Happy Memorial Day

Here in Va Beach, Memorial Day is very special. There are so many military in this area that it's hard to forget, especially with fighter jets flying over your house daily, that we are at war. We want our girls to know this day to be grateful and to count their blessings that we live in a wonderful country and that people give up their lives for it.

But there is also another important meaning of this day in Va Beach...

The Beginning of Summer

This morning we were invited over to the Stahls for lunch and play date to help celebrate the day

And, this is the first time for Emma and Leah to meet! First friends!

Leah joined the Bonfiglio family on Mother's Day (what a wonderful present) and we are so excited to have her here and finally have pictures!

Emma and Leah are joined by their big sisters Lily and Kira. They each took turns giving the girls very gentle kisses once they began getting fussy. Melissa and I are very fortunate to have such good big helpers!

Once we got home, we decided to take some family pictures.

And to complete our day, Mike and I decided to do dinner and walk down at the oceanfront. This will be the first of many Memorial Days for our family and I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful beginning.

Had to capture Lily being camera shy after dinner and Mike and Lily on the playground down at the inlet. We had so much fun and definitely ran into better, warmer weather than last week.

Here's to a Wonderful Summer!

First Day at Church

This morning was our first time at church as a family of four.

It went well.

Lily did great, she sat with us for the entire service. Not completely quiet but not at all too loud. She pretended to sing by holding up a prayer book and held the bulletin as if she were reading along with the scriptures.

(Had to include the first pic, just LOVE her hair!)

I really wanted to get pictures of the girls together since it was their first outing in coordinating outfits.

But, Emma had different plans for us.

She not only stayed asleep in the car seat the ENTIRE time to and during church, but afterwards as well.

At least I got pictures of her first dress debut :)

Strawberry Festival

We arrived at the Strawberry Festival this morning and I went to grab the camera and couldn't find it. I charged the battery this morning and just knew I put it in the diaper bag. NOPE sure didn't! But since that was the only thing we forgot, it was a successful trip!

We used our camera phones to capture some moments of our day.

We went to look at the animals. The first time Lily was not afraid of cows! Her favorite were the horses and was very sure that she wanted to ride one. So in the line we went. On the table they had pictures of all of their horses and their names and to our surprise there was one that was named Ariel! As soon as I told Lily that, she was determined to ride Ariel. And Ariel she rode! At first she closed her eyes but then on the second trip around seemed to really enjoy herself, she didn't want to leave!

The weather was overcast with moments of hot sunshine. We were caught in one downpour in which I ran in under a tent with Emma while Mike and Lily fought it out under the umbrella. The second rain came while Lily was eating her treat, chocolate ice cream with sprinkles. The girls were completely covered and stayed relatively dry. Even with the rain we enjoyed lunch, shows, lots of people watching and of course, great afternoon naps!

Absolutely IN LOVE...

...with being a mom to little girls!

Tonight we painted our toenails!

I'm not a big fan of the color but it was the only one I had that was quick drying...as in 60 sec. The only polish I would use since I know Lily would put her fingers directly in it as soon as I put it on. All evening Mike and I would catch her just staring at her toes, smiling and saying Mommy. And, during bath time Mike said that she strained to try to keep her feet out of the water to keep her pedicure in tact!

I'm thinking being a Mommy to TWO fabulous little girls is going to bring me a lot more of these nights and a lot more precious moments that I'll never want to forget.

Walk

Since our walk didn't work out last night like we wanted it to, us girls decided to take on the neighborhood. We walked for about 35 minutes and didn't want to push myself too much the first time out so we came home. And, yes our stray cat was there when we arrived home too.

Later in the day I was changing the sheet in the pack and play, turned around and Lily obviously wanted to play with Emma. She wanted to show her every single baby toy we have...all at once! As you can see, Lily was very proud of her big sister accomplishment :)

Beach Walk

This evening we decided to go to the oceanfront after dinner to take a walk. During the warm weather months we absolutely love to take advantage of being so close to the beach and take walks whenever we can. Today it was extremely warm, in the 90s, so it would be perfect to begin our walks. But, of course a cold front came through and we weren't aware of it. So by the time we got to the oceanfront it had dipped into the mid 60s. Emma and I went directly back to the car while Lily and Daddy played on the new playground instead of taking a walk.

We can't wait to go back when it's warmer so we can stay longer take a walk and then play on the playground.

Playing in the Sink

This morning we ventured out to the store and Lily didn't want to come home but to another store. I on the other hand, was tired. We were going home. So, as any tired mom would do I promised her that we would do something fun...more specifically go outside to play. When we got home and unloaded everyone, everything, washed hands and changed clothes I was even more tired and after looking at the temp of 90 degrees I had to change plans of going outside. Lily would not be happy. So, the only thing I could think of was to play in the sink. Thank goodness it did the trick! Gave her some spoons, colanders, measuring cups and the little sponge grow capsules and it took up about an hour of our afternoon! Absolutely FABULOUS! A happy little girl and a very happy mama. I even got to make lunch while she was playing and Emma stayed asleep in the car seat!

Emma in Bed

So tiny still.

Trying to get Miss Emma used to her new bed before the weekend.

Running and Kicking

Mike and I aren't sure when or how Lily got like this.

We just looked at each other and asked,

"Where did she come from?"

Funny how you blink your eyes and all of a sudden you have a little girl instead of a toddler or a baby...sigh...

Yo, Yo, Yo...

Nothing like a regular Saturday morning..

Princess nightgown,

Animal print fleece pants,

Clt Bobcat headband,

Posing with a head tilt,

Using the floor lamp as a prop,

and

wanting to hold your baby sister.

Fun Times!

Timeshare Timeline

Lovely Memories

2008, 2009, and 2010

Beach, Date and Sisters

Today was Nana and Pa's last day at their timeshare which also means Nana's last day here in Virginia. Nana was able to stay with us for almost 7 weeks and the time flew!

So, on their last day we spent it at the beach hanging out.

The girls loved lounging and being able to sit out and look at the beach.

And if Nana and Pa didn't do enough for us they watched Lily and Emma for us this evening so that we could have a date night. We went out for dinner and what did we talk about...the girls what else?!?

When we got home, said a tearful goodbye, gave Lily a bath and this is what happened next. Lily and Emma love being together. And, Lily is more than willing to share her bed with Sissy.

Mall Trip

A quick trip to the mall...

Included lots of walking, shopping, lunch, first try at the double stroller and...

Nana and Lily rode the merry-go-round. Lily covered her eyes while on the horse but seemed more excited to ride in the "Princess Carriage" until they started moving.

Finally captured how strong Miss Emma really is at 5 1/2 weeks she can hold up her head!

Please excuse the look on my face..ick...thanks Dad for capturing that one!

No Words Needed

Just Pure Sweetness!

Emma's Crib

Emma now has a crib!

We will be transitioning her into her new room next weekend.

Next step, decorating...

...to be continued...