And the "eyes" have it ...

Alyssa is finally cutting her four "eye teeth" and boy are we paying for it ... good grief. I will be glad when this milestone passes us by. We can see the tips of two of the four starting to poke through, so I am sure the other two will be following closely behind.

We had a rather quiet weekend (activity wise, not happy baby wise). We did manage to play with our next door neighbor Molly most of Friday afternoon and mommy got to visit with her mom. Saturday the girls and I went to another park here in our town with Aunt Tammy and Christian. The kiddos had lots of fun and mommy managed to get a little sun on her face!

Today we went over and had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa B. The girls got to swing in the yard and wrestle with Grandpa for a few hours before we headed home for bed. Grandma and Grandpa are coming over in the morning to watch the girls while I work. Grandpa will be taking his medicine preps before his surgery Tuesday for prostate cancer. Daddy and I will be taking the girls in to check up on him after his surgery. We will all be glad to get this put behind us and to have Grandpa on the road to recovery.

Love & Hugs -

Amy

A Duck, A Park & A Birthday

Mommy, daddy and the girls spent the afternoon with Christian and Aunt Tammy. We went to the park down the road from Christian's house to feed the ducks and play. Unfortunately, feeding the ducks turned into feeding a duck and a bunch of minnows. Either the ducks had plenty to eat already that day or our bread crumbs were not up to snuff. We did get to see a sea-gull type bird dive in the pond and pull out of a goldfish and fly away with it though. Nature is great; I just really do not want to witness the cycle life when trying to innocently feed the duck.

After feeding the duck and the fish, we decided to play on the playground. All the kiddos had a great time; until daddy sent Madison flying down the "big kids" slide alone. She lost her sitting balance and her head ended up bouncing off both sides of the slide on her way down, she wasn't happy about that needless to say. I can only imagine what the other mother in the park was thinking as we sent our little girl flying down the slide solo ... good grief. After that minor incident, we decided it was best to return back to the scaled down slides designed for toddlers.


We capped off the afternoon with take out Vietnamese food to celebrate Tammy's 29th Again Birthday (for the 9th time). Christian's daddy, Chris, joined us for dinner after work.

It was a good afternoon and although it may not have been the birthday celebrations of the pre-kiddo era, I am sure none of us would opt to go back in time. These "Three Amigos" were a long time in the making and seeing a swingset full with just our own kids made for a great birthday memory in my book and I am sure in Tammy's too ...

Happy Birthday Girlfriend - We Love Ya!

Love & Hugs -
Amy

Baby Farm Animals at the Minnesota Zoo

Taxi please ...

Just kidding ... that is a picture of the girls waiting for daddy to arrive with the stroller to pick them up after visiting the baby farm animals at the Minnesota Zoo on Friday. The weather was great and the girls had a very good time petting all the animals.

Here is Alyssa petting a baby pig:

Here is Madison with a cow:

Madison also became very good friends with a large sheep that decided to stand up in its pen area to get a better look at her:

The girls got to see, pet and feed baby goats and sheep. They visited with some baby chickens and became quick friends with the piglet. We tried to attend the dolphin show at Discovery Bay before leaving, but as it was already 1 1/2 hours past their nap time, we needed to make a very quick exit during the dolphin show as Alyssa had definitely passed her tolerance point.

After a quick exit to the car and about 30 mins of crying, she fell asleep as did Madison and mommy ... poor daddy had to drive.

Maybe we can actually watch the dolphin show the next time we visit the zoo ...

Love & Hugs -

Amy

April Snow Brings May Flowers??!!

Yup, there you have it ... Minnesota weather at its finest ... Good grief. Fortunately, it was all melted about four hours after we took these pictures.

Today was a big milestone for the girls. We had our very first ever Early Childhood Development Class called "Toddler Time". Basically we go the ECDU classroom for 1 1/2 hours once a week and the girls get to play and interact with other children their age with toys, crafts, circle time and games. Parents participate for the first half and then leave the kiddos with the teachers and go to their own parenting session to discuss age appropriate topics. Everyone was super friendly and the girls did extremely well for their first time. We are really excited for the girls to have this experience weekly now and plan to continue to sign up for classes. We are also enrolled in a three week class series (one meeting a week for three weeks) in June called "Camp Minnesota" where the girls will learn about nature and all things summer in Minnesota! How fun!!

After class, we came home and played in the snow, had lunch and a nap. Then in the afternoon, we went to a park and surprised Grandma and Grandpa with a visit and a dinner date at a local restaurant. The girls were definitely ready for bed by the time we got home.

Love & Hugs -

Amy

Easter Wind Chill, Snow & Words

Okay, one of these years, I hope to be able to post some cute pictures of the girls in cute "Easter Dresses"; at least I hope I will before low-rider jeans and belly baring t-shirts take over their wardrobe. Unfortunately, this year Easter brought cold wind chill factors, winter coats, hats and mittens and now, today, SNOW ... I realize we live in Minnesota; however, even you all have to admit that going from 80 degrees F two weeks ago to 19 degrees F and now snow is a bit much, even for a life-long Minnesota/Wisconsin native like myself.

Anyway, the girls had a wonderful Easter which was capped off by the infamous Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma & Grandpa B's.

Lastly, finally at 18 months of age, we are starting to hear intelligable words attempting to come from the girls' mouths. Miss Madison is trying a bit harder than Miss Alyssa, but both are giving it a good go. Madison discovered the word "yellow" on Easter as the girls' eggs for the hunt were yellow ... she is still saying it, but pretty much everything is now yellow. We believe we have heard "bye-bye" from Alyssa; "hello" from both; and finally an occasional "mom" or "daddy". Could the days of pointing, grunting and whining become a thing of the past soon?!??!! Yeah, I know, wishful thinking ... :)


Love & Hugs -

Amy

An Early Easter & 18-Month Well Child Checks

The Easter Bunny stopped by for an early visit this year as daddy will be out-of-town for work over the holiday. The girls had fun digging through the baskets and loved everything, especially the balloons. We are set for a big Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa B's on Easter Sunday with Joshua, Kaylynn & Alexia!!

We also had the girls 18-month-old Well Child Checks today. First of all, they are doing beautifully with no concerns whatsoever from their doctor. Madison’s umbilical hernia is still present, but we are still just monitoring it and will check it again at 2 years of age at their next Well Child Visit and Immunization appointment. Apparently we grow our girls tall around here:

Alyssa:
27 lbs, 6 oz and 34 ½” (12.42 kg and 87.6 cm)

Madison:
22 lbs, 12 oz and 33” (10.32 kg and 83.8 cm)

To celebrate a successful doctor’s appointment (no shots!!), we decided to take the girls to “Taste of Scandinavia” in Bloomington. Here a few pictures of the girls trying out Swedish Pancakes, Lingonberries & Cream … However, their favorite treat turned out to be the Lingonberry Smoothie and they helped daddy polish it off, good thing daddy got a large size one!!

Love & Hugs -

Amy

Rain, Rain, Go Away ... And You Too Snow!!

The question of the day ... I mean week is ... Will we ever be able to go outside and play again??!!?? After 3+ inches of rain over the weekend and snow flurries for the last 2-3 days, we are ready for the 80 degree weather we had about two weeks ago to come back. Yes, we got spoiled and yes the girls now officially have "cabin fever" and really want to be outside. Going from 80 degrees back to 30 degrees is simply not fair ... even for Minnesota! Good grief ...

Spring ... we are waiting for you to return ... please hurry ...

Love & Hugs -

Amy