September 25- E woke me up very early this morning with the dreaded "mommy, I throwed up" so we spent a good part of the night cleaning up. So, she and I stayed home from work/school this morning. Ama came over in the afternoon so that I was able to go work for a little bit. It doesn't seem like M is sick (knock on wood). M had a great time playing at the park today, there was another little girl slightly younger then her there and they actually played together.

After work, she and I went for a walk and she was crazy to see "Ah-wa" (her name for E's friend A) so we got to stop in a visit with A and A, and then play on the swings.

September 24- E and I went to gymnastics today while M stayed home and helped dada cook. While she was with Boppa today, M had a real puzzle breakthrough, she was able to match up the pieces of her animal puzzle and get them to fit all by herself (or with very minimal intervention). This is a very new skill for her.

September 23- We had a more normal evening at home as you can see with the pile on dada!

September 22- Today I achieved my parenting rock star status! Dada had to go back to work, so he hurried home to get dinner for us. He left, and the girls and I played outside for a while and then had a movie party with popcorn and Brave. For the first time, I successfully put both girls to bed! I nursed M, then read to E, then nursed M again. When she was done, I put M down and said "night night" she fussed for a minute and then was quiet. I went back to read E a last "fairy chapter book" chapter, and M was asleep when I was done. E was out before dada came home.

M did have her first official tantrum tonight, it was the kind were nothing made her happy, we tried snacks, juice, and lots of other things, but she basically just needed to feel sad for awhile.

September 21- We went to pick apples today, which was very important to E to accomplish this fall. We went to Epplegarden like usual, and had better luck finding low apples then we usually do. E really had a great time picking apples and so did M. Although M kept trying to pick them up off the ground! Both girls liked munching apples while we walked and picked, and we definitely got a good haul. E and I even made apple crisp for dessert (although E didn't eat any).

Grandma and Grandpa watched the girls tonight so that dada and I could go out. The girls had a great time at their house, and even took a tubby.

September 20- We had quite a day today, we started by parking cars for the Badger game, and having a lemonade stand. E wasn't as excited about lemonade as she was last week, and refused to yell "lemonade and wata for sale." She was also much more interested in drinking lemonade this week! We had planned to go get lunch by the stadium, like usual, but Ama and Ada's neighbor's gave us tickets to the game. We walked down to the stadium and M got to see her first Badger game. E got to see her first regular season game! Both girls seemed to really enjoy it. M even got to add Camp Randall stadium to the list of places she nursed :)

We spent the afternoon playing outside with friends and E went to a classmate's birthday party. Needless to say, both girls were completely wiped out by bedtime!

September 19- M and I were home alone for a little while tonight, and she was looking in the fridge. She found this coffee creamer and started carrying it around and calling it baby. We even went outside and played sidewalk chalk with her "baby."

September 18- The girls went back to Mickie's today, sadly I couldn't join them. This was the first visit to Mickies with E at 4K, and it seemed to work pretty well.

September 17- M has to brush her teeth each night, just like big sissy does. She's noticed that E gets toothpaste, so now she needs it too. Fortunately, she's too little to realize that we are just pretending to put some on her brush.

E has started gymnastics again, so M and dada got some nice time to explore outside together tonight while E and I were at gymnastics.

September 16- Today we had a different morning, E, M and I went to Ama and Ada's house, but they were out for breakfast. E was upset by the change in her routine, so we went for donuts, E was convinced that they would be home when we got back. But, they weren't. After she ate, E decided to wait until Ada was home before going to school. Fortunately, he made it home before we had to go! M and Ada came for coffee break today, which was great. M ate most of my yogurt, and a chocolate cookie (I offered her half, but she knew better and took a whole one)

After school today, we had little A over. We are rotating child care with our neighbors, and the little girls and big girls will travel in a pack, so M got to have a friend over, they played pretty well together, M did a little pushing. M found a new baby doll today, and was in love it with. We'll see how long it lasts.

September 15- M and Ada went to visit great gramma today, and they took her out for breakfast. After breakfast, M had a nice time playing with great gramma. M has been wearing this crown all the time. We're not totally sure why, E has never really been a fan, so she hasn't gotten it from her.

September 14- We had  a nice family Sunday today, with each parent getting some one on one with with each girl. E and I went to a soccer themed birthday party for one of her class-mates, while dada and M played at home and took a nap together. After quiet time, E and dada went to a football party (dada won beer, E was very excited for him). M and I took the time to go to the playground at the community center near our house. We used to go to this park all the time with E, so I was very happy to get the chance to play there with M.

September 13- We all slept in this morning, which was strange, but great! I started out the day at a clothing resale, so dada took the girls to the Monroe Street Festival. E got "W"s on her face, and a balloon poodle, M didn't get her face painted, and popped her balloon animal. They also got a giant bag of kettle corn. After the festival, we had lunch with Ama and Ada at HyVee and then E got a chance to play with her friend R.

M helped me make pizza for dinner. She got to stand on a chair in the kitchen one time, and now she seems to think its a normal thing.

