Father's Day 2014

We spent Father's Day this year down in Maryland with the Sharps. It was a beautiful weekend, just perfect weather, and we got to spend some good time at the beach.

 The girls enjoyed time on the swing set... here they are with popsicles. What more could you want?

Pop Pop and Lauren

 

Lauren's gift to Dave (with assistance from Michelle)

And another highlight of the weekend, for Dave especially, was getting his summer car back from the dealership, complete with a beautiful new paint job. The girls also enjoyed it. 

Annual Bike Race BBQ

The first weekend in June is always the Philly Pro Cycling Tour, a professional bike race that comes right through out neighborhood. We've had an annual BBQ for the last few years - maybe 7 at this point - and it's always a good time. A lot more family-oriented now that everyone has kids. 

 Benson, still hanging in there, but looking older these days. Sophie made him a flower necklace to wear for the occasion.

 Sophie with her friends Claire, Rachel and Leah

Memorial Day Weekend

Last weekend for Memorial Day we went down to Rock Hall, MD for a few day (thanks Mom Mom and Pop Pop Sharp for letting us use your house!). The Devine's joined us for the whole weekend and the Townsend's joined us for the last day. 4 kids total and everyone had a great time.

Ava and Sophie loved the horse swing and kept chanting "higher, higher!" No one fell off so it was a success... 

 All three girls put the new sandbox to good use

 We set up the blow-up pool in the backyard. The girls had a blast (and as you see in this pic Ava was very into the hose)

 What's amazing about this pic is that it's Benson, out in the water. This is not a dog who likes to swim at all, but after a stick throws he got very into it. Just too tempting I guess.

 We all went for a sail on Sunday. Ava and Sophie spent most of the time at the bow. They were loving it.

Sophie's First Professional Haircut!

Up until this point I've been cutting Sophie's hair myself. We finally got the point where she needed a more professional touch. So last week I took her to the kids salon at Nest and she got a proper haircut. She also decided that she wanted to cut it short - to her shoulders. The hairdresser and I both asked her several times to make sure she was serious, and she said she was. So here's the new do! It's amazing how much older she looks.

The "Before" shot

 The CUT

 And even a fancy blowout

 The new do! We celebrated with ice cream afterward. She was a happy girl :) 

Happy Easter!

We spent Easter down in Virginia again this year. On Saturday we had a BBQ with a bunch of Becky and my friends and their kids. It was madness, but a lot of fun, including a piñata that Becky and Jack made.

Sophie and Lexi

On Saturday night Ariana was baptized at an Easter service. It was a really pretty service, with the whole congregation holding candles during the beginning part of the service. Doug and Vicki are the god parents and presented Ariana at the front of the church. 

And Sunday morning there was of course an egg hunt! Here are Quinn, Carley and Sophie with their winnings... 

The three cousins! 

Lauren's First Flight

Last month Lauren and I went down to Virginia for a short weekend visit. We flew in a little puddle jumper and it was her first flight. I am happy to report that she was great! Luckily it was also only a 50 minute flight, which helped a lot. On the way back from Virginia we were delayed for 5 hours in the airport because of weather. Luckily the Charlottesville airport is small and not crowded, so she could just wander around (and tire herself out). By the time we were ready to take off, she feel fast asleep on my lap and slept the entire flight. It was perfect. Here's to hoping future flights are so smooth! 

Here she is in a kid-sized rocking chair watching the planes arrive (unfortunately none were ours..)

Check-ups

Last month I had the pleasure of taking both girls to the doctor for regular visits and shots. It was not the most fun I've ever had. But, both are doing great!

For her 4-year visit, Sophie is 40 inches tall (which puts her in the 70th percentile) and weighs 42 lbs (which puts her in the 89th percentile). She also had a hearing test and the doctor said she's never had a 4-year-old hear all of the sounds before. That means there's no excuse when she says she didn't hear me...

Here's the crazy girl after a bath

Lauren had her 15 month visit. She is 31 inches tall (putting her in the 73rd percentile) and 22 lbs (which puts her also in the 73rd percentile). Neither kid was happy about the shots, but we got through it.

She's really a little toddler on the go now. She's a total monkey, climbing all over the place, and trying to do everything Sophie is doing. She likes to sit and eat at a little table, and has been getting good with the fork. 

Here's one of her first pieces of art. Brilliant!