I tried to get Lily to say some of her words for me on video. I wasn’t too successful other than getting her to say “bee” and “baby” but she did unexpectedly demonstrate her hilarious growl that she usually does when she sees a dog or hears one bark. At the beginning of the video, she made funny motor noises with her rolling caterpillar toy. You can tell that she attends daycare with young boys that like to play with trucks! The poor girl was covered in mosquito bites from our vacation and had a high fever so it’s amazing that she was in such a good mood.
Lily's favorite new dance move is spinning.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Lily: 1 Year and 18 Weeks / Higgins Lake Vacation (6/27/10 – 7/4/10)
WARNING: huge post. Hey, just be happy that I narrowed it down from 300 pictures to a respectable 130!
This was the week of our annual Higgins Lake vacation. My parents have rented the Davison American Legion cabin almost every year since before I was born. I’ve grown up going there and have so many wonderful memories of the cabin. Paul and I started renting the cabin together with my parents every year since 2002. I don’t think that Rachel can remember a summer without going to Higgins Lake so we were very glad that she could join us. We were also very excited to take Lily there for her second summer as we knew that she would have a lot of fun. She loves water, sand, and her family.
Our rental started at noon on Sunday so the goal was to have the truck packed and leave by 9am. Unfortunately, it was the first time packing our new truck and space was limited due to the fact that it doesn’t have a topper yet so getting everything to fit was quite tricky. We bought a hitch hauler earlier in the week to help carry everything but Paul discovered that the pin was the wrong size so he had to make a trip to the hardware store for a new one. We finally hit the road at 12:30pm (three and a half hours behind our goal) only to have to turn right around less than a mile from our house because Paul realized that he forgot to pack the boat motor. At least we hadn’t gotten far! We were disappointed to be leaving so late but the worst part was that I had put off Lily’s morning nap hoping that she would sleep on the road. She kept getting crankier and crankier but Paul kept reassuring me that we would be leaving in just a few more minutes. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore so I put her down at noon (she usually goes down at 9:30am). She woke up when I moved her from the crib to the truck when we were finally ready to go and didn’t fall back to sleep until 45 minutes into the trip. Paul was exhausted from arranging and rearranging everything in the bed of the truck for hours on end so he and Lily snoozed while I drove. Rachel was too excited to sleep. We had tons of rain on the drive up and many times I could barely see where I was going. I was worried that our totes wouldn’t hold up against the deluge and that all of our stuff would be soaked or ruined but everything did just fine. We got to the cabin around 4pm and unloaded the truck once the rain stopped. Most of the rest of my day was spent unpacking. Meanwhile, Rachel settled right into the loft while Paul took Lily to the beach. Lily loved exploring everything and especially liked dipping her feet in the tub that we have on the deck for people to clean their feet in before going into the cabin. After unpacking, I went outside to play with Lily and she completely surprised me by sitting right down in the foot bath, clothing and all! I stripped her down and let her play in the tub as it was clean and she was having a ton of fun:
Her diaper soon became quite bloated and heavy. It was so bad that she could barely even stand up:
Silly girl splashing in the foot bath:
Come join me, mommy:
The foot bath was full of cold water which Lily didn't seem to mind but I didn't want her to get chilled. Plus her diaper was falling off so I changed her into a swim diaper and had Paul inflate her baby pool. My mom filled it with nice warm water and Lily settled right in:
We kept tossing a whiffle ball in with Lily. She would giggle as it splashed down in the water then she would throw it back to us. This went on for a long time:
Giggly girl:
I don’t know what this face was all about but it was hilarious and she kept making it:
More fun with the ball:
Hamming it up:
Then she insisted that Paul join her in the pool:
Walking with daddy on the dock:
My parents’ best friends, Linda and Joe, and their daughter, Jenny, and her family stayed at the North Higgins Lake State Park right down the street on Sunday and Monday nights as they were visiting with friends who own a cabin right across the street from our rental. We had a nice visit with them in the evening. Lily was exhausted as she had been running around since we got to the cabin and refused to take her afternoon nap. She went down quickly in the pack-n-play but then woke up shortly afterward screaming and crying inconsolably. She continued to have multiple incidences of these night terrors throughout the week and was a horrible sleeper as a result. I felt so bad for her (and myself as I was exhausted too). I don’t know if it was sleeping in an unfamiliar place that triggered them or what. All I know is that we had many rough nights throughout the week. Lily didn’t nap well all week either but I think that was more due to the fact that she was having so much fun that she didn’t want to miss out on anything. She got very cranky at naptime but would scream if we put her in the pack-n-play and would thrash around and stand up if I tried to lay down on the bed with her. We finally got her to nap throughout the week by either taking her for car rides or stroller rides. We mostly did stroller rides which effectively knocked her out after about 30 minutes of walking but you had to keep in motion or she would wake up. Needless to say, we got our exercise this week!
