Big Girl Day

Yep, that's the name of today. Probably soon to be followed by Big Scream Night. Lila has this bad habit of drinking water at night, sometimes 2-3 cups! It started back in early spring when she had a bad cough. I let her take a sippy cup of water to bed and she hasn't wanted to give it up. We've tried everything and it doesn't work, so today we threw away the sippy cups. I made it a big deal and told her they were going to the sippy cup fairies to be recycled for other babies. She's a big girl now and doesn't need them. I've been telling her that all day, and she's been drinking fine all day from cups, but at night... I fear what the night will bring! Tim's bringing home earplugs from work.

The other Big Girl thing happened out of the blue. Elsa just started showing interest in her tricycle a few weeks ago, and today she wanted to ride her bike to the park! And she did it - all the way there and back. It's at least 8 blocks. It was so fun to see her so proud of herself. The minute we got onto the street, she said,"This is so fun! Can I do this again one day?"


Tim was letting them wash the cars the other evening. Here's Lila coming at me with bubble hands.


Oxy Clean, don't fail me now.


Lila wanted to eat the lemons on the counter but I said no. I turned around and heard a 'thunk'. She looked up all innocent and said,"We can throw them!" Um, no, not that either. Later I found this bite taken out of it.


Some photos from the beach last weekend:





Last night I was watering the garden and suddenly I looked up and saw this: one of those picture perfect moments where the girls are being so sweet and picking flowers together in the field.


Elsa chooses her flowers and places them in her bouquet with careful consideration...


...while Lila tries stuffing them into her diaper, much to her own amusement.

north shore, random kid photos and quotes

It was my b-day on Thursday, and Tim and I were able to get away for the night to the North Shore! (thanks mom and dad!) We did some biking at Gooseberry Falls, had a nice dinner, and used every amenity we could at the hotel while we were there. It was beyond awesome.





I have barely any photos of the kids lately. We've been at the beach a lot, and I keep forgetting my camera. This is Lila in her new sun/beach dress.


This was taken before Elsa's last gymnastics class. She gets really excited and wild before we leave! She loves it so much, we just had to sign her up for another four weeks.



Lila takes a ride on the bus. She's really into playing pretend lately. I'll be making dinner and feel a toy car roll up my leg while she makes car noises. She'll hold a toy over the side of the couch and say "AHHHHHH!", then she'll drop it and rush to rescue the injured. She likes to say "because" a lot, but doesn't understand what it means. An example: "I like bananas because... I like bananas."


Elsa made up her first poem last week. It's a bit on the sad/dark side, but all the brilliant ones are! haha. Not kidding though, before bed one night she suddenly said:

There's no place like home
My heart is alone.

What?! I'm glad I keep this stuff written down. A friend of mine gave me the idea to keep a shoebox with paper/pen attached (like a suggestion box) in the kitchen so it's easy to remember to write things down. Here are a couple more.

Elsa, after seeing my terry cloth shorts:
"Mommy, is that shorts or a towel?"

Then there's Lila. She still wakes up a lot in the middle of the night. One of the most recent ridiculous requests at 3 a.m.:
"Cover my toesies up!"

Or this:
Me: "Lila, I'm going to eat your cheeks!"
Lila: "No eat my cheeks! It be wewwy wewwy dangerous."

Visiting with family

Last week we got a chance to see a couple of my cousins who live out of the country. First we went to Amery and saw my dad's side of the family, including my cousin Katy and her son Owen who live in Costa Rica. Owen and Elsa are about 2 weeks apart in age. We had a fiesta themed party and the kids were so excited about the pinata.

Elsa and Owen carry the bat over to the pinata.


Lila takes a swing.


The payoff!


The kids got along so well!


Me, Jenny, and Katy. Does everyone know I'm going to be a first-time auntie?! We're so excited.


My cousin Becky lives in France, and she was here visiting, too. We went to a baby shower for her on Sunday. I forgot to take pics! On Monday we all met up at Buca for dinner and to celebrate her husband's birthday.


Elsa and Lila loved the leftover cupcakes cousin Kelly made for the shower. Good stuff, cuz!



