Molly is TWO!!!

Two years ago today, actually right about this time, I was in the depths of labor as I had finally turned to pitocin in an effort to get Molly to arrive. (but no drugs mind you, so I was feeling a little bit rough, to say the least!) And now here I am, having just attended a preschool orientation for MOLLY (and Eliza as well.) How time flies!

Today Molly turned two and we had a fun time celebrating her. There is still more celebration to come since the preschool orientation kept us from having her birthday dinner and presents. Friday will be a fun evening too! But today we celebrated Molly by waking her with balloon play, feeding her raspberries and strawberries for breakfast, letting her play for a long time at the playground in the mall, taking her out to lunch (complete with her very own ice cream sundae), and just generally appreciating her awesomeness even more than usual. Plus she wore a birthday girl shirt. It was a good day!

birthday girl wake up

not even out of the crib and she's ready for balloons!

nose wrinkles with daddy

birthday snuggles with my no-longer-a-baby baby

look mom! I can stand on the fish!

so fast! (I didn't even mean to get E in the shot, but it worked perfectly!)

she's ready to set sail

birthday sundae, all for her (usually she has to share)

attempting to blow out the candle

eager to dig in!

want some Popop?

lucky Eliza got a sundae too

birthday girl on bus duty

birthday girl selfie! (well, she wasn't holding the camera. arms too short!)

As an update, bus riding went GREAT. This is a second bus ride smile.

walking back home from the bus stop. Molly insisted on holding Hayden's hand.

It's so amazing to think how much they change in just two years. From teeny tiny blob that we had to practically torture to keep awake enough to eat, to a walking, talking, climbing, silly little girl that brightens our day, every single day. 

Happy Birthday Molly!

First Day of First Grade

It's official. Summer is over. Hayden started back to school yesterday. She is in FIRST GRADE! Yikes!

ready for school

can you believe the 1st day was cool enough for hoodies?!

little sister hugs

some little sisters didn't want a hug

 She was a bit nervous in the morning, but greeted me after school with a big smile and lots of happiness. It was a good first day. Today she is riding the bus home in the afternoon for the very first time and she was REALLY nervous about that. Let's hope it goes well!

We celebrated the first day of school by stopping by Locopops on the way home to grab a treat (cookies-n-cream for H, creamy lime for E, and salted caramel for me and Molly - YUM). She didn't have too much to say (too busy enjoying her locopop!) but seemed excited for the new year.

cookies and cream is the best way to say happy first day!

sitting on the bike rack post snack

 Hope you and yours have a good "first day of school" whenever that may be! Eliza and Molly start next week! They are excited!

bring it on first grade!

one more silly one, as I practice aperture for my photography class

More Cousins!

I forgot! I had taken all these silly pictures of the cousins at the beach, but forgot to post them. They do deserve their own post, just to show you all their silliness! I wanted shots on the stairs, like we used to do with my cousins when I was little, but the wind was not helping. The pictures turned out fairly cute anyway, if you don't mind a little bit of hair in a face! Think of them like a string of photos from one of those photo booths...

I think the one below is frame-able. And it was the second shot!

Blacks and Blues

As another alternative to attending the Eno Festival, we decided to go on a berry picking adventure over the weekend. This time, we took along some friends to introduce them to the glory of picking blackberries and blueberries and ice cream all at the same place! It was a hot day but we had a lovely time picking and playing and eating. (We definitely recommend Vollmer Farm for an outing - just beware that the price/lb for the U-pick berries is pretty high. ) We only picked a few blueberries because we'd picked at a different farm a couple days earlier, but we did pick a bunch of blackberries so we could make jam. And we made a delicious black and blue cobbler the next day!

smile if you like berries!

look at the size of that one!

get me that one, right up there.....please!

beautiful berries

berry buddies

that's a heavy load he's pulling

riding the tire horse.

Want a berry muncher? They come in small....

medium....

and large!

matching wits at checkers

say cheese!

just enjoying daddy time on the swing

whoops, we forgot. she was probably at least a lb lighter when we arrived!

cooling off

YUM! homemade ice cream in home made cones. can't be beat!

happiness

the ice cream line up

The Fourth

We wimped out a bit for the Fourth of July. Instead of our typical trip to the Festival for the Eno, we opted to stay home. The weather was questionable, it had been rainy A LOT and it was going to be SUPER SOGGY there. (a couple days before one of the stages was almost under water!), it cost a lot and we had been SO busy with the beach and visitors that we needed a break.

festive popsicle!

we had blueberries ready to harvest!

 So instead of the Eno, we stayed home and had a quieter fourth. It was nice. Dad came over for a dinner of burgers and corn on the cob. The girls and I made a lovely flag cookie tart. We even had sparklers as the sky darkened.

M- I want some berries!!!!

 

 

And since we weren't tired out from partying at the Eno, we finally went to some fireworks in Durham. Not quite the spectacle of State College (oh how I miss those fireworks) but it worked quite well to find a spot with a view of the Bulls' stadium and keep the girls up late. A lovely little Fourth!

fireworks!

Happy Fourth of July!