Summer Summary

Well Summer ran right into the beginning of Fall, but we managed to grab a week with family at the beach and a bunch of smiles in the midst of all of the business. Since the last post, we've gained a kindergartner, and a solid-food-eating-squawker. Big things going on, people.

A pre-vacation pile up.

We took a week and went to Emerald Isle with my mom's clan and Chris' parents. The sisters always show up in force with their kids and their kids in tow, and we love it. We missed a shot of the cousins' dinner this time, probably because we were all too busy swapping parenting war-stories and wondering at the fact that we were all kidless for the evening.

Smiles for Grandpa.

Windblown wee-one.

Don't be deceived, its actually pretty warm out here.

It's no surprise she chose the director's chair.

Beach snoozing with Grammy.

Bathing Buddies

First meeting with the Nelson girls.

And some fun reuniting with 'cousin' Cora.

I think that once girls hit 5 and up, they gain a pose-reflex.

See?

The second-generation cousins documentation. Fabulously chaotic!

:o)

Tie-Dye-ers-at-work.

Unbeknownst to us all, Wes dressed to match his Grandpa.

Tie-Dye-Trio

And a Grandpop snooze for good measure.

The feast!

Sibling snuggles.

Crab legs...she wanted the big kind. (And that's butter...not beer :o).

Back home and almost 6 months of cute right here.

And his first taste of solids. Served up by his sister.

A little got in.

It got better from here.

Fast forward two months...

This about sums it up much of the time.

We were able to celebrate the marriage of our good friends in Maryland in mid-August. It was amazing. The brides are good friends with our entire 'group,' so we made a pact to not let this chance pass us by. We all sweet-talked the grandparents, uncles, sister-in-laws, what-have-you, into watching the kids while we stayed in Annapolis and danced the night away in celebration. It always does my heart good to have them around.

Footloose, baby.

Because Allie starting Kindergarten wasn't going to make me feel like my kids were growing up enough, we decide to get Wes his first trim to try to tame the growing crazy that was the top of his sweet head. Allie came with me and documented frame-by-frame (no really, these are only an eighth of the pictures she took). She was a big help as her paparazzi skills distracted Wes for much of the cut.

Mommy..whats going on?

Alllright.

Is this necessary?

Yes?

OK, it's not so bad...

Aaannd, I'm done.

What just happened?

OK, I'm better now.

 And its official. We have an elementary-schooler. Allie started Kindergarten on August 29th in addition to an afterschool dance class. She's only half-day, so really she's spending half the time in the classroom than she's used to, but with the addition of mornings with Daddy and afterschool dance-class (her afterschool-care program), she's pretty stoked for all of it. Her dance classes are different depending on the day, and they include Lyrical (no clue what this really means), Musical Theater (I mean seriously...how has this not happened before now?), Acrobatics (my people are not really built to be upsidedown, but she's going for it), and Tap (her shoes have bows and she loves making noise). And in case you were counting, Grammy is there to greet her at the bus-stop on Mondays. We just capped off our first week of the madness, and we're pretty sure she would give it two thumbs up.

First day of kindergarten. I had zero hopes of picking out her outfit or being able to fix her hair. She gets ready with Chris for every other day, and this kid has her own mind made up when she gets dressed, so we go with it. I think it turned out pretty great :o).

Poised and posed.

Even though it was our first day of school with the big kids at work, I was able to sneak out and be there for her first time on the bus. (She's 'pm' so she gets on at 11:19am.) We made sure to grab a family first day shot.

Afternoon kindergarten buds.

And she's off. Insert smiley face...wailing face here.

 And if you're still with us, we celebrated the Saturday of Labor Day with our annual Wintrode Reunion to gather, gab, and grub. Grandma and Grandpa Wintrode were smiling down on the joyful chaos, I'm sure of it.

Wes making friends with Kiersten.

And hanging out with Aunt Jeannette.

'The kindergartners' and their fierce leader, Tim, next to their fort.

The newest members checking each other out. Jake has Wes beat for newness by 4 months. Next year's going to be even crazier once they're mobile. We love it.

A kind passerby-er took our group picture at the overlook...which is why there was no 'take 2' to grab the rest of Moms face and turn Daisy politely around. Ah, well!

Here's the youngest generation minus Katie in all their glory.
Wes was seriously upset for 3 seconds the entire day...and it happened right then. Al's not phased.

The Kids' kids & co.

The Kids. I'd say they're doing pretty well.