Gracie's Baptism

We celebrated Gracie's baptism with a small but mighty group May 18.  

Here we are at Covenant Life Church before the ceremony.

Julianne surprised me and showed up.  Literally.  She texted me 10 min before the ceremony and asked where it was. Good thing I check my phone . . . even at church.

My tablescape was a last minute shop at home type of deal, but fulfilled my summery and girly goals nicely.

We tried to get a family photo.  Fail.

Mother and daughter had better luck.  Sorry in advance.  I couldn't decide which one I liked best.

Dad is pretty cute too. . .

The Grandparents aren't so bad either.

I can't wait to see what God has in store for our little bear cub.  Happy Baptism Gracie- you are loved by many.

Maiden Voyage

"Sometimes a boat just floats into your lap"- Nick Lardo in regards to our recent boat purchase.

Nick told me we weren't getting a boat this year.  To emphasize his point he sold our Shorestation on Craigslist and dismantled our dock.  When the last piece of dock came out of the water I resigned myself to his words. Maybe next year my nautical fantasies would come true.  

To mourn my loss I went out with some girlfriends way too late. 

The next day as I recovered on the couch, Nick bought the neighbor's old boat.  Totally randomly.

It's nothing fancy, but the little ones don't seem to mind.  We took her for a maiden voyage with the Wrinkles family and had a blast.

My Grandma Liz had a long tradition of buying her Grandkids random boats.   I felt this was a very fitting tribute to her the week of her death. 

Plus now my children's nautical themed wardrobes seem much more authentic.

Gram in the Paper

Originally printed in the New Haven Register, May 18, 2014

LOWE, ELIZABETH G. Elizabeth Gere Lowe died peacefully, surrounded by her family, on May 15, 2014. Liz was born on Dec. 11, 1917, in Bristol, CT. She was predeceased by her husband, John L. Lowe, Jr., and her parents, Marcus and Harriet Gere. Liz was a longtime resident of North Haven, CT. She attended Hamden High School and Bradford Jr. College in Massachusetts. Liz was a member of the Mt. Carmel Arts Association, the Spring Glen Garden Club, the Creative Arts Workshop, the Junior League, and the New Haven Badminton Club. She pursued her passion for art in her travels around the world, but her favorite subject was the Branford shore. Liz also enjoyed badminton, bridge, and skiing with her grandchildren. Her beloved beach cottage was the focal point of summer activities for family and friends for more than 50 years. She is survived by her son, John L. Lowe III of Cheshire, CT, daughter Louise L. Fisher of Glencoe, Illinois, and 5 grandchildren; Allison F. Dreiblatt (Adam Dreiblatt), Jane F. Lardo (Nick Lardo), John K. Fisher, Cameron H. Lowe, and Marcus W. Lowe. She also had 3 great-grandchildren; J. Fisher Lardo, Grace L. Lardo, and Dylan A. Dreiblatt. A private burial service was held on May 17. A memorial service will be held this summer. Arrangements in care of BEECHER & BENNETT, 2300 Whitney Ave., Hamden. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to The Children’s Center of Hamden, 1400 Whitney Ave., Hamden, CT 06517. For more information or to send a condolence, please see obituary at www.beecherandbennett.com.

Cabo 2014

Nick and I took a much needed adult vacation to Cabo San Lucas while Grandmas Jann and Weze took turns watching the kids.  I wouldn't call our vacation a cultural experience, but we did soak up the sun, snorkel, sail,  swim, scuba dive, SLEEP and sip margaritas.  In other words we accomplished our main vacation goal- to simply relax and enjoy adult conversation without interruption from little people.

We also frolicked through the bluebonnets with some favorite Dallas friends on our layover at DFW.  Side note picking or laying in the state flower of Texas is highly illegal.  We could have been arrested for this photo!  Sometimes I live dangerously.  

We walked to town several times along the beach

Sailing and exploring Lovers and Divorce Beach.  

I'm really too short for selfies with Nick.

Lots of Margaritas

And walks too

We hope to go back and maybe do surfing school?  Drive up to Hotel California?  Or maybe just lay on the beach.  That's okay too.

Little Helper

Gracie Bear loves Home Depot.  Too bad we can't put her to work planting grass. . .yet.

Beach Besties

Defrosted!  Six long months of winter washed away in one perfect spring night.

Banner Day

Today was a perfect day.

Let's start with the basics:

- Fisher had no potty training accidents and we only had to use two public/sort of disgusting restrooms

- For the first time since Gracie came home BOTH kids slept from 8 to 6:30 with zero wake up calls.  Amazing.

- We wore shorts (83 degrees)

-  Had a long overdue phone conversation with my college roommate Katherine 

These four basics alone would have made for an above average day around here.  We don't aim super high. 

However today was not an average day.  

After all, it's not every day Fisher invites me to a Mother's Day tea at his preschool to make necklaces, sing songs and use rhythm sticks as swords (unauthorized)

We also traveled south to Holland, MI for Tulip Time Festival, a celebration of the area's strong Dutch heritage.  Note, West Michiganders take their parading seriously.  It was a blast for both kids and mom.

And then to top off the day, we met Sarah and Jameson at the beach for pizza and sunset.  Fisher even went swimming in Lake Michigan!  It was great to be back on the beach again after a six month hibernation.  The photos are cute enough that I decided they needed their own post.

The only thing not perfect?  Nick's away on business in Detroit.  We miss him!

Mommy & Me Selfies

Fisher, age 2.5

Mom, age 31.5

Easter 2014!

Easter greeted us with the first warm weather of Spring.  Perfect for matching brother/sister matching gingham, bunny smocking and Easter Egg hunts.

We spent our third consecutive Easter on Long Lake- dying eggs, looking for eggs and eating eggs with Jann, Horacio, Uncle Jason and Alison. As an added bonus this year we threw in the Indian wedding of Naeha and James!  

Now back to Easter. . .We have so many fun photos from the weekend I decided to make a short flip video.  I can't figure out how to embed the clip so click the below you tube link.  I promise it's not spam.

http://youtu.be/3ABMwqRVUzA

When viewing this video you are thinking- wow what a perfect Easter!  Cute kids!  Look at all that fun!

Let's talk reality.  

Sunday morning there were lots of tears.  Seriously lots.  Before church and during church.  First, getting two kids fed and dressed in matching bunny outfits without spit up on them by 8:30am is hard work.  Particularly if you went to an Indian wedding the night before.  Second, apparently the Bloomfield Hills toddlers can't handle a little West Michigan, country toughness.  Fisher was kicked out of church nursery for "making too many kids cry".  This in turn made me cry.  It's not cute to walk through the halls of church crying on Easter Sunday, even if your kids are in matching outfits.  It's kind of a downer amongst the Hallelujahs.

After church I kind of felt like Fisher in this video, click link to view.

http://youtu.be/dWiNkCaYxls

Next year I'm praying for the same Easter minus the tears.