Amelia's new haircut

We thought Amelia's bangs were a little out of control lately, so we got out the scissors and gave it a try. At first, I thought I'd cut them way too short, but I think it actually turned out okay. She's got that retro vibe about her now! As you can see, Amelia loves her new 'do and is proudly showing it off! Amelia looks waaaaayy better in bangs than Mira did. Mira looked like a boy, but I think Amelia can pull it off really well!

Amelia is a talking machine!

Amelia has really been picking up the words this summer. She's now officially up to 12 words, and speaks in sentence-style tones. We don't know what she's saying when she does that, but I think she does.

Her words to date:
Hi, Bye-bye, Mama, Dada, Nana (banana), puppy, up, all done (her first phrase!), Papa (Grandpa), duck, baby, diaper (I haven't heard her say this one, but our day care provider told me she said it today, clear as day).

Pretty good! We think she'll be pretty verbal like Mira is. It will be fun to have kids to play Scrabble with in a few years!

Mira's now a queen!

Last weekend, we bought Mira a bed frame off Craigslist to get her mattresses off the floor. Chris painted it today, and when we put it up and put the mattress and box spring on it, boy was it high! You can see how high it is when Mira stands next to it. She needs to take a running leap, but she can get in! (Actually, she can just step on the bed rails.) I guess when the frame was made, mattresses were quite a bit thinner than they are now. Oh well, she can just pretend she's a queen!

Mira earned a Chuck E. Cheese trip!

Mira has been pretty sassy lately, earning her lots of time outs. So we decided to put up a sticker chart. Every day Mira is "pretty good" (not perfect), she gets a sticker on her chart. We let her draw the number of circles she had to fill. She drew 24 circles, which we think was a very fair amount. It took about 35 days, but Mira finally filled that sticker chart! We named it "Mira's Road to Chuck E. Cheese," as that's the prize she picked when she filled her chart. We went tonight and she had a blast! She was so proud of herself for earning this. Here are some pictures of the evening:

Maple Grove Days!

It was Maple Grove Days this weekend, and the weather couldn't have been nicer! It's usually pretty hot and humid out in mid-July, but this year was a breezy 77 degrees. We had a wonderful time, especially Mira, who was finally willing and able to partake in all the activities. Last year she was a little skittish, but this year she embraced all the bounce house activities, and rode a pony!





I thought this photo of Mira going down the slide was priceless! Check out those underpants!

Mira and her new glasses!

Mira got her new glasses today! She's been so excited to have them, and we think they will make such a difference in her daily life. She's looking forward to showing them to the other kids at daycare tomorrow. Here's a photo of her right after she got her glasses. She loves them!

On the Amelia front, she has been battling a pretty high fever for a couple of days now. She was at 104 degrees for awhile and we took her to the doctor. After a urine test, blood test, and strep test, all results came back negative, so the doctor said to keep her as comfortable as possible, give her Motrin, and that it should pass in a couple of days. Amelia seems to be back to normal now tonight, and she hasn't had any Motrin for 9 hours and the fever seems to be gone. We're hoping she stays fever free all night.

And I started my new job at Capella University yesterday. I LOVE IT! The teams are so wonderful and I'm really going to enjoy the work I'll be doing there. I'm in the communications team and help with the production on the marketing pieces. It's a very thoughtful company and they treat their employees very well. I dare say that getting laid off was a very good thing for me!

Hope you are all well!
Michelle

Update on Mira

Hello! At a couple of recent appointments, Mira has failed her vision tests. So today she saw a pediatric opthomologist and after some testing, it was determined Mira has astigmatism, which means that instead of her corneas being shaped like a half circle, they are shaped more like a half oval. The doctor thinks it could have happened when she was born when they needed to use the vacuum to pull her out. So she will be getting a pair of glasses next week, and we'll need to patch over her left eye to make the right eye stronger. Apparently her right eye is very weak and her left eye has been doing all the work. So we'll see how long the "fixing" process takes, then move right into "maintainence." There is a good chance that after a few years she won't need glasses anymore, but as long as she can see, it doesn't matter one way or another.

I'll post photos next week of Mira in her new, snazzy glasses!

Chris's new car

Chris's car was due back to the dealership this week, so he bought an Audi convertible to replace it. The best part is, it has a back seat, so the girls can enjoy a drive in it too. It's also good in the winter, so Chris can help pick up or drop off the girls at daycare.

He took Mira on a little drive around the neighborhood today. She was dressed in her best princess dress-up outfit, complete with crown! She looked like she was a princess in a parade!



And when we came back from the weekend, most of my lilies had bloomed! I can't believe how many there are now. The seem to multiply each year!

Our weekend in Madison

This past weekend, we went to the Wisconsin Dells for a night, and then drove to Waunakee to visit the Samuelson clan for Friday and Saturday nights. We had a wonderful weekend with them. Many, many thanks to John, Sarah, Jack, and GeorgiaRae for having us in their home. They showed us a great time! Here are some weekend photos:

Amelia in the arcade at the hotel:


Mira playing air hockey with her daddy:

On Saturday morning, we all went to the Farmer's Market in downtown Madison. It was great! John bought some cinnamon bread, and we all went for a Starbucks run. My favorite spot!

