Just plum delicious!

Should I take a maternity test?

...because I really just don't see how any of my genes have made it into this child!

But this one...well, I think I can finally take credit for passing along some of my DNA:

Either way, they are the two most beautiful girls in the world. I'm just sayin'.

Good humor

When the sun shines for a total of five minutes in the entire month of June, you just gotta celebrate with your first visit to the neighborhood ice cream truck, right?

The Graduate

{post ceremony donut mouth}

Lucy had her preschool "graduation" last week. Now, before you get all choked up wondering where the time has gone, she is not starting kindergarten in the fall...or even the fall after that. (Heaven help us, we've got two more years until she qualifies for kindergarten...i.e., two more years of tuition bills higher than they will be until she's in college.) Nevertheless, she had her very first graduation ceremony and it was adorable. I got there right before it started, Phoebe in tow, so in my haste I ended up taking some really bad photos. I have to remind myself that even though I am starting to take better and better photos, I still need to not be afraid of posting photos here that document our lives even if they fall far less than "perfect." In fact, I think that here the imperfection makes these photos kinda sweet.

{goofing around with her teachers}

{receiving her diploma}

{watching her classmates receive their diplomas}

Which one's it gonna be?

Her?

Or her?

{or maybe both?}

Lucy has decided that some day, her children will be named Gabriella and Dylan. Yesterday, she told Jeff that they will actually be twins. When Jeff told her that twins are a lot of work, she replied, "That's ok, Daddy...I don't mind the pushing."

What on earth am I going to do with this child of mine? Maybe I should just call Harvard Medical School and see how early is too early to apply for early admissions. Either that or I should call Saturday Night Live to see if they have an apprentice program for three-year-olds.

What the heck, I think I'll just do both.

Ribbon of girls

Lucy's first official school photo

{sweetie pie!}

Feeling woozy

Many times every day, my heart just overflows with love for my children. So I find myself asking Lucy, "Do you know how much Mommy loves you?" to which she always replies, "Sooooo much!" The other day, when in one of those moments, I said, "Lucy, I love you so much my heart could...what?" She was quiet for a moment, then replied, "barf." I'd like to think she meant burst, but either way, the sentiment from her heart was pure.

Anyway, I took these photos of her before going to a birthday party on Sunday and, well, she looks so beautiful that I could just barf. Couldn't you?

Happy Anniversary to Nana & Poppa

65 years...unbelieavable and truly inspirational. We love you so very much!

Busy Bers

Phoebe (or Bers, as we sometimes call her...as in PhoeBERS) is such a busy busy busy bee. A busy Bers! And it's true what I have said since Lucy was this age...15 months is the age at which the baby ends and the toddler begins. Here is some of what she's been up to:

{trying to get out of the 5th percentile for weight}

{um, practicing for a future trip to new orleans?}

{practicing important mothering multi-tasking skills}

{mastering the sippy cup...sort of}

{acting like a general nutjob goofball}

We love you, Bers! Don't ever change! (Just calm down an eensy teensy bit).

Pool's open!

After a long, long winter...we thought we'd never see this day.

The garden: Part I

r

a

I've been spending lots of time on the garden lately. I will spend hours out there and then come inside and realize that it looks like a bomb hit my house....but oh well. I took these photos the other day of the peonies and hydrangea as they were bursting to life. I'll take more soon of the whole yard. It's looking great out there!

Solid gold

{dana}

You know that old song...

Make new friends
But keep the old
One is silver
And the other gold

We used to sing it in the girl scouts all the time and I loved it. And the older I get, the more true it is to me. I have been extremely fortunate to make wonderful batches of new friends in the past few years, especially since having Lucy. I couldn't have made it through these first few years of motherhood without them. But still, my old gals from GCA days...they are solid gold in this world (in addition to my law school chicks, lest you think I am leaving you out). My friend Dana, whom I have known well over 20 years, came to visit us last weekend along with her husband Lou and twins Alec and Sienna. It was so amazing to see our kids playing together, and just so nice in general to spend time with Dana. On Saturday night, our friend Diana came for dinner. That made the weekend even more special. Lucy really took to Diana, and at one point told her that she could babysit while "Mommy, Daddy & Phoebe go to St. Louis." I have no idea where we got that one from...we're not going to St. Louis anytime soon (at least I don't think we are!)

At any rate, it was just marvelous to be together and to be hosting at our house...exactly the reason we bought this place and why we bother with all the work that having a home entails. Sitting out on the patio on a Saturday night, drinking wine and being with my good friends...pure gold.

{diana, dana & me}

{sienna}

{alec}

{alec on the swing}

{sienna on the swing}

{smooshing faces with lucy}

{magical princess}

{lou and sienna}

{celebrating diana's 35 + 1}

{plotting the st. louis trip}

Apres nap

Slider

This little girl LOVES the slide...I mean, love love loves it. She bounds up the ladder, crosses the little fort, and then sits down on her behind and lets go. Woosh, down she barrels with no fear whatsoever. The slide takes a turn in the middle, which doesn't phase her at all, even when it turns her body completely around and she ends up coming down head first. As soon as she lands, she runs -- arms swinging, bumping into the swings -- back to the ladder. And then it starts again. I think she could do this for hours if I'd let her! Sure, I miss city living sometimes...but I tell ya, having a backyard with a swingset is priceless.