When Dad's Away, the Girls Will Play!

Sam was able to fulfill one of his childhood dreams this weekend: seeing Frank Thomas inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. He and his friends took a road trip to Cooperstown, NY, for the big event. He is on his way home now, and will inevitably have more pictures and details for me to share. However, this blog post is going to focus on the fun weekend that the girls and I had! So while Sam was away doing things like this... 

We were out and about, doing things like this: 

The Park! Initially not one of our more successful trips, we ended up having a great time!

Blackberry Farm! The girls absolutely loved this place. I can't believe we haven't been before! We will definitely be going back. 

Downtown! We took a trip into the city and explored Millennium Park and had lunch with our good friend, Natalie! 

Movie Nights! Each night, we wound ourselves down with a movie. We watched Ella Enchanted, Shrek Forever After, Monsters Inc., and Beezus and Ramona. 

Outdoor Fun! We spent a lot if time outside this weekend! Bubbles, sprinklers, parks, and bikes kept us busy and active! 

We also went to gymnastics, went out for lunch with our friends Erica and Sophia, made cookies, and had a sleepover together in our bed! I certainly loved every minute that I spent with my girls this weekend! I also am looking forward to Sam being home and sharing in some of the fun, too! (AKA some of the work!)

That's One Way To Clean a Doll...

Taylor was "bathing" her water-resistant Barbie dolls in the bathroom sink tonight. Of course, Maddy felt it would be only fair to give her Baby a bath, too! 

Summer Fun!

The girls are at such wonderful ages this summer. We've really been able to go to a lot of places and do a lot of things with them! Here are a few pictures of our summer so far!

Making a wish with Quinn and Caroline before letting the ladybug go! 

Playing dress-up.

Enjoying some birthday cake!

Fun at the zoo with cousins Haley, Mark, Zach, and Ryan. 

Many of our summer days make for very sleepy rides home!

Stealing fruit in the grocery store

Sitting in a cool bowl of water!

Drying off

Pool fun with Gianna and Isabella

Green eggs and ham breakfast

My girls!

Maddy exploring Uncle Eric & Aunt Krystle's backyard

At Aunt Krystle's baby shower! We can't wait to meet our new niece/cousin! 

Baltimore and Big-Girl Beds

Last week, Sam and I flew out to Baltimore for Sam's 3 month check-up. We are thrilled to announce that everything is looking great! His rods and the bone graft all look in tact, and his mobility is slowly improving. Normally, Baltimore is not our favorite destination, but this was a very encouraging, uplifting trip. In fact, the appointments went so quickly, and we flew out so early, that we were able to go out to dinner, catch the White Sox/Orioles game, and go to the movies! It was a whole summer's worth of date nights packaged into one trip!

Our spunky little Madelyn is now in a big girl bed. Well, it's somewhat of a makeshift big girl bed for now - basically, her crib mattress is on the floor, surrounded by furniture to keep her from falling off. Her first day was yesterday, and she did not nap; she was too excited about her newfound freedom to wander around her room, trying on play jewelry and tearing her sister's books apart. Last night, she fell asleep in her stroller, so I put her right into her crib. However, at about midnight, she woke up and began wandering around the halls. It was adorable, actually! She kept popping her head into our room and talking to us. We figured out a way to barricade her in using a baby gate and some book bins. So here she is in her new, makeshift, ghetto-looking big girl bed: