Out with the old, in with the new

Lilly's last day of 2 year old preschool, her first day of 3 year old preschool and a haircut (which aged her 20 years) in between! :-(

We loved Lilly's school but, due to scheduling constraints, had to switch this year. Her new school came highly recommending by a number of my friends and she had a few friends from our Thursday morning playgroup in her class! While we miss her teachers from her old school. her new teachers have definitely impressed us. She was a little sad when I left on the first day (but no tears!) but was b-lining it straight to the baby dolls and waving goodbye as I left on day 2. We're so proud of our big 3 year old.

She insisted on the same picture (and Tyler obliged) that she took on her first day of school.

She wants to be a doggie doctor (vet) when she grows up

What a difference a year makes. First day of 2 year old preschool and 3 year old preschool. Crazy, right?!

TC 2016

33. The number of years I've been going to Traverse City during the 1st week of August. A few weeks were short weeks, but I never missed a visit. Lill has now been there 4 years and Ray made his second trip. Lill is still talking about it and how she wants to go back and that warms my heart more than most anything.Watching the kids make memories just as we did 30+ years ago is beyond amazing.

We had another gorgeous week so we didn't really leave the beach. Lill loved playing with the kids on the beach, burying her self, digging and playing in the water. Ray was surprisingly not really interested in the beach. All he wanted to do was explore. He could spend hours going up and down every hallway and stairwell at the resort if we let him. Baba did and for that reason they are besties. That and they had a night together, snuggling in bed.

Namma and Baba spoiled us with 24 hours of babysitting. I surprised Corey with a trip back to The Homestead, where we got married, for our 5 year (minus 1 month) anniversary. We enjoyed cold beers and reading by the pool, followed by a delicious dinner at Nonna's and a concert on the mountain where we said 'I do'. It could not have been more perfect. We topped it off with a walk around the resort (and down memory lane) in the morning, reminiscing about all that was our wedding weekend.

Kelly(Mike) and Elle were in town and came by to visit
1

Best.Week.Ever

18 months

It's crazy to think our "baby" is now closer to 2 than 1. He's all boy; into everything and a little rough, but also a total mama's boy and the best little snuggler. He's not talking yet so the lack of communication leads to more temper tantrums than not, but we're working on that. He loves to play kitchen ("cook"), dance, go on walks/explore, and read books. He thinks the world of his big sister, Lill, and simply wants to do whatever she's doing (or play the game where she copies what he does...that's hilarious!). The sound of an airplane will stop him dead in his tracks, looking up and pointing at the sky to find it, and every Wednesday morning is spent watching (stalking) the garbage and recycling trucks in the neighborhood. His favorite foods are pizza, pot-stickers and fruit. He hates breakfast but will out-eat any of us come dinner. His favorite movies are Frozen and Rio and he's recently discovered the IPad and all the fun games to explore. He loves the bath and playing in the water but will freak out the second water is poured on his head/hair is washed. He hates being told no but immediately wants to hug and be held after being yelled at, so it's hard to stay mad at that sweet face for long :-) 

Happy 1.5 years, little Bubs. We love you!

Tour de Michigan - Part 2

After our amazing beach vacation with the Bruno clan, we packed up the car and continued on our adventure. Next stop, Namma and Baba's house for my best friend's wedding (also a great movie, by the way!)

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner and then Saturday was spent with the bride helping her get ready, taking pictures, perfecting the last minute details and just generally spending her most special day to date, by her side. It was an honor. It was an intimate, beautiful affair surrounded by their closest loved ones. The weather couldn't have been more perfect either. The guys in suits taking pictures mid afternoon may beg to differ, however :-) We celebrated until the wee hours of the morning and crashed at the hotel before heading back to our little buggers that we missed so dearly.

While I enjoyed spending Friday and Saturday generally kid-free, the kids enjoyed Friday and Saturday being spoiled by and spending quality time with Namma and Baba. Swimming in the pool, Lill's first mani/pedi and a visit to the legendary (to Metro Detroiters) Ray's ice cream.

All around it was the most perfect weekend to cap off an already wonderful week.

Bonus! I got to continue my kid-free streak the following weekend with a quick night trip to Chicago to continue to the celebration of Carly and Chris' wedding with friends at the Arlington Race Track!

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Gronow (Gronow, sounds like Bruno - with a G)! We love you!

Tour de Michigan - Part 1

We just got back from the most wonderful 9 day tour of the Midwest with the first stop being 6 nights on the beach in St. Joseph, MI with the Bruno family and ended with 3 nights in Troy at Namma and Baba's for bestie/Carly''s wedding festivities.

We lucked out big time in finding a home to rent right on Lake Michigan in St. Joe. No stairs down to the beach. You read that right. For those of you that have frequented the west coast of Michigan know this is like hitting the gold mine. To top it off, the house was clean, beautiful and had a lot of living space for our 7 adults and 4 kids.

We spent most of the week playing on the beach and watching sunsets from our deck. We walked in to town a bunch (yes, walking distance to town, too! My dream home!), played at the playground and just enjoyed family time at home. Watching the cousins wake up together, eat breakfast together, play together, and interact all the time made for some priceless memories.

We were there for Lill's 3rd birthday so Namma and Baba drove over to join for the festivities. It was a week for the books!