Amelia laughs!

Amelia just started laughing today. It's the cutest little laugh, and we are so looking forward to hearing more of it!



I also came in the family room today to find Amelia sleeping on Chris in such a cute pose. I couldn't resist a picture of it!

Fishing with Grandpa Randy

Chris and I took the girls out to Randy and Terrie's house on Sunday for dinner. Mira had the chance to fish with Grandpa Randy, one of her favorite activities. She really loves watching the fish grab the worm and pull the bobber under the water. It's so great to see how proud she is of herself when she catches a fish. And, believe me, there are plenty of fish right off the dock, just waiting for a little girl to put her hook into the water. Below is a video of Mira catching a fish. Sorry about all the wind noise toward the end. For those of you who can't watch the videos (hi, Mom!), I added a couple of stills as well.

Last week of maternity leave

Today is my second to last day of maternity leave. I go back to work on Tuesday. It's been a great summer being with the girls, but I'm ready to get back to my job. This last week has been a fun one, although very bittersweet. Mira is adjusting nicely to having Amelia around and Chris and I have our sweet little three-year-old back (mostly!). Amelia is really getting animated now. She smiles whenever she sees us and can coo for a long time. It's so fun to see how she's changed so much in 11 short weeks. Can you believe she's that old already? Here is a little video of her, as well as a couple photos of the girls. Aren't they beautiful? Of course, I'm their biased mom!

Michelle

A little video of Amelia

I just realized I can probably upload some video of Amelia. I haven't tried it before, but here goes. She's "talking" up a storm now, cooing and smiling. So here is a little video of her cooing.

Fun at Maple Grove Days

This weekend is Maple Grove Days. Chris and I took the girls to it for the kids' events. Mira really enjoyed everything from the Spiderman bouncing room to the petting zoo. She took a turn on the strongman mallet game and the soccer kick game. There was a train ride and a Big Wheel race. It was lots of fun. She even got a balloon made into a Kitty Cat!

Amelia's 2 month/Mira's Motion Class

It's been a busy day, with Amelia's 2 month doctor appointment and Mira's first session of her "Tots in Motion" class.

First, for Amelia's appointment: She's a full 12 pounds now (born at 8 pounds, 2 ounces) and 23 inches (born at 20 inches). So she's growing just wonderfully! She's in the 75th percentile for both height and weight right now. Mira was quickly in the 95th percentile for height and the 50th for weight when she was young . . . and is there still. So we'll see if Amelia follows suit or is a little shorter than Mira. The doctor said she looks wonderful, very robust! Here are the girls at the appointment.




And today was Mira's first session of "Tots in Motion." She was in it before from March to April and the next session started up again. She really loves it! It's a lot of sports play, with music and obstacle courses, lots of running around. So it's a nice way for her to burn up some energy on Thursdays, which is the day I'm home with the girls every week. It helps the morning go quickly, that's for sure!







And here is a photo of Amelia sleeping in the Lindell family bassinet. It's such a wonderful heirloom to have the babies sleep in! We're nearly done with it and are ready to hand it off to Katie, if she wants it. I love the new covering that was put on it a few years ago. It's just beautiful.



We hope everyone is having a great July!
Love,
Michelle

What an actress!

Chris and I think we need to enroll Mira in acting classes. She has such a flair for wearing her moods on her face. Exhibit A:

Happy:



Sad:



Mad:



Shy:



We're just waiting for her to be discovered! (KIdding. But we think she could be quite good.)

We bought Mira a couple of games yesterday: Chutes and Ladders, and Hi-Ho Cherry-O. She really enjoys playing them, and pretty much wipes the floor with us! She's that good.



And we finally got Amelia set up in her crib, so this week we'll make the transition from bassinet to crib so that she is in her room by the time I go back to work. Only 11 days of maternity leave left. BUMMER! I miss my job and my coworkers, but Amelia is getting to be such fun now that I don't want to miss her growing up. I guess I'm technically home 3 days a week with the weekends factored in, so I'll still get to see her grow, but it's been nice having the summer off so far.