September 12- I was out this evening doing a busy bag swap, so dada was on his own with the girls. The girls had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and then program and playtime with dada. M is starting to say lots of words, she can say: Ama, Bappa, Momma, Dada, Sissy, Woof Woof (Dog), Waffle, Awa (any girl friend), and shoe.

September 11-

September 10- Although we tell E not to climb on the couch, I couldn't resist!

September 9- We spent the afternoon playing outside with our friends. Once we were inside, the girls took turns playing on this step stool.

September 8- Dada was out for awhile this evening, and bedtime was a disaster with just me, E wanted to be with me when I was trying to put M down, and M wanted to be running around when I was trying to put E down.

September 7

September 6- It was the first Badger game of the season today, and at long last E got to have her lemonade stand! It was a huge success. Turns out people like to buy lemonade and water from a young girl who yell "lemonade and wata for sale" over and over and over! Once the game started, our whole family walked down to campus for lunch and to see the festivities. We had a wonderful picnic and family time.

September 5- We made it through our first week of school (for everyone). Ada and M dropped E off at school this morning, before heading to a new activity. They went to Tenny Nursery School and had a great time. M didn't even fall asleep on the way home, and it sounds like she was very into playing so she took a late nap. After we picked E up from Grandma and Grandpa's we headed home. E helped me cook tonight by being the waitress. M didn't like being sent to the basement too much at all. After dinner and a quick walk, it was time for program and bed. Both girls had a hard time going down tonight.

The chair that they are both trying to sit in is a "monkey see, monkey do" chair, they both totally ignore it, but once one is sitting the other one HAS to be too!

September 4- The girls had breakfast with Ama and Ada, and got a little time with Teddy this morning. E went to 4K, and M stayed with Ama and Ada. I was lucky, I got to see M and the gang for breakfast (at coffee break). I love getting the chance to see her during the day. After work and school, E and I pretended to be fairies and went for a walk, we found thee cicadas (making us bug fairies). We got to spend a little time with R before heading in.

September 3- Teddy in in WI for a quick visit, so we went to Ama and Ada's tonight. We spent some time on the deck visiting. E wanted to play kickball, but refused to wear sunscreen, so instead she sat on the deck. We had dinner, and some more visiting, then the girls got new PJs.

This was E's first time getting hot lunch at school, and it was a success!

September 2- It was dada's first day of school today, everyone did a nice job of working together this morning to make sure that he wasn't late. We are still working out the kinks of being a one car family, but we are getting it down. It most comes into play as we try to navigate work and school.

September 1- We had a nice, relaxing labor day. We started out the day with a trip to the Zoo. We haven't had too many family trips there this summer, so it was nice to sneak another one in. Ama and Ada came too. On this trip, we even went into the aviary (something E usually doesn't want to do). After the zoo, we had our traditional lunch at Hong Kong Cafe along with a picnic, the girls must have been starving because the both ate an entire entree! After quite time, we played at home. E and I went to Toys R Us, and she was very excited to get Barbie Juice

August 31- We went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire today, it was me and the girls first trip to a Faire of that size. We got there just in time for the jousting (which was something E and dada both really wanted to see) and then spent the rest of the time wandering around taking in the sites. Dada and E also got to shoot bow and arrows (E has always wanted to be like Merida). We had some food on a stick, and E got some nice face painting done.

August 30- We started out the morning getting our family pictures taken, and were planning a last trip to Circus World, but the weather turned bad. So we went downtown to the Children's Museum and Farmers Market. M and I stayed at the Museum where she had a ball in the water room. She got so wet other parents would literally gasp when the saw her (we had a change of clothes). She played in the phone booth, and really liked running around the kid area. We had pizza for lunch and then stopped for balloon animals on the way back to the car, E got a penguin and M got a "corn dog" (a plain yellow balloon)

August 29- There are moments M looks just like her sister, and this is one of them. Today was the second day of school, and our second day back in our routine. We are getting better at it, although the true test comes on Tuesday, when we've got to get dada to school on time too. We are all carpooling together right now, which is nice, but certainly hectic. Today, I dropped E off at school where she played on the playground for a bit before heading down to her classroom. She acted like an old pro, barely even looking back when I said goodbye.

M got to spend the day with Ama and Ada, I think it is so good for her to have quality one on one time like that. I think one of the harder things about a second child is the lack of one on one time with either of them. They had a good time going out for breakfast and playing.

After work and school, we got to go to the girls friend A's birthday party. It was M's first kid-party, and she had a great time. She loved playing outside with bubbles (E had a good time with pool noodles), M ate pretty well, and after the "big" kids went to play, she contented herself with snacking on their left over cake.

August 28- Today was E's first day of 4K, she had a wonderful time! Dada an I dropped her off, and she ran right into her classroom and sat on the rug for storytime. I got some reports from Ama and Ada throughout the day and they said she seemed to have a good time at recess. She liked lunch in the cafeteria, and the playground.

