Author: pazmeyer

silverman’s cookout

Monday morning we headed down the hill quite early to beat the traffic and headed over to the Silverman’s house in the afternoon for a cookout. The Carlsons joined us too and we had a wonderful evening hanging out on the patio watching the kiddos play. They kids had fun blowing bubbles, playing with all of Avery and Ryan’s toys, and tackling Keith! 
Funny – my girls matched, the Carlson boys matched, Jennnifer and Amy had on similar tank tops, and Keith and B had on the same shirt. The ones not matching were Avery and Ryan — the twins! This struck me as quite comical!  
Jennifer was holding Avery and Miss GG is just not one to miss out on an opportunity for a snuggle….

toddler parade

Today the girls participated in the ‘Toddler Parade’ at daycare. They dressed up in their red, white, and blues, made flags, made tiaras, and paraded around the school. They feasted on red, white and blue treats and then spent the afternoon in the swimming pool. I got a sweet picture of Annabelle, but sometimes that little GG is just too darn fast for me.
We spent our evening relaxing on the deck enjoying the warm summer night, eating BBQ, and the girls played in their pool. I know, I know….big surprise, right? Yep, we’re getting awfully use to this leisurely lifestyle. Tonight the Lemeks joined us and the girls were so happy to see their friend Andrew and play with baby Hannah. It was really sweet to see Hannah chasing them around. There’s never a shortage of girl time at the Meyer casa.
My sweet little Gwyneth – gotcha ya!

dollhouse

We’re staggering the girls’ birthday gifts as to not overwhelm them so today Annabelle was allowed to open a few of her packages from Poppy and Melissa. She was very excited to receive her very first doll house complete with furniture and an entire doll family. Included in the family there’s a mom, dad, brother, sister, baby, Grandma and Grandpa. Upon opening them she put the Grandma right to bed and the Grandpa right on the poppy….hmmmm…. I’m just going to leave that one alone….

fun with yaya

Today was the last day of YaYa’s visit and we made the most of it. We got up and out early…YaYa gave the girls breakfast, baths, dressed them, did their hair…whatever will we do without her? We headed downtown to the aquarium and when we pulled up we saw 5 very large school buses out front. NO WAY! We decided not to join the field trip and headed to the zoo instead. It was a gorgeous day and the girls had so much.
As we were eating lunch I broke the news to the girls that YaYa was going to have to go home today. I told them we were going to take her to the airport and Annabelle said “If YaYa gets on that airplane we are going to cry!”. And cry they did! We had such a great visit with YaYa and we miss her so much. Gwyneth woke up the following morning looking for her…”Where did YaYa go?” as she searched the house. Annabelle told her “She’s on an airplane. She’s going to Chicago!”. Gwyneth cried “I go Cago. I go Cago”. Soon enough! We can hardly wait for our trip out to see her again next month.
Gwyneth getting a boost from her YaYa.
Annabelle and YaYa waiting in the line for the carousel
YaYa got the girls the greatest little water bottle holders. These little monkeys hang right on them and I don’t have to fuss with their cups all day. They love them! What a wonderful idea — and they look cute too!
(yes, my girls are sharing a cup of pickles here. Any restaurant that has a pickle bar doesn’t know what’s coming when the Meyer girls enter the room!).
We blew up the pool and wasted away the afternoon enjoying the sunshine. YaYa even taught the girls how to drink straight from the hose!

bee bash

Our new deck was the perfect setting for Annabelle’s Bee Bash. We celebrated her 3rd birthday with a family party including YaYa, Grandma and Grandpa Meyer, the Rewalts and the Lodden’s (sans Uncle Jeff because he had a basketball tournament). The kids made their own pizzas and had a blast splashing around in the pool. Annabelle really enjoyed opening her special gifts which included lots of gum! Uncle Paul seems to have maintained his Best Uncle EVER status by giving her a basball bat full of sugar-filled gum!!
We had a wonderful day celebrating with our big girl. It’s hard to believe she’s three! We couldn’t be more proud of her and she continues to amaze us daily. I can hardly wait to see what the next year holds….
The birthday girl!
Lots of love from her YaYa today
Making her very own pizza with her cousins Reagan and Nathan
Getting some gift opening help from her cousin Ryan and sweet sister, Gwyneth
Not just a scooter, a Tinkerbell scooter!!!
Reagan getting a closer look at Annabelle’s new swimsuit
Very intrigued with greeting cards these days….
Happy Birthday to Annabelle!
Annabelle can lick all the icing off a cupcake and not get a single bite of cake. Quite a talent!
Sweet little Reagan enjoying some birthday treats
YaYa gave Gwyneth a quick bath during the party — FYI swim diapers are useless! Enough said on that. She rejoined the celebration just in time for cupcakes!
The Meyer crew
Crazy cousins! Notice Gwyneth’s face. She doesn’t know what to think of these maniacs!
And then there was gum….and lots of it!
Happy Birthday Miss Annabelle! We hope you had a very special day.
Annabelle’s birthday decorations are featured on the Parties by Hardie blog!

