On the Move...

There is absolutely no stopping Miss Margaux... not only is she all over the place with her crawling, she's now pulling herself up on things!!! It's all happening too fast & although it's cute, my baby is getting too big! They both love being outside but it's challenging with Margaux. She refuses to stay on a blanket & will do anything to get to the grass, pull out a hand full & stuff it in her mouth. She's our little cow! Can't get her to eat any solids but she sure loves grass! Also a few of Marin @ the park. We're looking forward to Katie & Dan's visit tomorrow. xoxo

Splash!

Marin enjoyed the morning @ a splash park in Germantown with her friends Camden & Henry. She loved running through the water & getting her face wet. A lot of running & screaming involved. Also a short video of Margaux crawling, although it's not her best crawling because the dress is getting in her way. Grandma J. says I'm mean & should change her, but the dresses are too cute! She'll survive. She's getting quick & crawls from room to room now. My baby is getting so big! xo

Pictures of my ladies today. This morning I was in the bathroom putting my hair up & heard Marin yell, "Mommy I ready to go to the store!" So once I got into her room to find her I quickly realized that she too had done her hair & was all set to go...purse & all! It was too cute. I'm working on getting some video of my little crawler. She's all over the place. xoxo

A New Era in Brown.Family Photography...

After weeks of research, I finally bit the bullet & invested in a new digital SLR camera. A big decision & lots of $$$ so hopefully this means even better blog updates to come. Here are our 1st two shots from tonight. My ice cream & Gary in action. I'm anxious to get some shots of the girls in the morning. Until then I need some sleep. xo

Silly baby!

Can you believe this little thing is crawling?? Marin was so lazy & didn't move at all until she was 10 1/2 months old. Margaux is a different story. She seems to be doing everything a lot faster, which makes me sad knowing that she's growing so fast & Gary happy that she's more active, functional and "fun" as he says. Daddy & Marin also think it's funny to place her in Marin's doll pack-n-play. The other 2 pics are during her 2nd most favorite time of the day... being naked after bath.(1st is bath time itself.) She's perfected the tri-pod pose & makes us laugh each time she does it. She'll drag her head all the way across the floor to get what she wants & is getting better at crawling each day. We love her so!! xoxo

Tonight we headed to the Zoo for Kids Night...lots of food, music & fun! Marin danced the night away (along w/ Gary)... it was very cute. Unfortunately, it got late & Margaux needed to get to bed. We had to tear her away. Needless to say Marin fell asleep quite easily after all the dancing. The other pic is of Margaux & her friend Brynn Danen playing @ our house.

We had a great time visiting the Circus Parade festivities along the lakefront this morning. After we finished there we went for a long walk along the lake & ended at the Art Museum. Such a beautiful day...it was hard to get Marin to the car. I have some circus pictures, but they are not nearly as cute as these!! xoxo

Our little fish!

A few shots of us swimming @ Rankin's. Marin LOVED the water. Several days she went swimming both in the morning & afternoon. So much energy, I can't even tell you how many times she jumped into the pool. She would have stayed in the water all day long... blue lips, goose bumps & all!

Puppy wait.....

Two videos from the week. Video #1 is Marin chasing the neighbor's dog around up north. She kept telling him to wait for her. Unfortunately, he was deaf & didn't hear a word she was saying which is probably why he didn't acknowledge her!! Notice she also stands below the deck & yells for everyone to "Look @ me!" Video#2 is "fearless" taking her first dive off the diving board with Shanna. xoxo

Trip to Lakewood

On Friday we all headed up to Lakewood to spend some time @ the cabin on the lake. We had a fabulous time & were so happy that the weather cooperated. Both girls enjoyed their 1st boat rides. Marin couldn't get enough of the water & even went tubing for the first time! She had a blast! We were so surprised that she wasn't scared... but as always, she's our fearless little one! She's enjoying our week-long trip to GB a little too much. It's going to be a sad day when we pack up & head home on Monday!! xoxo

More H2O Fun...

Still hot, we're waiting for some relief & for the humidity to go away a bit. We know it's hot when Marin isn't complaining about how cold the water from the hose is!! Margaux just watches from the sidelines as usual! xoxo

Hot.Hot.Hot

This heat is rediculous! Marin just wants to be outside but it's hard with Margaux being so little. She gets so flippin hot! We did venture out & pick out a new sprinkler for Marin that she's been having a lot of fun with & it helps keep her cool. I can see her tan lines already!! haha

We Heart Daddy...

Here are two of the pics I took of the girls in their "Daddy" gear for Father's Day. Marin was not into it at all so I distracted her with a sucker & Margaux was nothing but smiles. The basement is... ((sigh)) CLEAN!!! (For those who may not know, it was flooded again with sewer backup Thursday night. Our worst nightmare!!) My mom came down to help once again which was great. Thanks again mom! It was so nice having her assistance, she has so much energy. We took advantage of her in the evening also. Gary & I went to see a movie which we haven't done in a long time. The Hangover is just hilarious. Highly recommended to all. Happy Father's Day!!! xo

Tubby & PJ's

They appear to love each other so much tonight & for once Marin isn't choking Margaux in the pictures where she's holding her!! Marin has been difficult to photograph lately. As soon as she sees the camera come out she looks away. She didn't do well @ Kohl's for her shoot Tuesday either. Won't be seeing her in the ads any time soon!!! xoxo

Busy Weekend!

I'll do my best to sum it up in as few words as possible!! We had an eventful weekend. Friday I had Gary get the jogger out to see if Margaux could safely ride in it. (It's much easier to push when I'm out getting my exercise) She did great & Marin just loved the "new" ride. She clearly doesn't remember that she was in it all summer last year! It's like her own little fort. Saturday morning we took the girls to the Zoo for PBS Kids Day so Marin could meet her friends Elmo, Cookie Monster, Curious George, etc. But her fav. is Super Why. It was fun to see her face light up when she'd see a character. She was a bit scared at first but by the time we left she was giving Clifford a high-five. When we got home she & Daddy had lunch outside on her new picnic table. Gary & I also both worked at our Church Festival Fri/Sat. Then Saturday night we went as a family for some fun. We could not get Marin off the big blow up slide for the life of us. I'm not sure I've ever seen her having so much fun. Needless to say, Marin's endless trips down the slide gave the church some good $$$! The last pic is our friend's daughter Rachel w/ Margaux @ the festival. I'm looking forward to using her as a mother's helper this summer... she just loves the girls. Long weekend, we're all exhausted!

Margaux tried out the swing for the first time tonight. All smiles, she just loved it. Little moments like that are so fun. Our only problem was once Marin saw her in the swing she got upset & didn't want to share "her" swing. Easy solution... buy another swing right?? But unfortunately, I'm not so sure that we have another branch that would hold one. Guess she'll have to learn to share. First the high chair, now the swing (not to mention a million other things)... Margaux is slowly invading Marin's territory!

A few random shots. Marin had a busy weekend helping daddy & Grandpa do landscaping around Grandma & Grandpa's house. We went up there to help get it all done before my dad's surgery, which was yesterday. She was such a great little helper. Yesterday we watched my friend Jessica's two little girls Annie & Evelyn for a short time. It was fun having friends around to play with. Very interesting since Marin & Annie are just 2 weeks apart & Margaux & Evelyn are about 3 weeks apart!

We're gearing up to start Margaux on solids in the next month or so. I can tell she's ready right now but we have to hold off due to the fact that Marin has allergies. Because Marin has a severe allergy, it puts Margaux at a higher risk for allergies also. But soon enough she'll get the good stuff! She enjoys the chair already, although it was hard for Marin to see Margaux in "her chair."