October Review

It is crazy to me how fast the days go by. I can’t seem to find time to keep up on everything, so the blog has suffered. Seems I am doing more “month in review” posts lately! So, here is October in Review:

October 7: Family Portraits by T Kern Photography. I wanted the fall outdoor scene for our portraits this year. We had a gorgeous day, and even though most of the leaves were gone and brown, Traci did a great job of still capturing fall. Lesson learned – when taking pictures outside, need to have glasses that are not transitional lenses!! We ended up taking Leah’s glasses off for most shots as she looked like she was wearing sunglasses! I think next time, I will just take an old pair and pop the lenses out. 

October 10-12: Leah participated in Junior Cheerleading Camp sponsored by Cambridge – Isanti High School Cheerleaders.  The girls had 2 days of teaching with the cheerleaders. Then, on Friday Night, the Junior Cheerleaders cheered with the high school cheerleaders during the first half of the football game and performing at half time. Leah even had to stay for the second half to watch the game! She ditched mom and dad to sit with her good friend Abby! She loved every minute of this experience. As some of you know, for a few years, when asked what she is going to be when she grows up, she answers: a cheerleader and a teacher!

 October 16: Amber and I got to spend the day with Beth and Noah. We have been trying to get together FOREVER, and it finally worked out!! Good time with a good friend and her handsome baby boy!

October 18-21: Road trip to Michigan to visit Grandpa Shorty. Joe, Leah, Amber and I took off for Michigan at 4:30am on Thursday and arrived at Shorty’s place around 7:30pm! We figured if we got the girls up early, they would go back to sleep, but no such luck…I probably did more sleeping on the way there than they did combined! Leah is an excellent traveler. Amber did well for 2 ½!! We had a nice visit with Joe’s Dad and the rest of his family in Michigan. Leah ran and jumped up to give Grandpa Shorty a hug as soon as she saw him. Amber took some warming up, but it wasn’t long before she was sitting on his lap! Now, whenever we see a man with a mustache who is about Grandpa Shorty’s height, Amber yells out “Grandpa Shorty.” So cute!! While in Michigan, we spent some time with most of Joe’s family there, we did a lot of swimming and we made a stop at Bronner’s (the world’s largest Christmas store)!  When we went to Uncle Les and Aunt Sandi’s place, the girls got to spend some time around the horses and dogs. Yes, we have some fraidy cat girls. They both needed encouragement to pet both animals and they spend a good majority of the time in the house on the couch as they did not want to be by the dogs. Crazy girls, not sure where all that comes from! It was great to spend time with Grandpa Shorty, but our time there quickly ended. We headed home on Sunday. This time, after getting the girls up early, there was a lot more sleeping in the car! We did have one unexpected stop when Joe witnessed a car in front of us hit a deer on the freeway!  

October 27: I ran the Monster Dash ½ Marathon in St. Paul! What a great day for a run. A little chilly had the start, but not bad once I was running. Joe missed me at the finish, but glad he was there to support me!! I was very happy with my time: 13 miles in 2:14:25!

October 27-28: Leah went to a Halloween sleepover at Jam Hops Gymnastics with 70 kids! She went without knowing if she would know anyone there. She was hoping maybe someone from her gymnastics class would be there, but, better yet, one of her friends from school was there! She had a great time. She reported to us that she stayed up until midnight, and fell asleep when they started to watch a movie!

October 28: Pumpkin Carving. Joe, as per our custom, was the designer. Leah and Amber had some interest, but they did tire out of the process about midway through the 4 pumpkins. I helped Leah and Amber clean their pumpkins and do a little carving as well. Amber really got into the cleaning – at one point, I looked over and she was on the table cleaning her pumpkin. I quickly got her off (after taking a picture, of course)! Leah barely needed any help this year cleaning her pumpkin. It is hard to believe how independent she really is!!

October 31: Halloween. Leah was a cowgirl, and Amber was a Care Bear. Both girls had parties at school/daycare during the day. Leah’s school had a parade which she just loved. Once home, we got on their costumes, mandatory picture time (yup, crazy picture lady here), then we were off to trick or treat. We went to Grandma Mary’s, Nonna and Grandpa’s house, a few houses around Nonna and Grandpa’s, then, after dinner – waffles made by Grandpa, yummy, we finished up with a stop at our neighbor’s house and our house! Amber did well at saying trick or treat, and both were great about saying Thank You! They also both had just as much fun passing out the candy as they did getting the candy!!

