A weekend in St. Louis

Last weekend Drew had his EdwardJones summer regional meeting in St. Louis so we had a nice little vacation. We got to stay at the Hilton right downtown and had an awesome time.

In the heart of downtown is a park called Citygarden with ponds and lots of plants. We weren't prepared for the water, but luckily my girls are still young enough to swim in public in a t-shirt and panties.

Friday night we went to a Cardinals' game!!! What fun, EdwardJones had rented out some suites so we spent most of our time in air conditioning.

Visiting the Arch

It was also Marine week in St. Louis, so we got to see lots of airplanes and guns around the arch.

The one thing the girls really wanted to do was ride in a carriage, so we finally gave in and paid the outrageous fee to see St. Louis from a horse-drawn carriage.

The weekend was amazing and it was nice to spend some time with Drew. We can't wait to go back!

Ballet

For the girls' birthday, they received dance lessons from Grandma Heckert. They love love love to dance and have really enjoyed the lessons. The hour class is divided into ballet, tap, and tumbling. Above is Lily during the ballet part.

Relaxing during tumbling

Kate, waiting for class to start

Kate doing a plie.

I am really excited about the dance lessons too because I am hoping it will teach the girls some grace and poise which will be beneficial for their whole lives. The girls' favorite part is ballet and they love to practice. I hope to have some video up after this week's class.

Otters Game

Saturday we went to an Otters game and had a great time! The girls really seemed to like it, and it was fun to spend time with my brother, Grandma, and dad.

Kate (showing off her now two spot gap in her mouth) and Jonny

Daddy and Lily.

The Evansville Otters!! It was perfect weather for a baseball game, and we sat almost right in front of the pitchers mound.

Jonathan had a blast!

So did Elise.

The girls' favorite part was getting their faces painted. I think we waited in line for an hour, but it was worth it to see the grins on their faces when they turned into "kitties!"

A little sibling rivalry

Elise's personality is starting to show through, and she is determined to: 1. not to be left behind and 2. To be the first in something! Last friday she started getting up on her hands and toes trying to move, and this quickly turned into some "crawling." While she does not crawl in the typical fashion yet, she can get where she needs. I am shocked that she is so mobile at 6 months. The other girls were both closer to 9 months. So, not only is she the first with blue eyes, she is the first to crawl so far. Watch out Kate and Lily!!!

p.s. 6 months stats are Weight 16 lbs 9 oz Height 26.5 in

Help! My baby turned FIVE!!!

Monday was Kate's birthday and boy did we have fun! The girls got bikes, ballet lessons, crafts, and so much more! The girls had to put on their ballet uniform as soon as they opened them!

Thank you Melissa and Christopher!

Having fun with all the craziness!

Kate and Lily have a book where a girl gets a sewing machine for her birthday, so Kate really wanted to learn how to sew. Mom found some really fun sewing/craft projects for kate, we are really excited to learn to be like Grandma!

On Tuesday we had a party with a few of Kate's church friends. We made bracelets, decorated cupcakes, and ate pizza!

Lily had to help me while baking cupcakes...sometimes I just don't have enough hands.

Papa gave the girls a card that sang, and they can't get enough of it!

6 months of cuteness

Yesterday Elise turned 6 months old. What a sweetheart! This past week she has been going through a major growth spurt because she is hungry all the TIME! I mean more than usual, eating every 1.5 hours instead of 2. Today she seemed to slow it down a little, which is a relief.

Elise is as cute as can be, and We are so excited to have her in our family.

As cute as she is, she is also impossible to photograph! She does not like to hold still, especially when I make her laugh. Most of her photographs are super fuzzy...thank goodness for digital photos that I can delete.