A Week at the Cottage

Just over a week ago, we packed up the van and headed up to the family cottage on Lake Michigan where we would spend the next week. The first full day we were there was cold but sunny and we were able to spend some time outside. The girls loved taking walks so we did that a couple times that day.

The best part of the walks for the girls was the "speed awareness risers" that they used as a balance beam or just jumped off of.

The next day the rest of Matt's family joined us for a day at the cottage and although it was a little chilly, we made it to the beach and all the kids enjoyed playing in the sand for awhile. The days following set into a pattern of somesort for us. We would sleep in.....yes our girls slept until about 9 am every morning! (Most likely because we had trouble getting them to sleep at night and they were up late). Then we would take a walk, usually on the beach, then lunch, naps, and then we would go to the beach until dinner. It was a very relaxing routine. Matt's cousin and her family were staying at their cottage next door so we were able to spend a lot of time with them. Their youngest son is 3 and the girls just loved playing with him.

Walks on the beach

Playing in the sand

Making a sand castle and splashing in the water

One of the mornings we were there, we made a trip to a farm market and petting zoo. The petting zoo was free and better than we expected. Lily and Sadie loved seeing the animals and Lily was even brave enough to feed them.

Sadie looking at the miniature pony and Matt feeding the camel

Sadie and I checking out the Llama and Lily befriending the goats

We also took the girls mini golfing one evening. They both loved it although Sadie had no idea what we were doing :) Lily was a little dangerous with her club and kept swinging it way up in the air trying to hit the ball. I think she'll do better with time, but we just tried to stand back while she swung.

We tried to catch the sunset at the peir on White Lake but after watching some boats and taking some pictures, we decided it was too cold. And the clouds were moving in so there wasn't much of a sunset to watch anyway.

Sadie laughing

Watching a sailboat come in

Lily, posing for the camera

One common thread throughout the whole week was Lily's quest to see "deers." Everytime we were in the car she asked us to be quiet so we would scare the deers away because she wanted to see them. A couple nights we went out around dusk and parked the van next to some fields and saw some deer. And on the way back from the pier we actually saw a doe and a fawn very close to the road. Lily was very excited about that because she was able to see "Faline" (for those of you who don't remember Bambi, Faline is the girl fawn that is Bambi's friend). We were also able to see some wild turkey with their babies.

This deer was named "Lena" by Lily

Our last day there was colder and cloudy. We tried to go to the beach one last time but it was just too cold. Lily played a little while but Sadie stayed on my lap wrapped in a towel to stay warm. She kept saying, "cold, Sadie, cold." After warm showers we packed up and headed home. It was a great week and we are excited to go back again.

Boy or Girl??

Since we did not find out the baby's gender, people have been guessing :) So, I put together a little poll here on the blog so we can see what everyone thinks. You can find it on the side, under the profile.

24 Weeks

Today I had a glucose test, an ultrasound, and a visit with the doctor. The glucose test came back normal and so did the iron test which is abnormal for me.....I had low iron in both of my previous pregnancies. The ultrasound went well too. This was my second ultrasound because she couldn't get all the measurements in the earlier one. She was able to get all her measurements and give us a couple more pictures of baby. The doctor said that I am measuring right on for my due date which is October 29 and that the baby seems to be putting on good weight....it is in the 60th percentile. All in all, it was a good visit. I am still very content to let the baby's gender be a surprise although I think Matt was having second thoughts. It won't be too long, we will find out in about 107 days. Here are some pictures of baby......sorry, the picture quality is really poor.

Baby's face with arm above the head

Baby's foot....you can see all 5 toes :)

Swimming Lessons

Lily survived her week of swimming lessons. She started the first day very excited until it was her turn to go in the water, then she cried for the rest of the time.

Day 2 it was hard to get her near the pool and she cried a lot but she did better than the first day.

Here she is on day two getting ready to jump in the deep end.

And here it looks like she is trying to find a way out :)

Day 3 was better yet. There was a lot less crying and she jumped off the diving board! This was a big deal because she had been talking about how she was afraid to do the diving board. She looked close to tears the whole time and kept saying, "Ok Miss Rita, one more time, but then I have to go home."

Day 4 she still looked close to tears but she did the diving board again and she also swam across the deep end of the pool by herself. She made it without any tears until near the end when she was grouped with some older kids and had to do some things she hadn't done before like float by herself. She did great!

Waiting for her turn and trying to hide....."maybe they won't see me"

The diving board

Swimming!!

Day 5 ~ No tears at all!!! Lily was excited because Daddy was there to watch her. She showed him all the things she could do. Near the end of the lesson, she jumped in the pool all by herself!

It was a tough week but Lily learned so much! We are looking forward to next year when Miss Rita can teach Sadie :)

This is 3 short videos in one: swimming to the ladder, jumping off the diving board, and then swimming across the deep end.

July 4, 2009

We had a very busy, but very fun day. We started the day early and drove up to Montague in time for the annual Whitehall/Montague 4th of July Parade. It was a smaller parade than some around here but there was candy so the girls and their cousins, Ethan & Coryn, liked it.

At the parade, waiting for more candy :)

Sadie sat by mommy because she was cold and it was so loud.

At one point she was shaking because the noise from one of the trucks scared her so much

After the parade we made our way to the cottage for lunch and some time to relax. It was pretty cloudy but we decided to go to the beach anyway and the sun actually came out for a little while so the kids could play on the beach. Matt's uncle has a small fishing boat so some of the kids were able to take a ride. Lily wanted to go so Matt went with her and she had a great time. There is a shipwreck not far off the shore and the water was clear enough so they were able to see it.

Checking out the beach

Testing the water.......ice cold!!!


Lily and Daddy on the boat

Sadie played in the sand with Coryn while Lily was on the boat.

We enjoyed spending time with family and then after dinner we packed up to head home. We have to drive through Allendale on the way home so we decided to stop for the fireworks. It was a late night but the girls really liked the fireworks. Lily gave them names, there were "showers", "twirly whirlies", and "rainbows."

Check Up

Sadie had her 18 month check up this morning. The doctor said she looked great. He was amazed again at her height, she is 35 in. which is the 99th percentile. She weighs 25 lbs. 11oz. and that puts her in the 90th percentile, but the doctor said she is growing right along the growth chart. Sadie did well for the whole exam until he had to look in her mouth and then she cried quite a bit. She just doesn't like her mouth to be messed with......hopefully she gets over that before she is old enough to go to the dentist :) She got 2 shots today and they were the last ones she needs until she turns 5, yay!!