Michigan, Week 2

After Chris left with Nanna and Papa we had a couple days to ourselves before Ra-Ra joined us at the cottage.

Nina loved riding the tractor at Pond Hill Farm, became an expert bubble maker and kite flyer with gifts from Ra-Ra, rode on the ferry to Mackinac Island, and had lots of playtime at the new "river" by the beach. Hot and sunny, rainy, windy or cloudy... every day was another adventure!

Michigan, Week 1

After a pretty easy 10-hour drive to Harbor Springs we settled right in to vacation mode at the cottage with Nanna and Papa. The Fourth of July parade was entertaining as always, and Nina quickly fell in love with all aspects of life in northern Michigan: playing at the beach, shopping and dining in Petoskey and Harbor Springs, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, and indulging in cookies, ice cream and fudge!

A Visit from Aunt AB

We wore Nina out with a jam-packed couple of days visiting with Aunt AB (Anna Bess) from Memphis. You can see how the exhaustion finally set in... Fun times at the Contemporary Art Center, neighborhood playground, zoo (the carousel!!), and of course the pool. (Since I am always the one in the water with Nina I need to get someone else to take photos of her swimming!)

Happy Father's Day

Just like last year we started the special day with breakfast at Einstein's and then headed to the zoo. We saw all of our favorites plus some surprises: baby cheetahs, flamingos and llamas walking through the zoo, and an Indian rhino splashing around in her new exhibit. The grand finale was THREE rides on the carousel: on a shark, a giraffe, and a tiger!

Playground and Minnie Mouse

Nina and I spent a nice morning at the Mariemont park and playground bouncing, swinging, running and exploring.

The rest of the weekend Nina took really good care of Minnie Mouse: reading to her for night-night time, buckling her in for a stroller ride, and sharing the swing. Maybe Nina is ready to be a big sis after all!

Stylish Nina

Here we have Nina at school, painting in her PJs. Then Nina trying on her new swimsuit after dinner (with a smudge of kitty cat makeup on her nose and pink socks on her feet). The request to wear Mommy's running tights while sweeping was a real gem (already trying to steal my clothes!). And finally, why not mix a polka dot denim hat with a pink floral dress??

Just to be clear: do not take fashion tips from a toddler!

Sunshine and Mother's Day

A couple weeks ago we ventured downtown to the flower show to check out landscape ideas for the house and got to enjoy gorgeous spring weather.

Mother's Day was a little rainier but we still had fun painting Nina's "piggies" to show off in her new sandals and doing crazy hair in the bathtub. Good times!