5 months and favorite

it's almost the end of august, and we have some catching up to do. i have not taken any photos in the last week. i have not blogged, obviously. i had not even downloaded half of my pictures to the computer til today, much less going through the close to 1000 photos that have been taken since mid-month. but here's a start to my catching up before i head back to work this week and the girls to preschool and daycare next.

first off, when was she allowed to turn 5 months?! when were 5 months permitted to pass in the blink of an eye? um, certainly, i did not approve of this. but alas, here we are. our little crosby is 5 months old.

our little flower is blooming before our eyes.

and she is a hoot. she is grabbing for anything and everything she can reach. be it the straw in my cup, the food off my spoon, the toy that harper is playing with, my to-do list.

she is a laughing, smiling, giggling bundle of joy. she is ticklish everywhere.

she has recently found her feet...

...and her voice. i can only summarize it, as i did on facebook, as a mariah carey wannabe intermingled with screams of someone frantically trying to get off a roller coaster at cedar point. it's lovely. it cracks us up, but only when we're not dining in a restaurant and getting looks from all the other patrons. she's also grunting, and i've learned that she does it when she's tired or hungry. or both.

this is my favorite move of hers right now. the superwoman. she's a whiz at this whole tummy time thing. sleeps on her belly, all on her own doing. but when playing she lifts both arms and legs off the ground and soars. she's working on those back muscles, you know.

ah, 5 months. gone in a flash. but it's been a fabulous 5 months i must say. and a fabulous summer. we capped off our summer and michael's end to his first year of his mba with a lake michigan beach vacation. more photos to come, but here's a teaser. this is my absolute favorite picture of the entire vacation. and it sums up our time so well.

beach. water. sunsets. letting our hair down. playing. complete and utter relaxation and freedom. it was my most favorite vacation so far. more to come as i sort through my hundreds of photos.

the list

summer is slowly winding down (boo!), but we've been pretty good about tackling our summer to-do list and checking things off. having something to do has kept us sane on those rough days, getting us out of the house when we're at our wits end, and also given us ideas on the days when we are looking at nothingness (although, those kinds of days here and there have been pretty nice, too). it's reminded me to appreciate all the little moments and activities that i grew up doing as a kid, providing me with loads of memories of my own childhood. hopefully, we've created some good ones for the girls, too.

i have so enjoyed this summer. no more working through the summer days like at my old job. no more moving out of our house for 5 weeks while michael renovated the kitchen like last august. no more pregnancy nausea keeping me wanting to do nothing but hide under the covers and sleep all day. we have soaked up every ray of sunshine and every degree of heat. it's been perfect.

we still have some things to attend to before we officially close summer by going back to school in a few weeks, but here are a few of the latest fun items. and don't fret. we have plans for another mom's group craft night where we'll be making our fall to-do list. and while i don't even want to think about falling leaves, sweaters and jeans, pumpkins, apples and cooler weather right now, autumn is my absolute favorite time of year and i know i'll be loving every minute of it once it arrives.

paint with pudding bryce and graham (and reed) joined us for painting with pudding, or rather eating pudding. they did manage to get some on the paper, but most went in their mouths. they washed off in the sprinkler and cooled down with some zoku pops.

homemade playdough need a recipe for a blah day with a whiny toddler? looking to combine an activity with snack time? combine equal parts peanut butter, dry milk powder and honey. throw in some flour to dilute the stickiness. bring out a variety of toppings, including cereal pieces, raisins and m&m's and voila! instant fun. we pulled out our alphabet cookie cutters and got in a phonics lesson to boot.

i don't think the m&m's made it to her artwork. they mostly went directly to her mouth. very typical behavior when it has anything to do with chocolate.

backyard campout we set up the tent. we rolled out the sleeping bags. we invited over heather, tim and the boys for our first annual backyard campout. we roasted hot dogs and swatted away the millions of mosquitos.

another harper photo

we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. my highly creative nephew, ethan, developed his own way of mass producing roasted 'mallows.

we had a patio dance party to the music being played a block away at the summer festival. and when the sky darkened, we shook up our glow sticks.

the boys played their game systems in the tent, while michael rigged up the fan with an extension cord. we were so roughing it, especially because heather, crosby and i relocated to inside the house for sleep time.

and the next morning, everyone joined inside for a pancake, bacon and sausage breakfast.

definitely will be repeated next year. maybe then, we'll need 2 tents for us wimps who chose to sleep inside this year.

beautiful littles

it's been far too long since my last beautiful littles post, a.k.a. things i am absolutely loving at this current point in time. so here we go...

pistachio gelato and sugar cones um, how could i have forgotten the amazing simplicity and deliciousness of a sugar cone? and to fill them with my new favorite frozen dessert, pistachio gelato, only trumps the cone on it's own. i am loving all things pistachio right now, and this sweet confection is no exception.

glass i never really understood the importance of glass over plastic until michael started working for a glass company 12 years ago, and have been even more cognizant of using it since he showed me their new marketing campaign. pure genius. we use glass as a reservoir for holding drinks, as drinking glasses (i am loving using mason jars for our cups right now), as decoration, for silverware containers and for candy and candle holders. it's cleaner. it's safer. and, it supports michael's career.

sarah she is my second cousin once removed (or something like that) on my mother's side and has been in nursing school at u of m for the last 4 years, making it very convenient to have her babysit. on top of the fact that she adores children and is so amazingly good with them, did i mention she's a nurse (i.e. she knows all about health and first aid)? she has watched harper and crosby lots this summer, and helped me out more than she knows. my girls love her and she loves my girls. and we unfortunately had to say goodbye this month as she moved on to a real job working in pediatric oncology. we miss her so.

cousins more on the cousin front, katie and collier came into town a few weekends ago and we got to spend some time with them at the beach. he is just so delicious, and a mini-katie boy version.

lucy crosby's new lovey is a kathe kruse doll which has somehow been named lucy. must be her guardian angel, because it's the first name that popped into nana's head when we were trying to decide what she should be called. she goes with us everywhere, and brings a smile to crosby's face whenever she sees her. lucy's braids have been chewed on more than anything else, and are the perfect teething toy.

iced coffee this has been my latest addiction. whether from starbucks, tim hortons, biggby or made at home. i seem to be drinking these on a daily basis. gets me through the hot days when i don't get much sleep at night (or even if i do). it's always a lovely day for a...guinness? i think not. although, i'm sure michael would disagree with that.

zoku this will always be on my beautiful littles posts. recently, we've made strawberry shortpops and coffee buzz.

chew beads another favorite teething toy as of late. the bonus is that it doubles as fashionable jewelry. crosby locks her gaze on these whenever i am wearing them and will gnaw on them for a long while.

now go enjoy some beautiful littles of your own. care to comment what you're loving right now? i'd love to hear them.