Friday, July 25, 2014

The Middle of July



 July 23- Tired girls after a late night

July 22- Today I had my big presentation in IL, so the whole family came along with me for some vacation. They dropped me off at the Conference, and then they went to Lego Land. It was lots of fun, E liked the scavenger hunt, building things, making mini-figures, and the experience. She didn't go on the rides, because they couldn't make it work with both girls.

Then, the picked me up for the hotel, and happy hour (lots of snacks for E and M) and we spent the night at the hotel. Hotel stays are always pretty stressful. E gets wild and out of control, and tonight was no exception. She was completely unable to settle herself down, and in the process was winding M up.

July 21- No picture
July 20- I realized that I don't have any pictures of M nursing.

 July 19- We went to the 3 Bears to meet up with Titi, Jenny, A and E. The girls had a great time swimming and had lunch together. M loved the water park, She had no fear of the any of it, and went charging up slides and steps like there wasn't anything to worry about. It was great, and a little scary to watch!

Where did July go!


July 17- M likes to wear everyone's shoes. The only problem is that she can't get them on by herself. So she is always walking around, pointing at her feet and saying "Eh Eh!" until someone helps her.
July 16- Here they are both in the drawer, I was surprised
that they could both fit!








July 15- We bought some cabinets for the laundry room, for some reason M thought that the drawers were so fun to play in. E's been washing dishes lately so that I don't have to. Its very sweet, except that she dumped in the entire bottle of dish soap. Dada and I weren't very happy about that one.



July 14- we have had this air mattress set up in the basement for a few days, we were going to use it to help with the night weaning of M, but instead the girls just love to bounce on it.


 July 13- We had brunch at Ama and Ada's house to visit with my cousin Jean and Nancy. It was the first time either of them had met M and the first time Jean had seen E. E was pretty funny the night before, she had all kinds of questions about Jean, like: what was her favorite color, did she wear makeup, what was her favorite food. It was an interesting look into how her mind works.

For dinner, we tried going to the Beer Bucket Restaurant, but it just didn't work out, the girls were antsy, the food wasn't very good, and things were just a little off.
July 12- We bought this purple wrap to try and keep M from picking at her elbow owie, but she just ripped it right off. E LOVES it though, and insists on being wrapped up on her owies.
July 11- M is getting good at finding electronics all over the place. She particularly loves dada's ipod.

 July 10- M has a thing for red hats, she is always bringing Ada his red hat, and this one of dada's she loves to play with. You can see she did quite a job skinning her elbow the other day. She was playing outside with me and fell off a chair, then she got it again, playing with dada

Wednesday, July 9, 2014



July 9- The girls and dada had a crazy busy day today! We started out by all heading to M's 15 month check up. She's doing great growth wise, she weights 20 lb 6 oz and is 31 inches tall. She hated her check up, she sobbed the whole time the doctor was with her, and things didn't improve with the shots. But, once we left she perked right up and got back to her usual self. The one bit of distressing news was the doctor identified a "torsion" in her leg, generally they go away on their own, but if not, she'll need surgery.

After the appointment, I got dropped off at work and the girls and dada headed up State Street to see the sights. They roamed all over the Capital building (dada says its still hard to be there since the protests) and then we got to have lunch together at the Union. E had her usual hot dog.

When they got home everyone took a nap, and then they came and picked me up at work to go see an artist at the comic book store. While dada was in line, the girls and I played at the park and saw a kitty (pronounced ditteeeeeee). After dinner at Hy Vee, and an icee pop it was bed time!

July 8- E had dance class today and M got to spend the day with Ada. They went to story hour at the library and played at Ada's house. M had been a little out of sorts lately, and I think she really enjoyed spending one on one time with Ada, it helped her get beck to normal.

When I got home from work, the girls and I headed to A's house for some coloring. M loves it there because they have two cats. Her favorite game is to take a gel window cling and stick it on the cat, she then claps for herself.

Dada and E made jello today, E was so excited for it, but it wasn't ready to eat before bed.

July 7-The girls had their first gymnastics class today, E loved it. M screamed the whole time, so she didn't get to participate. But, she did learn a move, she puts both hands on the floor and lifts up one leg, its adorable. The girls had a great time playing around the house today, they had little A over to play for a while, and after dinner E put on her mermaid costume and had a great time being an "Elsa mermaid"

July 6- I pulled the couch away from the window to give M a pathway to walk through, she really enjoys it. This morning M and I had some nice time while everyone else was asleep. We played with the sand table, went for walk, and played on the swings. As a family, we had a few quick errands to run, but basically were able to have a nice day around home.




