Father's Day

Andra is a lucky girl to have such an extraordinary dad. Aside from being his twin, they have a relationship I'm so proud of. I remember when I first got pregnant, I was secretly hoping for a boy for Dave's sake. I assumed dads bonded more naturally with boys than girls. Now that I can see the father-daughter relationship between Dave and Andra, I'm so glad God's in control instead of me. Dave is the perfect type of man to raise a girl, and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with a house full of girls because of it (but I've been wrong before!). He's tender, gentle and loving...and that makes him a perfect Dad for Andra.

We wanted to be sure he had a memorable day, and what better way to capture memories than with pictures? I had these professional pictures taken of Andra as a surprise for Dave's Father's Day present. They'll be on our wall shortly! Here are my favorite five. :) (Kudos to Ashton Riley Studios for taking such beautiful pictures!)

This one is my fave because it's just so "Andra."

This one melts my heart because of those breathtaking blue eyes she got from her Dad...

Color Me Beautiful

If you ask Andra what color anything is, she'll say "boo" (blue). Even if it's red. We're working on our colors. :) But now I'm thinking she really is partial to blue...and while she may not know her other colors, she DOES know what color blue is. When we cracked open our brand new finger paints this evening, she only wanted to paint with blue. Maybe it's her favorite color. I have to admit I'm partial to blue too...the blue in her beautiful eyes!

It's George!!!

For you to understand what a monumental occasion it is for Andra to meet Curious George, I have to give you a little bit of perspective. George is her FAVORITE. While she's taken a recent liking to all things Dora, Curious George was her first infatuation, and still truly her most beloved character. She has a stuffed George that she sleeps with every night, and insists on watching George almost every morning while she eats breakfast. I happen to like Curious George too...of all the children's programming out there, George is a lot less annoying...it actually makes me laugh out loud sometimes.

So, when the opportunity arises to meet George, you can bet our family will pounce on it! He was at Conner Prairie over the weekend, so we headed up north, paid $24 in admission...all so our little gal could have a few precious minutes with her beloved George. It was worth every penny! We walked into the room, and all it took was me saying, "Look, there's George!", and Andra took off running across the room squealing with delight, arms outstretched to meet her buddy George. Nevermind that there was a line of other little fans waiting to meet George (I suppose I should have thought of that before I pointed him out to her!). After the initial excitement wore off, we waited in line, and Andra got to spend a couple minutes with George. She doesn't look excited at all, does she? :)

Dave and I both hadn't been to Conner Prairie since our childhood (and both remembered it being pretty boring!), so we were pretty skeptical about how the rest of the day would go, but we were pleasantly surprised! Andra got to meet some baby farm animals, which she loved. Here she is holding a baby chick. She was so gentle with him and loved petting his soft fur.

She also got up close and personal with this cow, and practiced her "moooo's."

And a donkey too! We also met some horses, and she thought it was the funniest thing in the world when the horse started chewing on a wood fence...I think because she could see his big lips and huge teeth. We really had a fun day, and Andra's face lights up now when we recall our meeting with George (she gave him a high five and a hug). And she scored a new Curious George book that day too! I'm sure in her little world, it doesn't get much better than that!

Coldplay: Up Close and Personal!

In fact, it was SO personal, I can tell you that lead singer Chris Martin sweats between his butt cheeks. Yep. He had sweat marks on his pants there. Which should tell you what an incredible entertainer he is...it's like a workout just watching him!!

Friday night, Dave and I went to the Coldplay concert at Verizon and had INCREDIBLE seats...by pure dumb luck. When the tickets went on sale, there were three teirs for pavillion prices. I convinced Dave to buy the highest tier, because last summer, we paid for pavillion seats and ended up in the LAST row...just feet from people on the lawn who paid half the price I did! So I figured if we bought the highest tier of tickets, we'd at least get a spot in the front half of the pavillion. Did we ever! Our seats were in the PIT...just feet from the stage!!! The pit is an area roped off directly in front of the stage...probably about 10 "rows" deep, even though there are no seats...just standing. Which was fine with me, because the concert was so great, I wouldn't have sat down anyway! We were about 20 feet from the stage, and it was so much FUN!!!! I've NEVER been that close to the stage for any concert...so it was absolutely a memorable experience. And really gives you a whole new perspective of the show...literally.

Here we are...up front waiting for the show to start!!

Here are Jonathan and Rachel...poor college students...waaaaaaay back on the lawn. Hehe.

The butterfly drop was awesome!...tons of confetti shaped like butterflies dropped during "Reign of Love"...not once, but twice!!!

If you ever have a chance to see Coldplay live, and you enjoy their music--even just a little!--I would highly recommend going. Chris Martin, the lead singer, hardly stops moving. He's all over the entire stage, running and "dancing" (which really appears like he's having a seizure). During the few times he sat still at the piano, we could see the sweat literally dripping off him. He's a great entertainer and really adds a lot to the show.

Even Jonathan and Rachel got to see the band up close. They'd set up a small stage on the lawn, and did a few acoustic songs out there. Jonathan said they got about 20 feet within that stage. All in all, it was an incredible concert, and I really hope we get to see them live again! So glad we went, so glad we sat up close, so glad we had such a great date night!