Sugar and Spice...

"Sugar and Spice and everything nice...that's what little girls are made of."  We've all heard this timeless quotes/rhyme from a million years ago.   Although I don't buy into the old fashion gender specific roles of "Little girls should play with dolls, love dresses, and cross their legs and sit pretty"....  I must admit that we definitely have our fair share of pink in our household and I'm a sucker for any cute hair bow for my girls!  I do however try to provide some balance of "boy toys" and "girly toys", include black and blue colored outfits in their wardrobe, try to purchase primary colored toys when possible, and try to steer clear of the gender specific cliche's in our daily language.   As the years go by I will make a conscience effort to provide both my girls with all sorts of experiences,  let them decide what they enjoy and most importantly not assume just because they're a girl that they'll be interested in something. 

That said...there's no denying Mallory is already showing signs of liking "girly" things. I was painting my toenails the other day and she was fascinated with what I was doing.  A few minutes later we had a mother/daughter girly moment as I painted her toenails for the first time.  It was a wonderful feeling to see the joy in her face as she admired her little painted toenails but I did have little thoughts running through my head..."Oh no am I innocently perpetuating some sort of beauty image...and am I really doing this for her or me?"  Do I secretly want her to love shopping, makeup, and shoes...just like I do?!"   Yeah, I know she's only two, get a grip right?  I guess if I'm being honest I do want her to like some of those things and I have dreams of us having many more mother/daughter girly moments and I do think as long as I balance those moments with a few trips to Wrigley Field and catching frogs in the pond it'll all be okay!      

So proud of her painted toenails

The most important gift anyone can give a girl is a belief in her own power as an individual, her value without reference to gender, her respect as a person with potential.

-- Emilie Buchwald

Making Applesauce

So many apples...my first attempt at homemade applesauce....

Mommy cut and peeled the apples!

Mallory added the lemons, sugar, and salt!

Smelling the cinnamon!

Admiring the ingredients. 

 The finished product hot off the stove! Yum!!

Apple Picking

Over the weekend we went apple picking at a local "no frills" family operated orchard.  It was the perfect little orchard for a family with little ones and although the day was unusually hot for September we had a great time.  It was Mallory's first time apple picking and she loved it went daddy held her up to pick the apples!  Poor baby Jillian slept the entire time...next year she'll get her turn! Afterwards, instead of sipping hot cider we went to Oberweiss for ice cream due to the hot weather! 

Mallory was able to reach some herself!

Daddy helping Mallory pick an apple!

"No matter what happens, travel gives you a story to tell."

At the end of July we took our first family vacation to New Buffalo, Michigan.  We stayed in a hotel suite on the beach, it was the perfect family get-away with two young kids.  Everything was within walking distance....the beach, restaurants, shops etc..  We spent the first day on the beach and we discovered our little 2 year old, Mallory is NOT a beach girl!  She didn't like the sand and was afraid of the water.  After much encouragement I finally got her to feel the water and put her feet in it!  Jillian, being 4 months old, slept through most of the beach day.  We have higher hopes for sand and water days as they get older.  Another day we took a drive along the scenic Lake Michigan coast and discovered a beach/dunes that was beautiful!  We agreed if we come back we definitely need to make that a day trip!  My favorite night of our little vacation was our last night there.  We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant and sat outside on the patio facing the harbor.  It was a goregous night and we took our time with dinner as we watched the sunset.  After dinner we walked over to the beach, with the sun just having set and the summer breeze it was the perfect night!   It definitely was hard traveling with two young kids in diapers but undoubtedly worth it!  I hope to make our Michigan vacation a yearly occurance and I'm looking forward to the memories we'll continue to make there!

The few moments we got her to play in the sand!

Baby Jillian and Mommy

Quick shot while she finally touched the water!

Local ice cream shop stop

Dinner on the hotel patio...Mallory's expressing her dislike for the camera!  

Jillian and daddy at dinner

Our view from the patio at dinner

Evening walk along the beach

"We don't remember days; we remember moments"

Just a few shots of Mallory taking a bath.  About 90% of the time Daddy gives her a bath and she loves it!!  They have their little routine and little games they play.  Usually I'm in the nearby room putting Jillian down and I love to "over hear" their conversations.  Lately Tony has been telling her to dream at night about puppy dogs, ice cream and rainbows! Sooo sweet....I know she won't remember these moments but I love documenting them to share with her someday!