#5

tomorrow marks 5 years of marriage [with 7 years prior to that!]

there simply are not enough words to express my unending love & gratitude for jon. 

here's to my favorite 5 yet!

-ivy

happy 2 months to our doll baby, eloise! that face...

we had eloise's 2 month check-up this morning. she's holding steady in the 50th percentile for height & head-circumference, and the 60th for weight- 11lbs 7oz! so proud of how she's growing. i am truly savoring every day with this little girl. with lucy, i was so excited for her to get to the next milestone from the beginning, but this time around, i really am able to enjoy each moment & appreciate the here & now. before i know it, eloise will no longer be cuddled against me in the moby several hours out of each day... sigh. if she could just stay little :)

so nice to have jon home, no travels, this past week. he and lucy love the water- neighborhood pool, fitness center pool, backyard "pool"- you name it. one of my favorite things is sitting on the porch swing with eloise, watching lucy, jon & charlie play in the yard :)

little mommy- always dragging the moby or her dollie with her these days :)

nothing better than brand new baby smiles :) 

meme brought lucy a new "donut shoppe" collection- we've had many donut making dates over this past week... lucy especially loves the "jewwy" ones [jelly:)]

i've learned to pick my toddler battles. and battling my 22 month old over how many books she can bring into her crib is just not one i choose to fight. after all, they keep her occupied for a good 10 minutes upon waking each morning, and i savor squeezing in each of those extra minutes of sleep!

daddy gave lu her first pedi! she was fascinated with mommy's "aqua toes" & is pretty darn pleased to have her own. be still my heart...

there is still so much we want to do to our house, and slowly slowly we're getting there. we do plan to be here for a long time, so this lesson in patience is good for both jon & me. we want new appliances, bedroom furniture, master bath lighting, landscaping, painting throughout [interior & exterior], a screened-in porch under our deck etc. we have a prioritized list, and in the meantime, jon hung our family wall with a new concept he came up with. this straight-laced girl is getting used to the messy design, but i think it's fun & unique... why not?!

big girls with our babies- 2 proud mommies :)

-ivy

jon finished my anniversary planters! i so love how they turned out!! now we just need to get our two wooden rocking chairs added to the front porch :) little by little...

lucy hosted a princess tea party on the deck for "red minnie, pink minnie & baby" - eloise napped :)

seastar love :)

getting more & more used to this view, as lucy becomes the independent little person she so wants to be.

miss el belle's getting quite the personality. such a little lady!

and the most precious little caterpillar...

we had the best saturday night with our dear friends- the brewers. christina & i have been friends for nearly 2 decades, and jon dared brian to ask christina on a date during the 2003 summer. the rest is history :) we have 4 daughters between us, and had a successful night out [let's face it- it could have been a disaster] for a funky mama concert, beers & ice cream to the delight of lucy & kaitlyn :) lucy so loves her friends "kelsey & kaitwyn" ... has literally talked about them all morning.

christina & i had the same due date with kelsey & eloise- they're 12 days apart :) so much estrogen, so many bows...

-ivy

sweet heart of summer

this july has my heart! very very grateful for the amazing weather we're having this week. we're able to play outdoors all day long, creating a happy mama & super happy little girls :)

i've actually really looked forward to mornings this week! we've been hanging on the deck- leaving doors & windows open. eloise has drifted in & out of sleep in my arms, lucy & charlie have chased each other & i've had the rare luxury of hot coffee :)

lucy & i share some deep thoughts regarding minnie, the pool & airplanes in the mornings. she has such a personality! she's decided that if she says "ok" after asking for something, she'll get it; however, her K's sound like  T's, so a typical lucy-ism is "lucy walk to park- otay" "daddy take lucy pool- otay" "lucy play on swing- otay" :)

porch-swingin' with my girls. our swing faces the trail behind our house that's filled with native plants  & grasses, bikers, dogs, kids, etc. lucy especially loves seeing "tids" [kids] & whenever someone passes by, lucy asks for "moh bike!" "moh tids!" "moh dog!" [moh=more] she has THE sweetest voice you've ever heard. 

