Baby Shower

We spent last weekend in Elkader, preparing for and executing a shower to welcome Baby Elizabeth into our family.  It was the first shower for Audrey and Kate to host, and they did wonderfully!  We had fun seeing friends and family, trying out some new recipes, and, of course, seeing Baby Elizabeth.  Here are some pics of the girls in their hostess role.

Here the girls are watching for their first "customers" to arrive, as Audrey put it.

Where is everyone?  We're ready!

Audrey helped Kirstin open gifts and liked to go as quickly as she could.  Poor Kirstin couldn't keep up!

Kate was taking a break from hosting at this point to watch the action.

A good hostess always wears high heels!

Kate realizes the importance of staying calm at all times with a newborn, even when things aren't going as planned.

Audrey thinks the rattle is a perfect solution to calm Elizabeth.

New Additions to the Family!

Since moving out to the country, we've expanded our family a bit.  First, we were joined immediately by Charlie, who is a beautiful stray cat who was purchased as a part of the house.  When we signed the papers, we promised to feed Charlie our scraps and give her fresh water.  It was written into the purchase agreement! :)  Charlie often is found sitting outside our front door, waiting for a small girl to come out and dump treats or food out to her.  Belle has not taken a liking to Charlie and can often be found growling or staring menacingly out the front door.

The other additions to our family have been the wildlife!  We have had turkey, deer, and other little animals frequently in the yard.  It is so beautiful to watch.  It's funny to see how quickly the deer sprint away when little girls are yelling inside the house.

Belle was trying to make Charlie think she was all relaxed, but her plan was to POUNCE as soon as the door was opened.

Kate's Ponytail

Kate's hair has grown rapidly this summer and is really starting to hang in her eyes.  We've worked hard to get her used to having some kind of clip, headband, or ponytail holder in her hair.  Over the past week, she's made some progress, and man, does she look grown up!  This little spicy lady steals our hearts daily.

Headbands can also be worn as chokers, for all those who remember those necklaces! :)

Here's what she looks like without any clips (and after eating ice cream one night).

Audrey's newest hairstyle is having some curls dangling around her face.  She got her haircut today, and it is SO much easier to brush through right now.  It helps to cut off those ends.

Goodbye, House!

After a month of boxes and packing tape filling our house, we have now been settled in our new house for about two weeks.  It's starting to feel more like home, and the number of boxes still left to be unpacked is dwindling.  Thanks to an awesome crew of family and friends, our looooong day of moving went smoothly.  We love our house, but it was hard to say goodbye to our sage green home on Willow Street.  Here are a few pictures for the girls to remember their first home!

I'm sure it will take awhile for this not to be known as "Mrs. Paulsen's House"!  Every  now and then the doorbell would ring with a random kid popping by to say  hi or sell something. :)

The kitchen table where we ate many, many meals as a family.  It doesn't look quite right without a highchair strapped to one of the chairs!

 Kate's Room!  The room where nights were spent holding a sleeping baby, days and nights were spent changing diapers, and countless hours were spent reading books.

The beautiful pink "big girl room"!  Audrey loved her bright pink room, and right before we moved, she could often be found closing the door to her room because she needed her privacy.

Our living room never looked this neat!  It was always cluttered with toys, books, dolls, blankets, and sometimes even forts.  It was the perfect room for taking first steps, cuddling on the couch, or middle of the night feedings to happen with just a few dim lights on.

Look at how well that lawn is mowed!  Many fun memories were created in this backyard, and I loved to be able to look out the kitchen window and watch the girls playing with Jeremy while I cooked.  I'm sure the neighbors miss hearing Audrey's loud voice and Kate's screams as supper was being prepared! :)

Other Vacation Moments...

Disclaimer:  Our air-conditioning in the home we were staying stopped working during our stay, so you will notice the girls are minimally dressed!

Kate and Dad trying out the 3-D glasses for the high-tech TV.

What a good helper for sweet corn!

A new option for soccer uniforms!

Ashes, ashes we all fall down!  This is fun, but we need someone else to play with us.

Thanks, Uncle Justin!

Man, we love our Uncle Justin.  Thanks for playing with us!

Our Day at the Zoo

For our vacation this year, we enjoyed a long weekend in Des Moines.  One day was spent with the girls at Blank Park Zoo, while we sent the men to an Iowa Cubs game.  Blank Park Zoo was a perfect experience for Audrey and Kate.  It had a lot of animals, but it wasn't so huge to exhaust us by the end.  Audrey went into the experience feeling so excited to feed animals, but became very timid as we got closer.  The only animals she finally agreed to feed were the fish and ducks!  I even reminded her that she fed goats when she was one. :)  Kate loved pointing at all the animals, but she got nervous when on the carousel.  She loved it until it started to move up and down.  What brave ladies we are raising!

It's all fun and games until it starts to move!

Cousin Elizabeth

On July 16, Audrey and Kate became cousins!  Kirstin and Eric welcomed their baby girl, Elizabeth Marie, after being two weeks overdue.  We were able to go up and meet her this past weekend, and Audrey took the role of cousin very seriously.  She loved every minute of being with Elizabeth and was especially excited to see her in the old baby swing.  On the way home, then, Audrey referred to Elizabeth as a little "nut" and asked when she could see her again.  :) We are all so excited to watch these girl cousins play together very soon!  Welcome, Elizabeth!  We love you so much already.

Crazy Days

These past two weeks have been jam-packed with lots of events in our lives.  We're hopeful the last couple weeks of summer will slow down a little, so that we can enjoy moments of a more relaxing schedule.  I hope to get caught up on the blog a little bit this week.  Here are some pics of the ladies a couple weeks ago at a splash pad having lots of fun!