Sunday in Vermont: Taking a Ferry Ride Across Lake Champlain

Last Sunday we drove to Addison, Vermont to take a ferry ride across Lake Champlain. We enjoyed the most beautiful day at Fort Ticonderoga where we built fairy houses, played in the water, found rocks & shells and admired the construction of a bridge soon to connect Vermont and New York state. Here are some pictures of our first day in Vermont --

Grace admiring the view of Lake Champlain

Poppy and Eve enjoying picking flowers together

Jack and Maddy building a stick house together

Grace cooling off in Lake Champlain

Eve!

Jack and Daddy

Maddy and Grace

Jack working hard to build his stick house

Eve's first time in Lake Champlain!

Jack admiring shells along the shore of Lake Champlain

Gracie girl

Jack-a-roo

Back in Maine

We arrived back home from our week in Vermont yesterday afternoon. Each day this coming week I will be posting pictures from the week before highlighting the many fun times we spent in Vermont with Maddy and Poppy.

We are leaving our "nest" tomorrow morning to go on a big adventure. We are leaving for Vermont to visit Maddy, Poppy, Great-Grandma and Uncle Adam for the week. We can't wait to see everyone! Every year at this time we go to Middlebury to enjoy their Festival on the Green week.

I am not sure if I will be posting pictures while I am in Vermont. If not, I will be back in Maine next weekend and I will be sure to share all of our Vermont adventures with you then. Until I return I will leave you with this picture I took this week of a beautiful swallow bird flying back to its nest. We are very fortunate to have a swallow bird family living inside of our birdhouse, which hangs from our front porch. We have been enjoying watching and learning about our bird family since early June and we were delighted when we heard the first chirps of their baby birds last week!

Six Months Old

Our sweet baby girl celebrated her half year birthday today. We just love our Eve! She is the sweetest baby. Here are just a few updates about our Evey girl:

• Eve loves to learn and she learns so quickly.
• Eve is sitting independently.
• Eve started eating solid foods two weeks ago. Eve wants to feed herself and she is always reaching for the spoon!
• Eve rolls to obtain toys out of reach. She has also started rolling over in her crib to sleep on her tummy.
• Eve loves her lovey name Lavender. Each time I put Eve in her crib she reaches her hands up until I put Lavender in her hands. Eve always sleeps with Lavender in her hands or mouth.
• Eve is trying to crawl! She is so strong.
• No teeth yet but I think they are coming really soon!
• Eve is able to stand on her own while holding on to something.
• Eve transfers toys from one hand to the other.
• Eve is such a happy girl. She is always smiling and giggling.
  
• Eve is a big talker. She loves carrying on long babbling conversations!
• Here are some of Eve's favorite things: watching everything that is going on around her and taking it all in, music, dancing, books, teething toys, going outside, swinging, sound play, meeting new people, Grace & Jack, being carried in a Baby Bjorn.

Grace's Special Message for Eve

Grace told me this morning that she was going into to our art room to work on a "very special project" while I was getting Jack and Eve dressed. I discovered Grace's project later this morning. Grace had made this sweet note for Eve to celebrate her six month birthday today. Grace had taped it onto Eve's door to surprise her baby sister!

Our Fourth of July

Eve must be the most kissed baby! She is always getting kisses from Grace and Jack. This picture was taken on the Fourth just before we left for Bath, Maine to attend Bath Heritage Days. Every Fourth of July we attend this festival. Events are held throughout the city's downtown area and it is the largest Independence Day celebration in the state of Maine!

Here are Grace and Jack watching the beginning of the Fourth of July parade. Grace is telling Jack all about the parade and how there will be lots of firetrucks. Grace remembered every detail of the parade from having watched it the year before!

Jack loved sitting up high on Daddy's shoulders to watch some of the parade. Jack got a great view of all of the firetrucks!

After the parade we spread a blanket and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park while watching a boat parade along the Kennebec River. Eve enjoyed laying on the blanket and taking in all of the sites. As you can see in the picture above, Eve now loves to stick out her tongue! Whenever you ask Eve where her tongue is she will stick it out and smile.

Grace and Eve enjoying some girl time together down by the river!

Jack was fascinated with all of the boats on the river and he especially loved the boat parade.

Here is Gracie girl watching all of the boats from a little footbridge along the Kennebec River.

Grace and Daddy!

Eve's Fourth of July Project: Painting a Flag

Last week Eve, Jack and Grace each made their own special project for the Fourth of July. Eve's project was painting an American flag. I painted Eve's fingers with red and blue paint so she could finger paint on a piece of white paper. Once Eve's paintings dried I cut her red painting into strips to make the stripes on the American flag. I also cut Eve's blue painting to make the stars.

I put Eve's flag into a frame to serve as a reminder of her first Fourth of July!

Jack's Fourth of July Project: Making Fireworks

Jack made fireworks for his Fourth of July project! We cut several paper plates in the shape of a circle to fit into the bottom of a salad spinner. Jack chose different paint colors to squeeze inside of the salad spinner and then spun away to create Fourth of July firework paintings!

Each time Jack made a salad spinner painting he was so excited to see the results!

Jack punched a hole in his firework paintings and we hung all of them up over the entry to our art room to create our very own Fourth of July firework display!

Grace's Fourth of July Project: Making a Flag Windsock

Grace made an American flag windsock using crepe paper and an embroidery hoop for her Fourth of July project. Grace first cut out red and white pieces of crepe paper the same length and blue crepe paper strips about 1/3 of that length. Grace draped the red and white streamers over the inner hoop of an embroidery hoop and used tape to secure them, alternating the colors. Grace then added the blue streamers on over the red and white ones and also secured them with tape.

Finally, Grace painted the outer embroidery hoop with red, white and blue paint. Once the paint dried we put the outer hoop over the streamers and tightened it. Grace then helped tie some string to the hoop so we could hang her American flag windsock on our front porch.

Here is Grace's finished American flag windsock!

Our Three Little Firecrackers!

Eve's first Fourth of July!

An extra special thank you to Maddy for the flag shirts and for making such cute bandanna pants for Jack and the adorable matching skirts for Grace & Eve.