Sooooo busy.

Life has been crazy. There are schedules to keep, naps to take, speech therapy to attend, fun to be had,  Miss Jean's, Miss Jaspers', squeezing in meals, and trying for structure. I feel like I am going a mile a minute. Corralling three kids is no joke, getting out of the house is like herding cats. It is seriously a miracle that I make it anywhere on time. There is always a last minute potty or poop need, are you kidding me!? Don't get me wrong, I would much prefer that to the alternative, but we are seriously arriving places at the last possible second, so those extra two minutes throw a real wrench into things (thank God our builder and designer convinced us to put a powder room into the mudroom).

Piper is almost 8 months and boy has she changed, almost over night. I took a video of her last Thursday and she was barely crawling. She was doing a combo of army crawling and real crawling, but was so slow and uneasy. Fast forward to yesterday, like four days later and she is everywhere, and even pulling up. Seriously. How is that possible? All of the sudden my peaceful little baby is into everything and I am rapidly trying to eliminate things that she will choke on or fall on while Sully and Greta instantly pull them back out. She is still my baby, but she is getting so big. She has been better in the nights, too, only getting up once around 4am. I know the day will come when she sleeps through, but anticipate it will be when I quit nursing, around a year or so.

I can hardly type this without my heart aching a little but, but Greta has almost completely stopped calling Sully 'Ayah.' That was her nick name for him for so long. At first it drove him nuts, but we are all so used to it that when she calls him Sully, I correct her and hope she goes back the old name. I've stopped doing that as I know nature needs to take its course, but it feels like everyone around here is having a growth spurt and Im not sure how comfortable I am with that.

We have had some major house progress, too. We had a new driveway put in, it is a combination of pavers and concrete. Dave came up with the design and it looks really nice. The graders were back yesterday (and thanks to the direction from my mom, we finally have the yard just how we want it) and the irrigation people reconnected the sprinkler system. We are next on the sod list as long as it stays dry. I told Dave that if I wake unto rain in the morning I will cry as they will be here tomorrow if it doesn't. We NEED sod. I NEED this to be wrapped up. We NEED a final bill so we can close this chapter of our lives. We started two years ago this month and I'm officially over it.

Pretty Greta.

Coffee with Piper (a rare quiet moment with her).

Morning, sweet girl. 

Rain dance with Anna. 

Hiding from the 'punder' (the rain dance worked :)).

Visiting daddy at work. 

Hiking adventure while Piper and Daddy are home napping.

Selfie on the trail. 

Greta 'skabing.'

Sully and Greta making coffee for Dave. 

Skid steer fun while the guys are at lunch. 

Puzzle progress, Piper is in on the fun. 

Tubby time with all three. 

Waiting to show Greta the ropes in the bounce house. 

Father's Day fun.

We turned Father's Day into a several day celebration this year, because, why not? Dave is definitely deserving, as are the rest of the dads in my life. Dave had the week prior to Father's Day off and he got a real taste for how wild life is as I worked two of the days and Sully was in camp, which meant there was lots of running around and coordinating. We also snuck in two date nights, back to back, which was really fun. One involved wine and sushi for us, and the second involved enchiladas and drinks with Maggie and Jeff and my parents (at the last minute). It was fun! We always wish we would do it more often, but are thankful for the times we do pull it off.

We made our annual mug for Dave with the kids' handprints on it. Its no small feat, but well worth the sweat and anxiety. The kids love to see their work come to life and it is so rewarding see the delight in Dave's eyes. Sully couldn't wait until Father's Day to present Dave with his gift, which was so sweet. Ill have to plan that better for next year ;).

We spent Saturday at our friends' cabin on Lake Brandt and had a blast. They have a similar family situation, so the chaos is double, but we managed just fine and look forward to doing it again. On Sunday, we celebrated with pancakes and naps and an afternoon swim followed by a picnic with my dad and most of my siblings. The kids are obsessed with their older cousins and had a great time.

We love daddy. We know how hard he works and are so grateful that he is a dedicated and involved man in our lives. The kids love it when he is home and crave his attention. Thanks, Dave, for being you and for providing such a loving home for me and our kids. xoxo

Date nite, first stop, Prairie Berry (our new fave).

Date nite number 2. Watching the storm come in. 

Lake fun. 

Popsicles with the Kimbers
Greta (2.5), Piper and Khloe (both 7.5 mos), Annika (3.5), Sully (4), Kade (5)

Father's Day crafting. 

Dave and the kids. 

Take two at the pool. 

So tart, Piper tries a lemon.

Summer fun so far.

We hit the ground running this summer and are having a blast. We are soaking up all of the amenities of the neighborhood park with swim time, park time, park performances, and stroller/bike rides. Sully and Greta are so fun this summer and love to love each other one minute and then terrorize each other the next. Unless, of course, they are at a playtime or any function, then they are two peas in a pod and are inseparable. Im so glad they have each other. Piper continues to go with the flow. She is busy, in full fledge army crawl mode and will get up onto all fours, but not moving yet. She is 7.5 months and already has 8 teeth. Her sleeping habits could use some improvement as she is up a couple of times each night and refuses to go back down in her crib, and I don't have the discipline to hang with her long enough to get her there, so back to our bed she goes. She loves any sort of attention from Sully and Greta, which they give a lot of. In fact, I've started to catch Greta trying to pick her up from time to time. That is not received very well from Piper. I told Dave the other night that I feel like I am starting to see a lite at the end of the tunnel. It is off in the distance quite a ways, but it is there.