Monday was a quiet day at the cabin for Lily and me. My parents spent most of the day in Flushing at the funeral for my mother’s Aunt Margaret. She was a wonderful lady who lost her battle with ovarian cancer. I wanted to go to the funeral with them but they left really early in the morning. Considering that Lily kept me up most of the night, I decided to stay behind and continue snoozing. Paul and Rachel left later that morning to visit Paul’s parents in Lovells and retrieve firewood. They live a little less than an hour away from the cabin. Lily and I stayed at the cabin by ourselves and played on the deck, splashed in the pool, played in the sand, and took naps together (this was the only day that she napped well due to the decreased stimuli). Paul and Rachel returned late in the afternoon after touring his parents’ new home in Grayling. The weather turned cooler as we were heading over to see Jenny and Mike’s new camper. My parents ended up meeting us over there and we all had dinner and s’mores together as a large group. It was a lot of fun.
Lily sharing her graham cracker with papi. What a sweetheart:
Biggest marshmallow ever! It wouldn't even fit in my big mouth:
Linda, Jenny, Ean, Rachel, and some of the Coke's grandkids making s'mores:
My dad and Mike:
Lily wanted to wear papi's hat:
Rachel helped Lily sit at the campfire in her kitty chair:
Lily kept wandering toward the fire so I had to hold her back. She did learn to say the word "hot" this week and now knows to avoid objects and food that we say are hot:
Tuesday was a sunny day but was not warm. Lily was very disappointed that we wouldn't let her play in her pool (we had to keep it empty and she still kept trying to get into it). Despite the slight chill in the air, we had a lot of fun playing on the beach all day. Any day spent with my family and away from work is a good day to me!
As stated previously, Lily would only fall asleep on stroller rides. Here she is napping in her stroller on Tuesday afternoon with her face pressed up against the mesh side. You know that she is in a deep sleep when the binkie falls out of her mouth:
Unfortunately, the mesh ended up leaving quite an impression on her forehead:
We played a lot of whiffle ball on the beach with the home run goal of getting the ball in the water. Usually it was pretty tough to do since the wind was working against you. Here is Rachel looking tough at bat:
She winds up:
Here's the pitch:
Good hit:
My girls on the dock:
Later that evening, we headed to WalMart in Houghton Lake and stopped by the Houghton Lake Flats which is a wildlife restoration area aimed to restore marshlands to the area:
Do I have dishsoap bubbles on my head?:
Paul looking like an ad for Mountain Dew:
Lily loved playing with her wind-up frog:
Strolling the beach with grandma in her adorable strawberry bikini:
Cutest bikini babe ever:
Lily loved walking up and down the dock with Rachel and grandma:
Happily splashing in her pool on the deck:
Sharing a s'more with mommy at the campfire that night:
Rachel enjoying her s'more:
I look horrible in the next three pictures (no shower, no make-up, bad lighting) but decided to post them anyway because they show how sweet my sleepy little girl was:
Rachel by the glow of the campfire (the absence of flash shows that it really wasn't that dark out):
Thursday was significant as Lily turned 16 months old that day! After her morning nap, we all headed to Lovells to have lunch with Paul's parents.