September came and went in a blink of an eye!

Wow, it is so hard to believe that September is over. It was filled with lots of fun activities!!

Leah is back into school mode. She says she likes 2^nd grade better than 1^st grade! According to Leah, 2^nd grade is easier than 1^st grade! I think it may be that she has matured a lot since 1^st grade! She is busy with school, dance and gymnastics. She is constantly doing gymnastics. She takes apart our couch on a daily basis to use the cushion as a mat (she doesn’t like to bonk her head when she is practicing back bends)!!

Amber continues to make us laugh with her words. I am amazed daily at her language. A recent conversation with Amber:

Mommy: Are you mommy’s baby?

Amber: No, I a big girl

Mommy: Well, big girls go to preschool 

Amber: No, I a toddler. I can’t like preschool. I like toddler room. I like baby room

Mommy: But only babies are in the toddler and baby room.

Amber: I your baby mommy

They have been working on transitioning Amber to the pre 1 room at daycare. However, Miss Amber is opposed to this movement. She soon will not have a say as she moves up at 32 months, and she is 31 months now!!

Amber got to see her first play in September (later in this post), she started gymnastics (at daycare), and she continues to grow like a weed (bought her new shoes…size 10 – her old ones, size 8)!

September in review

9/21/12: Leah had her friend, Riley, sleep over. Luckily they let Amber join them from time to time (I say that like they really had a choice)!

9/22/12: “Duck for President” at Stages Theatre in Hopkins, MN. Amber went to her first play with my mom, Leah and I.  She wasn’t initially coming, but it just so happened Joe was gone (helping up at the cabin with my dad) and Grama Mary was on vacation. So, I thought I would take her along. Jaclyn and Kaylee also came and brought along Kurtis and Kaysee (also her first play). All the kids did a great job for a 7pm show! Amber loved the dancing and singing. Unfortunately, the potty called not once but twice!! She did cause a little laughter when shouting "wake up" about 4 times to the "animals" that were sleeping during a scene when the theater dark and nobody was talking, so Amber’s voice was loud!!!

9/23/12: A gorgeous day, so Nonna and I decided to take the girls to Aamodt’s Apple Orchard for the day. We had a perfect day. The girls ate some kettle corn, apple donuts, hot dogs and caramel apples. They enjoyed picking apples, the tractor ride, hay ride, swing set, hay maze and just general running around. We had just a very nice day!!

9/26-28/12: Last weekend for us at the cabin. Always a sad, sad weekend. What a gorgeous weekend we had. Joe and my dad (with very little help from me) brought in the boat, the dock and the lift. We had a visit from Aunt Sara who helped to keep an eye on Amber as we brought in the dock. The girls and I enjoyed the gorgeous weather and helped where we could. We also went to one of the hotels for a swim as the girls were anxious to swim, but I was really not wanting to swim in the lake (yes, it was nice, but swimming in the lake in Northern, MN in late September does not spell FUN to me). They both got rides on the “4 leller” (as Amber says it). Leah loves riding the wheeler, Amber was hesitant at first, but loved the ride once she was on it!

Last Week of Summer Vacation and First day of School

We got in another day at Bunker Beach. This time just the big kids went. My friend Jaci along with her daughter Kaylee, Leah, Micheal and I all had a fantastic day. The day started out a bit cool and looked like showers. The weather must have scared away other water park enthusiasts as it was not very busy. What they missed out on...a perfect afternoon for being at the water park! The kids really had a good time. We sure did luck out with weather this summer on our outdoor adventures!

The last weekend of summer was spent up at the cabin. Leah (who spent a lot of time at the cabin this summer) informed us that she did not have enough time at the cabin this summer! Amber, as soon as we leave, "we go back to the cabin!" I guess it is pretty obvious where our girls prefer to be!!

On the boat with Gabby and Bionca (the girls next door)!

 

 

Now, today it is back to school. Leah went off to school this morning with a positive attitude. She had been saying that she was not looking forward to going back to school (she admitted last night that she was nervous). This morning she felt excited. Amber has been missing her sister all day! It'll be better for Amber when she is at daycare with her friends tomorrow!

MN State Fair

Joe and I both took Friday 8/24/12 off, and we took Leah to the Minnesota State Fair. We had no intention of staying as late as we did, but the day flew by and we had a great time. Luckily, we had made arrangements for Nonna to pick up Amber at daycare! We got to the fair around 10am and we left at 7:30pm! Leah had such a great time (or at least seemed to have a great time).

