St. Patrick's Day and other stuff

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We did an art project and made these beaded necklaces. Elsa isn't into taking photos lately, but too bad, I still like this one!


Last Monday we went to babysit our niece Avery for a little bit in the afternoon. She's such a good baby!


I took some photos of Lila while she danced with her puppy.

Check out Elsa in the background...not having it! :)



Really, another photo?
I know I can get some better ones once I get her outside! We went for a nature walk through the woods this week and the kids loved it. Elsa is sooo excited for spring, and loves the warmer weather. All she talks about is Florida. That's my girl!


We've been having sleep issues with Lila that have only become worse. She stalls at bedtime, and on top it she wakes up sometimes 6 times a night. Realizing it couldn't get any worse, we decided to move her into a big girl bed. She's so proud. We're hoping that feeling like a big girl will make her act like a big girl. It actually seems to be working!


Lila's hair when she wakes up. :)

Fun weekend!

Last Friday I took the kids to a place in Ham Lake called Pump It Up. It's basically a giant warehouse/party room all filled with inflatables. It was a great time - the kids can't wait to go back.






Now that Tim is off his crutches, we finally went and had some family fun at the MOA on Sunday. We've hardly done anything since Christmas, so the kids were crazy excited. They loved the sea creatures at Underwater Adventures (now completely renovated and called Sea Life), and of course we couldn't get out of there without going on a few rides at Nick Universe.

They had a big dark room with lit-up Jellyfish and mirrors everywhere. It felt like you were in outer space with aliens all around!


Tim and Lila check out the local lake fish and turtles.


Elsa on the balloon ride.


Lila rides the carousel.


'Til next time!

March is here!

Yesterday we went to McDonald's Playland. On purpose. It's the first time we've ever been there, mainly because Lila is now the perfect age, but also, and most importantly, because I just don't care about germs anymore. The kids both had pneumonia last week and it was awful. In fact, the entire month of February was a complete wash. So, we hit the closest and cheapest entertainment we could find. They thought it was totally awesome.


After lunch we decided to hit the car wash. Lila screamed whenever the water came by her window.


Both kids love to help cook.


We got this toy at the thrift store and the kids have hours of fun with it.


In this house, everything that comes in the door gets set on the counter by the phone, directly above the pen drawer. Elsa is always grabbing pens out of the drawer and coloring on whatever scraps of paper, lists, mail, important papers, that are within reach. Last week, it was our movie from Blockbuster. lol!


If you couldn't tell from the above photos, Lila needed a haircut. We both want to grow it out, but that just won't be happening until it all comes in. So here she is with the new haircut.

Winter is still chugging on. Here are some things we did last week:

Towers of Dominoes with dad.


Lila played in a diaper box.


Elsa and Lila on Valentine's day. Elsa was all dressed up for dance class, Lila was reading a book.


Recently the kids got to see auntie Jenny and "baby Avery", as they call her. They just love their cousin!



This week was Outdoor Play Week at school. They had a bunch of fun activities set up on the playground, such as ice fishing, sleds, water bottles filled with colored water, and colored leaves. They picked a great week for it - the weather has been sunny and in the 40's. Unfortunately my camera battery died after Lila's class, so i only got one picture of Elsa. They got to have snack outside (hot cocoa!), and the girls also got to play together. I pulled them in a sled for what seemed an eternity. The snow is still too deep to do that in our yard.


Lila was really tired during her class, so I had to kind of force her to try things out. I put her on top of some of the old Christmas trees that people had donated, and she said,”They don’t even poke me!” Nope, not with all that winter gear on.


What the heck are these?! Lila tries on snowshoes for the first time.


Yesterday we went outside to jump in the big puddles. It was fun while it lasted, but the kids only wanted to stay out for 10 mins. 40 degrees is still pretty cold, especially with thin rain boots on.

Sisterly Love

Awhile ago at Elsa's preschool, the kids created a class booklet about feelings. The book was then put into the hallway for everyone to see. They were all sweet little statements with artwork, such as,

I feel: Happy
When: My grandparents visit

or

I feel: Excited
When: it's Christmas!

Very cute stuff. I flipped through the pages until I got to Elsa's, and saw this:


Oops, we must have been having a rough morning that day! The drawing on the front is a pretty good likeness of Lila, messy blonde hair and all. But that was added later. The artwork underneath the face - what I saw in the booklet - was this:


Elsa says the one with the angry face is Lila, because it's the "mean" one.

Luckily we didn't have to end the week on that note. Last week the kids were to write and mail a letter home to anyone in their family. Elsa chose Lila, and this is what it's supposed to say:
Dear Lila, I love you. Love, Elsa



Lila was so happy and surprised, she was beside herself with excitement. Right away she asked for some tape, then immediately ran to stick the letter to the door of the hall closet, where it's been ever since. And so it goes, all day everyday, back and forth, between loving and fighting! Ah, sisters.

Next Friday is Kindergarten roundup! It's a good thing they put the idea in my head so early, because it's going to take at least until September until I can believe that I'm sending my kid, on a bus, to KINDERGARTEN already. That same morning we have a preschool pajama party, so we'll have to cruise home, change into clothes, wolf down a PBJ, and head to Wyoming Elementary for the roundup. Stay tuned.

Tim wanted a new Polaroid camera for x-mas, so Santa delivered. The film is about half the size as the original but it still comes out with that classic look. It's hard to believe, but these photos were all taken in 2011, not 1977.






The other day at breakfast, Elsa turned to Lila and said,"Haha Lila, you got the ripped fork!" (It's a blue fork with a handle that someone chewed to oblivion.) Lila looks at the fork, keeps eating, and says,"Nobody cares." !

This week was Elsa's turn to be Star of the Week at Preschool. We had to fill a bag with 3 or 4 things she wanted to show to the class, and also fill this out:


Elsa posing in her leotard. She's really into wearing high buns for dance class, but I can't get her to do anything with her hair otherwise.


Lila's hat framed her cheeks so adorably, I just had to take a picture. She had other ideas.


This evening we played a game of bowling in the kitchen.


In other news: Tim is still on crutches. Lila is still potty trained! And it's stillll January. It's definitely dragging over here.

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

Just after Christmas, Tim was outside building snow forts with the kids. He went to stand up and somehow tore something in his knee! He had to wait a couple weeks for surgery, so in the meantime my parents brought over a cane, and walker, and some crutches. The kids thought it was fun to play on all the new equipment.


A very gimpy New Year's Eve.


Lila would bring him his cane and say,"Here's your candy cane stick, Daddy!"
Surgery happened on Tuesday and everything went well. Here's the patient in recovery.


The girls like to switch into about 6 different outfits a day. Here they are playing "baby ladybug". Lila is in her ladybug costume, sleeping in her "bed" - the cold bottom step in the basement! Other outfits include swimsuits, leotards, summer dresses, underwear and just shoes.


Lila with their huge new dollhouse in the background. The living room is the only place we have room for it!


Elsa is really into drawing lately. Mostly abstract stuff and letters.


Here's her name and the little guys she always does. I finally realized who they look like: Ike from South Park!

Ike.


Elsa before dance class.


Over Christmas break we had some luck with getting Lila potty trained! We let her run around in underwear and go all over the floor a couple days, and after that she got the hang of it and goes in the potty every time! It still seems too good to be true and I'm just waiting for her to revert back, but for now all is well. It's hard to believe that after 4.5 years of diapers that we could soon be a diaper-free household.