Here is Rachel and Lily playing with their abundance of toys:
We had a huge delicious lunch then all went over to tour their new home in Grayling. The house is close to town and the home and yard are much smaller and easier for them to maintain. Plus the lot has access to Lake Margrethe which is cool. On our way back to the cabin, Paul, Lily, and I dozed off in the backseat. My mom snapped these hillarious pictures from the front seat of Paul bent over Lily's carseat as they both snoozed:
When we got back and woke up, we continued playing whiffle ball on the beach while my mom and Lily watched from the boat:
Lily and Paul, who is indeed a rockin' dad:
Rachel caught this huge crayfish:
Cautiously posing with it:
Lily waved bu-bye to it:
Rachel joined her:
Lily playing in the sand dressed for the cool evening weather:
Peeking out the door:
I love Lily in this hat. Her collar was up 80's style to keep mosquitos off her neck:
Lily trying to steal Paul's Mountain Dew as he and my dad relaxed by the campfire:
Eating graham crackers on daddy's lap:
Such a cutie:
A beautiful sunset over the lake:
Roasting marshmallows:
Lily tasting a s'more:
The doors on the cabin don't have latches. We used to have to worry about the dog getting out but now we have to worry about Lily getting out as she quickly learned that she was tall enough to reach the handle and smart enough to let herself in and out of the cabin whenever she wished. Here she is reaching for the handle:
Pulling the door open:
It took her a little while to figure out that she needed to wedge part of her body in the door opening before letting go of the handle but she quickly became a pro. Here she is heading inside:
And easing the door closed behind her so it doesn't slam on her hand:
Lily making a goofy face at us from inside the door:
Lily and I watching the campfire:
She was mesmerized:
I found that the only way I could get my little monkey to lay still and settle down for bedtime was to let her watch episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba (her favorite show) on my iPod Touch. It worked like a charm:
Completely captivated:
Saying hi to Rachel who was digging on the beach:
Eating chips in her cute sunhat:
Lily discovered that she loves to eat vegetables and dip. Correction, she loves to eat dip. She kept dipping the carrot then licking it clean. So cute:
There is a National Guard base nearby so we frequently have fly-overs of Warthog jets like this one. They are very loud and impressively large:
Lily loved these low to the ground beach chairs because she could easily get in and out of them:
My mom gave Lily some cups to play with and she instantly became obsessed with scooping water from her pool. She would pour the water over herself when she was in the pool or, as seen here, stand outside of the pool and pour the water into another container such as the toy dump-truck:
Rachel spent much of the day whittling:
The lake got busy with people coming up to start the 4th of July weekend early:
Lily chillin in her favorite chair on Friday evening:
Saturday was a really hot and beautiful day. We were so lucky to have sunshine all week. Even when the weather was cooler at the beginning of the week, it was still sunny. It only rained while we drove up which is amazing. We’ve had many soggy weeks at Higgins Lake! We spent Saturday playing on the beach again and enjoying our last full day at the cabin.
Lily finally took a nap in the pack-n-play. She looked so cute sleeping in this position:
My mom and Rachel watching the water:
My dad took Lily out into the lake for the first time. We didn’t know if she would be scared or not but she absolutely loved it:
Lily standing on the Coke’s water mat. It is a really cool water toy:
Rachel leaping off the mat:
Lily loved exploring the water with her papi:
Rachel playing on the water mat again:
My mom brought out this floaty for Lily to try. It had been Sophia’s but she didn’t like it so Paul’s mom passed it on to us on Thursday. Lily started giggling as soon as my parents put her in it. She didn’t mind the slightly chilly water at all:
Lily loved having my mom push her around the shallows in her new floaty:
So happy:
Rachel came over and Lily delighted in slapping the water and splashing it in her sister’s face. They were both howling with laughter:
It was kind of windy out which kept it from being oppressively hot and made it a great day for sail-boaters:
Lily got out of her floaty to play on the water mat with grandma and mommy. She loved running off the edge of it and diving into my arms:
It was July 3rd, almost Independence Day:
I finally took Lily out of the lake because she was getting cold. She still wanted to play in the water so we put lots of warm water in her pool and let her play with her cups:
Seagulls are quite pretty when not in the context of a K-Mart parking lot:
Lily passed out in her stroller for her afternoon walk/nap:
Paul took an afternoon nap, too:
While Rachel continued whittling:
After her nap, Lily wanted to get right back into her swimsuit and play with her cups in the pool:
After dinner, it was bathtime for Lily. She equally enjoyed playing with her cups in the sink:
My girls all dressed up in patriotic attire and ready to go to Houghton Lake to see the fireworks:
Lily and I:
Lily loved wandering around collecting gravel as we waited for the fireworks to start:
Lily was very good about waiting patiently as the fireworks started a half an hour late. She munched on goldfish crackers while we watched some amateurs set off fireworks nearby:
Unfortunately, Lily fell asleep right before the real fireworks started and the poor girl was so out that I could not get her to wake up and watch them. Oh well! She continued to sleep soundly as I put her in the car, took her back out at the cabin, and put her in the pack-n-play. Apparently she was quite exhausted from the week of fun! I put her to bed still dressed in layers as it had been cold outside. She seemed really hot when she woke up at 2am crying so I took off her sweater and left her in her pants and sleeveless top and settled her back to sleep between Paul and me in the bed. She woke up an hour later soaked in sweat and crying inconsolably. I stripped her down and gave her a ton of ice water. I couldn’t tell if she was overheated from her outfit, from sleeping between us (although that hadn’t been an issue all week), or if she had a fever but she finally settled back down into a fitful sleep.