We ate a lot. We enjoyed the day. Joe officially claimed a “cheat day!” Well, we did walk a lot, so that has to help, a little anyway!!

Leah put up with (sort of) us browsing the Grandstand booths, but she did get some stuff out of it, so I don’t think she minded it too much! Joe and Leah had fun browsing through campers and trucks! Joe was drooling over some of those trucks. They were quite nice, that is for sure.

Leah really enjoyed playing games at the midway with daddy where they both did well. She also enjoyed the rides especially the fun house and the super jumping trampoline (I have no idea what this is really called)! She wanted to do it again, but she had to wait in line about 40 min for the first try! She did the big slide 2 times, and also wanted to do that again, but it was either that or go to see more animals and…

She really wanted to see animals. We made it to the fish, briefly saw horses, and spent quite a bit of time at the Miracle of Birth center where she saw a new calf (less than 1 hour old), piglets, chicks, kids (goats), bunnies, and lambs. This did raise some interesting questions, but I managed through them quite well, I think!

August so far...

We have been taking advantage of the great August weather and making the most of the last month of summer!

My mom, Leah and I went to “Seussical” with Jaclyn, Kaylee and Deb. It was a great play. I think my favorite of the season at Stages Theater in Hopkins. It has been so much fun for the 6 of us to go to regular plays for the last 2 years. Kaylee and Leah love spending time together, unfortunately since we live an hour from each other, they don’t get play dates as often as they would like, so the plays are a great opportunity for them to see each other as well as to learn about the theater!

We had an absolutely gorgeous day at Bunker Beach on August 7. The girls and I along with Sara and Michael enjoyed fun in the sun and water. Leah was officially tall enough for the big slides this year. She did need a little encouragement, but really enjoyed the slides once she finally got the courage to try them (even though she had tried them last year, but just forgot)!  Amber, on the other hand, is the no fear girl. She was up on the smaller slides by herself in less than 10 minutes and kept asking to go on the big slides! I guess she is just trying to keep up with her big sister!

August 11-14 brought us up to the cabin again. Joe was not able to join us as he went to Eveleth for the Hockey Hall of Fame Golf Tourney where it sound like he had a great time. The girls always love being up at the cabin especially with Thea and Delila. They love to play with their cousins. We also were able to spend some time with the new neighbors. It was fun to get to know them. Sara, Doug, Drew and Blake made it over for a day while we were there as well. We so enjoyed their visit. The girls certainly loved the attention from Blake and Drew!

Then, on August 15, my mom, the girls and I headed to the MN Zoo. Another amazing day! We have been so lucky this summer as the weather has been very cooperative for us when we have planned outings! We had a wonderful day at the zoo. We checked out the animals, Amber rode a camel (Leah didn’t want to), we went through the Dinosaur Exhibit, and we rode the monorail! The girls really seems to enjoy the day, and I must say that I enjoyed it as well!

I had to work on the 18,19 (boo to working the weekend), but at least I was able to have some fun!

 

The afternoon of August 18 we spent celebrating the 8^th birthday of a handsome young man named Michael! We had lots of outdoor fun! Again, a gorgeous day! Leah spent the night for the extended portion of the birthday party for just 4 kids. She had a great time. Thanks Sara and Mike!

After I worked on Sunday, the girls and I headed up to Duluth to visit my Aunt Vicky and Uncle Jim/ Leah’s Godmother and Godfather!  We stayed until Monday evening and had such a nice time. So glad we were even able to spend time with John and Chris who are always so fabulous with the girls. John was a trooper and even went into the cold lake with Leah so that I didn’t have to! Thanks John!!

Amber at 2 1/2!

It is so hard to believe that Amber is already 2 ½. She is growing up so fast. I want it to slow down. Sometimes in the everyday rush of life, I feel I lose appreciation and forget to remember the daily stuff. I hope that I never forgot how she takes her hands to move my face so that I am looking at her when she is talking, or her contagious laugh, or her never ending energy! She is a 2 year old by definition – she is stubborn, she is independent, she can throw a gold medal tantrum, she is learning new things every day, and she thinks she is a monkey!

She is quite a talker. She can carry on a conversation, and most can understand what she is saying. She is talking in 5-6 word sentences and her vocabulary amazes me. But, of course, she has some unique characteristics to her speech.  So, if you have a conversation with Amber with the near future, here  is the dictionary to Amber speak!!