Saturday, July 5, 2014

4th of July, the Zoo, and more!



July 5- Today E shocked us by sleeping until we woke her up at 9:30! I don't think she has ever slept so late. Dada and I had a nice morning with M, who woke up at 7. She got to take two solo (with a parent) walks outside. We played at the library and the girls picked up their first summer reading program prizes. Then it was home for nap. After quiet time E's friend A came over the play. It was a rocky beginning, although E wanted her friend over, she didn't actually want to share or play with here. We got through it, and the girls played Frozen and make beaded snowflakes. Then, E and dada when to a movie with A, A, and their dad. They saw Rio 2. M and I hung out together and took another walk, ran some errands, and blew some bubbles. Its official, M says Kitty and Bubbles in addition to Momma and Dadda.

After the movie E suggested a dinner party, so we had a lovely picnic with her friends by the swings and a little more playtime before wrapping up a great day.

A conversation at bedtime

E: Momma, what happened to your knee?
A: I don't know
E: Its wrinkled, its becoming a grandma and grandpa, that means I'm getting older



July 4- Dawned bright and early for us, the girls work up at 5:30 and were ready to start the day. Dada was nice enough to get up with them so I could sleep a bit more. The day started with decorating bikes for a bike parade (or in E's case, a running parade). M didn't make it far on her bike and I carried her through the parade. Then we had snacks in the clubhouse and headed over to the Rennebohm park party. M fell asleep in the car and napped through the first part of the party. E and M played on the playground, and had a nice picnic.

After long afternoon naps, we played at home, had a nice pizza dinner and then got ready for fireworks. This was the first time we'd taken the girls, E was nervous at first, but really enjoyed them. She kept saying how beautiful they were and that they looked like pixie dust. We were lucky enough to go with A and her family, and we ran into Ama and Ada there!

E and dada were going to camp out in the basement, but at the last minute E got scared and they slept upstairs.

July 3- The girls went over to Ama and Ada's house today. The picked fruit on the bike path, and E wanted to make a fruit salad, but settled for eating the fruit individually. We had a nice outdoor play session with our friends today, M was on the look out for all the dogs (some of our neighbors let her give the dogs treats) and E was pretending to be a pixie.

M has stopped trying to hug all the dogs, now she just runs up to them and then follows them around.


July 2- Dada took this picture, the bread had holes in it and M kept putting her finger through it and then spinning the toast. Dada and the girls went to the Geology Museum and Union South today.

July 1- M was helping me cook today, which is why she is wearing oven mitts. She is pretty funny, once she gets one on, she immediately starts looking for the second. E spent the day with Ama and Ada, and they remarked how independent she is.

June 30- No picture today, M spent the day with Ama and Ada, and when she and I walked in the door, the tornado warning sirens went off. We immediately went to the basement for a picnic and movie, we spent most of the evening down there. The warning stopped in time for bed, but it rained all night long.

June 29- We had a relaxing day today, after the big trip yesterday. It was a lovely Sunday, we had no plans and no responsibilities, so we hung out around the house, we all went swimming (M lasted about 10 minutes), played outside, and had a great time just being home.

I dressed up M, I just couldn't help it.


June 28-  We went to the Milwaukee Zoo today to celebrate dada's birthday and father's day. It was a memorable trip. We got soaked in a rain storm, E rode a horse, E and dada rode the skyway, and M asserted her independence. We stayed busy, we were able to wait out the rain in the big cat house. While we were getting rained on, M was wandering around into the landscaping, and she wasn't too happy about being scooped up!

The hippos and the elephants were the most active we've seen, and both girls loved getting up close to several animals, including tiger.

June 27- E wanted to play jewelry store today, so she got out her jewelry box and set everything out. I was supposed to the customer, but M was a much better one, she wanted all of it. Much to my surprise, there were no tears over it.

July 26- We've been working hard to get back into the tradition of "family walks" in the evening. In summer's past, we've walked with A and R's families, but that hasn't been working this summer. Instead, we play right when I get home from work, and then go our own ways in the evenings.