another perk of playing outside all day is the guaranteed great naps that fill our afternoons :) nothing better than the peace & quiet of home with my sleeping girls. 

last night, eloise sat in the bouncer while jon worked on my 5 year wedding anniversary gift [5 years on august 1!!], and lucy & i played with chalk & bubbles. the traditional 5th wedding anniversary gift is wood, so jon surprised me with wood planks that he's turned into 3 beautiful planters for the porch. he measured, cut, built & stained- such a craftsmen!

mid-day swing fest in july- whoda thought? 

-ivy

"you're like a sunday morning. full of grace and full of Jesus." -lee brice

eloise turned 6 weeks new last wednesday. no idea where time is going...

lucy enjoyed some extra time at meme's house while jon was away- mainly because meme lets her run around in just her diaper with a tupperware full of summer strawberries, throwing rocks into the backyard fish pond. lucy's also allowed the bring my grandmother's childhood rocking chair out back while she enjoys a cool beverage... what happens at meme's house, stays at meme's house. 

lucy has handed down her mexican dancing dress to eloise. auntie amy gave it to me at lucy's baby shower! sister hand-me-downs make the best clothes :) don't get my sister started on the clothes i used to take from her closet...

have to note the growth of miss lucille's hair! finally after 21 months, we're really makin' some progress! those curls.

sweet eloise has a ways to go in the hair growth department... i'd say AT LEAST 21 months :)

jon arrived home safe & sound! i've never been so happy to see him! being halfway around the world from him, while home with our 2 girls, age 2 & under had me just a wee bit anxious... lucy was immediately ready for the "pool with daddy! pool with daddy!" dad made for a super happy little gal :)

and in talking about jon's travels, we decided that we simply cannot wait until next summer for a beach trip. we need to get away as a family! so we've booked the beach for a week this september. i'm counting down already... :) 

happy sunday :)

-ivy

sisters :)

lucy was one proud big sister as she & eloise donned matching summer rompers :)

helping with tummy-time is seriously one of lucy's favorite activities. she asks for "tummies" multiple times each day :)

 my heart overflows with love for my girls! such pretties in pink :)

& finally catching some baby smiles on camera! i just can't handle it!

we're living for cool summer evenings where we can get outside & swing in the back! we've had some brutally humid days this past week...

our "hope you're having fun in australia while we hang at home" pic for daddy ;)

toodles!

-ivy

stars & stripes

dad's in australia this week. well, he technically doesn't land in sydney for another hour despite the fact that he left home over 24 hours ago! long travel week for him- an even longer week at home for me :)

we had the best 4th of july! the weather was absolutely perfect, and lucy enjoyed the lenexa parade SO much! she danced, pointed, squealed, recognized the "john deere tractors"- such fun! meanwhile, eloise hung out in the moby. she missed the whole darn parade snoozing in there :)

lucy and daddy checkin' out the festivities- i love that lucy loves wearing sunnies! 

we parked at meme's, and walked a mile to the parade. i can't believe we were able to do that in JULY without melting! & with a baby carrier on?! heaven. 

the girls in their holiday best :) holiday attire is one of my very favorite things! 

by the end of the night, my wild woman had had one too many bomb pops and sparklers...

we spent more time at the neighborhood pool before jon left town, per lucy's request. she's become such a little mermaid! can't believe how much she loves the water. we took this summer off from traveling given when eloise was born, but we're super excited to bring the girls to florida next may! we went last summer, but lucy was too young to remember. she'll be a great age for the beach next year! 

my pool date :) [redness on tummy due to being wrapped in the moby on the walk over- i'm telling you, she lives in that thing...loves it!] such a butterball. 

we've discovered dress-up :)

lucille and charles

look at those big round eyes! quite different from lucy's almonds. i love this little girl and feel so bonded to her! it's amazing to me that we hand't met 6 weeks ago...

-ivy