M had a big day too, they played outside all morning, and even went to the zoo!

After work and school, E got to pick a restaurant for dinner, she picked McDonald's of course. We had an early bedtime, which was different for us. M protested quite a bit, but she fell asleep and slept through the night (something she hadn't done the last two nights). E was asleep by 8, which is rare!

I asked E what she wanted to be when she grew up and she said "I want to work from home."

August 27- This morning, E and I went to school to visit her classroom. Initially, she wasn't too interested, but when she got to the dollhouse, she was hooked. In the evening we headed back to school for an ice cream social. E loved picking out different toppings for her ice cream, and M was thrilled to get her own bowl too, we played on the playground for a bit, M is fearless on the slide. At the top, you always have to tell her to sit down, otherwise it seems like she might just keep going!

August 26- Today was the girls last day with dada, and E and dada had a "daddy daughter day." The girls started out with Grandpa Ada this morning, in the early afternoon, dada picked up E and they had Rocky Rococo's for lunch, and built a Lego model. They picked M up from Ada's early, and had some nice playtime around the house. When I got home from work, we pretended to be wolves for a little bit, had dinner (E proclaimed grilled pineapple "not bad") and then E and dada had a movie party. M and I took a nice long walk and even played in the big sandbox with R and her mom.

When M and I got home, it was time for the movie credits, or as we call it, time to dance.

August 25- Today was Ama's birthday, so we got to celebrate with her this afternoon. We had a birthday party, with a cake that E made and decorated with sprinkles. Sadly, we forgot our camera, so we had to take our picture after.

After we got home, dada went to a party, and I tried to do bedtime on my own. Needless to say, when dada got home, everyone was still up.

August 24

August 23- We started the day with a breakfast picnic, and sand table time. We went to the Verona Public Library today to see the History Tour, the girls like the old time badminton game, but were mostly excited to play with the library's toys, went to church in the evening, and had dinner (and ice cream) at Culvers. E was today's photographer.

August 22- M had been sleeping through the night in her own bed since about the first of August, the early morning of Aug. 22, was her first time with us in a while.

August 21- M helping me with my knitting.

August 19- Pile on daddy

August 18- M just loves these sunglasses! Sometimes I have to wear them, but she usually likes to keep them for herself.

August 17- We asked E what she wanted to do while in MN, and her response was to see Natie, Annie, and Coco puppy, so we visited with them prior to heading home. We stopped and had a picnic at a park near their house with "Subway sandwiches" (the only kind E will eat). M loved seeing the dog and wandering the park.

M napped for about an hour of the car ride, and then sobbed the rest of the time. We took a much needed stop at the Wisconsin Dells and had dinner at Buffalo Phil's E loved the amusement park aspect, and even won some nice prizes playing the games.

August 16- We were at Titi's today, and all the kids played in the pool and with other water toys today. They were also busy around the house. M really hit it off with little, who called M, "my baby" it was nice to see little E take such good care of M, and have a nice time with her. M is at the age where she plays in parallel with other kids, and it was nice to see her have a little more interaction.

August 15- This morning was M's first trip to the dentist, and E's third. E has been asking to go back ever since last time, since she got a prize. Both girls did a great job, and no one cried! After the dentist, we started our trip to MN, the girls did ok in the car, M didn't nap nearly as long as we had hoped. E kept herself pretty entertained. We stopped at Como Park Zoo, for a quick visit, then went to Titi's. We got there nice and early, so we got to have dinner and some playtime which was great. Both girls (and their parents had a great time)

 

August 14- Today E spent the morning at work with me. We caught the bus, which she was very excited about, walked to campus, and got to my office. The first order of business was applying lip balm, then we could put our snacks away and get coffee. E watched two movies (Hercules and Mulan). We had coffee break and E got to put her feet in the water. After a little more work, we had lunch at the Union with Ama and Ada. E had a hot dog like always. We got blue moon ice cream and mint chocolate cookie. There was almost a meltdown when they were put in the same bowl, but E got through it. After she left my work, she got to spend some time with Ama and Ada.

Dada and M spent the day together, its something they don't get to do all that often. They ran errands, had some nice playtime around the house. M started "honking" her nose, then honking dada's nose. She's also become really interested in high fiving, she even tried to high five the cashier at the grocery store.

When we got home from work, the girls got to play outside with their friends, there were lots of outdoor toys, and running around.

August 13-  M is really starting to be able to entertain herself (sometimes) today she played with the Sophia the First family on the couch nicely for a while. We registered E for 4K today, I can't believe she is off to school this year. While we did that, E and M played with Ada for a little bit. They had a great time. 

The girls had another big day, they went to the zoo with dada. 

August 12- The girls had a huge day today, they started the morning with a trip to the mechanic, so they walked to the mall. Once they were their they walked around the mall and played. E got to do some school shopping with Grandma. The girls and dada had lunch at HyVee, and then the girls went to grandma and grandpa's house for some playtime. E had gymnastics in the afternoon, which is her favorite activity.