Our vacation is in progress! We left last Wednesday afternoon, and arrived in Indiana late evening. Annah got to go swimming in Gram's and Krampa’s pool Thursday morning, and was elated.

    Thursday afternoon, we drove to Ohio, and arrived at Andy's and Julie’s beautiful new house that evening. 

They took us to the playground near their house so Annah could have some playtime!

She was lovin' it!

Andy played too.

Jeremy read a book called "The Krazees" to Annah.

Sylvie chillin'...

Friday morning we headed over to the regional office of S.F. in Newark for Mr. Corby’s retirement breakfast. We saw lots of people Jeremy used to work with there. The breakfast was a bit longer than we’d anticipated, and the girls got pretty antsy. From there, we went to the new S.F. building in New Albany to see Jeremy’s former coworkers in the Health department. The new building is very nice, and it was great to see many friends and meet some new people too.

    Friday afternoon, Taryn & the girls hung out at Andy & Julie’s, while Jeremy headed back to Newark to “hob-nob” with some S.F. folks. Annah had tons of fun tormenting Andy & Julie’s poor cats, Ellie & Echo. They were extremely tolerant of her too! They are probably still on edge wondering if she’s coming back, or still sleeping because they’re so exhausted! Julie made us some awesome macaroni & cheese, and a yummy chocolate cake, which Annah devoured. Sylvia was so tired that she went to sleep at 7:00 (6:00 Illinois time!) and slept right through the night! That night, Ben & Andrea came to stay there too. It was fun to meet them again.

    Saturday morning, we all hung out at the house, ate breakfast casserole, and watched Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues. Taryn was ecstatic when we got to have her baked chicken grinder from W.G. Grinder’s for lunch. She’s still thinking about a way to finance a franchise in Bloomington!

    Saturday evening, we all went to Matt and Suzanne’s lovely home for a cookout. Suzanne is an excellent hostess, especially for being 6 ½ months pregnant! (Hopefully, she is still sleeping, after all the work she did Saturday!) It was so nice to spend time with Matt and Suzanne, Cora & Josh, and Andy & Julie all together that evening. After an awful discipline struggle with Annah, she had an absolute blast playing with Cora and the bean bag chair. She even got Matt and Josh to join in the face-first flops! It was quite entertaining.

    When we got back to Andy's and Julie’s, there were fireworks going nearby, so Annah got to watch those before going to bed. We stayed up late talking with Andy & Julie and discussing how today’s youth seem to have no morals... Boy, are we getting old!

    Sunday morning, we awoke to a wonderful smell... Andy was making some awesome Belgian waffles! Mmm! As we got around and packed our things, Julie and Andy let Annah water their landscaping with a squirt gun, patiently bringing her inside about every 2 minutes to fill up the squirt gun and go back outside. She loved Andy and Julie and wanted them to come back to Gram's and Krampa’s with us. They were such gracious hosts, and it was so nice to stay with them!

    From their house, we went to Polaris Mall and met Cora and Josh for a quick lunch at the food court. Then we drove through Reynoldsburg, by Mount Carmel East and showed Annah where she was born, and we went by our first house. It was a very strange feeling--kind of like we were still home, driving through such familiar places like we used to do every day.

    Then we drove to Bexley and around the campus at Capital. We showed Annah the dorms we lived in, Yochum Hall where Taryn worked, the Conservatory, and drove around the Cap Center. Sylvia was asleep, so we decided not to get out and go inside to look. Next time we go back, we will. We did go across the street and get some ice cream at Graeter’s though. Ahhhhh, heaven! That’s another thing we need in Bloomington!

    Our last stop in Columbus was over to the west side of town to see Niki and Jenna. Jenna is such a beautiful little baby! She was born about 8 hours before Sylvia, and they seem like they are just exactly the same size. They look a little bit alike too, with their dark hair and blue eyes. It’s too bad we don’t live closer so they could grow up and play together! It was fun to see them for a little bit though.

    Once we got back on the road, Annah and Sylvia went to sleep. They did very well on the way back to Gram's and Krampa’s, although both of them were quite sick of being in the car. We were all glad to get out of it once we got back. But, it was so great to get to go to Columbus and spend time with so many special friends. We are so thankful for each of them and glad we got to spend even just a few moments with them all!

Updates and Milestones

Congratulations to Marci and Adam on the arrival of their first baby, Trey Alexander, on the 18th! We can't wait to see him, and are just so thrilled for all of you! We're praising the Lord for another one of his miracles!! 

 Life around the Lopshire household has been busy, but lacking any huge events. We like it that way, though. ;) Now that Jeremy has finished his CLU, he has begun working on his CHFC. So, that means continued studying and tests... 

 Yesterday, Sylvia did her first roll from her tummy to her back. In fact, she did quite a bit of rolling in general! She is getting really strong. She lifts her head and tries to sit up by herself. She still has a long way to go to do that, of course, but she is probably building some good ab muscles with all the crunches she's doing! 

