forty-one

week forty-one of fifty-two

One highlight of the girl's week was also the highlight of mine! 

My dear friend from college had her first baby the day before Ingrid's birthday

and named her Libby (so cute!)

so when Ingrid received a baby doll for her birthday,

she decided to name her Libby as well.

She had to bring her "Baby Libby" to meet "Real Baby Libby":

and Amelia was equally excited about this visit,

because she had the opportunity to hold her first teeny tiny baby

all by herself!

"Real Baby Libby" was a good sport about it and managed to come out unscathed. 

forty

week forty of fifty-two

the rare and elusive family photo:

hayride to pick pumpkins 

at Grandma and Grandpa Olson's pumpkin patch

thirty-nine

week thirty-nine of fifty-two

hard to believe we're almost 40 weeks into the year!

I remember when we were at week 1 and it seems like it wasn't that long ago

....

speaking of things that don't seem like they were that long ago, 

last weekend we attended the wedding of one of my oldest friends

he and his lovely bride threw a fabulous party

(they even had a Kona Icee truck on-site: amazing!!) 

We shared in the company of some great people that I grew up with 

and I am still smiling about it.

I know everyone says they would never go back to high school,

 I can live without ever stressing about an algebra exam,

but those friends and their families were like an extension of my own

so this was kind of like a family wedding

and it was pretty great

to meet (or get to know better) 

the people they have chosen to spend their lives with, 

some of their kids, 

and introduce my own little ones to them!

but that's right.. this project is supposed to be about life through the eyes of the little ones.

this is their contribution (literally)

Ingrid is into self-portraits lately. 

This one is captioned

"I not dirty. I no make a mess with my cupcake." 

thirty-eight

week thirty-eight of fifty-two

Look out, everyone: 

Princesses randomly saunter through our kitchen at all times. 

We are in the midst of a heavy princess phase at the Olson house. 

Thanks, Disney.

thirty-seven

week thirty-seven of fifty-two

Doesn't technology rock!?!

The girls got to meet our dear friend's dear little man

via Google Video Chat

lucky kids these days!! 

Ingrid's comment: "I loooooooooooove baby Mason!"

Amelia's: "I hope he likes the baby toy I picked out for him. 

He looks like he likes dogs. We should be okay." 

thirty-six

week thirty-six of fifty-two

::A CHAIN REACTION STORY::

When our friends came to visit a few weeks ago, 

the boys decided to break out Monopoly

and they were very serious about it.

this led to Issac and I getting hooked on an evening game of Monopoly

I am not very serious about it

In fact, I have favorite properties based on names and colors

and I would rather save my fake money for fake new shoes than buy a hotel on Park Place 

My lack of real-estate saavy frustrates Issac

anyway, our newfound pasttime 

 led to Amelia wanting to be the banker

but since

Counting in fifties and hundreds is a little advanced for her, 

so we dug into the game stash from Grandma Judy

and found Monopoly Junior

and now Amelia is hooked on it as well.

It is nice to have some variety with the board games

we (and anyone else who has visited in the last three months)

has probably played enough "Matches" for a lifetime

thirty-five

week thirty-five of fifty-two

aka: Our bi-annual reunion with those awesome former neighbors (the Wisconsin version):

If you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen this. 

I just had to share again because it makes me laugh. 

Issac's quote was: "Restaurants Fear This."

 I'm not sure if it was true bravery 

or if it was our a yearning for a margarita, 

but we arrived with four toddlers. 

Everyone ate. 

No one cried.  

We tried on sombreros.

Some liked them more than others.  

And then we went home and had a dance party in the driveway

.. because that's what normal people do, right? 

thirty-four

week thirty-four of fifty-two

Just trying to catch up (in order)

this is as much a scrapbook for me

as it is an update for you!

This week brought to you by the letter G

as in "Grandma & Grandpa"

also in "Good," "Glorious," "Glee"

and "Glorious." 

After joining me at the most fantastic

Gardens to Gourmet dinner

My mom & dad hosted the girls for about a week.

I don't have many photos, 

but they are still telling stories!

I think Ingrid's enthusiasm in this one about sums it up:

thirty-three

week thirty-three of fifty-two:

we celebrated so many things this week!
our busiest week yet this summer, by far!

the birthday of our great little friend Will 

 at a park (genius!)

we painted trains (double genius!!)

and even took a ride..

 our seventh wedding anniversary came & went

{no photos. perhaps we will post a photo when we actually get a moment to celebrate!}

we also celebrated the birthday of one of our best buddies, Wren

Delicious (& healthy-ish) Cupcakes!

