Santa Photo Fail

Yesterday we took the girls

 to our old favorite,

 Kid City (on Grand Ave. in Chicago) 

to see Santa.

And..yeah. 

They appeared less than thrilled. 

One out of three actually looking at the camera, 

a typical ratio when dealing with kids 

and men with long white beards.

Mila dares to give him a glance.

Apparently her thumbs up was a

sign of approval.

The "can we be done already?" look.

Mila looks petrified to tell 

him what she wants for Christmas,

Willow is all, "Don't say a word, Sis, 

I don't trust this guy!"

The best of the lot.

Merry Christmas, Santa! 

These Two...

Last Friday night we made meatballs

(at Mila's request) 

and Pecorino mashed potatoes. 

We all watched a little 

Strawberry Shortcake on Netflix.

We laughed at the same lines from the

same Shel Silverstein poem we've been reading

Mila before bed for two weeks running

(also at her request). 

We were dead tired by 9pm, 

but we put away

 the brightly colored plastic dishes,

 and marveled at how we got here... 

full-blown, in the thick of it,

Parenthood. 

All I can say is I try to remember
a phrase I've heard from

so many parents:

The days are long,

 but the years are short.

These years ARE pretty awesome,

and so were those mashed potatoes.

Moving On

Our growing family needed more space,

so a few weeks ago,

we said goodbye to the beloved condo 

we bought in 2005.

I thought it would be really hard 

to let go of a place 

where we shared so many memories,

but when the time came, we were just 

super excited for the new place. 

It's a townhouse next to Smith Park,

just 3 blocks from our old home.

Thankfully Grandpa Bill & Grandma Rita

took the girls to Kuipers Family Farm 

for the day so we could 

work without them around. 

The townhouse was pretty move-in ready.

The following 4 pics of the main floor

 are from the listing, 

before we painted and finished many other projects 

that made the place feel more like "us":

These are "after" pictures from the same floor:

We settled in really quickly, 

it already feels like home

and we are so happy to be here. 

I'll share pictures of the other floors

(there are four! Our legs get a work out...)

soon. I hope. 

Go to Goebberts!

Since the pumpkin farms in the area

 can get a little crazy

on the weekends, 

Daddy took a weekday afternoon off

so we could make the most of our time 

at Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm this year.

We went two years ago...

...before we had any idea we'd be back 

with another sweet little girl in tow.

This time Mila was much more

into it than when she was just two.

There is TONS to do at Goebbert's.

Lots of animals and activities,

all in a picturesque setting.

The corn maze continued 

to be a fave for Mila.

Obligatory pose by the pumpkins!

Best pic we could get of this wiggle worm.

Forget about getting one of them together!

The corn box is new 

(or at least it was to us).

It was a HUGE hit.

Not sure how sanitary that thing is...

but it sure kept them entertained.

Mila fed the goats! 

She was too scared to do this before.

It won't be long till Willow dares too.

Maybe next year!

Beach Bums

Last weekend Mila was going 

a little stir crazy...

so we asked her what she'd like to do. 

Her answer--

The beach!

This girl LOVES to be sandy.

She's even been known to make

sand angels.

Willow enjoyed it too. 

There was a nice long sandbar

that stretched the shoreline

at Montrose Beach.

"Bury Me!"

"Don't even try to stop me

 from munching on this sand."

Mila made some buddies. 

I just love how her curls 

make this an action shot.

It may have been the last beach day

 of the summer,

but it sure was a good one. 

Happy Birthday, Willow June!

What a wonderful year 

it has been with our sweet Willie.

She definitely deserved a party!

Since we hadn't been back

to Michigan all summer,

we had the party in Holland 

so family could join in the celebration. 

We made it a music theme 

for our little melomaniac,

and held it at the 

Bay Meadows clubhouse & pool

so the kids could swim. 

We noshed on chicken salad with
 fresh baked rolls,
 crudite, baked brie,
yellow & pink watermelon,

and of course, cookies and cake. 

There were lots of colorful & noisy

little musical instruments 

for the kids to take home

(sorry, parents!),

as well as wooden maracas to decorate. 

We also made 

cherry lemonade for the kiddos,

 and sangria for the adults. 

We partied with cousins, 

good friends, & family from both sides. 

So many people love 

this lucky little lady!

Willow and her Great-Grandmother, Mimi. 

We gave her a "smash cake"

but I think her cousins enjoyed

 it did more than she did!

She did however quite enjoy this 

silly bucket on her head! 

Happy Happy Happy 

birthday, sweet girl!

We love you.