Lily woke up extra early at 6:30am on Sunday morning but that was fine because we had a very busy morning of packing and cleaning ahead of us. We had to pack everything, get the trucks loaded, clean the entire cabin, and be out of there by noon. It was hard because it was a hectic job and we had to be one man down at all times because someone had to be on constant Lily duty. It didn’t help that she only took a half hour nap that morning after my mom took her for a stroller ride. Paul’s parents stopped by during our morning rush to pick up Rachel as she will be spending next week with them. We made it out of the cabin right at noon and pulled away at 12:10pm with the next renters already waiting to pull in. I am jealous of their promptness! As is tradition, we drove south in tandem to the McDonalds in Clare for lunch. Lily was very tired but wouldn’t sleep. Instead, she cried the entire way there. She wouldn’t eat much in the restaurant but polished off the rest of her food once we got back in the truck. She then passed out for the majority of the drive home and woke up in a fabulous mood. When we got home, there was a lost Beagle hanging out in our yard. The dog spent the rest of the day splitting her time between our yard, Larry’s, and Mark’s. We put out some food and water for her. She was cautious but let me pet her a few times. She was so cute and totally reminded me of Betsy. Paul was keen on the idea of us possibly having a new dog but I still don’t know if I am emotionally ready. Lily was fascinated by the dog and kept growling and laughing when she saw her. As I was delving into the giant task of unpacking and getting laundry started, I noticed that Lily seemed a bit lethargic and bleary-eyed so I decided to take her temperature. It was 101! I felt like a bad mom because I thought she was just hot from being outside with the dog. The fever most likely started Saturday night. I gave her Tylenol every 5 hours but she still continued to feel very warm for the rest of the day. She was mad because she wanted to go back outside but I wouldn’t let her. I figured she was hot enough with her fever that she certainly didn’t need to go out in the 90 degree weather. Paul did eventually set up her pool later that night but she only wanted to be held at that point. She refused to nap but went down to bed at 9pm. We followed shortly thereafter at 10pm, completely exhausted from unloading the truck and unpacking. There is still a lot to do, including about 8 more loads of laundry and a sick kid to deal with, so I am glad that we have tomorrow off due to the holiday. Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep well due to the fact that it was the 4th of July and many idiots around us were setting off fireworks until after midnight. Thank God Lily slept through it.
Overall, we had an awesome vacation. The week flew by with incredible speed. We always have a great time with my parents and were so grateful that they shared their rental with us and helped us out with the kids. We were glad that Rachel chose to come home and go on vacation with us. We greatly enjoyed our time with her even though she was exhausted for most of the week as she had just returned from camp. We were also glad that Lily had such a blast on vacation. Last year she was too young to enjoy all that the cabin had to offer but this year she got to have fun on the beach and in the lake. Unfortunately, the week was not very relaxing as we spent most of it chasing an active toddler around but that was to be expected. We especially had to be vigilant as Lily learned early in the week how to open the cabin doors and let herself out as shown in the previous pictures. It was interesting to watch her mind work as she figured it all out. It was also interesting to see how she tackled the problem of the small step leading onto the sun porch which she overcame by holding onto the wall while stepping up and down. The open deck leading onto the beach is nice but we also had to be vigilant that Lily didn’t fall off of it as she has no fear. She nearly stepped off of it a million times and did actually fall off the deck once. Lily experienced a lot of new things this week but one thing that I am not excited about is that she started climbing. She kept climbing onto a step stool and trying to stand on it so we had to hide it from her. She also kept climbing onto the ottoman and would sit right near the edge, nearly falling off many times. She tried to climb onto the picnic table and couch but was too short, thank goodness. She would repeatedly try to hike her leg up and pull herself up nonetheless. She is so strong that I am sure she would have succeeded if she were just a bit taller. It scares me that she is becoming a climber because once she is up, she doesn’t know her limits and has no fear of falling. I certainly wish that Lily had been a better sleeper all week but I am sure that her reluctance to sleep was due to the fact that she was out of her normal routine which is so important at this age. Plus she didn’t want to miss out on a moment of the fun. I really hope that her night terrors don’t continue now that we are home. They were terrifying for both her and me.
