The Howe family has been packing in the activities recently. We have had Amelia and Joss over for dinner (yay!), partied at the Kelly house to celebrate Randy's engagement, I've worked at an all day conference leaving Matt with the girls for a whole rainy Saturday, we had Grandpa Dave and Aunt Jes over for dinner, brunch with the Grandma Sue and Gramps for Sue's Birthday, and even dinner with Grandma T when she had a layover in San Diego! In between this, Matt and I have both been working a ton and trying to see our friends occasionally (wine visits for me and concerts for Matt).
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| New butcher block in the kitchen! I want to repaint all the kitchen cabinets now. |
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| Jumping at the Kelly house |
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| How the kids celebrated Randy's engagement |
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| Ella loves quinoa |
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| And ice cream |
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| Madi loves ice cream too (mostly she loves the sprinkles though) |
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| Gorgeous view from my wine time with the girls |
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| San Diego sky post rain |
The girls are in such a state of growing up! Madeline is in the midst of a frustrating growth spurt. She is always a little cranky and a little tired and a little hungry. Madi has been throwing tantrums over everything and whining constantly. Matt and I both want to lock her in her room until she turns 5, but that is totally not allowed, so we do a ton of distracting, empathizing, and time outs (and when it gets really bad we strap her down in her car seat and go for a drive). With her bad, Madi has also started doing some very entertaining things. She sings Let It Go with actual words, asks me to teach her the words to songs, and loves to dance in the living room and in the car. Madi loves to hold Eleanor's hand and walk places. She is getting amazingly good at sneaking into our bed in the middle of the night and snuggling up. I love hearing Madeline's stories about school when she gets home and she is always proud of the things she is learning. She is so creative, asking to build forts in the living room, telling us very elaborate stories about her dolls and even getting Eleanor to play pretend with her. I was so proud of Madeline yesterday when she sat by herself in the dentist chair and had her first teeth cleaning (of course this only happened because Ella was getting a goodie bag from the dentist for doing her check up and Madi wasn't going to get one since she didn't want to sit alone in the chair).
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| Enjoying Madi-Mama zoo day |
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| Selfie time |
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| Madi reading a bedtime story to Eleanor |
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| Playing elevator and store with the chairs |
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| Ella getting ready to feed her baby |
Eleanor is getting more molars. Her top ones are mostly through and her bottom gums are extremely swollen. She was not happy visiting the dentist yesterday for the first time . . . and mommy was not happy to hear that in all likelihood Ella will need braces when she is big. Matt and I cannot get over how well Ella plays pretend already. She carries her doll around, lays her down and covers her with a blankie, singing "night night baby" (a la Madi). Ella even puts the baby in the highchair and feeds her with a spoon. It is so fun to watch. She has no fear, always standing up on chairs, chasing Madeline, climbing the stairs in the back, trying to ride Madi's bike, sticking her hands in Jameson's mouth . . .agh! Eleanor still loves to eat. She will eat anything I put in front of her unless it involves a tortilla or a tomato flavor (I'm not sure where I went wrong with that). With Eleanor's eating habits, Madi has begun venturing out of the white food phase and we are starting to have all family meals which is awesome. Ella wants to be involved in every activity now, so she helps put napkins in the trash, brings toys into the playroom, and puts clothes in the washer.
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| Ella already likes artichokes |
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| Eating like a big girl with Madeline |
The whole Howe family is working on our patience. If the tiffs Madi and I get into now are any indication of the teenage years, Matt is going to be doing a lot of mediating during that time! The time change has been wonderful for us, allowing time for walks after dinner (kids and dogs), sitting in the backyard, and outside play with the neighbors. I feel like this summer is really going to help us feel connected to our neighborhood and I am so looking forward to having more time with nice weather to spend with the girls!
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| Wren and Ella |
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| Wren, Juniper, Madi, Ella, Griffin |
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| Playing at the Johnson house (Ella, Madi, Julia) |