Happy 4th of July, Part 2!

Happy official fourth of July to all of our family and friends! We had a really nice day today. Very mellow, but fun. Chris had the great idea to take the kids to the Elm Creek Park Reserve this morning, so we packed some snacks and headed to their man-made lake. We think everyone else had the same idea because the place was so packed! But we found a nice shaded spot and hung out for a couple of hours, taking turns in the water with Mira. It was nice to read and relax on the beach with Amelia.

Then tonight we went to the St. Paul Grill for dinner. Chris's mom works there, so we got a nice discounted meal. (Thanks so much, Diane! The food was delicious, as always.) Here is a photo of us after dinner.



St. Paul has a bunch of dinosaurs painted on the sidewalks, which thrilled Mira! We stopped to look at a few of them. Here are a couple we happened upon:




Yesterday, I took the girls to a local park and we had a nice picnic lunch there. Then we went into the community center, where Mira loves to ride the little rides there. Here she is on a couple:




And, of course, a couple of Amelia. She's wearing a dress that auntie Kelly sent from Australia in the first one. So cute! Again, sorry I can't get my pictures rotated!




Hope you all had a fun and safe July 4th!
Love, Michelle

Happy 4th of July!

For the 4th of July, we went to Chris's dad's cabin in Buffalo for some beach time and good food. We had a really nice time there. Mira went fishing and caught a couple of sunfish. She loves to fish off the dock with Grandpa Randy. Amelia was a little doll and slept almost all day. The fireworks were just great! Chris and his brother Matt set them off on the beach. Mira got to stay up until 10:30, the latest ever for her! Needless to say, we all slept in the next day.





Below is a photo of Mira and two of her cousins. I thought it was a cute photo from the back.



We hope you all have a fun and safe 4th of July!
Love,
Michelle

Dancin' Queen

Amelia got a nice gift from my friend Martha (can you believe I have THREE friends my age named Martha?). But Mira has taken it over. It's a stuffed toy that resembles a hippopotamus and a snake of sorts. We didn't quite know what it was, but when Mira saw it for the first time, she said, "It's a Snarlyhissopus!" We often get a book from the library called "Snarlyhissopus" and she is right: It does resemble one! So Mira dressed it up and decided to dance with it.

And here are a couple of Amelia right before I took her on a walk this morning. She's nearly 8 weeks old and really growing! She's just a joy to have around. The entire family is adjusting nicely to our newest addition.

Michelle

Growing and growing

It was so much fun to see so many of you at the "Come Meet Amelia" Party at Grandma Lindell's on Wednesday. I think about 25 people showed up and we all felt like it was Christmas. It led us all to wondering what kind of jobs we all had where we could take off on a Wednesday afternoon for several hours!

Here are recent photos of the girls. Amelia is really growing and becoming more predictable now. She's nearly 7 weeks old already! I'm enjoying the age, and the fact that she is starting to like her swing and her little jungle gyms. Takes the pressure of having to entertain or hold her all the time.

Mira is enjoying the summer so much. She spends many hours in her pool or at her sandbox on the deck. They are great things to have to keep her occupied when it's too hot to take Amelia on a walk or to the park. Check out her cool swimming goggles that Grandma Martha bought her!

I go back to work in 4 1/2 weeks. It's been a nice leave, but I miss my job, so I'm sure I'll be ready to return to the office when the time comes.

Michelle

Fun with Grandma!

Here is a photo of the fun we are having with Mom staying with us for a few days. She's been so great helping out with Mira and Amelia. I've gotten a nap in and ran to Target and a dr. appointment. It's been wonderful having an extra set of hands! Thanks, Mom! We just might have to keep you!

Here's a photo of Amelia at 6 weeks. She's just starting to squeak out a smile or two!

Love,
Michelle