Greta, getting the hang of the balance bike. 

Japanese Garden fun. 

Hide and seek, in broad day lite. 

She is up! 

Greta was SO excited about her Hello Kitty sleeping bag. 

Plan B, camping in the basement.
Dave worked too late and it got too hot. 

Hello over there! 

Strolling home after a swim. Look at that hair! 

Sully and his favorite cocamper. 

Brave boy on the bus to camp.
(Although today he would have nothing to do with the bus.)

McKennan Park performance.
We were getting autographs from the performers :).
AND... a haircut for Sully, finally! 

Doctor's appointments all around.

Sully had his four year and Piper had her 6 (actually 7) month check ups last week and everything looked great. My main confession is that I have had minimal time to feed Piper solid food so she is basically surviving on breast milk alone. We are gradually getting better at it, but I feel like between Sully and Greta, the last thing I have time for is to sit down and feed her (sorry, Pip!). Dr Sam was very encouraging and based on her growth, said my method was working out just fine. Piper got three shots and Sully got two. Both were super brave and we are happy to not have have shots again until Piper is one. Dr Sam was quizzing Sully on his habits and Sully reported that his current favorite food is pancakes with syrup, which is so spot on. He asks for them with every meal. If Piper were asked, I'm sure she would say breast milk ;).

Sullivan was 33lbs and 4oz and 3ft 4 inches tall, putting him at about the 25-50th percentile. Piper was 17lbs and 1oz and was 2ft 4 inches tall. She was in the 50th percentile for weight and 30th for height.

We turned around and went to see Dr Nick (the dentist) a few days later. Due to some schedule changes, I ended up taking all three on my own, which definitely gave me some anxiety. Fortunately, Sully was an old pro and had no issues while Greta was a smidgen more nervous as it was her first time. She wanted to sit on my lap, which was great except for Piper, who decided to get fussy at the same time. Fortunately, there was a hygienist student who was able to hold Piper, so it all worked out well. Greta did everything except get X-rays, which is prolly ok, considering she is only 2 1/2. They both had clean bills of health and no cavities. Dave is in charge of teeth brushing, so needless to say, he was on top of the world with the good report.

Sullivan getting looked over at Dr Sam's.

Dr Nick's office. Sully's turn first. Greta and Piper watching carefully. 

Brave Greta! 

Twin Study

One of the local health organizations, Avera, also the one I work for recently launched a Twin Study and a friend of Maggie's and I suggested we join. One of the perks is a zygocity test which means we will find out if we are identical or fraternal, something we have talked about doing for years, but have never followed through with. We enrolled and had our initial meeting last week. After a lifetime of being mistaken for one another and constantly fielding the 'are you identical' question, we will finally have a definitive answer. While the results don't really matter, I admit I would be a little let down if the results were fraternal. Time will tell! We will receive results in the fall and hope to have a little fun with our reveal.

Mouth swabs, my mom is also joining in on the experience. 

DNA test fun. 

The data is officially submitted. 

Selfie outside of the Institute for Human Genetics.

Birthday fun for everyone.

What a wild and fun few days. It is safe to say that we are all in birthday recovery mode over here. We have been busy planning, prepping and celebrating, from one gathering to the next. We finally have a chance to chill today, minimal things on the agenda which has given the kids a chance to play (and fight over ;)) Sully's new toys.

We kicked off the birthday week with a camping party for Sully. Dave reserved a spot at Newton Hills State Park a month ago or so and as it neared we thought it would be fun to host a small party there with some family friends of ours. It was on Memorial Day so it was a great way to wrap up the weekend. The party was fun! We grilled burgers and dogs and had fruit and s'mores and played and enjoyed being in the wilderness. Four families came, as well as my parents and aunt who was in town for Sully's actual birthday party the following evening. There were 12 kids, and Isaac (8) was the oldest. Needless to say, it was wild! Dave and Isaac and Sully stayed over night and everyone else went home around 8. Greta and Anna were not happy with that decision, but considering the logistics, it had to be that way. Next time they will be included in the overnight fun.

Tuesday was the official birthday and it was perfect. Isaac and Anna came to celebrate most of the day and the party was in the evening. Most of mine and Dave's family were here to make it ultra special. We had Qdoba, a piñata, presents, and cake and ice cream. What more could a four year old want!? He was so excited for what was coming next. We are so proud of our sweet Sully. He has grown up so much over the last year.

Finally, we celebrated Jeff Oliver's birthday yesterday at the baseball diamonds with ice cream to follow. It was a great gathering and fun to celebrate such a deserving guy. Happy 42nd, Jeff!

Camping presents with friends. 

So many kids!
Isaac, Beatrice, Anna, Kade, Rhys, Sully, Annika, Greta, Alexander, William, Khloe and Piper.

Campfire stories after the group had left. 

Birthday morning hike.

Paw Patrol birthday cake.

Party goers. 

Mandy, Shelley, and mom.

Birthday boy's little sis. 

Big hitter Isaac. 

Owen breaks it with the big guns. 

Jeff helping Greta get some loot. 

Cousin Matthew surprises Sully with a new
Bayern Munich soccer shirt. 

Blowing out the birthday candles with his favorite girl, Anna. 

Family photo. 

Celebrating Jeff.