Elsa drew some faces the other day. The one on the left is Auntie Em from the Wizard of Oz. She says you can tell by the white hair. I see it! And I wonder if that circle on top of her head is her bun? Maybe! I asked what the line was hanging from her chin, and she said,"The butt!" I love how the arms and legs are connected to the head - no body! The one on the right was a bit of a surprise. Elsa yelled for me to come quick and see her picture of baby Lila. She said,"And look mom, I even drew her name!" She didn't ask me how to spell it or anything. I think she had it memorized from the letters we have hanging over the crib. The wavy line coming down from her mouth is her "baby drool", and all the horizontal lines by her mouth are her lips. She kinda has the Mick Jagger thing going on.


In other news, Elsa has finally started to ride her trike and bicycle. She still loves gymnastics and has become a lot more adventures overall. She climbs to the top of the monkey bars at the playground and isn't afraid to go out into the deep water at the lake. Scary! I'm starting to wish she was back to being overly cautious. I've only recently had to really keep my eye on her, which is strange.

Lila is two now, which is hard to believe since it feels like we've already been through the terrible two's! She has a big personality. Everything she does is big, whether it's being sweet or throwing a fit. She likes to be around people all the time, and knows how to make people laugh. She's still very loud. It's like her volume is stuck on High. It makes for some quick trips to Cub and Target!

The kids play really well together and they make up a lot of songs and games. Most of them are very, very loud. I'll hear: "Hey Lila, let's play the stroller game!" Which consists of them running around the house as fast as they can with their strollers, while screaming. They also like to go to the bathroom together. They shut the door and turn off the light. Elsa sits on the toilet and Lila sits on her potty and watches her, and they talk about stuff. I'm not ever invited since they like their "privacy". I'll try to get some of their songs on video for next time, if they don't blow out my camera speaker.

4th of July and more

On Lila's birthday we went to my parents house for a pool party. Mom made these super cute bunny cakes (make from 1/2 of a regular cake), so the girls were happy they could both have one.


Birthday kiss!


On July 3 we went to the Forest Lake parade. It was SO HOT. They threw so much candy and on top of it, tons of freeze pops. Definitely a good idea, but not after we had about 10 of them. Sugar insanity. We decided to ditch out after the first hour (the thing is 2 hrs long!) and hit the carnival. The kids went on some rides, and by then they were so hot and tired that we had to carry them 12 blocks back to the car in 95 degree heat. I thought I'd pass out!



For the 4th we went back to my parents house for more pool party fun and also some fireworks.



The girls love drinking "bubbled water" out of of shot glasses with straws. I said,"They look like a couple of old time hookers!" To which my dad replied very seriously,"You mean Showgirls, Jessie." Um, yes.


Grandpa Barney and new puppy, Buford! Isn't he so cute?

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lila!

Happy Birthday to our baby Lila June! She was born at 4:42 a.m. Today is another gorgeous summer day, just like the day she was born. We took her home on the 4th of July in crazy holiday traffic. I'm glad this year we'll be at the parade and enjoying the fireworks! But lets take a look back, shall we?

Lila, just a couple hours old.


Lila, 3 days old. Elsa is only 22 months!


The day after we brought her home, Elsa went swimming in the pool, Tim played guitar, and I needed a break, so we put Lila down for a nap in the case.


Fast forward to now.
This morning we opened a few presents right away. Lila got a new princess doll and she was seriously stoked.


For breakfast we had the traditional birthday pancakes.


Last Sunday we had a little party for her and lucked out with great weather again.

The kids played (and hugged!) in their new matching dresses.


Lila wanted bear cupcakes with blue frosting, and "pah-nih-wah" ice cream.



Birthday girl opening presents.


Elsa put on Lila's new fairy princess outfit and wanted to turn something into a frog with the magic wand. We found a toy frog and told her to spin around and close her eyes, and then "magically" the frog would appear in place of people or objects. She was freakin' out! She didn't get sick of that game for a long, long time!


Lila in her new tutu.


Another family photo... another Photoshop opportunity.