Happy Father's Day!

We've had a busy couple of weeks, so I have a lot of activities to catch up on here on our blog. As of a week and a half ago, Norah is officially on summer vacation. She had a water play day on her last day of school, so Dan, Maddie, and I went to visit. She had a wonderful year and will miss her friends and teachers this summer. Luckily, Maddie has recently become an interesting playmate, because otherwise Norah would be a little bored with just Mommy to play with!

Speaking of Maddie as a playmate, have I mentioned that Maddie is on the move and having quite the adventures? We baby-proofed the house when Norah was little, and then never really undid the proofing between the kiddos, so we figured we were all set for Maddie. We were wrong. This kid isn't even walking by herself yet, and already she is displaying an incredible sense of curiosity (read: she's into everything). Oh, and she can climb, so it's not just things near the ground that we need to keep an eye on. Luckily, we haven't had any real injuries from all this adventuring, but Norah has certainly learned to keep her door closed if she wants her toys to stay out of sissy's hands.

Seems like this cabinet might need a child lock

Norah and Maddie love to play "car" together, which means that Norah likes to sit in her Cozy Coupe while Maddie pushes her around the house. Dan says that this is already an example of the older sibling taking advantage of the younger, but Maddie squeals with delight every time she sees Norah bring out the car, so it can't be causing that much harm, right?

The other night, after Norah got tired of being pushed around, Maddie was pushing around the empty car when she hooked her high chair... and then spent the next three to four minutes walking in a circle, completely content - as you can see in the video below. (For those of you who are thinking this might be a good way to keep her occupied in the future, we haven't been able to duplicate it, though we did spend a not insignificant amount of time trying!)

We had a fun time celebrating Father's Day last weekend. For one of Dan's gifts, we decided to take some silly pictures. (We have a lot of time together at home now that Norah is out of school, so we come up with some funny projects sometimes!)

 

Father's Day itself was a nice family day... church, some pool time, a tasty dinner. (Dan had to barbeque his own steak, lest I mess it up with my sub-par/nonexistent grilling skills.) We are so blessed that Dan is such a wonderful Daddy! He loves being silly with his girls, and he lights up (as do they) every night when he gets home from work. He is a perfect partner for me in this whole parenting thing, and Norah, Maddie, and I love him so much!

I also got to celebrate Father's Day with my own Dad. Even though I'm all grown up, I'm still learning things from my Dad, and benefiting every day from his love and example. Now I have the added fun of getting to watch him be Grandpa, too. (And my, how the rules have changed!) I love you, Dad.

 

We certainly wish Phil was still here to celebrate Father's Day with, too. We miss him a lot, but know that his spirit lives on through his kids and grandkids. He was an amazing person, and he left an amazing legacy.

And last, Norah had her dance recital this past Tuesday. She's been taking a tap and ballet class all year, so this was their big chance to show off their moves. (Even Grandpa, who thought he was done with dance recitals after his three daughters grew up, got to watch the show!) She was so excited to dress up in her costume (makeup and all!), and was very proud of herself after her performance. (See the video below.) She did a great job!

More summer adventures to come...