Grandma Hartings is Here!

Grandma Hartings arrived on Tuesday, and it's been good times ever since! Kaitlyn has not let Grandma out of her sight, keeping her busy at the zoo, the park, and the library...not to mention at home! The fun never ends with fingerpainting, tea parties, puzzles, princesses, and lots and lots of books. It's been such a joy to watch them play!

A Beautiful Moment

Killing Time

Matt just left for Japan, so the girls and I are on our own for a while. I'm coming up with a few ideas of fun things to do in the coming days--Kidspace Museum, the park, the diner--but today we're just kicking back and taking it easy. Here are a few shots from the girls playing together in the crib today (one of Kaitlyn's favorite new activities!)

A Week Late

Last Sunday, all of us headed over to our friend Gretchen's apartment, which has a POOL! Kaitlyn was delighted to spend two hours splashing, kicking, paddling...and throwing my flip-flops in the water. Even Claire got in for a refreshing dip. Photo credits to Gretchen, who really knows how to make a girl feel like a 50s movie star!

It's Hot!

With the temperatures reaching the upper 90s this week, it was time to break out the pool. It may not look big, but it can hold a LOT of water (which slowly leaked all over our porch and necessitated a Cinderella-esque floor scrubbing!) But it was worth it. Other events of the week: Kaitlyn taking swim lessons with Matt, Claire chewing on everyone's wrists like they are tasty ears of corn, and Kaitlyn curling up to snuggle with Claire in the crib. I'm camera-happy as always.

Fun in the Sun

Sun, sand, surf...and storms! We had it all in Siesta Key, FL, where we spent a fabulous week with Grandma and Grandpa, Jo, Kyle, Tom, Adrienne and the extended Hartings family. Kaitlyn loved swimming in the ocean, collecting seashells, chasing seagulls and pelicans, and eating "seashells." Claire, for her part, was just happy to be held all week long! (Except when she was lounging in her new sunshade.) It was sad to have to leave "Grandma and Grandpa's vacation house," but we look forward to more fun times with the family soon. Congratulations to Chris and Jessica, the happy newlyweds!

A Toddler, Three-Month-Old, and Twins

The Rosson twins are here (or rather, we were there!) After a very disappointing Delta flight, we finally rolled into Valdosta, GA, at 11 p.m. The moment we stepped out of our PT Cruiser, we knew we were in for a good time. Claire stopped screaming, Kaitlyn stopped spitting, and we all stopped sweating! Kaitlyn followed Jen around everywhere, acting as a little helper with Jack and Kathryn. And Claire kept the twins' bouncy seats warm and gratefully accepted a fist to chew on from Jack. We can't wait to get the kids together at Christmas!