"Turn Around Beach"

I hear this almost every time we are in the car now. "Turn around beach!" It has become one of Lorelei's favorite sayings. It started after the beach playgroup. The next day we were running errands and she let me know she would much rather head back to the beach. Most of the time I have to explain that we can't go today because...But this time, we went. :)

After celebrating my birthday with pancakes (Brad only had patience for ONE Micky Mouse, but at least Lorelei got chocolate chip...) including blowing out candles on our pancakes, we were taking a quick trip to Starbucks a few hours before taking Heather to the airport. As we were headed back and just planned to take a little walk around the apt complex to get the kids outside, Lorelei made her request and we looked at each other and said..."okay!" :) So away we went. It was quick trip but fun nonetheless. Plus how many more times will I get to go to the beach on my birthday!? :) Thanks for the idea Lorelei! :)



We came home for a quick lunch and had time for a few more fish faces before taking Heather to the airport. Lorelei cried as we were leaving the airport and then asked for her when she woke up from nap. We miss you Aunt Heather! Thanks so much for coming to visit!

Christmas Card Picture Attempt #3: Hmmm We'll Make It Work

But you don't get to see it... ;)


Yes, I am the mom my children will dread this time of year who will make us take THAT many pictures until we get it right. (So I guess they better smile right the first time eh!?) We went out YET AGAIN for another attempt at Christmas card pictures. The people at the gardens surely think we only own one set of clothing. Lorelei cooperated well overall, apparently Aunt Heather could snap her out of her picture funk. Other than wanting to put the leaves into the water, she cooperated. This time we have some very good potential but Brad will have to do a little bit of Photoshop tweeking...still waiting to check that one off the list. Guess you will have to wait and see the final choice when you get your cards! :) Got a few fun shots in the gardens with Heather. We had fun (and amazingly enough yet another BEAUTIFUL day) and after getting a few pics and having a little fun climbing a magnolia, we caught the 1 o clock tram so she could get a quick glance at everything. Thanks for taking some more pics Heather!

Washington D.C.

Since Heather had never been to DC we decided it would be good to make a quick trip while she was here. We were able to be gone just two days, as there were only about four things Heather really wanted to see. We left early Saturday morning and made it in threeish hours. At that point we were saying "boy we could do this way more often if we wanted to"...but on the way home it took over 5 hours because of traffic, so I think it may be our last trip there for now. I did want to make sure to get pictures of our family there, so we can tell the kids "look how little you were the last time you went to DC" just in case they make trips as teens and beyond. :) And here we go...

After arriving Saturday around 11 we headed right to a parking spot close to The National Archives where we could see the Declaration of Independence. We had a few lines to deal with, but eventually all of us got to see it at one point or another. :) Then after both kids took a snooze while we attempted to find parking near the Lincoln Memorial, we headed there to see the "big statue". Lorelei is very into statues lately. Not really sure what started that, but it was a good time to be into statues! :) We had planned to try the White House this day also, but by that time it was almost dark and we were ready to call it a day.

Around The National Archives. We could not take pics inside. :( We did get some pics from the street with the Capitol Building in the background. Lorelei hugging a statue her size. She said "ice cream!" :)



The Lincoln Memorial Visit

We opted to just chill out and eat in the hotel for the night. Lorelei was thrilled to be at a hotel and as always, the phone was a huge hit. It was great having Heather to help keep her entertained. Makin was very content to spread out and watch some football. :) Around bedtime I was giving Brad a look like "what on earth were we thinking?!" as I realized we had not gone to a hotel with such a young baby, let along with a 2 year old as well...as Makin was crying and Lorelei could not fall asleep as a result, I was shaking my head thinking NEVER AGAIN but it all got worked out and they actually let us sleep-in the next morning. :)

Fun with Aunt Heather



THE NEXT DAY...

