Weekend Wrap-Up

This is ridiculous- it is almost JULY!  We are having an awesome summer and I am just so thankful for all the fun that we have already had.  This weekend was no exception.  It was the perfect summer weekend.

Saturday

Auntie Yoda invited us over to swim in her pool.  It was pretty cloudy and REALLY windy (more on the crazy wind later) so we had the pool to ourselves.  You can't beat the skyline views!

Look Daddy!  Over there!

We hung out in the pool and Callie and Auntie Yoda even did some monkey crawling around the whole thing. 

The group pictures obviously didn't turn out so great.
 

The bottom left picture makes it look like we're all smiling at a happy baby, when in reality, Callie had just splashed her and Maya was MAD.  This was a different shot taken a few seconds before.

Callie: (evil sounding laughter) Hee hee hee
Maya: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Gotta love sisters.

Right after swimming, Chris took the girls home for nap time and I headed to do a paddle board class.  I heard about it through my Mom's on the Run group- it was totally free and we even got a gift bag from Athelta (a sporty clothing store that I LOVE).  Remember how I mentioned that it was super windy on Saturday?  Well the wind out on the lake paddle boarding was crazy.  We didn't get to go too far out because every time we tried, we couldn't get anywhere.  But it was still a blast.  And we even did a little yoga on the board- they call it "boga."

As for the rest of the weekend...the girls got to hang out with G-ma and G-pa last night at dinner and tonight while Chris and I went to the Lynx game.  We also had brunch with the Held's this morning. 

Charlie makes a pretty awesome monkey face, and Mabel LOVES Chris.

We got to "hang out" with our other favorite Maya- courtside!

And a few other cute pictures of the girls:

I took Cal on a run with me and all she wanted to do was put her arms out and "fly."
Last night she was sounding words out...the learning to read process has begun!

Maya loves to play with her shoes (as usual) and Kona loves it when Maya
eats (as usual).

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend.  Enjoy your 4th of July week!

FTPDF

Happy Weekend!

This has been a CRAZY week.  I left Sunday night (on a 9pm flight) for 3 days and nights in Phoenix for a work conference.  The conference was 2 long days on Monday and Tuesday (8am-5pm) and then half day on Wednesday.  We didn't get home on Wednesday night until midnight, and I didn't walk in the door of our house until almost 1am.  Phoenix was educational, fun and HOT, but I was so happy to get back to Chris and the girls.  Chris did AMAZING being a single daddy for a few days (with a little help from the fam) and I'm thankful to have the support to be able to go on trips like this.

Speaking of the girls...I feel like I haven't done a good Friday update for awhile.  Callie is getting smarter and more beautiful by the day.  Seriously.  She is also getting more mouthy and stubborn.  Seriously as well.  Because she is so smart and mouthy and stubborn (and beautiful too, I guess) every day feels like one big negotiating session.  I do a lot of counting backwards from 5 because she always wants to do things on her own timetable instead of mine.  I'm still working on letting insignificant things go, especially this summer when we don't have too much that we need to be super on time for.  But my if-I'm-not-early-I'm-late personality, along with my if-I-think-it-one-way-it-needs-to-happen-that-way stubborn streak can totally contradict what parenting a "spirited" 4-year-old is all about.  We're all learning and growing and working hard to live in harmony.  Ha.

Maya is also getting smarter and more adorable by the day.  She is just starting to really learn things and it reminds me why I became a teacher in the first place.  Helping kids learn and understand stuff just flat out ROCKS...and it is even a million times cooler when it is your own kid.  She plays peek-a-boo now (though I have yet to get a good video), and pretty much wants to be either eating or crawling around on the floor non-stop.  She definitely seems to know the word "NO" (and that she should shake her head when she hears that word), but it doesn't deter her from doing what she was doing (mainly going after naughty electrical outlets and cords).  We're still working on sign language.

Ok enough chit chat.  On to the pictures.

Favorite Thing #1: Phoenix was...HOT.  But we did a lot of relaxing on our
minimal down time.  Especially on Wednesday.  It was lovely to have a few
hours to relax by the pool.

Favorite Thing #2: The pictures I got of the girls while I was away

Favorite Thing #3: An outing to the mall.  Now that Maya can crawl,
the children's play area is a whole lot more interesting!

Favorite Thing #4: Crazy faces with THIS girl

IMG 4088 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Favorite Thing #5: Home, sweet home

Favorite Thing #6: A trip to Boom's so I could do my long run.
Afterwards, a much needed 4-year-old car nap.

Favorite Thing #7: Our New Band.  The percussionist gets a little distracted, but lucky for her she is cute. 

 

IMG 4145 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

We are booking gigs now.  :)

That's about it for tonight.  Have a great weekend!

TBT

Hey all-

I'm back to the land of below 100 degree temps.  Summer in Arizona is pretty ridiculous.  When we left yesterday it was 106.  When we landed in MN (at midnight) it was 61.  That's a crazy difference.