 "Cheers!" to dessert!

Ingrid takes a swing at Henry the piñata

 All of the tee-ball practice at Grandma & Grandpa's paid off: candy!!

 Love this girl!

and celebrated the first birthday of one of Amelia's favorite teeny babies, Miss Ava! 

teeny tiny baby birthday crown!

and check out this awesome (and delicious) cake!

twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one & thirty-two.

Here we are again.
Summers are busy,
who knew?

week twenty-nine of fifty-two: 

Ingrid got her first (legitimate) haircut

Which was very well-received because it ended with a very large lollipop from Miss Lorraine:

Week thirty of fifty-two:

We got dressed up and went to ladies lunch with Grandma Judy, Great-Grandma Eleanor, 

and some other wonderful family members 

Week thirty-one of fifty-two:

Sisters with Smoothies

Week thirty-two of fifty-two (only 20 weeks left this year?!?!)

Amelia finished her last week of outdoor summer swimming lessons!

She passed! 

But it was cold that day, so Grandma Mary treated her to a hot cocoa! 

twenty-eight

week twenty-eight of fifty-two

Bliss.

Twenty-Seven

week twenty-seven of fifty-two

I know I said yesterday 

that I couldn't pick a favorite photo from the past week

so I just narrowed it down to 31

(which really is saying a lot 

because I do tend to take quite a few photos)

but if I haaaaaad to choose

I think I would pick this one:

because my goodness are we in the middle of a pirate phase.

If I had gold doubloon for every time I heard 

"Peter Pan" 

or 

"Smee" 

or

"Neverland"

or

"Wendy and Michael and John"

or 

"Yo-Ho"

or 

"Binkerbell!" (from Ingrid)

twenty-one through twenty-six

Well, it was inevitable that I would miss a week (or five).
Our heads have been spinning since we returned from vacation in North Carolina in May.
Spinning with good things, but spinning nonetheless: work, yard work, nice weather (finally), kid-stuff,  doctor appointments, more work stuff. All good.

Week Twenty-One

While mom&dad were on vacation, the girls had a fun vacation of their own at Grandma Mary & Grandpa Bill's house. They rolled out the red carpet for our little ladies, introducing new adventures each day: pool, swings, t-ball, visits to the farm and probably many grandparent/grandchild secret sugary treats that we will never know about.

Week Twenty-Two

Our very dear friends came to visit from Illinois, so we needed to take them to Cheesefest because.. well, it's called "Cheesefest." Amelia certainly had no complaints about the carnival rides!

Week Twenty-Three

We are not quite sure when or how it started, but we are in a major dress-up phase at the Olson house. Every day starts with a tutu (at the very least) and most often is also accentuated by a hot pink feather boa and oodles of costume jewelry. 

Week Twenty-Four

This week the girls had to say a very sad farewell to their little neighbor friends Ms. Natalie and Ms. Audrey as they prepare to move to the East Coast. We feel lucky to have the luxuries of technology that will hopefully allow the girls to feel a little bit closer! 

Week Twenty-Five

{Three photos for this week, because I make the rules here.. }

I celebrated by birthday this week. 

Amelia threw me a birthday party in my bedroom with two balloons and a very enthusiastic song!

Ingrid loved that my birthday involved ice cream, sprinkles, and swimsuits.

and 

last but not least:

The girls started their summer dance class this past week. 

Back-to-back lessons!

I snuck Ingrid into the two-year-old class 

they both love to practice their tap-tap-tapping

twenty.

week twenty of fifty-two.

twenty weeks?! already?! 

Gardening with Grandma Mary

Nineteen.

week nineteen of fifty-two.

We went to a Gender Reveal party where our dear friends learned the gender of their baby-to-be in grand fashion in front of their entire family. It was so special to be a part of their big news, and the girls especially appreciated the company of other little friends! Everyone chose a necklace (blue or pink) when they arrived to place their vote. Amelia (aka: mini-Issac) wants everyone to know that she was right. Ingrid wants everyone to know that she loves cake, balloons, and smiling.

p.s. It's a girl!!

Eighteen

week eighteen of fifty-two.

a beautiful, sunny Sunday in Milwaukee's Third Ward.

seventeen.

week seventeen of fifty-two.

growing teeth is exhausting.