We headed to walk from our hotel to the White House. The perk of our hotel was that it was close to a lot of things. We found the back first and took a few pics, then when we went around to the front some guy hit his head on a pole and needed an ambulance, so they closed off the area in front. Sooo all we have are "back of the White House" pics. :) The national tree was not decorated yet, but I guess I'm glad since we could not have seen them anyway! :)


Then we trekked over to the Museum of Natural History. Its great that there are so many free things to do in this city! I wasn't huge on the animals, but enjoyed the dino exhibit. As we walked under the huge tyrannosaurus Lorelei said "T REX!" :) Uncle A.J. will be so proud. Hope you enjoy the pics of me posing as asked while Lorelei smiles and does not roar or make big jaws... :) The choral reef was was crochet coral reef made of various materials, some of which would normally be sent to the trash, as the lady showed us a piece she made from a cassette tape.



Brad made his way over to the hotel while we finished at the museum and then made a quick drive by to pick us up and head on our 5+ hour journey home. Thankfully we had the DVD player and Makin slept. It could have been way worse.

Teaching Lorelei to backseat drive on the way home. Sorry for how unenthusiastic and tired I look. :) She is already a backseat driver most of the time and tells me to "go, drive fast"...you name it. :)

Black Friday

Well, it is NOT a tradition at my house to do Black Friday shopping...but I'm contemplating making it one of ours. I am still undecided as to whether it is just crazy or totally worth it...much to Heather's dismay I wanted to give it a shot this year (last year I only hit up Kohls at I think 3 or 4 AM), and being the good sister she is, she went with me to stand in many, many long lines. We actually started our shopping on Thursday night, amazed to see that Toys R Us was going to open at 10 PM and then planned to hit up Old Navy at midnight...and then head home for a nap before hitting up some more stores around 6...we quickly had a change of plans upon driving up to Toys R Us. :) The line wrapped around the entire strip mall and back behind it. It was unbelievable and if we had our camera, would have video taped it...needless to say we decided against going there and headed to the mall early to see what the line for Old Navy looked like around 11 pm. Thankfully, it was not too bad so we stood outside there for about 45 minutes, then got into the mall to wait another 30 or so, only to shop quickly and stand in line to check out at least another hour to hour and a half...we were not the only nutsos that is for sure! By the time we got home we were exhausted and gave up on hitting up the other stores...but then once rejuvenated by sleep we decided to head out for more bargains. So thankful to have company in line! Brad was such a good sport and kept the kiddos for us. We'll see what next Black Friday brings. :)

Happy Thanksgiving! (The Extended Version)

Lorelei loved the parade! Watching the parade Thanksgiving morning has been a tradition from both our families and continues with us. Lorelei knew many more of the balloon characters this year and is also into marching bands (and so much quieter on t.v. than in person), so it was a big hit. She kept saying "Snoopy! Snoopy!" and also loved Mickey Mouse and of course the Sesame Street gang. She spent some time in her sandbox that morning as well. Can't go a day without it! :)





And I succeeded in another year of avoiding cooking my own poultry! My grand plan of inviting people for Thanksgiving and then coercing them into cooking the turkey for us is working wonderfully! Who wants to do it next year? :) Heather made her first solo turkey (she made one a couple years back with a friend) and it turned out wonderfully. We ended up eating a late lunch after nap, in hopes that everyone would enjoy it that much more. We had plenty of crackers and cheese and shrimp to munch on all morning so had no problem waiting.




Makin enjoyed his first Thanksgiving by eating...formula...yum yum! We assured him next year it would be much more exciting. :)

And the day was filled with much picture taking (when you have two picture taking junkies like Heather and myself, it is inevitable) so we got some wonderful shots. We also made an attempt to get Lorelei into the pushing-the-button-on-the-self-timer-and-running-into-the-pictures thing in hopes of some good family shots in the future. She had fun, but will need to work on her button-pushing skills. :)



And it wasn't complete with out pumpkin pie! Had to do our little rhyme. :)




We missed all of the rest of our wonderful families! We are so thankful to be blessed with such wonderful family and friends and two beautiful children. :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Prep

With a 2 year old and 2 month old, my Thanksgiving prep would have had to wait until Wednesday night, but boy was I extra thankful for the extra help this year! We tried to fit in pie baking during nap, but as usual that did not go as planned, so Heather ended up doing most of the baking all day Wednesday. Lorelei chimed in with her usual "me too!" and helped roll out her own little piece of pie dough. Thanks for the yummy pies girls!




Brad fixing the oven handle that decided to fall off! We were very hesitant to let him try this on such an important day and wanted to just live without it (thinking he would break it more!) but he proved us wrong and got it fixed perfectly. :) What a good hubby!