I got back home at 1am, and couldn't really fall asleep until closer to 2am, so I'm super tired today.  But SO glad to be home with Chris and the girls.

I have two throwbacks today.

Sweet baby faces

Silly baby hair

11-Months-Old!!!

Hello from sunny (and HOT) Arizona!

We are one short month away from our baby turning 1. As usual, I can't believe it.

Her little personality is coming out more and more and she couldn't be sweeter. Or more of a diva. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it.

She loves to play peek-a-boo when getting her diaper changed.  She thinks getting wiped up after eating is hilarious (most of the time).  She has 10+ teeth (which may be why she loves food so much).  Her hair is growing so fast she needs a barrette or pony tail every day.  She is just starting pull herself up onto things.

Her latest obsession (besides crawling right to all the naughty things) is shoes. 

They probably aren't the best or cleanest play thing, but she loves them, so we go with it.

It is pretty hard to say no to this face.

We love our sweet little Squish. Or, as Callie calls her, our Spoosh Spoosh baby.

Weekend Wrap-Up: The 54-Months-Old Edition

Today is the 22nd...the 54th 22nd that has been special to us.  Because of this girl.

STOP TAKING MY PICTURE, MOM!

I'm doing the wrap-up early today because I'm heading to AZ later tonight for a work conference until Wednesday (we get back at midnight...eeeek!).  So send Chris some good single-parenting vibes.  He is awesome so it won't be a big deal, but still.  It is tough. 

The girls went to the park and by the creek with G-ma and G-pa in the morning.  Kona gets to have a mini G-ma/G-pa vacation while I'm gone too, and she loves baking in the sun.

Yesterday afternoon we went to a pool party with our friends Dawn and Trevor and Jenna, Andy, Charlie and Mabel.  We had an awesome time swimming and snacking. It was a PERFECT day for a pool party- not too hot, sunny, and gorgeous. 

Today we went to the condo for lunch to see Boom and Bops (and Auntie Yoda and Craig too).  Maya loved playing with the music table and her new favorite toy...shoes.  Callie just wanted to hang upside down.

Have a great week!  I'll be sweating it out in Phoenix.

Our Little Foodie

I have mentioned many times before that Maya loves to eat.  LOVES IT.

If she is super crabby, one quick fix is to distract her with baby puffs.

And she eats anything.  ANYTHING.

Even if she doesn't really seem to enjoy it all that much, she'll usually go back for more.

Since she started eating finger foods, each meal has turned into THE MAYA SHOW.  It is hilarious.

She eats with such passion.  Such joy.  Such concentration.  Such SPEED.

She enjoys food just as much when we're out and about.

But earlier this week, she mastered the art of macaroni and cheese eating.  There seem to be 4 stages.

I don't know if you can tell from the stage 4 picture, but it was in her eyelashes.  And hair.  And up and down both of her arms.

I'm so glad the apple didn't fall too far from the tree with this one. 

When's lunch?

Nom nom nom.

FTPDF

Happy Friday everyone!  It was SUNNY and beautiful here today, after a crazy week of thunderstorms (and water in our basement...boo).

Callie had a fun week going to Vacation Bible School at church every morning.  She is becoming really inquisitive.  She asks really good questions that I don't really know how to answer (e.g. "Mom, how does the food get into your tummy?").  I usually ask her what she thinks because I love to hear her responses (e.g. "First you chew.  And then you (makes swallowing noise).")  I also get to teach her new vocabulary words (e.g. swallow).  It is fun.

Maya and I had some coffee dates, but mostly I followed her around while she crawled.  And pulled up.  And crawled again.  She is on the move all the time and is getting more sturdy every day.  She still eats like a boss, and I'll be posting more on that tomorrow.  Now that she is proud of her newfound ability to move around, getting her to stay lying down to take a nap or go to sleep is more of a challenge.  It takes a lot longer.  Right now she has been in her bed for almost an hour and is still babbling, sitting up, playing with her passy, etc.  Stinker baby.

My absolute favorite thing of this week was this afternoon- we spent it outside playing with water and enjoying the most beautiful weather.  Auntie Cat came over to hang out too. There was a little bit of pool playing:

It was cold!

...and some sprinkler action...

...and some relaxing.

Someone in our selfie group didn't get the concept of selfies.

But the most fun part was the WATER FIGHTS.  Daddy even got in on the action when he got home.

All I can say, is watch out when a 4-year-old gets ahold of the sprayer hose.

It was the PERFECT summer afternoon.  I'm smiling just thinking about it.

