Memorial Day at the Lake House

Last night, we got back from a seven day whirlwind of fun at Disney World. But, true to form, I'm playing catch up and finally getting around to posting about our Memorial Weekend trip to the Lake House -- how we launched our summer of fun. We spent three full days at the Lake House and squeezed in time with both sets of Georgia grandparents, Aunt Seana and Josh. We had a great time. Keira had just started walking four days before we arrived and she spent most of her weekend exploring her lakehouse with her newfound skills. She likes to clutch both hands in front of her chest in a prayer position as she walks. That prayer position often accompanies a giant toothy, proud grin. Speaking of teeth, Keira's first canine tooth broke through while we were at the Lake House. She now has 13 teeth! She also spent a lot of time looking at the boats on the lake while taking a break between her sprints. Grammie also got some great shots of the proud walking nudie girl. In these pictures she is holding on to my finger, but she resists holding on at all costs now, which has resulted in her share of bumps and bruises. While she was "nudie" (just in her swim diaper) I was able to let her indulge in one of her favorite things -- sinks! Whenever she sees a sink she points to it, leans towards it, grunts at it, rubs her hands together, claps her hands and looks at me pleadingly. I've figured out how to quickly and carefully wash her hands without involving the rest of her body. But, left to her own devices, she wants to make it a full body, multi-sensory experience! Keira is a water girl. She also tried her hand at the Lake water. She was hysterical. It was only her second time in her swim suit, and she couldn't get in the water quick enough. She would charge into the water, trying to run into the deepest water as fast as she could. She tried to shake off my grasp as if to say, "Mommy I can do this, let go!" Then as we got deeper and deeper she would lose her footing and float to the top. She would get irritated that I was still holding on and we started the cycle again and again. Her lack of fear around water is completely new to me as Eli is still unsure around water and doesn't even like getting his hair washed. Keira also liked to play in the sand on the beach with Eli, but unlike Eli we had to keep a very close eye on her. Before we knew it she would be crawling towards the water again. Besides water, another one of Keira's favorite things is me. She's always been a mama's girl, but it seems to have intensified in the last few weeks. At the Lake House, she was teething and she was coming down with a cold that went to her lungs. Her health only made her more interested in staying in my arms. She would interract and occassionally go to other family members, but she seemed to keep watchful eye on them. She was particularly adamant and funny with Babo. They developed a game of sorts where he would ask Keira if she wanted to come see him and she would vehemently shake her head no. That girl, like our boy, definitely knows what she wants. In the beginning of this video clip you can even hear Keira counting to five. She seems to have memorized the sounds of the numbers up to six. Pretty cute.



While Keira's health was questionable (she's since made a full recovery), Eli had an unequivocally great time at the Lake House. When we came home he kept asking over and over again when we were going back (even though we were heading to Disney in a few days!) When I asked him what he loved so much about the Lake House he said doing adult puzzles, going down to the storage room, getting his toys out of the storage, turning on the light and he even mentioned liking the smell of the storage room. Just like his Daddy, he seems to be a bit of a home body, even with his temporary homes like the Lake House. Even though, we are in water wonderland up there, he often, just wants to sit and do puzzles or read books. Daddy and Eli did there share of "adult puzzles" (over 500 pieces). Eli loves to do difficult puzzles with lots of help and guidance from Daddy and we've reserved them for vacation times since there's no way I can be much help with 500 piece puzzles and supervise two children by myself. Therefore, adult puzzles have become even more special. Even though he loved his indoor activities, it wasn't difficult to convince Eli to get outside and enjoy the water fun. He enjoyed playing at the water front, going on walks to the boat house and especially riding and driving Babo's boat. This trip was even more special for all of us, as Dendi and Bapa came up on Sunday to spend some time at the Lake House. We even got to spend some time on Babo's boat with them.