Sporting her apron to look like Aunt Heather while "helping" her in the kitchen. One of the chores she helped with was putting the potatoes in the pot to cook. :)

Trip To Williamsburg and The Virginia Living Museum

Tuesday we took a trip to Williamsburg. We headed to the little shopping area right outside of Colonial Williamsburg and while Heather did a little shopping, Lorelei and I stayed outside enjoying the gorgeous day, playing with leaves everywhere we stopped. Makin was there too, but stayed snug in his car seat sleeping happily. :) Then we headed down the street to check out the fresh Christmas decorations they were putting up and took a chance to get some pictures as well.


Lorelei found a colonial dog...and live horse she enjoyed getting to pet.

Enjoying some fun with Heather's sunglasses while Makin was eating. She LOVED them and continued to say "too bright" the rest of Heather's visit, hoping to get to wear them again. :) Guess we'll have to ask Santa for some sunglasses!

The Virginia Living Museum was on the way home, so we decided to stop. I have been wanting to go for a few years and Heather was hoping to get to see a sea turtle...of course after we got there they told us the sea turtle they had got moved because he was too big, and the baby they have now was too small so he was not out yet...Bohlmann luck! (This is the fish tank where the turtle is SUPPOSED to be) Since we were already there and had gone in slow traffic to make it there, I figured Lorelei would enjoy the rest of the animals so we may as well stay. Her favorites were probably the sea otters (very lively) and the big plastic log she got to play inside of...:) At least we can say we have been there.

Sweet Little Baby Feet

And one of the many things I love about my sister...her photography skills. :)

Aunt Heather Is Here!

And Lorelei is super excited. She gave her a hug right away and was dragging her around the airport in no time. We ate some "lupper" at the airport to keep Brad company before he flew out to Dallas. We are so excited to have Heather here for a week and a half! Let the fun begin!

Third Year For The Grand Illumination Parade

Well, we packed up many layers to head out to the Grand Illumination Parade one more time! We had even more beautiful weather than last year, so were actually quite comfortable in just our sweaters. Since it was so nice, it seemed as though all of Hampton Roads came to see it and were packed on the streets at 5 pm. We got front spots as long as we walked down far enough, and staked our claim...not without a few difficulties from certain people who think they can sit in front of us without showing up so early...but we'll leave it at that. :)



I was sooo excited to see Lorelei's reaction this year. She got a glimpse of one balloon on a commercial from last years parade and went CRAZY so I thought she would just flip out in person. She was having one of those afternoons where she started crying as soon as she woke up from her nap and only gave us a few short breaks in between tears, but as soon as the parade started she really enjoyed it. She would "ooo" and point at things going by and point out the bands to Brian and exclaim her excitement to Mike (as if they couldn't already see them themselves) to make sure they were catching it all. She did holler at me a few times too. ;) Makin actually stayed awake a large majority of the parade and then was totally out other than waking up to some loud crashes from the bands going by.

The dads covering their girl's ears as the police go by with their sirens...this was a reoccurring sight as the kids seemed to think much of the parade was way too loud!










Brad and Lorelei both entranced by the huge inflatable dog going past. :)













On the way home there were many more tears and major melt downs and although she did fall asleep in the car, as soon as we woke her up to get out she started crying again, not forgetting what she was upset about right before falling asleep. :) Sooo we had to get a positive reaction the next morning. :) We'll see how the Santa visit goes this year... :)

Christmas Card Picture Attempt #2: Photoshop Potential???

Had to include this one to show what our pictures mostly look like. :)
Well, it went a little better this time, but still not a winner in my book. This time I'll blame it on Brad AND Lorelei...there were a few ones where Lorelei would cooperate, but Brad has a less than pleased expression or squinty eyes, so we may try and work some magic with Photoshop. I mean, doesn't he know he has to smile consistently even with a screaming two year old on his lap!? :) We'll see. Here are a couple of good ones.





Close but not as good as I would like. I think we'll see if we have a chance to try one more time, and if not we'll see what we can do.

Got a good one of our favorite guys.













Lorelei being a "statue".













