Visit to South Bend, IN

About a month ago (I know, trying to catch up!), we headed up to South Bend Indiana for Steve's MBA graduation from Notre Dame. It was a short but very fun weekend trip and we are so glad we went! We got there on Friday afternoon, had a nice little bbq at the park that evening, then graduation festivities were on Saturday. Sunday morning Steve took us to walk around campus a bit, then that afternoon we headed home. So glad we were able to see everyone, including Mom and Dad R. who both came out for the festivities!

At the park for our yummy BBQ:

On the right, Sarra with one of two sisters who came to visit for the occasion:

Graduation day! Wtg Steve!

The right picture is where Ivy and I spent most of the convocation. So many people and all the activity was a little overwhelming for her, lol:

Later on, we had a dinner with family and friends in the clubhouse of their complex. Cousin Julie drove up with her family for the party! It was so good to see her, Matt and their 4 kids! It has been too long!
Steve and Sarra's baby Luke:

Ivy with her second cousin Amelia, these two are only a few days apart in age:

Showing off their bellies (Julie is expecting her 5th!):

The next morning Steve gave us a great tour of campus.. It was gorgeous! Very clean and the architecture of all the buildings was amazing. Pic on the right is of the basilica on campus:

Left pic is the basilica again and the administrative building (the dome). The right pic is inside the dome:

Super fun trip! And I guess Steve and Sarra didn't get enough of us because they came down to visit TN the next weekend (Memorial Day weekend), hehe! More posts to come.. (just trying to catch up!) 

Late Spring in Harrogate

We had a fairly long winter this year which led to a late and drawn out spring season full of all sorts of exciting blooms around our house. The lady who used to live here really put a lot of love into every part of our yard because the season was full of continuous surprises. 

It started with lots of tree blooms, daffodils (fairly common around here), and tulips. Didn't get pics of the daffs but I did get one of these two lone dark red tulips in the back. I've never seen tulips this color. they were such a deep rich red:

Then came the azaleas, lilly of the valley, and irises (TN state flower) a week or two later. I wish I got a good pic of the white blooms of the lilly of the valley, they are the green plant on the right in the pic:

My good friend walked around my yard one evening and identified most of our plants before any even bloomed and I was so excited when she told me I had lots of peony plants. I was so anxious for them to bloom and when they finally did, they did not disappoint! This was probably my favorite part of our yard. So gorgeous:

The right pic is from my phone, what the plants looked like after most of them finally bloomed:

 Then came the rose bushes. Just a few in the back and they were beautiful:

And finally just the other day I noticed a couple more amazing surprises.. Some little orchids popped up in the same bush where the peonies were, at least I think they are orchids of some sort. And some orange lilies also bloomed on the side of our house:

I feel so lucky to have such beauty around us without even putting any work into it. We do have a small garden area next to our house that we planted marigold's and a few other flowers. (as well as some zucchini plants). They are just starting to bloom so I will have to do a post on that later..  I am amazed at the type of flowers that people are able to grow here.. There are even a couple hydrangea bushes in our neighborhood that I just love driving past. 

And just because she's cute, had to include a couple pics of Ivy. She would explore the yard with me whenever I went out to take pics. The big tree stump is one of her favorite spots to play:

Ivy turns two!

Our silly girl turned two back in May and just wanted to post a few pics of our day..  Ivy actually pretty much picked out her own birthday gift this year. While out shopping for the event, we stopped by a second hand kids shop in Knoxville and just inside the door was a near perfect condition used car. Ivy spotted it before I did. She ran over, got in and refused to get out of the car for anything. After a quick phone call with Sam and a couple other people in the store eyeing the car while she was still in it (really people?), I decided this was an unbeatable deal. So we hid the car in our storage for the next week and Ivy was beyond thrilled to see her beloved car the morning of her birthday, along with some other goodies. :)

I made cupcakes that morning and off we went to Mcdonald's with some close friends of ours for lunch while Sam was in school. Too bad Ivy wouldn't eat the cupcake afterwards. Just decided we'd give it another try when we celebrated with Daddy later that night.

Thanks Leila and kids for joining us that day! It was so fun!

Later, opening a couple more gifts with dad.. dress up shoes and a new magnadoodle. This little girl was in heaven, haha:

She thought the candle was awesome and loved when we sang to her but yet again, would not even touch the cupcake. Such a silly girl. She doesn't know what she's missing, lol..

We just love our goofball. She really is so much fun to be around. Certainly opinionated and stubborn every now and then but such a fun-loving sweetheart.

Just for record's sake...

At age two, Ivy:

-weighs 25 lbs, can't remember her height

-has LOTS of words but not very many sentences yet. Very good at communicating what she wants or needs though. I can usually understand what she's telling me even though it's in her own little language still. (some phrases that she uses are "hi there," "I love you," or just "love you," "want some," "all done,""thank you") 

-knows every shape and loves when I draw them with her

-knows just about every animal and their sounds, quick to pick up on ones she's not familiar with

-knows almost every part of her body

-LOVES to cuddle and give kisses and hugs to mommy and daddy. I think she becomes more affectionate with age. I love this about her.

-gets super anxious or upset around large crowds of people or large groups of kids. She does much better in smaller groups, less overwhelming. She's always been this way. Gets it from her dad I think. 

-still hates when I sing (not Sam, just me). Anytime Sam plays and I sing (or even just me singing at the piano), she throws a huge fit. I still cant tell if it's bc the focus is off of her or if she really doesn't like my full voice. 

-LOVES when we play rough with her. she thinks it's hilarious when we throw pillows at her face or toss her all over the couch, etc.. the more rough the better. It turns into a laughing fest.

-fake laughs a lot, she thinks it funny when we laugh at something so she always copies us

-sings along to songs on the radio.. favorites lately include "Daylight" and "Home", this one cracks me up and melts my heart at the same time. :)

Some of her favorite things include:

-CLOTHES, I think obsessed is an understatement. She is already verrry opinionated on her outfit each morning.

-getting her nails painted. She is SUCH a girl and loves to look pretty with necklaces, shoes, purse, etc..

-being outside, loves roaming our yard and playing with sticks, flowers, etc.

-Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse, and finally Backyardigans occasionally

-books, puzzles, and stickers

-all animals (names, sounds, pictures, anything)

-blocks of any kind

-jumping and dancing

-princesses and fairies 

-the park.. asks to go every single day. She even knows how to get there and gets disappointed when we drive past it, haha.

Mother's Day (you might wanna read this one)

I had a pretty good Mother's Day this year. Kept things pretty low-key and just hung out as a family all day. Took a few pics of my cute girl in the evening time that I wanted to share. I wouldn't be a mother without her! She is the light of my life and honestly makes me laugh every single day (I think she has her daddy's sense of humor, lol).  Some days can be tough, when she is her two-year-old self, but I do love being her mama and wouldn't have it any other way. 

Also, I guess this would be the perfect post to announce Ivy is going to be a big sister this coming fall! Baby Robinson No. 2 is due in early December and we are so excited for the newest addition to join our family! The timing couldn't be more perfect and both Sam and I are very happy about everything.. We don't find out for a few more weeks what the gender is but people close to me keep telling me they think it's a boy. So far things have been good. Not too sick, and nothing too "eventful" which is how we prefer it, of course. I won't do a pregnancy post for a while but just wanted the news to be public. :)