Where did September go????

Okay, it is a good thing that I take lots of pictures, or I might not be able to remember everything that happened in the last month. Seriously, it feels like it went by so fast. I hope this doesn't mean that I am going to blink and it will be Christmas!

Leah is very busy with school, soccer (which I am coaching...with the help of my wonderful friend, Sara), and dance. She is doing well. I just went to lunch with her at school today. I stayed for recess, and I was able to chat a little with her teacher. She told me that Leah is such a sweet girl (yeah)! She is doing well. She typically stays on task, but, right now, she is in the back sitting next to another little girl...well, they like to distract eachother (go figure), so when they move in October, Leah will be near the front! I like that better anyway.

Amber is busy being as cute as can be! She is so adorable (most of the time). Joe did put up his Halloween houses this year (they look great - pictures to come), and she is getting more into trying to play with the pieces. It is hard for her to just leave them alone (again, go figure). She is saying more and more words. She is very adventurous and likes to try anything!

So, here is September in pictures:

9/5: Amber comes home from daycare in pigtails. I would have never guessed that her hair would fit in pigtails!

9/17: Leah, Amber and I went to the Mall of America to see Cousin Ronda (who was there working for a scrapbooking convention), go to the American Girl Store, and Nickoledeon Universe. Leah even got to meet a couple of Viking Cheerleaders! She was very excited about that. They both had a great time on the rides, but Amber would get upset when Leah would go on rides that she was too little to go on. Amber is definitely going to be the daredevil of the two girls. While at Nickoledeon Universe, some of the characters where out for pictures. Amber was pointing to them as if she wanted to get her picture taken (while Leah was trying to walk the other direction). I finally convinced Leah to come with us (she did not have to be in the picture, just stand by the railing where I could see her). Well, our turn came and as we neared the character (to be honest, I wasn't even sure who they were...we are more of a Disney Channel family), Amber started to cry...oh no, does this mean I am going to have another child afraid of character people?
9/24: My mom, Leah, and I along with our friends Deb, Jaclyn and Kaylee went to see "Miss Nelson is Missing" and Stages Children's Theater in Hopkins. We have season tickets this year. This was the first of 7 plays we will get to attend. Leah loved the show (well, we all did)! After the cast does a meet and greet - here is Kaylee and Leah with "Miss Nelson." After the show, we went to get some ice scream at Cold Stone. Yummy! While we were there 3 of the kids from "Miss Nelson's" Class came in as well. Leah and Kaylee were star struck. It was very cute. Leah no longer was interested in her ice cream. She kept staring at the kids. She did attempt to go say hi, but came back to me and said, "I got shy!" One of the girls came up to Leah and gave her a high five...so cool!

Leah had said to me earlier in the day...out of the blue, "Mommy, I am so excited about the play, but I wish that I was on the stage!"

9/25: We enjoyed some playtime outside. Amber has figured out zippers and likes to take off her sweater. The solution? Well, it's an interesting look!

This is the first time that Amber actually got into the sand box and played in the sand. Until now, she has not wanted to touch sand!

9/27: I went to eat lunch with Leah at school. She requested that I stay for recess, so I could see how good she is on the monkey bars! Of course, I had to stay. Lucky for me, I had my camera in my purse, so I took the opportunity to get a picture of Leah and her teacher, Mrs. Bistodeau.

Is she really that smart...or was it just good timing?

So, this is the story:

Joe picks up the girls from daycare this afternoon. He says to Leah
"What did you learn about it school today."
Leah said, "We learned about the letter T."
Joe said, "Can you tell me some words that start with T?"
and before Leah could answer, Amber said "Two"

Appartently this started Leah and Joe laughing fit that lasted 5 minutes!

9/6/11 Leah's First Day of First Grade

Leah started first grade - WOW - yesterday. She picked out her outfit. She also requested that I curl her hair! Of course, I had to take some pictures. Leah was so cooperative with photos. She even wanted some pictures with Amber in them. Amber, however, was not too cooperative, but I did manage to snap one good one!

She told me before school that she was excited, scared and nervous. I was impressed that she could explain those feelings!! Since I don't work on Tuesdays, I get to take her/pick her up from school. Joe, Amber and I all took her to school yesterday. She requested that I walk her to the door! I was shocked, but, of course, I took advantage of it because I know soon enough she will not want me anywhere near her on the first day of school!

After school, she was absolutely exhausted! I asked her what her favorite part of first grade was. She told me, "sitting at my desk and coloring in the morning."

On another note....JOE GOT A JOB!!! We are very excited. He will be driving/delievery, just not exactly sure in what (van or dock truck). He will know more tomorrow.

Amber

So on Saturday (9/3), we were all out playing on a beautiful day! Leah decided to pull out some buckets and fill them with water. Of course, Amber had to play too! She thought it would be fun to pour the bucket of water on herself. An activity she repeated as long as Leah would fill her bucket. We also discovered on this day that Amber is not afraid of bugs. The first one that she picked up, she tried to eat. Luckily, I was quick enough to get it out of her mouth. The second one was...well, you can see for yourself in the picture. Oh, and she still likes to put everything in her mouth...she was also trying to eat the rocks!

MN Zoo 9/4/11

While the 2 daddy's golfed all day (2 rounds of 18 at 2 different locations...thanks to Jaclyn who found a great deal), the 2 mommy's took the kids to the MN zoo.

I was on a quest to get a group shot of the kids, but it proved to be quite difficult.

Amber was a trooper, she got a short nap on the way down to the zoo, and for the most part, she was just a doll. Kurtis and Kaysee were also just as good as could be. We were very lucky at how the little kids behaved.

We did have a little drama with the older girls, but, they did pretty good overall. Leah, unfortunately, lost a new wallet that she had bought with her own money, and, I thought that was going to be the end of the good behavior, but, after a quick outburst, she did calm down and didn't let it ruin her day. Leah and Kaylee had fun running around. I am not too sure how much attention they actually paid to the animals.

Amber is still calling all of the animals "puppy."

I was shocked at how exhausted I was from the day at the zoo with the kids. Does this mean I am getting old????

Leah got to spend the night at Kaylee's house. A fun way to spend the night before the night before school starts!

Cabin 8/26-29

Leah went up to the cabin with Nonna and Grandpa on 8/17. Joe, Amber and I didn't get to join them until 7/23. We were also joined by Joe's mom, Mary. It is always nice to be up at the lake!

Leah had a great time with Nonna and Grandpa before we arrived. They were joined from Wednesday to Friday by Dan, Tiff, Thea and Delila. Of course, the girls had a fabulous time together.

Joe and Grandpa took Leah to get a real fishing pole. She is learning to cast with it. She is doing pretty good. Before we got there, she was fishing with grandpa (with her barbie fishing pole) and she told me that she caught 2 rock bass. I don't even know what a rock bass looks like!

Amber walked up the entire flight of stairs up the hill (which is a lot) just holding my hand. I have decided that she is going to be a future tennis player, because with every step up...she grunts!

Amber didn't want to have much to do with the lake water, until we went to the public beach on the lake for a picnic/play time. She ended up sitting with me in the water - splashing and watching her sister play for about 45 minutes. It looks like she might be getting more comfortable with the lake water. Leah is still a bit shy about the lake. It is so funny because she is not shy at all in a pool. She doesn't like to put her head under water in the lake...because of the fish!

We had a nice visit with Aunt Sara who came on 8/26, and Priscilla who came on 8/29.

It is always a sad day when we have to leave. But we had to get home...Leah had open house for 1st grade!