Long Update!

Where do I even begin? It's been awhile since I last updated because I've been up north! Dan and I left for Dan's family's cabin (which is north of Duluth) on the Saturday morning before Independence Day. They were contently awake almost the entire ride. They started to fuss a little the last half hour. No biggie.

The cabin up north was a lot of fun- tons of family around to help! Never had so many baby-holders! Lara, Charlie, Dane and Peter drove all the way from Detroit, so we finally got to meet little (NOT) Peter. He is definitely bigger than Sofia but his hands and feet are crazy huge next to our girls! It was also weird being around a newborn again because we had to remember to support the head and of course he slept much of the time. Sometimes I miss the girls' ability to sleep whenever and wherever. Our girls will have so much fun at future reunions with their cousins Dane and Peter (Dane will totally be the ring leader and instigator!)

Peter and the girls posing... he fits right in size-wise! (L to R Josie, Madeline, Peter, Sofia)
Ring leader of the cousins, Dane! Cutie pie!!
The girls in their 4th of July outfits (thanks, Mary and Dave!) (L to R Josie, Madeline, Sofia)

A side story from the cabin: look at what we found attached to our little Sofia!!
Yes, that is a deer tick. Neither Dan nor I have even seen a deer tick let alone have one attached to us! Our poor little girl! We've been looking out for the tell-tale bulls eye to signify Lyme's Disease. We learned from an infectious disease doc that it would show up within days of being attached so I think we're in the clear. Also, we learned that it would need to be attached for at least 24 hours and I don't think Sofia was even close to that. Phew!!!!

Since Peter was to be baptized a week after July 4th, I decided to just stay in Duluth so we didn't have to make that trip two weekends in a row (Dan went home to Roseville). I loaded up the girls and their GEAR (whoa, the Yukon helped us out there) and drove to Duluth from the cabin on the Tuesday after the 4th. My biggest mistake was to leave during "witching" hour. Oh my goodness, they bawled bloody murder the whole hour-long trip! Hearing three babies wail and knowing there's nothing really I could do is super hard. It is so tempting to pull over and try to calm them down, but really it is delaying inevitably putting them back in the dreaded car seat! Anyways, I made it with three babies safe and sound to my parent's house in Duluth. That was the longest hour ever!

Hanging around my parent's house that week was nice and relaxing. We took a lot of walks and enjoyed the beautiful weather on their deck. My parents even babysat so I could go out to lunch with Lara. If the car ride was the slowest hour, that was the fastest! It was so nice to just sit and enjoy a meal!

My dad with Madeline on their deck.

Play time! (L to R Josie, Madeline, Sofia)
Uh-oh, I think Josie wants Maddie's toy!
Josie and Sofia playing at my parent's house.
Sofia and I at Brighton Beach in Duluth, a gorgeous rocky beach.

The crew at the beach- feeding time!
The Baptism for Peter was very nice and I'm glad we were there! Actually, the girls were so good and we even fed them during the service! I have to include a picture of Dan's grandparents and all of their great-grandchildren!
Last minute, I decided to just stay in Duluth another week because Dan had to be out of town for work. Why not? I love Duluth in the summer- no better place to be! I packed up my stuff from my parents house to Dan's parent's house since my parents were off to their cabin. I had a great week. Deb and I hung out during the day, taking some nice walks. We even made it to the board walk!

Madeline doesn't seem to love being caught in the middle!

The girls are working on sitting alone. Could Sofia be any cuter?

I think we can say they officially discovered their feet! (Madeline)

One of those rare moments when all three nap at the same time (sometimes it's fun when they share a crib)!

Daddy missed his girls!! Here he is feeding Josie.
Traveling home from Duluth was a big production this past Friday morning, but I survived. I had a lot of help from Deb packing up everything. Luckily, Dan's aunt, Mary was able to come over once I arrived in Roseville to help unload and feed. What would I do without all the help? Duluth was beautiful and fun but it's always nice to get back home. Hope everyone is doing well and congrats if you made it through this long post!