Model child

We went through a couple of years where Elisabeth, our strong-willed child who will undoubtedly do the opposite of what we'd like because that's the kind of model child she is, refused to smile for the camera. It was like we were torturing her by asking her to take a nice picture for us. We often used reverse psychology to get the smile out of her; that is until she was old enough to pick up on our tactics and then we were just left smile-less.

That is until recently. Now when I break out the camera she picks out the perfect location, cocks her head to the side, and gives me a gorgeous look. A lot of the whole posing thing started with her first teen idol Hannah Montana, and her desire to be all grown up and cool like Miley. But now I honestly think she's blossoming into this tiny grown up person who just likes to smile for the camera. When it's on her terms, of course (because some things will most likely never change - and I have a feeling the strong-willed nature of our sweet Elisabeth is here to stay).

She has been so amazingly helpful with Sydney lately, who is starting to enter a bit of a defiant/stubborn stage. Elisabeth has a way of calming Sydney down and explaining the facts to her in ways that I could only dream of. And she gives the best advice to her baby sister. Tonight we had the joy of hearing Elisabeth say "Sydney, you need to listen and respect your mama." AMEN TO THAT!

An apple a day

Apples.

They're good for you. You're supposed to have one a day to keep the doctor away.  And we like that!

I don't actually like apples.

But apple picking? In an apple orchard? Sign me up!  It's now one of my favorite activities.

I give equal rights to our seasons and love them all for obviously different reasons, but Fall has got to be my favorite.  I think I bust out the camera the most in the fall.  Maybe. Or not. But it feels like I take a lot more pictures in the fall, and for me I can almost judge my happiness by the number of photos I have taken at any given time.

Is that weird?

Thanks. I didn't think so either.

Anyway, we went apple picking recently with a great neighbor who has two of the cutest kids with the best smiles. They make for great photo ops too!

Seriously. Don't you just want to eat her up?!?

Thankfully we could split a bushel with said neighbor so that I didn't have to eat so many apples. Imagine the torturous pain if we had to eat the whole bushel!

We have more fall activities planned. The ones I'm looking forward to most?  I'm chaperoning a field trip to a farm with Elisabeth's first grade class and we'll go pumpkin picking as a family as well.  And halloween. And truck or treat by the lake. Just to name a few. I can't wait! I'm sure I'll have more photos to torture you with soon enough, my pretties (insert evil laugh)!

eight

Happy Anniversary to my best friend and love of my life.

What is the gift for anniversary #8?

I think I've already gotten it: I'm the luckiest girl alive and thank God every day for blessing me with this great life.

Patience.

The girls are taking swim lessons. 

I love love LOVE that they are taking swim lessons.  One because I think it is a very important skill that every person should know, and two, because I loved swimming. The swim team was the one sport I really, truly, loved. 

I loved the feeling of slicing through the water. Of being weightless yet so powerful.  Of having a super dreamy and cute coach to admire. Of having an awesome coach to look up to and respect.  

Okay and admire.

I love watching Sydney not fear the water and dunk herself under without thinking about it.

I love watching Elisabeth perfect her basic swim technique because she truly seems to enjoy it. I can almost see her in a few years racing through the water, although I try not to because that is her decision, not mine.  I also try not to envision that because no matter what I say she does the opposite. Darnit!  So I remain supportive and patiently wait. 

Very patiently. Wait.

I mean seriously, look at that form!

Chicago and a Grey's Anatomy Reference

It's no secret that my friend Kate is a very important person in my life. In fact, I have often referred to her as "my person".  She is there for me always and exudes happiness, energy, and can find the good in anyone.  I stand to learn a lot from her.

She also knows how to live it up on her birthday!

Along with a handful of other amazing women, we spent the entire day downtown helping celebrate Kate's birthday. We snacked and sipped the afternoon away at a restaurant off Michigan Ave and then treated ourselves to a mani/pedi.  A few of us were able to continue the party on a private racing boat, the S.S. Painkiller (and boy was it!) as we were treated to more amazing food and never-ending glasses of wine, an awesome crew and a breathtaking view of Chicago.  It is not often I get to see Chicago, never mind view it like this.

You can consider this the "before" picture. Don't we look so nice?

Do you see the Ferris Wheel in the picture below? That's Navy Pier.  I have to admit, I may never go back to viewing it in person. I much prefer looking at it from a boat. Less people. More wine.

The Tall Ships were also in town and docked at Navy Pier:

The sun slowly went down as we sailed around. It made for some great photo opportunities and I never stopped snapping away.

Have you ever wondered how many people can fit in a self-taken photo?

(You can consider these the "after" photos. Someone even offered to take a nicer picture of us and we refused. That would have ruined the fun!)

I'm thinking we could have fit one more!

As the wine flowed, I continued to take more photos. Kate steered the boat while her boatboy directed her.

Here is the cityscape as we bobbed on by.

It's a good thing the night ended, because I'd be afraid to see what any more pictures would have looked like.  Probably much like my white pants did -- full of wine.

Happy birthday Kate!