Michelle and Sarah enjoying the day!

Jack and Mira climbed a tree:


GeorgiaRae and Amelia had a great time together playing all weekend!

Mira was really interested in the people who were on the street playing their music. I explained to her that they had their cases open in the hopes that people who enjoyed the music would put some money in their case. Mira really loved giving money to the musicians. All total, she "paid" three performers for their hard work.


This is a sign of a very fun weekend. And Amelia RARELY falls asleep in the car!

Thanks again to Sarah and John! We really loved all the time we were able to spend with you. Our visits are too few and far between! We love you!
Michelle, Chris, Mira, and Amelia

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to both my husband and my very own dad! I hope you both had a wonderful day!

Chris woke up to bacon and pancakes, and a few presents from me and the girls. We got him a new polo shirt, swim trunks, and a gift card for a massage. You work hard, honey, you deserve it!

Then we went to Chris's dad's house on the lake and spent the late afternoon there.

Ahh, the tastes of summer. Watermelon and hamburger.

Randy bought a trampoline for the lake. Mira tested it out. I think it was a hit!

The girls went on a pontoon ride. Amelia drove the pontoon for a little while.

Summer party

We had some friends over last night for a summer barbeque. It was really nice to see them, and Mira had a great time playing with the other kids. We borrowed the bouncy castle (again!) from our neighbor. It was great to talk on the deck, and the weather was beautiful!

Here is Mira, Hailey, and Taylor bouncing the night away.

Here is Chad, Hope, and their son Jack. Jack is just a month younger than Amelia.

Sarah and Brandon:

Chris and Derek:

And Amelia on the porch earlier:

It's been awhile!

Mira's birthday was on Memorial Day, and we went to Chris's dad's house on the lake. Mira got an ice cream cake. Yum! Oh, and they found a few turtles on the road and put them in a bucket of water. Reminds me of when we did that when we went to Nisswa. I found a snapping turtle who I named Jerry. We brought him home from Nisswa and the let him go in Lake Willard. I loved going up north!

Care Bear Heaven!

Some of Mira's favorite toys are her Care Bears. It started with just one, then two, then Christmas came and she had three. Chris took a trip and made the count four. THEN HER BIRTHDAY came along. Four new Care Bears later, and we are officially up to eight! I think we're done buying Care Bears. To be fair, two of them are technically Amelia's that somehow wormed their way into Mira's bed, and Mira did buy one herself recently with money from her piggy bank. Here's a photo of Mira with her Care Bear Crew:



And now that Mira has turned 4, she's a bit sweeter suddenly. We'd been priming her during her particularly sassy three-year-old days that when she turns 4, she can't be so sassy anymore . . . and it worked! Mira's attitude has changed a bit in the past week. She's gotten fewer time-outs and suddenly seems to enjoy Amelia a little more rather than thinking of her as "the kid who always gets in her way." This morning I caught a sweet photo of Mira reading to Amelia:


Best friends forever, I hope!

Happy 4th Birthday, Mira!

Mira's 4th birthday is today! She was really excited to get up this morning and open her presents and have cake for breakfast. She got a yellow Care Bear, two dresses, a Little Mermaid Slip 'n' Slide, and a Backyardigans CD. I think she was pretty happy with her "haul."

Here are a few photos of the day. This afternoon we'll head out to Chris's dad's house for a Memorial Day party.

Here's Mira's Barbie cake (and, no, I didn't bake it myself):



Wearing her birthday dress and holding her coveted Sunshine Bear:


This past weekend we had a couple of neighbor couples and their kids over for a BBQ. Our neighbors brought their bouncing castle, which all the kids enjoyed.



And Mira tried her hand at her batting practice toy.


We hope you all have a fun and safe Memorial Day!

Farmer's Market/Library/Camping Out

We've had a busy past couple of days. Yesterday, the girls and I went downtown to have lunch with some former coworkers of mine, then we headed to the Farmer's Market. We came away with some delicious cherries and a bouquet of flowers. It was a nice afternoon out.


Today I took the girls to the library. Mira got her own library card a year ago and loves to check out her own books. Here she is running the scanner today.


Tonight, Mira wanted me to put up her tent in her bedroom. She wanted to camp out in it and made sure all her best friends (i.e. Care Bears) were in her tent with her. She had a flashlight, books, and a glass of water, so she's all set for the night! I have a strong feeling we'll find her in her bed by morning. (Amended: I'm still loading the photos to the blog and Mira already came down to tell me that she would rather sleep in her bed tonight!)



Here's great photo of Chris and Mira with some new birthday sunglasses!


And of course Amelia wearing my sunglasses!


Mira's 4th birthday is on Monday. Here she is playing with her Barbie swimming pool that she picked out with the birthday money Great-Grandma Adeline gave her.


I can't believe she'll be ready for kindergarten in a year. She does seem ready for it. I told her that when she turns 4, she can't be sassy anymore and needs to be sweet and help around the house. Maybe it will work . . .