Too Much to Discuss

We've had a very busy beginning to the summer. For those of you who don't know us that well, we have officially moved all of our belongings back to our beloved Cincinnati. I must say, it feels wonderful to be back home. And though we left Cleveland, we did it on friendly terms, unlike Lebron. Andy was very angry and may have accidentally cussed at a bartender as the pathetic exit unfolded. Whoops.

The girls and I are officially back for good. Andy is still commuting while trying to finish up his internship. It will be a hard summer not having him around all the time, but we're making it work. Eleanor is getting good at saying, "Daddy will be home on Friday." We don't have any pictures of the new house just yet, but we will get some soon.

The pictures that are up mainly come from our trip to Hilton Head with the Sweeneys. What a great time! So relaxing, a little hot, but lots of fun. I'm not going to go into lots of detail here, but I'll try to explain as the pictures scroll on.

Maura taking a bath in Mimi and Papa Sweeney's sink - Papa is very proud of his grandchildren bathing in public viewing.

Wild Card! If you've seen "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" you know what I mean. But I just love Maura's face here. She and I wake Eleanor up from her nap sometimes, and Maura loves getting in Eleanor's business. That pacifier in Ellie's mouth is a great target.

Wow. I don't know if words can even describe this picture. We are at a rest stop on our way to Hilton Head, wearing matching shirts that say SFKA/HFKB. You'll have to ask if you don't know what that means. I think that rest stop was in complete shock.

I mean, can you get any cuter than that. Maura loved being in the pool and trying to keep up with Ellie's swimming. I think Maura is going to give everyone a run for their money the older she gets!

4th of July, we went down to the beach to walk around and watch people attempt to light fireworks without setting themselves on fire. We couldn't hear any screaming, so we're guessing it worked out okay. Eleanor loves to "fly in the air."

I finally asked Andy to take a picture of me with my daughter, since I'm always the one behind the camera. I just wish Maura could have been here. It was past her bedtime. You can kind of see the firework painted on Ellie's face. When the real ones went off, she kept saying, "Look, it's my face. They're not scary; they're fun." We think she was trying to make herself feel better about the loud sounds.

Another person who never gets pictures with anyone: Mimi Sweeney and her girls.

One night we went to a hibachi grill. Why would we do that in Hilton Head, you ask? Because why not! We also found out by accident that having a man clang knives and throw egg shells around the restaurant makes for a great silencer of a toddler. I have never heard my daughter that quiet before (unless she's asleep, of course).

Trying to use chopsticks and watch the crazy man with raw meat and knives.

So, something Andy and his siblings did when they were younger was go and listen to Shannon Tanner (a Jimmy Buffet for kids, basically). He was really great with the kids. The funny thing, though, was watching Eleanor try to figure out what in the world she was supposed to do. She's never been in a follow-directions-with-a-group setting before. So, as you can see, her confusion was super cute. While everyone else is sitting, our daughter just stood and stared at the other kids. And when I say stare, I mean she was in individual kids' faces, looking at them. Don't you wish socially awkwardness was cute at all ages?

Shannon Tanner even has his own head-wear line.

One of the last days, we went to Harbor Town. Eleanor on a tree - yep, exciting.

Maura in her safari hat. She pretty rode in the front-pack carrier everywhere we went. But at least she makes it look cool.

Family photo op, wearing sunglasses because we don't want you to see our eyes.

That's all for now. Thanks Mimi and Papa Sweeney for a great vacation! We love you!

Update on Maura: She is 7 months now, which I can't believe. She has gained close to 6 teeth over the last 2 weeks. It looks as painful as she sounds some times. She is very close to crawling. Again, she doesn't like it when Eleanor can do things she can't, and she's bound and determined to figure it out.