This was the week of our annual Higgins Lake vacation. My parents have rented the Davison American Legion cabin almost every year since before I was born. I’ve grown up going there and have so many wonderful memories of the cabin. Paul and I started renting the cabin together with my parents every year since 2002. I don’t think that Rachel can remember a summer without going to Higgins Lake so we were very glad that she could join us. We were also very excited to take Lily there for her second summer as we knew that she would have a lot of fun. She loves water, sand, and her family.
Our rental started at noon on Sunday so the goal was to have the truck packed and leave by 9am. Unfortunately, it was the first time packing our new truck and space was limited due to the fact that it doesn’t have a topper yet so getting everything to fit was quite tricky. We bought a hitch hauler earlier in the week to help carry everything but Paul discovered that the pin was the wrong size so he had to make a trip to the hardware store for a new one. We finally hit the road at 12:30pm (three and a half hours behind our goal) only to have to turn right around less than a mile from our house because Paul realized that he forgot to pack the boat motor. At least we hadn’t gotten far! We were disappointed to be leaving so late but the worst part was that I had put off Lily’s morning nap hoping that she would sleep on the road. She kept getting crankier and crankier but Paul kept reassuring me that we would be leaving in just a few more minutes. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore so I put her down at noon (she usually goes down at 9:30am). She woke up when I moved her from the crib to the truck when we were finally ready to go and didn’t fall back to sleep until 45 minutes into the trip. Paul was exhausted from arranging and rearranging everything in the bed of the truck for hours on end so he and Lily snoozed while I drove. Rachel was too excited to sleep. We had tons of rain on the drive up and many times I could barely see where I was going. I was worried that our totes wouldn’t hold up against the deluge and that all of our stuff would be soaked or ruined but everything did just fine. We got to the cabin around 4pm and unloaded the truck once the rain stopped. Most of the rest of my day was spent unpacking. Meanwhile, Rachel settled right into the loft while Paul took Lily to the beach. Lily loved exploring everything and especially liked dipping her feet in the tub that we have on the deck for people to clean their feet in before going into the cabin. After unpacking, I went outside to play with Lily and she completely surprised me by sitting right down in the foot bath, clothing and all! I stripped her down and let her play in the tub as it was clean and she was having a ton of fun:
Her diaper soon became quite bloated and heavy. It was so bad that she could barely even stand up:
Silly girl splashing in the foot bath:
Come join me, mommy:
The foot bath was full of cold water which Lily didn't seem to mind but I didn't want her to get chilled. Plus her diaper was falling off so I changed her into a swim diaper and had Paul inflate her baby pool. My mom filled it with nice warm water and Lily settled right in:
We kept tossing a whiffle ball in with Lily. She would giggle as it splashed down in the water then she would throw it back to us. This went on for a long time:
Giggly girl:
I don’t know what this face was all about but it was hilarious and she kept making it:
More fun with the ball:
Hamming it up:
Then she insisted that Paul join her in the pool:
Walking with daddy on the dock:
My parents’ best friends, Linda and Joe, and their daughter, Jenny, and her family stayed at the North Higgins Lake State Park right down the street on Sunday and Monday nights as they were visiting with friends who own a cabin right across the street from our rental. We had a nice visit with them in the evening. Lily was exhausted as she had been running around since we got to the cabin and refused to take her afternoon nap. She went down quickly in the pack-n-play but then woke up shortly afterward screaming and crying inconsolably. She continued to have multiple incidences of these night terrors throughout the week and was a horrible sleeper as a result. I felt so bad for her (and myself as I was exhausted too). I don’t know if it was sleeping in an unfamiliar place that triggered them or what. All I know is that we had many rough nights throughout the week. Lily didn’t nap well all week either but I think that was more due to the fact that she was having so much fun that she didn’t want to miss out on anything. She got very cranky at naptime but would scream if we put her in the pack-n-play and would thrash around and stand up if I tried to lay down on the bed with her. We finally got her to nap throughout the week by either taking her for car rides or stroller rides. We mostly did stroller rides which effectively knocked her out after about 30 minutes of walking but you had to keep in motion or she would wake up. Needless to say, we got our exercise this week!
Monday was a quiet day at the cabin for Lily and me. My parents spent most of the day in Flushing at the funeral for my mother’s Aunt Margaret. She was a wonderful lady who lost her battle with ovarian cancer. I wanted to go to the funeral with them but they left really early in the morning. Considering that Lily kept me up most of the night, I decided to stay behind and continue snoozing. Paul and Rachel left later that morning to visit Paul’s parents in Lovells and retrieve firewood. They live a little less than an hour away from the cabin. Lily and I stayed at the cabin by ourselves and played on the deck, splashed in the pool, played in the sand, and took naps together (this was the only day that she napped well due to the decreased stimuli). Paul and Rachel returned late in the afternoon after touring his parents’ new home in Grayling. The weather turned cooler as we were heading over to see Jenny and Mike’s new camper. My parents ended up meeting us over there and we all had dinner and s’mores together as a large group. It was a lot of fun.
