It's about time

It is ridiculous how far behind I am, at this point I just have to accept that I'm not going to do a very good job of capturing these past few weeks. But if I put if off any longer, it will get so overwhelming I'll just have to give up completely, so I'm going to do what I can in the short time I have (before I succumb to exhaustion).

Last you left us we were on our way to Minnesota. Lots has happened since then. Vacations always seem to coincide with huge leaps forward for my kids. I guess it jostles them (or me) out of our normal routine so that new discoveries can be made, and they (or I) suddenly learn that they're capable of new things. Sadie turned 6 months, started going gangbusters on solids and practically weaned herself from daytime feeding, just like her brother did at this age, has mastered sitting up, has starting babbling her ba-ba-bas and da-da-das, and learned that bouncing is much more fun that just plain standing. Jack got a haircut and looks like the pre-schooler he will officially be the day after tomorrow, has learned a bunch of letters without my even realizing it, and as of tomorrow will be a whole week bottle-free!! (You have no idea what an accomplishment this was, he was having five, six, sometimes seven bottle a day. Please do not judge.) And last night, Jack and Sadie spent their first night together in the same room. At least until 2 am. But hey, baby steps.

So here is your whirlwind tour of the past few weeks. First, Minnesota.

For those of you that read Alison's blog, you will recognize many of the photos in this post. That is because I stole Alison's photos. If you don't read Alison's blog, you will still probably pretty easily be able to tell which ones are hers and which are mine. (Hint, hers are the good ones.)

As hellish as plane travel is with two small children (and here's a helpful tip: when your kid turns 2 and you have to buy them a seat, you can take two extra carry-ons. That doesn't mean you should. Because 2 adults carrying 6 bags + 2 carseats + 2 children = insanity!), I look forward to making a trip out to Minnesota each summer. I hope Jack and Sadie will feel the same way about Minnesota as my sister and I did about California, or my dad did about Nebraska. There's something special about a place you only associate with summertime, and the freedom and exploration that come with it. It's hard having my kids be so far away from their only cousins that they'll probably only see them once or twice a year, but visits like this make me hopeful that they will still form great and lasting friendships. And when I think about it, I didn't see my cousins all that much growing up (even the ones that lived in Minnesota!), but the memories we do share are so potent that they continue to bring us together as adults.It is so fun to imagine Sadie and Ava one day giggling over youthful folly and sharing advice on their babies the way my cousin Katie and I did this trip. They're just about the same distance apart in age.

So yes, it was a special time. I'm not going to try to go day by day at this point (that's what Alison's blog is for!), I'll just try to capture some of the highlights. Such as:

Jack's first haircut from Uncle Chris, a rite of passage, and also an illustration of how far he's come, because I think his first real haircut ever was here last year, and boy did that one not go over so well. It was traumatizing enough for me that I have not taken him to get a haircut since (leaving that to Danny or Lauren). But he did extremely well with Uncle Chris, he stayed very still, shed not a tear, and I think he was pretty pleased with himself at the end of it.



Sadie's first visit to a lake, one of Minnesota's ten thousand finest.I had thought we'd be going to lakes every day, but it was a major victory for us to have made it out of the house even once, because Jack and Sadie's naps were almost perfectly asynchronous and the little bit of waking time they did share each day was usually during Ava's nap. So something miraculous must have happened on this particular day.

Of course I cajoled Alison into giving us a free photo session in her new studio. Or I guess it's not so new to her anymore, but new to us. How lucky are we to have a professional photographer in the family now? And she makes it look so easy!

There are way more, with different outfits and everything, but I thought this made a cute collage. My shirtless sweeties.

Danny unfortunately had to stay home and work for most of the trip, but did join us for a day or two at the end, which we put to the best possible use, taking the boys to the State Fair. I don't think I'd been since high school and Danny had certainly never experienced this melange of fried food, livestock, farm equipment, carnival rides and fat people. We had such a time.

The ferris wheel was not actually scary. Chris took Matthew on a legitimately scary ride, and all the rest of the boys that stayed behind were very worried about him. I love this shot of Thomas.

We tie-dyed the day before, so that we'd be able to keep track of the boys amidst the crowd. My dad had tried a similar thing with bright red t-shirts at Happy Hollow in April, only to show up and find whole school groups dressed in red. So I thought this time I had really found something unique, and as an added benefit, the boys loved making them. Little did we realize, tie-dye has apparently made a comeback, and there were dozens of kids running around in very similar shirts. I give up.

There are more highlights that I have on video (my favorite of which is Jack, Thomas, and Ava running circles around the dining room and living room while giggling the way only giddy toddlers can), so I'll try to post that soon.

I need to end this post, the rest will have to wait for later. Here are my parting images, all the cousins together. We miss you already, Mickelsons.