September 15th was on a Tuesday this year, so we took the girls out for doughnuts before school drop-off.
I brought mini-cupcakes to school after nap.
We opened a few presents after school. Her two main gifts were her own copy of "Owl Babies" and a little golf set.
We immediately took it out to the front yard for a little practice.
We decided to go to Rincon at the last minute for dinner, and grabbed a couple of cupcakes for dessert on our way there.
birthday girl!!!
Caroline's party was the following Saturday morning - all our little friends from the block came over to play in the back yard. Caroline loves bubbles, so I had a bubble machine, a bubble wrap stomping station, a kiddie pool full of 'bubbles,' and, of course, some bubble-blowing stations. AND - the pièce de résistance, bubbly for the adults --> a mimosa bar!!
Later that day, we did the Official Two-Year-Old Turning Around of the Car Seat - how is this possible?!?!
Oh Caroline - you are our sweetie, our little darling, and we love you so so much!
September 1st, an after-work trip to the pool. Our neighbors Bob and Julie gave Ellie a little wallet with 'pool money' in it for her birthday, so she was excited to purchase Icee Pops for herself AND Caroline and Daddy.
Sept 5th, we stumbled into a special Project Workshop at Home Depot. We were stopping in because we needed light bulbs, but happened upon this great little workshop for kids! HD provided aprons, and all the supplies. There were even snacks. We left with two Football Toss games, and two very happy little girls.
Sept 6th, Jazz on the Lawn at Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate. Another great Sunday evening activity with our neighbors. Picnic blankets, wine, food, you get the idea. Ellie was mooning over Jake.
September 7th, Labor Day. We spent the day at the pool. It was so crazy and full of people that I didn't take a single picture. But there was a Toy Toss in the Whale Pool, and Ellie and Caroline each got a rubber ducky.
September 11th, Christ the King Oktoberfest. No idea why they've moved it so early in the year, but we go for the beer and stay for the bingo. It must be fun if we actually get a sitter.
September 12th - CASA's SuperHero 5K. Ellie was so excited to get to both dress up AND run a race with her Daddy. Her two favorite things rolled into one! All the kid one-mile finishers got a cape and there were tons of activities for the little ones while the 5K continued: petting zoo, face painting, bean bag toss, etc.
Ale8 Man and SuperWoman getting their race numbers.
Face painting while daddy ran his race.
Petting Lil'Sebastian
Ale 8 Man wins!!
Great is the Daddy who gets his arm painted with the WonderWoman symbol per his daughter's request.
September 13 - Is this not what your house is like at nine AM on a Sunday?
Sept 15th - Caroline turns two!! (and likes to help with chores)
September 27th - Annual Pumpkin Patch Party at ViVi's House - hay rides, pumpkin picking, cider - a great start to Fall.
By August, we were really confident in Ellie's swimming abilities.
August 8th was the Midsummer Night's Run. Ellie ran the Fastest Kid in Town portion. We think the sprint is really not her event, she's more of a cross-country girl :-) She runs a distance longer than this to school every morning. Love the look on her face as the crosses the finish line.
August 9th was Pete's thirty-fifth birthday. We went to the pool - shocker, I know. Pete had requested a cheesecake, so I baked a turtle cheesecake on Saturday night. (Probably while they were at the race, I don't remember.)
Birthday-sized burger.
traveling in style
August 17th was Ellie's "official" first day of Pre-K. She is in the Dove room for Morning Enrichment, and, after lunch, the Blue Jay room for Pre-K. As such, she no longer takes an afternoon nap on school days. This has led to some rough evenings at our house. But here she is, pleased as can be to move-on-up at school.
What a difference a year makes. (I call that her Cousin Ben face on the right.)
August 17th was also my birthday. But alas, it was a workday, so no trip to the pool for me. However, I was able to take a long lunch, and Pete took me to get a pedicure. He also got one himself - it was the best gift, so entertaining! When I got home from work, Pete had picked up the girls and made me a flamingo cake that we enjoyed after dinner. It was a nice evening.
School had started, we had family photos on the calendar, so it was time for haircuts. A long overdue trim for Ellie, and Caroline's first-ever cut! We went to our favorite hairdresser - Ms. Stephanie! She's at a new salon now, but thanks to Facebook, I found her in less than thirty minutes.
Showing sister how it's done.
Waiting her turn.
Such a big girl!
All done! Both were perfectly well-behaved.
August 22nd was also the Chevy Chase Street Fair. This is usually a great evening of dancing, eating, and drinking with other families from our neighborhood. This year, however, there was a food festival on the other side of town, and most of the food trucks from years past had gone over there. But we walked around the corner to Athenian Grill and had a nice dinner on their patio. Then we saw our friends the Frederick's while we were getting ice cream. So we chatted with them for a little bit and headed back home. On our way out, the band covered a few Rolling Stones songs, so the girls had a dance break.
Everyone has always said, if you live in Lexington long enough, you will develop allergies. I've lived here thirteen years, and it seems that is the magic number for me. I have lost my voice twice since Memorial Day, and both times seem to be allergy/post-nasal drip related. I had been scheduled to sing an offeratory at church on the 23rd, but was losing my voice the Wednesday before. By Sunday I could barely phonate. So my live-in understudy sang instead! Here's a pic of Pete singing his first-ever non-karaoke solo.
Caroline decided she wanted ALL the children's activity bags.
Monday the 24th I took off work early because.....Cassidy was in town!! She had a session in the afternoon and then met us at the Arboretum at 5:30pm. Ellie was in rare form that evening, but, of course, Cassidy got some (more than 100) amazing shots. I'll share them in a later post.
Even her selfies seem professional.
August 30th was one of my favorite evenings of the summer - Croquet on the Lawn of Ashland. When Ellie was an infant, Pete and I entered the tournament. Since then it has gotten more 'serious,' and we just gather with our friends and neighbors, with coolers and baskets full of food to share, and watch the game while our children run all around the grounds.
By the end of the evening, Caroline was an old pro at sipping mimosas and eating bread in her croquet whites.