 Speaking of building muscles...we got a family membership to the gym this week. I decided that the "baby weight" isn't going to come off by itself this time, and I'm sick of my weak back hurting all the time, and just generally having no energy. So...Jeremy is patiently showing me what to do at the gym. He still goes every morning, and until I get used to it, he goes whenever I do too. I can't do much yet, but the little bit I've done the 2 times I've gone so far have made me sore enough! But, if we're paying for it, I have to stick with it.

Corn on the cob

Mmmm!  I'm eatin' corn on the cob all by myself!

Generations Blue Team Party

The winning Generations Blue and Purple Teams had a party at the Sherwood's/Keller's yard.

Annah had never run through a sprinkler before, and kept shouting, "It's snowing!!  It's snowing!!"

Jillian really liked the cotton candy!

So sweet.

Happy Father's Day!

Kitchen Redo

My parents left early this morning after a week of working very hard to make our ugly kitchen beautiful. It was a lot of work, but the reward is great! 

 Dad made new kickboards for underneath the cupboards (the old ones were literally falling apart), and took all the cupboard doors off, squared them up, and put crossboards on the backs to hold them together. Since they're made of beadboard, he used wood putty to fill all the gaps before we primed and painted them and hung them back up with new knobs, magnets and shiny new silver hinges. Now, they not only stay shut, they look great too! 

 Mom and I stripped off the nasty, uneven wallpaper border and painted over the ugly color on the walls and ceiling. (It could only be called "puke" color since we're not even sure what color family it belonged in.) Mom, the painting expert, painted the walls "Apple a Day" red (It's not bright red, but a deep, rich red.), and the ceiling white. 

 The room looks cleaner, calmer, bigger, and brighter now. It's amazing what a difference paint will make! 

 The next step is making the toile valances and accents that were the inspiration for the whole project. I am so very grateful to Mom and Dad for working tirelessly all week long. The kitchen really looks beautiful, and I am very proud of it. It makes me smile every time I walk into the room, thinking of all the hard work we put into it! Thank you Mom and Dad!

Here are some Before and After shots...

Sink area of the kitchen BEFORE:

AFTER:

Cabinet corner BEFORE:

AFTER:

Eating Area BEFORE:

AFTER:

Hutch area BEFORE:

AFTER:

Kitchen Redecorating

We have been working hard on the kitchen project all week, and it is looking good!  (We are not looking so good! ;)  It's a bit of a challenge to do all this with a baby and a 2 year old around, but they have been great.

Dad--priming the cabinet doors out in the garage

painting the doors

Mom painting the cabinets

trimming the ceiling paint

Are we still painting?!?!?!

Dad, put down the hammer and chisel and step away from the doors!

In the middle of the mess...

Get out of town!

   My parents are still here this week helping to redecorate our kitchen. This morning Annah was talking to Mom and I, and suddenly said, "Get out of town!"  When asked where she learned that, of course she replied that it came from Daddy.  So, we called him and Annah said it to him.  He claims he didn't teach it to her, so we're not sure where it came from.  She seems to understand what it means though.

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I finished sewing the matching butterfly dresses for the girls and put them on them for some photos today.  I think they look precious and adorable.

Sylvia 3 months old,  Annah 2 1/2 years old

Annah did some work with sidewalk chalk.

Crunching leaves, one of her favorite past-times.

First Saucer Time

Sylvia's first time in the Super Saucer!

Tummy Turning

Last night we were watching a video of Annah at the same age Sylvia is right now.  We realized that we gave Annah a lot more "tummy time" than we've been remembering to give Sylvia.  But, today Sylvia rolled over!!!  (At exactly the same age Annah did--almost to the day!)  She was lying on her back under her Gymini.  For a minute she was in the room by herself because Annah actually asked to go potty and Gram and I took her there.  Jeremy was playing his trumpet in the next room, and when he checked on Sylvia she was on her tummy.  He called us all in and asked if any of us turned her over, but none of us had.  She turned over all by herself for the first time and we all missed it actually happening!  Jeremy got out the video camera and waited for her to do it again, but of course she wouldn't. 

Sylvia's Dedication

Today was Baby Day at church, and also Sylvia's Dedication. 

 All the grandparents came for the special event, and even Great Grandma DeHaven too!

 For the Baby Day Parade, Sylvia Claire was "an angel on a cloud."  As she came through the sanctuary on her float and past where the grandparents and Annah were sitting, Annah got out of her seat and gave Sylvia a kiss as she went by.

Other babies dedicated were: Jillian, Kaylee, and John. After church we came home to a wonderful ribeye that Grandpa Lopshire had prepared especially for the occasion and Jeremy cooked up on the grill. Yum! We were so glad to have our parents here for such a special day!