The rest of the favorite things are (in no particular order):

Favorite Thing #2: My blue-eyed girls

Favorite Thing #3: Going to see the river with Boom

Favorite Thing #4: This girl's crazy faces

Favorite Thing #5: A play date for just Mabel and Maya while their
big siblings were at VBS

Favorite Thing #6: So many new skills

Favorite Thing #7: On the move...all the time

Favorite Thing #8: Dinner with Pa

Favorite Thing #9: Goofy girls

Favorite Thing #11: A fun week of VBS

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

TBT

Holy cow- how are we at Throwback Thursday again already?  I'm already starting to freak out because summer is going by SO fast and July is filling up SO fast.  I'm going to blink and it is going to be August.  SLOW DOWN SUMMER.

Another thing I'm freaking out about?  The fact that we almost have an 11-month-old, which means we basically have a 1-YEAR-old.  WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

So my first throwback just goes back one year, to my little Hamsie and me.

And then we have some usual baby throwbacks.

Babies leaning

Babies swinging

We're starting to get into another series of pictures that will showcase opposite seasons.  It makes obvious pairings more difficult, but I'm up to the challenge.

QOTD Catch-Ups

It has been FOREVER since I have posted some Callie quotes.

In the car talking about random stuff, like babies:

Callie: I'm going to have a whole STACK of babies!

*******************************************************

Walking on the white lines of the soccer field by our house:

Callie: Which way should I go?  You be the map lady!

I should probably explain that "The Map Lady" is the Google Maps app on my phone that I use...um...often.  Obviously.

*******************************************************

When we started the gluten-free thing back in February (I think it was February) we tried making her eat vegetables again.  She had a mixture of cooked vegetables on her plate, and picked up a green bean:

Callie: Look Daddy!  This carrot turned green!

She refused to eat it, no matter the color.  Probably especially because of the color.  At this point we decided to go the smoothie route for vegetable intake.

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Father's Day Edtion

Happy Father's Day!!!!  We got to see all the special dads/grandpas/great-grandpas in our lives today, so it was a great day.  But first, the rest of the weekend.

Friday Night: DATE NIGHT

We dropped the girls off at G-ma and G-pa's house around 5:00, and then headed downtown to check-in to our fancy hotel.  It was a lovely night, so we made a habit of walking around different parts of our former (downtown) city in between restaurants.  Yes, we had dinner in one place...dessert in another place...and drinks at the lobby bar later.  Until 11:45pm!  I can't believe I stayed awake for it all.  It was a nice relaxing evening and fun to spend time with just the two of us.

The jewelry picture was how our wedding rings (and my earrings that say the girls' names
on them) were put on the bathroom counter.  I thought it was sweet.

Meanwhile, the girls had a great time sleeping over at G-ma and G-pa's.

Saturday

After we picked the girls up, we spent most of the rest of the day at home.  By about 1:45, Callie was going crazy so I decided to take her to Barnes and Noble (during a super big rain storm).  She fell asleep on the way and slept for over an hour while we just sat in the parking lot.  We never even ended up going in the store.

Yep- she is wearing footie jammies.

Later that afternoon, Maya perfected her plank pose.

And then she proved that she is, indeed, on the move.  She crawled all over (even on the hard wood floors, which she learned the hard way) and now is unstoppable.


IMG 3641 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.


Sunday: Father's Day!

Callie and I went to brunch and the Lynx game with Bops and Auntie Mari.  Chris got baby nap duty (which allowed him to watch golf and soccer...so I think he did okay).

 
Later we went to see G-ma, G-pa, Auntie Cat, Uncle Dan, Nana and Papa for dinner at G-ma and G-pa's house.  Maya continued to prove that she now wants to crawl all over the place, changing our easy breezy (ha!) way of life for good.

As for my running- I felt better this week (except for my dumb long run on Friday) and did 18.1 miles (my goal was 16).  This upcoming week I get a little break and my goal is only 11. 

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend!  We are so lucky to have so many fantastic men in our lives.

FTPDF- Part II

As I promised yesterday, here is the rest of my favorite things phone dump!

Favorite Thing #2: Visits with Christine, Gi-Gi, and Auntie Cat

Favorite Thing #3: Swimming and dinner by the pool with Boom and Bops!

Favorite Thing #4: Time for a hair trim for the 4-year-old.



Favorite Thing #5: Out and about on Thursday

Favorite Thing #6: Stroller riders

Favorite Thing #7: The Uh-Oh Game


Uh Oh #1 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Uh Oh #2 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Favorite Thing #8: With Callie going to preschool a couple times a week,
I get one-on-one time with this little squishy face.

Favorite Thing #9: Our goddaughter Christine came over to play with the girls.

Favorite Thing #10: Callie got some one-on-one Auntie Mari time.

Favorite Thing #11: Another beautiful day for a 7.25 mile run.
(Though the actual run itself was terrible...
it was a good test of mental toughness.
I failed.)

I'll post more about our Friday evening away during the wrap-up tomorrow.  It was lovely, and the girls had a great time at G-ma and G-pa's too.  Win-Win.

Hope everyone continues to enjoy their weekend!  Now I'm off to do homework...