My dad and the Cokes get the campfire fun rolling on Monday evening:
Lily sharing her graham cracker with papi. What a sweetheart:
Biggest marshmallow ever! It wouldn't even fit in my big mouth:
Lily gave it a try:
Linda, Jenny, Ean, Rachel, and some of the Coke's grandkids making s'mores:
My dad and Mike:
Lily wanted to wear papi's hat:
Lily loved Jenny and Mike's dog, Guinness:
Rachel helped Lily sit at the campfire in her kitty chair:
Lily kept wandering toward the fire so I had to hold her back. She did learn to say the word "hot" this week and now knows to avoid objects and food that we say are hot:
Tuesday was a sunny day but was not warm. Lily was very disappointed that we wouldn't let her play in her pool (we had to keep it empty and she still kept trying to get into it). Despite the slight chill in the air, we had a lot of fun playing on the beach all day. Any day spent with my family and away from work is a good day to me!
As stated previously, Lily would only fall asleep on stroller rides. Here she is napping in her stroller on Tuesday afternoon with her face pressed up against the mesh side. You know that she is in a deep sleep when the binkie falls out of her mouth:
Unfortunately, the mesh ended up leaving quite an impression on her forehead:
Lily getting a bath in the sink and a mohawk to boot:
We played a lot of whiffle ball on the beach with the home run goal of getting the ball in the water. Usually it was pretty tough to do since the wind was working against you. Here is Rachel looking tough at bat:
She winds up:
Here's the pitch:
Good hit:
My girls on the dock:
Later that evening, we headed to WalMart in Houghton Lake and stopped by the Houghton Lake Flats which is a wildlife restoration area aimed to restore marshlands to the area:
The weather was a lot warmer on Wednesday and it was very sunny again. It wasn’t quite warm enough for a swim in the lake but Lily was happy because we filled her pool with water again. She was in and out of it all day.
Here is Lily showing Rachel her favorite book on Wednesday morning:
Here is Lily showing Rachel her favorite book on Wednesday morning:
Do I have dishsoap bubbles on my head?:
Paul looking like an ad for Mountain Dew:
Lily loved playing with her wind-up frog:
Strolling the beach with grandma in her adorable strawberry bikini:
Cutest bikini babe ever:
Lily loved walking up and down the dock with Rachel and grandma:
Happily splashing in her pool on the deck:
Sharing a s'more with mommy at the campfire that night:
Rachel enjoying her s'more:
I look horrible in the next three pictures (no shower, no make-up, bad lighting) but decided to post them anyway because they show how sweet my sleepy little girl was:
My hooded angel perked back up:
Rachel by the glow of the campfire (the absence of flash shows that it really wasn't that dark out):
Thursday was significant as Lily turned 16 months old that day! After her morning nap, we all headed to Lovells to have lunch with Paul's parents.
Here is Rachel and Lily playing with their abundance of toys:
We had a huge delicious lunch then all went over to tour their new home in Grayling. The house is close to town and the home and yard are much smaller and easier for them to maintain. Plus the lot has access to Lake Margrethe which is cool. On our way back to the cabin, Paul, Lily, and I dozed off in the backseat. My mom snapped these hillarious pictures from the front seat of Paul bent over Lily's carseat as they both snoozed:
When we got back and woke up, we continued playing whiffle ball on the beach while my mom and Lily watched from the boat:
Lily and Paul, who is indeed a rockin' dad:
Rachel caught this huge crayfish:
Cautiously posing with it:
Letting the crayfish go:
Lily waved bu-bye to it:
Rachel joined her:
Lily playing in the sand dressed for the cool evening weather:
Peeking out the door:
I love Lily in this hat. Her collar was up 80's style to keep mosquitos off her neck:
Lily trying to steal Paul's Mountain Dew as he and my dad relaxed by the campfire:
Eating graham crackers on daddy's lap:
Such a cutie:
A beautiful sunset over the lake:
Roasting marshmallows:
Lily tasting a s'more:
The doors on the cabin don't have latches. We used to have to worry about the dog getting out but now we have to worry about Lily getting out as she quickly learned that she was tall enough to reach the handle and smart enough to let herself in and out of the cabin whenever she wished. Here she is reaching for the handle:
Pulling the door open:
It took her a little while to figure out that she needed to wedge part of her body in the door opening before letting go of the handle but she quickly became a pro. Here she is heading inside:
And easing the door closed behind her so it doesn't slam on her hand:
Lily making a goofy face at us from inside the door:
Lily and I watching the campfire:
She was mesmerized:
I found that the only way I could get my little monkey to lay still and settle down for bedtime was to let her watch episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba (her favorite show) on my iPod Touch. It worked like a charm:
Completely captivated:
Friday was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. We spent the entire day outdoors. Rachel swam in the lake and Lily spent a lot of time in her pool. I got out on the lake in an innertube during one of Lily’s naps and took a paddleboat ride with my mom and Rachel.
