first day back to work

The girls in their matching outfits...so cute!!

The drooling has begun

Raina's beginning to look a little blonde....hmmm...

First day back with Sheryl....he's exhausted!

Today was my first day back at work. No students, but meetings all day. It wasn't that difficult of a tansition, because I came up to school a few days last week and the kids have been with Sheryl on several occassions, so it was nothing new for them. It was actually kind of nice to be back to work and using my mind a little bit more than I so at home. I did start the day with a pretty bad headache which came and went throughout the day. All in all though it was anice day. Ben picked the kids us, too, so I was able to stay a little later and work in my classroom. When the kids arrived home with Ben later, Barrett was zonked out. I guess Louie and Elizabeth were there today, so he must have played and played. I actually can't even wake him up for dinner. Yikes! I'll have to keep trying though. Tomorrow is another day of work and then we are off until Tuesday when the students have their first day.

lake, family, & friends

Me, Andrea (due Dec. 6th), Kristen (due Oct. 3rd), and Renee

Last Friday the girls had their 4 month check-up. It went well. Raina still needs to go back in a few weeks for more head manipulation stuff. The doctor said he's worried about a few things and he mentioned doing some stretches with her (but then he didn't teach me how to do the stretches). Both girls are growing well, though. Lauren weighed in at 15 lbs. 2 oz. and Raina weighed in at 14 lbs. 5 oz. Raina was in the 25-50% for all measurements, whereas Lauren was in the 75th for weight and over the 100th for head size! She does have quite the noggin on her! :) After the appointment, we headed up to the lake. We figured it would be the last time we would get up there this year, so we wanted to make a go for it (even though the weatherman said it was going to rain a lot). Lucky for us the rain held off most of the day Saturday, so we were able to sit in the sun and swim. Barrett is becoming quite the little swimmer. It's so much fun to play with him in the water! I had a lot of help there, too. Cousin Jessica, Aunt Noelle, and Aunt Sheryl all helped out so much with the girls. Thank you! Also, Cousin Chad and Uncle Stu enjoyed playing with the girls and entertaining Barrett, too. It was so nice to be able to relax a bit! Sunday I had to leave in the morning (Ben stayed at the lake with the kids) to head down to a baby shower for my friend, Kristen. She is due October 3rd and just got back from a 6 month stay in Germany. It was so nice to see her. We'll be getting together again in a few weeks, so we'll be able to catch up more then. It was a very nice shower and definitely worth the long drive. Later that evening I had to venture over to Chris and Heather's for a birthday party grill. Chris just turned 27 and Heather wanted to get the family together. It was a nice winding down to the busy weekend. Today I am home with my kids enjoying one of the last days at home before going back to work. This week I have two days I have to go in for PD time at school (meetings and such all day). Then school starts Sept. 2nd. Here's to a new school year!!!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Today I went into school to get ready for the first day and I ran into a few colleagues. I talked to them about how I know that as soon as I go back to work I'm going to miss stuff with my kids. Sure enough, when I went to pick them up Sheryl told me that Lauren rolled over! Raina rolled and rolled all over the place and now Lauren is too. She keeps doing it too. It's so neat to see the girls moving all over the place!

A Busy Few Days

Last Thursday Dad and Trina watched my kids for a few hours so that I could get some shopping done. I met up with them later and we went to the Music on the Grand. This is where the city brings in a band and they play outside under a bandshell. Gwen was also there (Dad and Trina had her all week while her parents were vacationing). It was a nice evening watching the kids dance and play and listening to music with family.

Kelly's Bachelorette Party

Then Saturday I went to a wedding shower for a friend from high school, Kelly B. It was fun catching up with her, of course Andrea, and another friend from high school Kelly L. Kelly L. (used to be Sandborn) is expecting her first baby at the end of November so we had a lot to talk about. It was fun! Kelly B.'s wedding is in October. Both Kellys live out in Virginia, so we don't see each other much anymore, but this time was nice. Later that night we all met up again for Kelly's bachelorette party. We did more catching up, especially on the old times from middle and high school. Some of the stories are so funny! :) I did have to leave the party early though because I had to go to an engagement party for our friend, John.

Day @ Upton's

Finally, Sunday we got invited up to Kate and Matt's new house on the lake. Cheryl, a friend from college, was visiting, too, so we all spent the afternoon and evening swimming in their pool, riding on the pontoon boat, and talking over dinner. It was a nice finish to the weekend and we felt completely spoiled to be in that environment. :) Barrett was non-stop the entire afternoon and crashed as soon as the car started to move. I guess that's a good way to know if he had a good time. :) We all did!

