Turning over a new leaf...

Annie and Molly hanging with Olga the Walrus at the Brookfield Zoo!

Iphone time with Nana.

Hold on tight, Molly! I don't think he knows how to steer!

This looks like a movie scene... what a great cousin!

Francis family photo session with the giant bunny.

Under the big top at the BCYF! Notice the amazing acrobats behind Molly!

A Jessie scarecrow!

Okay. I think I can do this. I’m tiptoeing into the blogosphere and starting up the old Boven family annals again! This is my (Beth’s) first real effort at blogging, so lower your expectations a bit and forgive me for inconsistencies and misspellings! Life with Molly is slipping by at lightning speed and I want to take time to record some of the bits and pieces of our lives so that we can remember the daily smiles and cries. I hope to model my blogging after my good friend Emily’s and shoot for Sunday updates. Feel free to complain if I’m not living up to my promises!

So here’s a snapshot of life at our house… the last couple of weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. On the low end of things, we had a very dramatic campfire accident at the Francis Cabin in Kalkaska, Michigan. Molly turned to hand off an orange to Grammy and completely forgot about the hot coals that were in her way. She ended up with burns on her hands and leg and a miserable trip to the ER. After two weeks of healing, she’s back to her normal self. She still like to remind us that “Molly fell in fire and Molly fell in lake” (that’s right- we tipped over in a canoe the night before!) but other than that, we’re left with fond memories of the rest of our time at the cabin. After the cabin, we spent a solid day at the good old Berrien County Youth Fair... we had to meet up with as many farm animals as possible! We also spent a few days with the entire Boven family. Trips to the botanic garden and zoo helped distract Molly from her “mittens” (bandages) and gave her lots of chances to bond with Jimmy and Annie.

This week we also stepped into our new routine. Dave is relishing the opportunity to become even more nerdy in his graduate studies and he is well prepared after 3 orientations for Loyola. He has a cozy niche in his upstairs office and Molly and I have managed to give him some peace and quiet as he starts his work. My junior babysitter and I have started watching Jayden, a friend’s son, while she starts back to work. So far, we’ve had a few tears and moments where Molly “can’t walk” and is desperate for attention, but for the most part, she’s been a trooper. Jayden is just 6 weeks old and needs just a bit more immediate TLC than Molly. It’s been fun learning how to juggle lunches and naps and playtime and cuddle time. I look forward to working out our schedule… knowing full well that as soon as we get things figured out, one of these beautiful children will get a new tooth or cold or need a new nap time and our world will flip upside down again!