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.