Headband = Band-Aid (have no idea how this came to be)

Rice = ice and rice (go with the context it is used)

Papa = Grandpa (but, she is outgrowing this now and has started saying Grandpa more)

I carry you or I hold you = You carry me or You hold me

I d’know = I don’t know

Amimals = animals

Me do this/that = I do this/that

Channel = Disney channel

I can’t like this = I don’t like this

Acole = Nicole (a teacher at daycare)

 

Other things Amber is up to:

*She is potty trained (day and night since the beginning of July)

*She is still in a crib- although, she is a monkey outside of her crib, and she has not yet climbed out of her crib (although she is now climbing out of her pack n play which she really is getting to long for anyway!). Since she gets into absolutely everything, I am not ready to move her out of the crib until she forces the issue!

*She had her first “surgery” in April – tubes in her ears

*She likes to go to sleep with the light on in her room

*She announces “I come back” when she walks into a room

*She can count to 9 (but usually misses 3 and 4)

*She is working on the ABCs (is at about 75%)

*She likes to color, but doesn’t like to just color on paper!!

*She knows some colors – Purple, pink, red, green, blue, orange

*Her favorite color appears to be purple or pink

*She already decides what clothes she is going to wear (I might be, okay, I know I am in trouble)

*Her favorite songs seem to be “5 Little Monkeys,” “Twinkle, Twinkle,” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider”

*She sleeps with 5 blankets (I am not kidding), but she has a favorite, her “white blanket”

*She still has to have 4 books before bed, and they have not changed (yes, I have them memorized): “How do Dinosaurs Clean their room,” “Mommy Hugs,” “Goodnight Moon,” and “Chugga Chugga Choo Choo.”

*She adores her big sister

*She is a pretty good eater (but as with most 2 year olds, she has her days)

*She likes to watch “channel. She doesn’t really pay attention to the t.v., but just wants the t.v. on while she is playing. She also liked to watch the Olympics – particularly swimming, diving and gymnastics.

*She loves to play at the play kitchen and with the play food. She also likes to play with matchbox cars

*She is strong, very strong.

*She is adventurous and daring!

*She tries to copy everything her big sister does.

Summer is going too fast!

It has been an eventful July. It is hard to believe that August is here and summer will soon be over! 

So, starting off where I left off with the last post…

Leah has been a busy girl this July. She had a week of gymnastics camp, 3 days of cheerleading camp, and now she is spending a whole week at the cabin with Nonna and Grandpa. I think she has been having a pretty good summer.Oh, and she even lost a tooth and got a visit from the tooth fairy. 

7/8/12: Amber is potty trained, day and night time! We have become a diaper free house now. She was so excited to pick out her own big girl undies on 7/21. I had her in the thicker training pants until then, even though she didn’t need them. Maybe I subconsciously was not ready for her to be so big! 

7/14/12: Twins game. Joe, Leah, Mary and I went to the game. Coincidently, Aunt Vicky, Uncle Jim, and cousins Jim and Sam were also there and they found us right at the gate as we entered. Small world! We had a beautiful evening for the game, and had a fun time even if the Twins didn’t win. I don’t know if Leah really watched the game, but she enjoyed eating peanuts and cotton candy!

7/21/12: We helped our friend, Mike, celebrate his 40^th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Mike!

7/22/12 – 7/24/12: The girls and I went to the cabin with Grama Mary, Nonna and Grandpa. Joe had to stay home to work. We had fantastic weather, did some boating, lots of swimming, a couple of fires, but we still couldn’t convince Leah to try tubing!  Silly Sara (my Aunt Sara) even came over for an afternoon.

My favorite Amberism from the cabin
“I hurt my butt, kiss it Nonna, kiss my butt!” Oh, kids!

The girls just love spending time at the cabin. Amber has asked us every day since we returned…"I go to the cabin?" She has even had a full conversation with her daycare teacher that left the teacher thinking that Joe was picking her up and they were going to the cabin where Amber was going to go swimming!

7/25/12: Leah FINALLY loses her left front tooth which seems like it was ready to come out for weeks!

7/29/12: We celebrated the birthday of my beautiful Goddaughter, Kaysee. It’s a pinkalicious party! Most of the attendees wear pink – yes, even Joe. 

Yup, July was busy, fun and everything summer should be. August should give us more of the same! Gotta enjoy the warm months while we have them!