**Remember that you can click on the pictures above (except the first one) to see more pictures!**

Weekend with the Girls

I left last Thursday night for my first weekend away from the kiddies (and my husband). It was our second annual girls weekend in Pentwater at Andrea's parents' cottage. It was so nice to get away from the every day and catch up with my friends. Every night we stayed up late just talking. Sometimes I forget how much I need that time. It was an exciting weekend with lots to talk about because Andrea is expecting her first baby in Decemeber, Kate just started her own business, and Rachel is well on her way to becoming Chicago's best lawyer!! I have to go back to teaching again in a few weeks, so that has me rattled a bit, too. Plenty to talk about...that's for sure. The first day we spent on Lake Michigan. Kate slept some, I read some, and Andrea and Rachel played some bean bags. It was nice...but there happened to be a nice breeze and none of us really noticed the effects of the sun until too late. Andrea, being pregnant, sat under an umbrella for some of the time and didn't seem to get burned, yet the rest of us fried. It was worth it though, since I never get to Lake Michigan...not much beats it. That night Kate cooked an amzing meal and we watched our video from college. Hilarious! The next day we spent time walking around Pentwater and Ludington shopping. Rachel had to head back that night, so after she left we just picked up a pizza and went back to the cottage and played games. Sunday we left pretty early and Andrea dropped me off at Ben's grandma's house. Kate and Andrea stayed for a bit to visit with my kids. I sure did miss my family, but weekends like this do not come around often. I love these girls!!

Also, while I was away Barrett turned 23 months old and the girls turned 4 months old. Here are their stats:

Barrett @ 23 mos.:
{} Is talking more and more every day
{} Favorite words: peez, dank do (thank you), sorry, hi momma, baby, dadda, papa, nigh nigh, cerweal (cereal)
{} Will often go to bed easily...after you say "go nigh nigh?" he'll walk into his room and go to bed
{} Is beginning to use his silverware more often
{} Refuses the high chair...moved on to the booster seat
{} Still loves his blankie and his thumb
{} Loves being outside, watering plants, playing in the sand, or going for a ride on the quad
{} Loves spongebob and elmo
{} Loves his sisters, gives kisses often
{} Has gone potty on the toilet a few times, but still not potty trained
{} Still drinks out of a sippy, but can use a regular cup sometimes
{} Eats pretty much anything
{} Gives great hugs
{} Loves to read book after book
{} He's always pointing to things so that you can say what it is then he repeats it

Raina @ 4 mos.:
{} Sleeps from 9 pm to 6:30 am
{} Eats 4-6 oz. every feeding (~3-4 hours)
{} Takes several naps through out the day
{} She can sleep pretty much anywhere: swing, the play mat, her crib
{} She can roll over both ways now
{} She also moves in circles too...she rolled and moved under her crib the other day...DOH!
{} She loves to kick and kick...makes it difficult to hold her on your lap
{} She can lift her head well during tummy time
{} Her head still wobbles sometimes when you hold her upright
{} She giggled for the first time a week or so ago
{} It takes you a little bit to get her to smile...it's like she's not so sure of you at first
{} She has beautiful dimples when she does smile
{} She's smaller than Lauren (they go to the dr. next week)
{} She is very talkative
{} She doesn't love the bath, but she'll take one now without crying
{} Getting cuter and cuter every day!

Lauren @ 4 mos.:
{} Sleeps from 9 pm to 6:30 am
{} Eats 4-6 oz. every feeding (~3-4 hours)
{} Takes several naps through out the day (make sure you get to her before she gets over tired otherwise she is very difficult to soothe)
{} She prefers to sleep in the swing, but you can put her in the crib and she'll fall asleep on her own there, too
{} Cannot roll over yet, but she's working on it...she can get to her side pretty well
{} She loves to grab for toys
{} She can lift her head well during tummy time
{} She has very good head control when you hold her upright
{} She giggled for the first time a week or so ago
{} She loves to give smiles!! So adorable!
{} Lauren is growing so fast I think she hit a growth spurt recently because she would eat 9-10oz. at feedings sometimes...whoa!
{} Loves to coo and make conversation
{} She loves the bath!
{} Getting cuter and cuter every day!

Some Great Pictures

Lauren

Raina

Barrett gave me this rose (it's also the one in the pics of the girls)

Staring at their brother

Barrett crawled in between the girls!

He HAD to wear these toy construction goggles in the pool!

He posed like this all by himself. He's been putting his finger to his mouth like that a lot recently and saying "hmmm" while he's thinking....super cute!