Wisconsin

After a short weekend in Chicago, Mara and I headed up north to visit Josh's family in Wisconsin.  Mara warmed up almost immediately to her cousins, aunt and uncle.  She loved having other kids to watch and really loved interacting with her cousin, Talia, who is just two years her senior.

Cousins playing together

patty cake with nana and ani

We didn't have any real plans over the week but enjoyed spending time together and relaxing.  As always I really loved getting quality time with Carrie and loved playing card games with my nieces.   We also took walks around the neighborhood and did a lot of playing.  Mara loved chasing their two kitties around the house and would get really frustrated when one would duck behind the couch where she couldn't reach.

Getting lessons from cousin Seija

This trip had an added bonus as the rest of Josh's family joined us in Wisconsin for Labor Day weekend.  His parents were up from Florida and his sister came down from Minnesota.  It was a full house!  We loved seeing all the cousins and I don't think Mara knew what to do with all the attention.  She loved entertaining all the cousins and played a rousing game of soccer with her papa, nana and auntie Aimee.

Cat in a box

Toward the end of our visit Mara came down with a nasty bought of teething.  At first I thought she was sick but I think she was trying to work through the first phase of her one year molars.  She was super fussy, wouldn't eat or nurse and just wasn't herself.  I was thankful after two days she started to perk up.

A trip to Costco

As always it was a great trip visiting with family.  I'm so glad we were able to come up north and see everyone.  Hopefully we will be able to come up again soon!

dueling pianos