Bye-bye sleep sack!

The days of the sleep sack are over. Today Anna learned how to escape!

Shelling peas from the CSA

As an experiment our family has joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) group for the summer. Every week we get to pick up a bag of fresh organically grown produce from a local farm. This has been an interesting experience for all of us as we are a little picky about veggies and I am not much of a chef. Often I find items that I needed to first identify, then find out how to store (I have a little cookbook about seasonal cooking that has been very helpful) the food, and then figure out how I'm supposed to prepare it. We've discovered some things that we don't like (radishes), but we've also discovered some foods we didn't know we liked (summer squash). It's also been lots of fun for Anna to get to know some of her foods in their more raw form. Tonight she helped Mommy make dinner by shelling some peas.

Beach baby

More goofing around in the water

Anna and I went back to Frederick Meijer Gardens today for more water time. Anna seems to be developing an engineer's mind just like her daddy. In the last two photos she is methodically removing the screws from the fountain's posts. Don't worry- we put them back!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Today was Father's Day! To celebrate we went to the mall in the morning to get an accessory for Bryan's iPhone. In the afternoon we went Frederick Meijer Gardens and let Anna splash around in the fountains. She had such a great time! Be sure to check out the video below- about every 60 seconds Anna would run out of the fountain and come to the bench Bryan and I were sitting on and say and sign "wawer!" We got a few of them on video. The last photo in the post is of Bryan and Anna on father's day last year.

A candid shot by Daddy

Bryan took this photo of Anna today at lunchtime- I love it!

Elle's birthday party

This afternoon Anna and I went to a park to attend a birthday party for Anna's buddy Elle. She had a great time. Elle has a December birthday like Anna and her family decided to throw her a half birthday party in June- a great idea that we may try next year :).

The birthday girl had one finger in the cupcakes the entire time we sang "Happy Birthday" to her- it was so cute!

Opening presents in style.

Anna got in on the present action, too.

Anna had a busy day today! In the morning we had a playdate at a new park with some friends and in the afternoon Anna tried out a new sprinkler toy for the first time.

We've found a (at least termporary) solution to the toothbrushing battles- Anna brushes my teeth while I brush hers.

Lunch!

Anna had so many spaghettios on her after this meal that when I gave her a bath she left a ring around the tub.

Playing at the park

We just love the way Anna waves her arms around when she runs :).

Anna's first parade and some personality pics

Today we brought Anna to her first parade! It was raining, but Anna didn't seem to mind.

This afternoon we took some photos to send to the people who helped us to purchase our house. I'm including them in this post because I love how much they show her personality.

Lunch and watering

Anna likes cucumbers!

Mommy's little helper. We just planted these last week.



Here's what the flowerbeds looked like before we cleared them out and planted the petunias.

Anna's first bike ride

We recently purchased a bike trailer and today we took Anna for her first ride! We went down to a nearby river to play.

Bryan gave Anna her first lesson in skipping stones. Note the tight hold he has on her dress- Anna likes the water :)

Naptime with Elmo

Photos from Olive Garden

Does this one remind anyone of a senior portrait? It even has "soft touch."

Mmmm... a breadstick!

The big day

Today was moving day! We haven't quite finished in any of the rooms, but here are some before photos taken when we purchased the house and after photos taken today (please ignore the mess):

The kitchen/living area before:

The kitchen/living area after:

The "dining room" (sans table) before:

And after (sorry, this is a lousy shot):

Anna's (temporary) room before:


Anna's (temporary) room after:

Our room before:

Our room after: