the whole gang

kevin and libby feed the fish at the hatchery in spearfish

the view from inside a tunnel

granddad's jeep as he leads us through

Sprinkles on Top

This day we ran through the sprinklers, all three of us. It was so refreshing!

Lauritzen Gardens

One nice hot day two pregnant ladies decided to take their kids to a beautiful garden for lunch and a little stroll. Here are some pics from our outing. Don't worry, Libby didn't get too soaked or injured from the sprinkler, despite the effect the picture gives. And sorry about the double images of Libby and Hudson. I couldn't get Blogger to let me delete either one of those pictures! We couldn't get one where they were both "posed" but Hudson's decision to pause for a drink really reflects good decision making skills on his part. It was hot out!

needless to say, the circus can really wear a girl out.

Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth

Well, several weeks ago we went to the circus, which Libby refers to as "my favorite." She has many favorites these days, but she does mention the circus frequently and would love to go back. Why wouldn't she? We had a great time with Grandpa Larry and Aunts Wendy and Emily, watching amazing stunts, seeing ferocious tigers and enormous elephants perform beautifully, and of course enjoying circus treats such as pizza and funnel cake (and all of this from our amazing seats in the second row of the center section!). What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

First Play-Day at the Park

It's been SO long since I've posted and I have a lot of catching up to do. June was an incredibly busy month, but I managed to have time to take some photos along the way. Over the next few days I'll try to keep updating, but July isn't looking to offer me much more free time, so be patient! :)

Below are 2 pictures from our first weekly Play-Day with friends from church. Libby and I enjoyed the big comfy swing and had a great time picnicking and playing with the other moms and children.

Bathing Beauty

Libby continues to be emboldened around water. "Floating" on her back has been taken to a new level. Now, she likes to rinse her shampoo out under the running water, "like Katie does it". Katie is our hairdresser, and yes, she does rinse Libby's shampoo out under a faucet of running water, not by simply pouring water from a cup as some unsophisticated mothers might.
You can see the caution in her eyes, but it does not stop her. Needless to say, mama is a bit nervous about her upcoming swimming lessons and the lack of fear that she possesses while at the pool!

It Ain't Easy, Lookin' This Good

Libby plays dress-up and wears one of mama's skirts. She looks good in it! Here's to looking good!

You gotta love that big cheesy smile.

Latest Trip to the Museum

The children's museum has been remodeled and the new version is even more grand than the original. We went with friends Brittany and Hudson a couple of weeks ago. Hudson is 16 months and he and Libby played pretty independently, and I didn't get any pics of the 2 of them - bummah. Next time. But you can see from the pics below that Libby had lots of fun. There's a new firetruck themed area (she's driving below) as well as a water "park" equipped with squirters and floaty toys (lots of fun) and a new 2-story play house, decked out with all the essentials.

start 'er up! we've got a fire at the mall!
(she actually told me the fire was at the mall)


grandpa larry can attest, libby is a born driver. it's not hard to tell she's thrilled to be behind the wheel. a couple nights ago she managed to get grandpa to give her a personal tour of his jeep and daddy's car, and libby was quick to buckle up (in the driver's seat) and ask him for the keys!


here she practices putting the fire out on this house.

navigating her way through the corn rows

here is the new really fun play house entrance. libby heads in next to an older boy who was in the midst of a game of modern day "cops and robbers". Over-protective mama didn't appreciate the broom guns my little one was exposed to, but she seemed to survive just fine. She found herself a baby that she carried around with her the rest of the day, even bathing her in the fountain area. (you can probably tell her pants are wet in the corn picture because baby was pretty much soaked)

she's such a nurturer, caring for her little one in the second floor bedrooms

here she gives a grin as she sits at the dining table, with some food or something in hand for her little one.

chit chat, chit chat

Libby: Baby Jane, I'm sorry I not hold you all the time. Baby Jane, I'm sorry I not hold you all the time. (x5 in a very sweet and regretful voice) ... Baby Jane, I'm sorry I can't hold you all the time. ... I have bear.

Libby: I see the church!
Daddy: No, that's not the church. That's "Transgenomic Ltd.".
Mama and Daddy: (carrying on with our previous conversation)
Libby: What is it? What is it? What is it? .... (x100)
Mama: Libby, they do scientific research.
Libby: oh. (completely satisfied)
Daddy: chuckles at
Libby: Daddy, why you laugh?

Libby: looking at a honeymoon picture of mama and daddy in Honduras. Mom, let's go swimming there!

More to Make you Grin

Here are a few more little conversations, that will hopefully bring a smile to your face.

Remember the busy bee? (see below) Well, the next day Libby said to me,
"up please ladybug."
Mama: who are you calling ladybug?
Libby: i call mama ladybug!
Mama: i think you are ladybug!
Libby: i'm not ladybug - i'm libby!

