few changes

Sadly, one of your best friends recently had to move out of the city. It's still been a little difficult for you to understand and you've been telling me that you're ready for her to come back. It's been a sad and totally sweet time.

You are also getting into birthday season since most of your friends are summer babies. You keep asking about your own birthday and volunteering to anyone that will listen when your birthday is and how old you'll be. We may have to do something a little special for you.

We've been spending a lot of time at the garden and you've been enjoying fresh blackberries, black raspberries, strawberries, plums, and carrots. You've also discovered the mulberry bush that is about a block from our house and request we take that route home to gather mulberries. It's also the season for lightning bugs and you caught one and took it home and put it in a bottle in your room, but decided the next day to let it go at the park. Michelangelo has been enjoying some fresh produce lately too. Gotta love summer.

Not that I was that concerned about it, but you started a new playgroup this week. It was with a group of kids that had spent the previous year together, so I didn't know how the transition would go for you since you had been a part of a different playgroup too. We showed up and I got Ben out of the stroller and we had a seat on the floor of the play space and within 10 minutes you were ready for me to leave. You gave me a kiss and a hug and asked me if I needed to go get some coffee. I left and that was that. You have been talking about your new friends and the whole situation has been a piece of cake. Way to go, my little friendly girl. Love you squirty.

kansas trip

Hey there Eve-

Well it has been a couple of weeks since I saw you, but I wanted to let you know it was wonderful to see you and your baby brother in kansas.  Things got a little hectic here from you and ben being sick to your dad getting poison ivy to you having a head full of baby oil on Aunt Erins wedding day!!  Everyone felt so bad because you didn't like wearing your itchy dress and didn't feel too good!! You looked so pretty though in your pink and silver dress and did a fantastic job as a flower girl.  We weren't scared at all, just mesmerized by the people in the church, that you stared at the whole way down the aisle!  Beyond the wedding it was sure good to see you.  You are just so smart!!  It made me feel real special when you wanted me to read you one book before bedtime and you ended up suckering me into reading four!!  It is ok though because it will make up for us being so far away!!  I hear you may be coming to Illinois in the fall!! I am so excited and hope you get to make it!!  Until then.

Love you sweetie!

Love and Jill

shopaholic

Somehow in the last few weeks, you've decided how much you enjoy shopping. We had to go to Target today to get some clothes and you wanted to go straight to the kid's clothes. After finding out you could only take one thing home with you, you decided on a new sundress, but unfortunately you had a breakdown that ended up in us returning the dress to the shelves and leaving with nothing.

We've been busy doing some fun things too. You went to a Nationals game with Pippa, went to Watkins farm with Pippa and Kathryn and rode the train and carousel, and went to a MOTH picnic where you ate a cherry sno-cone. I don't know which of those things you enjoyed the most, but we've been busy to say the least.

We're getting ready to bid farewell to your two best friends. They are both leaving in less than a month and moving away, and things will change a bit. We are joining a new playgroup around that time, so hopefully we find someone to take their place.

You've also discovered your passion for painting. It's been fun watching you paint worms, bananas, and ovals with the occasional accidental object like a cow or a foot. They are about to be distributed to family members to adorn refrigerators and bring smiles to faces.

mcdonald's saves the day

There are many things to share about the recent trip to KS, but I wanted to tell you a quick story before I forgot it. There are few things that McDonald's is good for in my opinion, but after visiting Coffeyville last week I am grateful for those golden arches. We had a bit of bad luck with our travels, and you ended up sick with the terrible cold that Ben had when we first arrived. It made sleeping very difficult for you with the coughing which in turn made it very difficult for dad to sleep since you shared a room in the camper (aka ambulance car which was kinda funny). There were some very early mornings for the family when no one was awake yet to visit so we would venture to the 24 hour McDonald's down the road. We shared the restaurant with some of the old farmers that met up for coffee in the mornings. It was a task to get you and your brother to eat anything for the week because you didn't feel good, but we tried. We were willing to do about anything to make you two feel better and this is what you came up with...

Butter and syrup soup
Ingredients:
Butter
Syrup

Open a package of McDonald's syrup and two packages of McDonald's butter. Scrape the butter into the syrup and stir until you've reached the desired consistency.

You made it, tasted it, enjoyed it, talked your mom and dad into tasting it, and it created a little comic relief for your two very exhausted parents.