And here is why Lorelei is so in love with Mike...:)

I Love...

being able to have playgroup at the beach! I mean, what can get better than that? One of the moms is renting a little place at the beach for the winter, so we got to park at her house, play a bit and then head out to the sand. Lorelei LOVED it and Makin cooperated pretty well in the carrier and eventually fell asleep. The next day when we had to run errands I told her we were going to the store and she said "No, turn around BEACH!" :)

Breaking Out The Fun Stuff

Well, we have reached the point where we have to break out the baby toys! Makin is now staying up for 2 hour stretches, especially in the morning (many times the rest of the day its only an hour or a bit more than that before he needs a nap, and he continues to change it up just when I think I have him figured out) so we are breaking out the fun stuff! It is fun for Lorelei too. So far we mostly stick to this play mat and our new bouncy seat (we needed two since he sleeps in one, so we are going to rotate out to keep them more entertaining) but its nice to have something to keep him happy when I need to get breakfast, coffee...whatever!

Aaa Paa... ipad...backpack...whatever!

Wanting to be like Daddy!




And then she continued to walk until that 15 mile per hr sign...good thing we have slow traffic that time of day. :)

Loving Trees In The Fall

We have had the absolutely most GORGEOUS fall weather anyone can imagine this week, with temps in the mid sixties. We have been able to get out and enjoy it each day, which included a trip to the park on Monday morning. We headed out to one of our favorite parks and I almost left the camera at home...good thing I didn't or I would have been kicking myself our entire morning. I had forgotten what a great chance we would get for Lorelei to do her favorite activity as of late: playing in the leaves! She had an awesome time and spent more time there than on the playground. I am very happy to have gotten so many great pictures as I was mostly taking them one handed while trying to keep Makin happy in the carrier. :)



These are my favorite mornings where I can't imagine having a better job than getting outside with two (mostly) happy children. I can't imagine missing these wonderful moments, or more importantly not letting Lorelei have these moments. Just reminding me again how blessed we are to have days together like this.

All Spiffed Up

Getting to church lately has seemed like an impossible task. Trying it with both kids is scary enough, but trying it with both kids while feeding Makin with a syringe just seemed a little much. But now that we are back to normal, we decided it was time to get back there on Sunday. Lorelei had a very meltdowny morning so we were thinking "oh this is gonna be a doosy" but she surprised us by being very well behaved through the part of church we stayed in, but then Makin got tired I had to leave to rock him to sleep. Then Lorelei played in the nursary so that at least one parent could actually stay through the service. We'll have to work on getting her to stay in when I need to leave...but it wasn't a total disaster. At least we got to get them dressed up for the occasion. :)

Christmas Card Picture Attempt #1: Failure To Complete Mission

Well, we anticipated it might be a bit of a challenge to get a family picture for the Christmas card this year...and we were more than correct on this assumption. Not only did Lorelei not want to look at the camera, she didn't even want to sit still for the picture and threw a fit much of the time we were trying. Makin was overall well behaved, but we may have to have our next photographer climb up a tree since he just wanted to look up at them. :)

Here are the only two that turned out somewhat respectable...but definitely not good enough for me!



And a few other random pics that turned out cute. Sorry Brad, maybe more of you next time! :)



And then Miss Cranky Pants fell asleep in the car on the way home...naturally. :)

Next picture mission is planned for this coming Saturday morning with the Check family (these were with the Bonfiglios...we have to stagger with such hectic schedules) so lets hope we can get a good one. If not we'll give it one last try with Aunt Heather. OR Perhaps it will just be a picture with a screaming toddler this year instead of a smiling one. :)

Bike!

A week or two ago Brad and I were amazed to see Lorelei riding her bike like a pro! We have not gotten to take her much, but she did go with Grandma and Nana...apparently you ladies did your job! Unfortunately we also had the handle bars locked so now she has no clue how to steer...still some work to do. :)

Compare...

Well Brad and I were both curious of how similar the kids looked so decided to compare at the same age...well we were shocked to see they look nothing alike!...yet everyone tells us they both look just like Daddy?! :) Just wanted to share our findings. If you parents know who looks like who, let us know. ;)

Lorelei's 2 Month pics


Makin 2 Months




Lorelei again...tried to find some where they looked KINDA alike. :) Didn't really find any of Makin that look like this but I see a few similarities with these.