Calla started to figure out sippy cups during the summer. Gotta love that sweet face! :)
Goof!
We love our walks outside in the warmer months. We had some things to put in the mailbox, so we decided to walk (about a mile) to the post office near our house.
Every parent of a toddler knows this fact... they want to do everything themselves! :)
Walking back home. Mckenna is usually pretty good in the stroller for a few minutes, then she gets bored of sitting and wants to walk/run. So I kept pushing Calla in the stroller and Matt was on Mckenna duty.
One afternoon it was nearing nap time, and I took Mckenna to her room first, leaving Calla in her activity bouncer to play while I put Mckenna down. This is what I found when I came back to get her... sleepy girl!
Mckenna really enjoys riding in the bike seat attached to Matt's bike... fun times!
Here is "Chef Mckenna" at one of her modeling photo shoots. This one was for Play with a Purpose, a catalog for preschools, daycares, etc. with fun educational toys and equipment. Mckenna has been modeling for this seasonal catalog since she was 6 months old - cute. They really like her!
Ready to work! It's usually pretty quick - she smiles, they click, and we're done. Easy breezy. And I like how we're always there with her in the room/studio, so she always knows we're around.
Here is how that photo appears in the actual catalog. (A small thumbnail pic taken from their website, www.pwap.com). At another shoot we went to for the same catalog in the fall, the photographer said that for whatever reason, this picture of Mckenna is one of the company execs favorites, and they blew it up, framed it, and put it on the wall in the front lobby of their corporate office in Edina. When I'm in the area maybe I'll stop to take a look at it sometime. :)
And here are some other photos from the same catalog... the pics seem to save to my computer as different sizes from the internet, not sure why.
And here are a few small ones of Calla, also in that catalog.
We got tickets to see Beauty and the Beast Jr. - the musical that's adapted from the Disney classic, but the junior version only has kids age 17 and younger in it. It was at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, and it was awesome! Mckenna LOVED it! We didn't tell her we were going until the day before because we knew she'd get so excited and wound up at the thought of going. She was in heaven!
She sat so still and attentive the entire show, she really enjoyed it. And the cast, set, music, costumes, etc. were all really well done. So glad we went.
Right after the show was over, in the lobby when I told Mckenna we were going to go and meet Belle... she could barely contain herself...
...she LOVES Belle and reacted somewhat in shock when meeting her... think like you were meeting your favorite celebrity... star struck! :)
Oh, the funny things that you do when you have kids that you would never normally do otherwise. We read in the local paper that a newly built medical building by our house was having a grand opening event for the community, including face (or arm) painting, games, meet snoopy, food, etc. So we went to check it out. Mckenna was enjoying getting sparkly flowers painted on her arm, she sat very still and kept staring at it the rest of the day. We also saw a friend there from their daycare, so that was a hit.
Meeting snoopy! (I wonder if she's happy??) ;)
They also had an ambulance there that you could step into, sit, and look around. It was interesting how frightened Mckenna seemed once they got in there - she didn't like it at all. (Get... me... outta here!)
Much better from the sidewalk...
But she instantly felt better when she got her first ever taste of corn on the cob. She loved it! After a few bites of Matt holding on to it for her, she got the hang of it and took charge herself.
Also in August, Craig and Karen were able to come and hang out for Matt's 35th birthday! I like to joke with Matt that age 35 means that he's officially an old man, but he doesn't think that's too funny.
Matt likes parties, Matt loves pizza = family birthday party at Davanni's Pizza!
I really tried to get a good picture of Mckenna and Ayla with the balloons, but they were jumping around and the balloons were all over the place... this is the best non-super blurry picture I could get.
I asked the bakery for "any fishing motif" they could create, and this is what they came up with. It works! Pizza and fishing, two of Matt's favorite things, maybe not in that order though.
Happy Birthday, Matt! Note Mckenna's "I heart Daddy" shirt. :)
Dan snuggling Calla. Those of you that know Dan know that he's really not into snuggling small, soft, adorable things/babies that much... (enter sarcasm here.) :)
Grandpa and Grandma love to read to the girls. They must have been teachers in a former life! :)
We're back to the Burnsville Performing Arts Center - outside they have a bunch of family friendly fountains called a "splash pad". We met Abby and Ayla there to hang out on a sunny and warm day.
Taking a break from the water to eat lunch! Mckenna and Calla always have fun hanging out with their cutie cousin Ayla.
It's odd to think about the days when Calla was perfectly content just sitting strapped into her car seat, watching the world go by. Those days are LONG gone!
Abby, smile! :)
Last few pics are at our favorite breakfast spot in Burnsville, Jensen's Cafe. Again, Calla could hang out in her car seat, eat, smile, be cute... and no wiggling. It seems hard to even remember those days now, she is so much on the move these days, including climbing up onto everything - she is fearless, for sure.
And this is what our family outings usually come to... Mckenna and/or Calla climbing on and being silly with their daddy... and he likes it! What a great dad. :)
In a few days I'm leaving for a 9-day school trip with MA students to Europe, then I'm back for a few days and I leave again for a few more days to a business ed conference in Boston. So who knows when I'll get around to having time to blog again, but hopefully soon. Thanks for following along!
