-in-law, Jenny also joined us on Friday with her two daughters for a swim.
We were able to break in our new tent, a purchase we made with a few of the many gift cards we received for our wedding. We love it! It has two big rooms - one can be split in half, so we make that our sleeping quarters, with us on one side and Penny on the other... the other big room, we use like a screened-in porch. It's nice to have an "indoor" place to put all of our equipment and for Penny to play in the shade.
We actually had a smaller tent that Mikala slept in, so we had plenty of room. Our site was really nice - it had plenty of trees for shade around it and was private. We couldn't see any of the other sites, since we were surrounded by tall grass and trees, which was nice. It was nice and grassy too, so we could walk around in our bare feet and Penny didn't get too dirty :)
Things have been getting ungodly busy around her, it's insane. Not going to lie, I'm starting to get freaked out. As excited as I am for this move, I'm just as scared. Mostly because we're not 100% sure of how things are going to be in terms of jobs and insurance and how everything is going to fit into the moving van... but things will be fine no matter what happens. The logistics of everything is just starting to hit me in these last few weeks. I've had to take two HUGE carloads of boxes to the Good Will these past few weeks. I have been selling many of our larger items and all of my wedding stuff on Craigslist, which is a full-time job in itself, e-mailing and meeting with people. We've been doing good and packing is on track.... hopefully. This house seems to be getting emptier and emptier and it's just a little sad to be leaving. We love Milwaukee and have grown to love this house, our home for the past four years.
I definitely know it would be a lot less of an emotional move if we were moving in the winter. Summers here are perfect... but I have to admit, it's just TOO hot a lot of the time. I'm looking forward to the milder temperatures, and I'm sure Penny is too. Wisconsin weather does horrible things to her skin. This summer has been the worse for her eczema because of all the humidity.
I know my asthma will be a lot better too.
I can't begin the think about how fast these last four weeks will go... as I am still trying to comprehend how the last few months have passed so quickly. It's just been such a whirl-wind, with the Wedding, our trips to the Dells, Florida and my Family's home up north, my surgery and having Mikala here and packing and trying to enjoy the summer and Milwaukee... whew!
I'm ready ready ready for it though :)
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