Mama: retrieving Libby's virtually untouched turkey sandwich from our picnic yesterday. "here you go Libby. here's your turkey sandwich."
Libby: acutally, that's old, mom.

Mama: okay libby, you need to settle down and lay down for your nap. (libby is wiggling and giggling)
Libby: i'm just so happy you put this sheet on my bed, mom!

Libby: looking at the computer desktop picture, which is uncle mason, libby, and tara in their shades (pictured below) she says to the photo: hey guys! ... then, to inform mama she says, that uncle masie and tara. i love that little guy.
Mama: who do you love?
Libby: Tara. I love that little guy!

Daddy: turns off the shower
Libby: hide! let's hide mom! (we go through this every morning)
Mama: no, we're eating breakfast and your hands are all sticky. let's just sit here and eat. (usually we are able to hide in bed from daddy but this morning it didn't work out)
Libby: in a hurried frantic whisper, crouching in close to mama at the table. mom! let's hide! real quick, let's hide from daddy before he see us! real quick mom!

Libby: say hi baby jane (her favorite doll), you not needa be shy... (wonder if she's heard that before)

The blog gives you a chance to see Libby grow, but you can't hear her! What fun we have discussing matters with her, explaining everything to her, and listening to her own little explanations. Though you can't hear her little voice, her intonations and excitment and curiosity and expression, you can at least imagine. Below are some of Libby's latest:

what for? what for? and sometimes, for what? this is one of libby's favorite questions. her own version of "why." she is constantly asking where, when, what for, etc. She has clearly entered the stage of questioning everything. So, she gets explanations for everything from laws, to airplane mechanics, to wedding rituals, to scripture, to why lucy pulled the football away from charlie brown when he ran to kick it.

other conversations from the past 36 hours:
Uncle Daniel: Libby, whose shoes are these?
Libby: Those daddy's shoes. . . . . . . and sometimes Libby's.

Mama: okay honey, once again, we are in a hurry, we need to get going so you need to come to mama to get your shoes on.
Libby: where are we going?
Mama: we're going to a nice lady's house to eat lunch with aunt lucy and uncle dan and aunt wendy and (listing all the family who will be there)...
Libby: again?!
Mama: yes, again.
Libby: wooooow. that a lot of people.

Mama: cooking dinner and zipping around the kitchen getting ready to eat and run to a meeting
Libby: up please, busy bee.
Mama: who are you calling "busy bee"?!
Libby: i call mama "busy bee." up please, mama busy bee!
(30 minutes later when daddy gets home)
Libby: daddy, i call mama "busy bee." ha ha ha ha ha
(fyi- we don't refer to each other as busy bee. we call bees "busy bee". apparently, she made the leap and decided mama was buzzing around the kitchen like a busy bee!)

Daddy: resting his arm on libby's car seat in the cramped airplane
Libby: daddy, your arm on libby's seat! move your arm off libby's seat!
Daddy: libby, please can i rest my arm on your seat?
Libby: no, daddy. you have your own seat!
Daddy: (and mama chuckling) libby, daddy doesn't have much room to rest his arm, and your seat is very big, but you are not very big. would it be okay for daddy to rest his arm on your seat?
Libby: (big sigh.) libby says yeah

Mama and Daddy: after a loooooong weekend, laughing about something (probably something libby said)
Libby: mama, don't laugh. actually, daddy, don't laugh. when you laugh it really hurts my ears.

Wedding Pics Galore!

Okay! Well I think I've posted most of the wedding pics I'm going to, unless I come across one that I missed along the way... one or two that is. We had over 100 pics and so many of them turned out nicely. Below are many that will give you a hint of what a beautiful wedding we were able to celebrate, how blessed are we by our gracious Lord Jesus, and what a great time we had celebrating with our family. Enjoy!

libby flips and twirls her dress, like every good flower girl should

at the rehearsal dinner, the pizza place allowed "crayon art" on the walls

i LOVE this picture. don't they look so alike?! daddy and libby share a dance.

here we pose with the newlyweds on sunday afternoon at their second reception.

this is a silly pic taken at the ORD airport children's museum as we played away our 3 hour flight delay...

don't worry, libby is an incredibly safe backseat driver, so she waited until daddy stopped at a red light to ask him to smile for this picture.

as if a wedding weekend in chicago isn't enough, libby gets to go swimming too!

she's been preparing for this moment for weeks (in the bath) and now she finally gets to be a backfloater. pay no attention to the man with the arms under her back.

sending off the happy couple

she was feeling a little fiesty, weren't we all after the long weekend?, and decided to go pose for this one.

libby and uncle jon had lots of quality time together

in a tiny, whispery, sweet, and totally genuine voice libby said, "i like your dress lucy." this was the first time she'd been up close, or taken the time to look at how beautiful it was. it was a very sweet moment.

libby and teddy (ring bearer) are both on the shy side, so this was the best we could get. :)

uh-huh

a quick pick of the 3 (or 4) of us