Here’s Lily dressed in another one of her adorable bathing suits and ready to hit the beach:
Here’s Lily dressed in another one of her adorable bathing suits and ready to hit the beach:
Saying hi to Rachel who was digging on the beach:
Eating chips in her cute sunhat:
Lily discovered that she loves to eat vegetables and dip. Correction, she loves to eat dip. She kept dipping the carrot then licking it clean. So cute:
There is a National Guard base nearby so we frequently have fly-overs of Warthog jets like this one. They are very loud and impressively large:
Lily loved these low to the ground beach chairs because she could easily get in and out of them:
My mom gave Lily some cups to play with and she instantly became obsessed with scooping water from her pool. She would pour the water over herself when she was in the pool or, as seen here, stand outside of the pool and pour the water into another container such as the toy dump-truck:
Rachel spent much of the day whittling:
The lake got busy with people coming up to start the 4th of July weekend early:
Lily chillin in her favorite chair on Friday evening:
Saturday was a really hot and beautiful day. We were so lucky to have sunshine all week. Even when the weather was cooler at the beginning of the week, it was still sunny. It only rained while we drove up which is amazing. We’ve had many soggy weeks at Higgins Lake! We spent Saturday playing on the beach again and enjoying our last full day at the cabin.
Lily finally took a nap in the pack-n-play. She looked so cute sleeping in this position:
My mom and Rachel watching the water:
My dad took Lily out into the lake for the first time. We didn’t know if she would be scared or not but she absolutely loved it:
Lily standing on the Coke’s water mat. It is a really cool water toy:
Rachel leaping off the mat:
Lily loved exploring the water with her papi:
Rachel playing on the water mat again:
My mom brought out this floaty for Lily to try. It had been Sophia’s but she didn’t like it so Paul’s mom passed it on to us on Thursday. Lily started giggling as soon as my parents put her in it. She didn’t mind the slightly chilly water at all:
Lily loved having my mom push her around the shallows in her new floaty:
So happy:
Rachel came over and Lily delighted in slapping the water and splashing it in her sister’s face. They were both howling with laughter:
It was kind of windy out which kept it from being oppressively hot and made it a great day for sail-boaters:
Lily got out of her floaty to play on the water mat with grandma and mommy. She loved running off the edge of it and diving into my arms:
It was July 3rd, almost Independence Day:
I finally took Lily out of the lake because she was getting cold. She still wanted to play in the water so we put lots of warm water in her pool and let her play with her cups:
Seagulls are quite pretty when not in the context of a K-Mart parking lot:
Lily passed out in her stroller for her afternoon walk/nap:
Paul took an afternoon nap, too:
While Rachel continued whittling:
After her nap, Lily wanted to get right back into her swimsuit and play with her cups in the pool:
After dinner, it was bathtime for Lily. She equally enjoyed playing with her cups in the sink:
My girls all dressed up in patriotic attire and ready to go to Houghton Lake to see the fireworks:
Lily and I:
Lily loved wandering around collecting gravel as we waited for the fireworks to start:
Lily was very good about waiting patiently as the fireworks started a half an hour late. She munched on goldfish crackers while we watched some amateurs set off fireworks nearby:
Unfortunately, Lily fell asleep right before the real fireworks started and the poor girl was so out that I could not get her to wake up and watch them. Oh well! She continued to sleep soundly as I put her in the car, took her back out at the cabin, and put her in the pack-n-play. Apparently she was quite exhausted from the week of fun! I put her to bed still dressed in layers as it had been cold outside. She seemed really hot when she woke up at 2am crying so I took off her sweater and left her in her pants and sleeveless top and settled her back to sleep between Paul and me in the bed. She woke up an hour later soaked in sweat and crying inconsolably. I stripped her down and gave her a ton of ice water. I couldn’t tell if she was overheated from her outfit, from sleeping between us (although that hadn’t been an issue all week), or if she had a fever but she finally settled back down into a fitful sleep.
