Back and forth she goes

It's quite possible Molly will wear a groove in the floor running from the living room to the family room. Per my mother's request, here are a few videos of Molly with her little legs pumping:

Just another afternoon in the suburbs

Jason desperately wants to have a beautiful, green, manicured lawn. A yard he can be proud of. The first thing he did when we moved into the new house was to go out and get a lawnmower and a sprinkler. Since then, he has spent many an evening happily watering and tending and taking care of our outdoor living space.

Unfortunately, for all his hard work, the weeds have taken over. They're everywhere! See what I mean:

More weeds than grass

To get rid of the problem, we have to pick each weed one by one, and then spray the root area with Round Up. It takes forever! I even joined in this afternoon and did a little patch in the shade. Admire my handiwork:

Now, instead of weeds, we have a million little holes, and a million patches of dead grass :)

It was kind of fun (for a little while) to get my hands dirty and help out with the yard work. But now I have a huge blister on one finger, so will probably have to take tomorrow off. I have a feeling I'll have at least a few more chances to participate though...it's going to be a while before Jason has the yard of his dreams!

Princesses can count, too!

Molly shocked us this evening by finishing up my "1, 2, 3, 4..." with the rest of the numbers up to 10. Ha! We spent so much time over the past few weeks with my parents in town, getting her to understand the concept of "3," we had no idea that she knew the rest of the numbers too.

I'm coaching her a little bit in this video, and Jason is hiding behind the wall so that she doesn't see the video camera, but I think it's pretty obvious that she knows what she's doing. I beam with pride at the end :)

Also, here are a few photos of Molly in her new pink tutu and party shoes. Enjoy!

Thanks to Grandma Janet for this adorable little number!

 I couldn't decide which photo to post, so went with both. Why not?!

A Good Samaritan

In typical fashion, Molly and I were scrambling to get out the door on time this morning. So of course that meant I was scrambling to find a parking spot near the train. On street cleaning days (Thursdays and Fridays), that is no easy feat and I was stuck parking a good 10-min walk from the train.

The minute I locked the car door, the sky opened and it started to rain. Hard. As I struggled with my umbrella, a 20-something year-old girl stopped her car and asked if I wanted a ride to the train. Normally, I would have said no, but it was a pretty desperate situation and she looked totally harmless, so I jumped in. Her name was Betsy.

Now, here I am, nice and dry, on a train that is actually going to get me to work on time.

Thanks, Betsy!

Back to life. Back to reality.

What will we do without my parents in town? Let's face it, Jason, Molly, and I have all been pretty spoiled these last 5 weeks... My parents have watched Molly most Mondays and Fridays, saving her from the full 5 days at daycare. They've picked me up from the train station most nights after work, saving me from a 15-minute walk after my 45-minute commute. And they've been back and forth to the store, countless times, whenever we need anything at all -- milk, diapers, extra pillows for guests, you name it.

Life is pretty good with two Babas around!

It's been especially helpful to have them around when Jason travels. Although now that we have two cars (see below), I'll be able to park by the train after dropping Molly off at daycare in the morning. Still, it's going to be a rush to get out the door at 5 in order to make it through the daycare doors before they close at 6.

Not our actual car, but you get the idea. Gray Mazda 3 hatchback. Love!

We've had a great summer. I feel a little guilty that my parents haven't been able to knock around Chicago, like they usually do when visiting. But I think we all agree that Evanston has its perks!

Love is in the air!

It's been wedding, wedding, wedding all weekend. And I mean that in the best, most exciting way possible! On Friday, my sister B settled on a wedding venue and date (The Intercontinental O'Hare; Chicago, IL; November 10, 2012). Then on Saturday, I put together invites for a bridal brunch for my soon-to-be sister-in-law Corinne (Housing Works Bookstore Cafe; New York, NY; Sept 8, 2012). And then today, we all went wedding dress shopping for my little sister Susie (Geneva National Golf Club; Lake Geneva, WI; July 13, 2013). She looked beautiful in everything. I wish I could post pics of the top two dresses to see which one people like best, but have a feeling she wants the groom to be surprised...

It's going to be a fun year! Look for more wedding-themed blog posts to come!

Summer vacation

So what have I been doing lately? Certainly not blogging!

My parents are here for a few more weeks, so we've been busy hanging out with them most nights, eating dinner al fresco, and obsessively watching the Summer Olympics (yay, Andy Murray!).

And we were busy this weekend hanging out with my friends Laura and Andrew from Northwestern and their two adorable kiddos, Caroline and Cooper. Laura and Andrew live in Charlotte now, so we don't get together as often as we'd like. Last time I went to Charlotte, Caroline was a baby and we watched Phelps dominate the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same!

We also had a bit of drama this afternoon. Jason, Betsy, my dad, and I went over to the NU courts to play tennis, and of course no one thought to bring keys. My mom and Molly walked over to watch us, and of course they also forgot to bring keys. We were tired, sweaty, thirsty, and officially locked out! Luckily the guy we bought the house from moved just a couple of doors down the street and still had a key in his junk drawer. If not for him, we would have been paying through the nose for a 24-hour locksmith! Note to self, keep a key hidden somewhere handy! Or, remember to bring keys along when leaving the house :)

Anyway, I forgot to take pics of Molly with her new pals, but here she is solo:

Checking out the local elementary school. Molly will be an Orrington Eagle in just a few more years!

Sitting in her favorite spot. On the lookout for buses.

All right, we're gearing up for hot dogs and burgers. Another meal on the porch followed up by a night of Olympics. Good stuff!