18 months...and growing!

It is hard to believe that Elyse is already a year and a half old. It has been such fun watching her personality emerge more and more the past six months. She is a character and loves to play and be silly. I can only imagine the practical jokes she'll be pulling off in a few more years. She is fiercely independent--even more so than Ava (and that's saying something) though she loves to cuddle even more than the other two ever did. She started walking all the time at about 16 months and is a prolific climber. That said, she has only 3 words (mama, uh-huh, please) and one animal sound (cat). With that limited reperitoire, however, she can communicate most anything that she wants. We celebrated her 1/2 birthday by taking her to the carousel and she LOVED it--just like her big sister but with even more enthusiasm! Oh, if you could hear her squeal with delight at the sight of those horses going round and round! We love you sweet Elyse!

Wings of Wonder

I have heard about this nearby butterfly sanctuary for over a year now, but we had never been. After the trek into the country, I am sort of surprised we actually found it! We went with my friend Tiffany and her two girls, Bella and Holland (both of whom were classmates of Henry and Ava this past year and will be next year too). It was an amazing little place. The sanctuary itself was about 85 degrees which was a lot for this pregnant mama to take for very long (especially since we've rarely been above the low 60's the past few months) but it was worth it. There were about 12 different varieties of butterflies flying all around you, a huge atlas moth (the largest moth in the world) perched on the wall, tiny frogs in crevaces and even a reptile room in the back with snakes, etc. My kids were in heaven--all of them. It was a special day and a fun way to kick off the summer.