Lily woke up extra early at 6:30am on Sunday morning but that was fine because we had a very busy morning of packing and cleaning ahead of us. We had to pack everything, get the trucks loaded, clean the entire cabin, and be out of there by noon. It was hard because it was a hectic job and we had to be one man down at all times because someone had to be on constant Lily duty. It didn’t help that she only took a half hour nap that morning after my mom took her for a stroller ride. Paul’s parents stopped by during our morning rush to pick up Rachel as she will be spending next week with them. We made it out of the cabin right at noon and pulled away at 12:10pm with the next renters already waiting to pull in. I am jealous of their promptness! As is tradition, we drove south in tandem to the McDonalds in Clare for lunch. Lily was very tired but wouldn’t sleep. Instead, she cried the entire way there. She wouldn’t eat much in the restaurant but polished off the rest of her food once we got back in the truck. She then passed out for the majority of the drive home and woke up in a fabulous mood. When we got home, there was a lost Beagle hanging out in our yard. The dog spent the rest of the day splitting her time between our yard, Larry’s, and Mark’s. We put out some food and water for her. She was cautious but let me pet her a few times. She was so cute and totally reminded me of Betsy. Paul was keen on the idea of us possibly having a new dog but I still don’t know if I am emotionally ready. Lily was fascinated by the dog and kept growling and laughing when she saw her. As I was delving into the giant task of unpacking and getting laundry started, I noticed that Lily seemed a bit lethargic and bleary-eyed so I decided to take her temperature. It was 101! I felt like a bad mom because I thought she was just hot from being outside with the dog. The fever most likely started Saturday night. I gave her Tylenol every 5 hours but she still continued to feel very warm for the rest of the day. She was mad because she wanted to go back outside but I wouldn’t let her. I figured she was hot enough with her fever that she certainly didn’t need to go out in the 90 degree weather. Paul did eventually set up her pool later that night but she only wanted to be held at that point. She refused to nap but went down to bed at 9pm. We followed shortly thereafter at 10pm, completely exhausted from unloading the truck and unpacking. There is still a lot to do, including about 8 more loads of laundry and a sick kid to deal with, so I am glad that we have tomorrow off due to the holiday. Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep well due to the fact that it was the 4th of July and many idiots around us were setting off fireworks until after midnight. Thank God Lily slept through it.
Overall, we had an awesome vacation. The week flew by with incredible speed. We always have a great time with my parents and were so grateful that they shared their rental with us and helped us out with the kids. We were glad that Rachel chose to come home and go on vacation with us. We greatly enjoyed our time with her even though she was exhausted for most of the week as she had just returned from camp. We were also glad that Lily had such a blast on vacation. Last year she was too young to enjoy all that the cabin had to offer but this year she got to have fun on the beach and in the lake. Unfortunately, the week was not very relaxing as we spent most of it chasing an active toddler around but that was to be expected. We especially had to be vigilant as Lily learned early in the week how to open the cabin doors and let herself out as shown in the previous pictures. It was interesting to watch her mind work as she figured it all out. It was also interesting to see how she tackled the problem of the small step leading onto the sun porch which she overcame by holding onto the wall while stepping up and down. The open deck leading onto the beach is nice but we also had to be vigilant that Lily didn’t fall off of it as she has no fear. She nearly stepped off of it a million times and did actually fall off the deck once. Lily experienced a lot of new things this week but one thing that I am not excited about is that she started climbing. She kept climbing onto a step stool and trying to stand on it so we had to hide it from her. She also kept climbing onto the ottoman and would sit right near the edge, nearly falling off many times. She tried to climb onto the picnic table and couch but was too short, thank goodness. She would repeatedly try to hike her leg up and pull herself up nonetheless. She is so strong that I am sure she would have succeeded if she were just a bit taller. It scares me that she is becoming a climber because once she is up, she doesn’t know her limits and has no fear of falling. I certainly wish that Lily had been a better sleeper all week but I am sure that her reluctance to sleep was due to the fact that she was out of her normal routine which is so important at this age. Plus she didn’t want to miss out on a moment of the fun. I really hope that her night terrors don’t continue now that we are home. They were terrifying for both her and me.
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