See You in September

Sunday night was the last show at the Shell for the season. We'll be back for more wonderfulness in September.

A rare sighting of Madeline awake. Very rare these days. She slept through most of the (loud) show.

Amy and Ginger eating the Shell's famous "Water Ice." We all agree, it's the best way to make it. With water. Cause it's ice.

I'm not just making up captions here. Meredith really is trying to figure out how to get Walt to dance with her. He's just spun out of her grasp for the second time. Keep at it, girl.

Instead of an encore, the lead guitarist ran through the crowd. See you in September, Pied Piper.

Happy Hour

About once a month, a group of us have a gathering that we call Happy Hour. Now, don't go picturing frosty martinis and little dishes of cashews, cause this ain't that sort of Happy Hour. But sometimes there are moments of relaxation amid the screams of the children, and sometimes we do get to have conversations in between demands that we participate in the insanity of their activities.

Last night, the kids made little pizzas and then sat peacefully and ate them.

After that, the peace was over. They ran like maniacs through the house, put on numerous "shows," each of which required an adult to introduce them, and generally focused their energy on removing every toy from its normal storage space. But they were happy, and so were we. See: Happy Hour.

Here, we see Meredith dancing (as usual). Walt and John's part in the show was to walk small stuffed animals across the "stage." She just kept dancing. They just kept walking small toys across the carpet. Good stuff. Highly entertaining.

Extra Large Colorado Post

When you think of summer in Colorado, you probably think of mountains...cool weather...hiking. Here's what I think: Madeline slept through the night! Twice! And for this and many other reasons, the Lareaus had a fabulous time in CO, despite not getting too far off the beaten path. Someday we'll take the girls to climb some fourteeners, but that'll wait.

And after looking at these pictures, I should also mention that Meredith may be relinquishing her title of "World's Most Cautious Child." She did several downright risky things on this trip. Relatively speaking. If this trend holds, we'll pass the title on to Mary Wilhite--love ya Mary!

For starters, check out the swimming!


Now. On to the serious stuff. Okay, so you may not be aware of this, but the North Pole is actually in Colorado Springs. Oh yeah. And we went there. Santa's been there since 1956, and there are elves and rides and Alpine-ish log cabins and magic shows and dippin dots and...the world's tiniest roller coaster. This thing is wee. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in speed and whiplash. AND MEREDITH ROAD IT. AND LOVED IT. I swear, she's on the other side of me in this pic.


Here are Aunt Kayle and Meredith touching THE ACTUAL NORTH POLE. Pretty cool huh? Actually it is. It's made of ice and stays frozen year round. That elf on top is named Elmer.


When we're in Co Springs, we love to go to Green Mountain Falls for a picnic. It's up a little further in the mountains, it's gorgeous, and it's got a great playground. Here, Meredith tries the moving-balance-circle-thing with Granpa.


We had a rousing game of no-holds-barred-tackle-tag-baseball. Basically, we did whatever it took to keep the three year old interested in the game, cause team sports have not held a lot of interest for her thus far.

Nothin' like a little beach volleyball in the mountains. This is me displaying really poor volleyball form, but the ball went over and the Lareaus tied the Vickers, so all was well.


Again, not exactly the rough and tough, wilderness vacation in Colorado that you might envision. But hey, a day in the poolside cabana ain't so bad either.

Love to all in CO who made our trip so wonderful. We miss you already!

Girl Talk

Top 5 Signs You May Have a Big Sister

As Madeline finds her way in the world, I feel it's only fair to provide her some guideposts along the way. These guideposts should help her make sense of her experiences, and bring clarity to the blur of infancy.

For example. You may have a big sister if...

You periodically find yourself wearing hairclips; a testament to your sister's skill since you don't have enough hair to clip.


A little voice in your ear asks you if you want to change clothes...about 10 times a day.

There is one word that you hear constantly throughout the day...so constantly that it may be your first word. It seems to come up in any and all contexts. The word is: ballerina.

The one with all the accessories also carries something called a megaphone. She can often be heard shouting "Gimme an M! Gimme an E! Gimme an R!" and "We're the number ONE!"

And the #1 sign that you may have a big sister is:
You periodically find yourself wearing a lavender polyester flower on your head.

Madeline Jane at Two Months

I just remembered how I used to do monthly posts for Meredith, and since I don't want Madeline to have any second-is-second-best-complexes, I figure I need to do some documenting.

I have to admit that it IS a little funny to read this post from Mer's two month milestone. I mean, I think I was being slightly tongue in cheek when I actually used the phrase "puddles of tears," but only slightly. Needless to say, it's not like we're less in love with Madeline. But it's a more peaceful love. I remember that for a few months after Meredith was born, I felt a sort of crazed need to have her back in the womb, because I felt she was safer there. Not so, this time. I'm not saying I'm not crazy, but it's a different kind of crazy.

Enough of that. Here are some two month pictures.

For the record, Madeline is bigger than Meredith was at this point, but other than that, this all feels very familiar. She's a content girl who smiles, sleeps well (already squeezing in some 5 hour stints), and only screams occasionally. Thanks to Gigi for letting me use the portrait lense (and also for chasing Meredith over hill and dale tonight to bring her back to the fold, though that has less to do with this particular post).

Party at the Shell

The Levitt Shell season has begun, and we've already been to three shows and one perfect picnic in the last week. It's free, for crying out loud. And fabulous. And though the above picture may not be what you envision when you hear the word "party," let me assure you that it represents a good time for the parents. Happy kids, live music...that's what we call a party at this point in our lives.


Here's my brother and I with our babies. Weird. We must be old. And yet..

Thanks to mom for the seersucker blankies. You can't really swaddle a baby in anything else for a picnic in Memphis in June.

And here's one of the dancers from the New Ballet Ensemble. They put on an early show specifically for the little ones, and it was gorgeous.