happy birthday, armando

The girls were invited to a birthday party for their friend Armando today. I asked Annabelle if she wanted to share her birthday and go to a bouncy house. She didn’t mind sharing her day and was so sweet – she never said a word about it being her birthday until it was time for cake. We passed on the cake because I didn’t want them to have a double dose in one day and Annabelle quickly explained we were having cake at home for her birthday. They girls were happy to see their friends and played hard.
Armando and Gwyneth are best buds from daycare. When asked who his girlfriend is Armando gladly says “GG!!!”. They were full of hugs for each other today and had a blast.

nails

I went to get a pedicure a few weeks ago and got flowers on my big toes. Totally not me, but the technician persuaded me. I’m easily persuaded by these words “I’ll give you flowers for free”. Oh, ok. Ever since Annabelle has requested flowers on her toes. YaYa agreed to take her so we had a girls morning at the salon. She sat so still and sweetly while she got her finger nails and toe nails painted – flowers and all. I think YaYa may have created a monster. Annabelle loves it! I can’t wait to take Gwyneth with us next year.

schlotsky’s

We grabbed lunch at YaYa’s favorite – Schlotsky’s! I never eat there unless my mom is in town so it’s a treat for me too. The girls scarfed up their pizza and then one of the employees came around with a tray of cookies. They offered the girls a complimentary cookie and Annabelle said “yes, please” and then waited. Gwyneth said “Ummmmmm, yes please!” and helped herself to a double chocolate cookie! She got a good laugh and then tried to go back for a few more. That’s my girl!

After lunch and brief naps in the car, we took the girls to see Toy Story 3. This was my first theatre trip with both girls (my mom took them both on her last visit). Let’s just say – they had to be separated. They both liked the chocolate covered raisins, they both liked the popcorn, they both liked the icee, they both liked the movie, they both liked talking to each other and giggling very loudly….ah, and there lies the problem! Annabelle and I sat in the back row and Gwyneth and YaYa sat up front and once they were split up they relaxed and enjoyed the show.
My mom requested a night alone with the girls. She kicked B and I out of the house so she could have some time playing with her granddaughters without being pestered by us (she taught Annabelle to say “We don’t need no stinkin’ mommies!” Yep, her words exactly which Annabelle gladly says any chance she gets!!!). Honestly, she gave us a great opportunity to get out together which we took advantage of – we met Chriss and Paul for dinner at Vestas and went to the Comedy Works. What more could we possibly ask for?

birthday plates, round 2

Last year at this time Jennifer and I made birthday plates for Annabelle and Jack’s 2nd birthdays. We met up again to make plates for Gwyneth and Ben. It’s hard to believe Gwyneth will be 2 in just a month and Ben will be 2 in December. We had a good time gabbing and catching up and our plates turned out really cute, if I do say so myself. I can’t wait to see them after they’ve been glazed/fired/whatever magic they do…

food and wine classic

The girls were up bright and early so we hopped in the car and headed up to Aspen. What an amazing and all together bizarre town! It’s truly beautiful – the views are unbelieveable and I suppose the same could be said for the people. It’s all so flashy – the cars, the jewelry, the women! There was a lot of work done in that town and most of it seemed to be walking around on the older ladies faces. Phew!B noted he’d never seen so many men in white pants. It was almost comical.

We had a great time exploring and people watching. The Food and Wine Classic was this weekend and we were eager to find the next winner on Top Chef. No such luck but it was a great time.