August 2011 - the final days of summer...

August... the last few weeks of our nice summer freedom. We usually start teacher meetings towards the middle of August, so once August 1st hits we know the end of summer is near.

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!

The rest of July 2011...

Back home from the cabin, and more time to play, enjoy being outside, and hang out as a family!

We were outside playing on our swing set, and Matt and Mckenna saw something moving... it's hard to see, but Mckenna and Calla were looking at a cute little frog in the grass! In this picture the frog is in the lower left of the photo...

Mckenna seems to love her role of big sister, protector, and teacher.  Very sweet. 

There's the frog!  As I remember, Mckenna was saying, "Hi, little guy!" :)

As moms love to do, I was cuddling/hugging/kissing Calla, and Mckenna ran over to get some love too.  Matt happened to capture the moment... kinda funny looking!

Later in July we took a road trip to the Chicago area to visit the Johnsons.  The girls were starting to melt down from 1) too long a stretch in the car, 2) can't really move much when strapped into a car seat = frustrating, and 3)  hungry - dinner time!  Luckily we saw a close exit with a local cafe to stop at for dinner.  Mckenna's face says it all - everyone was ready to get out of the car!

Made it safely to Elgin!  Craig and Karen hosted a gathering with Cam, Linnea, and girls, Uncle Dave, and both grandmas, Fran and Harriet.  So much fun to see everyone!

The little girls with their great-grandmas!  I love every look on every single face in this picture... click on the picture to see a bigger version.  Great expressions!

Great-Grandma Harriet holding Calla, Great-Grandma Fran holding Naomi.  Not many kids can say they have the honor of knowing and loving their great-grandparents - such a special gift!

Cousins watching a movie... Mckenna, Sonja, and Gwen.

Brothers and a baby.  :)

The smallest cousins!  CUTIES!

Calla was tired after a long, fun day.  She fell fast asleep in Grandma Karen's arms.

I love her hand on her grandma's hand - so sweet.

Time to start the road trip back to Minnesota... here we go again!

At a rest stop, Mckenna and Matt had to get some energy out.  They ran up and down the sidewalks...

...leave it to the P.E. teacher dad to come up with fun activities to move around at a pit stop.  :)

Back in the car, ready to go.  I've gotta admit, a DVD for entertainment on the car trip is such a help.

Calla slept for the good majority of the car trip.  I guess she was really tired out from all the action while we were in Illinois.  In fact, she was still sleeping in her car seat after we got home and carried her into the house. (Hmmm, I'm trying to figure out where I can get that kind of peaceful, long nap!) ;)

Mckenna loves to help us cook and get meals ready... especially when she's wearing her cute Mckenna apron. 

This was funny.  Calla was holding and drinking her own bottle, when we noticed that she put both feet up and seemed to try to balance the bottle on her feet and let go of it.  She succeeded for a split second, then moved her little feet and the bottle dropped.  She was cracking us up.  You can see that Mckenna was amused too.  Matt tried to position her to do it again for a picture, but I guess it was a one time show. 

Hi, everybody!  (Look at my cute bottom teeth!)

Later in July we were fortunate to have our friends Julie and Matt (yes, another Julie and Matt) from Baltimore, MD come to town for a few days to visit.  We had so much fun!  Julie and I went to college in Germany together for a semester through the University of Maryland.  13 years later, we're still close friends.  It's so fun to have good friends from so many years back.  Here we are at an Irish pub called The Local in downtown Minneapolis.  We were downtown doing some sightseeing anyway and wanted to watch the World Cup match.  Matt (from MD) is a huge soccer fan, player, and coach, so we had to make sure to catch the game!  The place was packed with soccer fans, it was a fun atmosphere.

Next stop, the top observation deck of the Foshay Tower.  I'm going to give you a little history lesson of the building - because it's interesting, and because I can't help it - I'm a social studies teacher and like learning about the history of places I visit!  I had heard from friends that the Foshay observation deck on the top of the tower is a really cool place to see, but I'd never been up there before, so I was excited to experience it with Julie and Matt!

(Info taken from www.homesmsprealestateblog.com and Wikipedia.) The Foshay Tower was the lifelong dream of Wilbur Foshay, designed as a scale replica of the Washington Monument inspired by a visit to Washington, DC as a teenager. He had it constructed to house both his business and residence, with his private suite on the 27th and 28th floors of the 32-floor building.

When the building opened in 1929 he sponsored a huge three-day celebration, with 25,000 guests and all-expenses paid trips provided to cabinet members, senators and congressmen. He even commissioned John Philip Sousa to write a march specifically for the occasion.

Unfortunately, Foshay's timing couldn't have been worse because the stock market crashed just a few months later and he lost everything.  Ignominiously, Foshay's check to Sousa bounced, and in retaliation, Sousa prohibited the playing of the march so long as Foshay's debt to him remained outstanding. Foshay never lived in his new home, which also went into receivership with everything else he owned. It wasn't until 1988 when a group of Minnesota investors repaid Foshay's debt to Sousa's estate that the march was permitted to be played in public again. However, his legacy remains in the landmark Foshay Tower which still bears his name.

In 2008 the Foshay was converted from an office building to the W Hotel Minneapolis, so when you walk into the building it is very upscale and fancy - fun to look around!

The lobby and hotel front desk.

The special elevator to go up to the top observation deck.  You can see the gold towers on the elevator doors.

Unfortunately it was rainy and kind of overcast that day, not to mention really windy.  But it was still a cool view... it would be fun to go up again on a sunny, clear day.  Julie and I took several pictures up there, but most of mine were blurry from the rain.

You can see the reflection of the Foshay Tower in the glassy windows of this building.

Julie and I looked down at the green (lawn bowling!) rooftop of our favorite place to go together in downtown Minneapolis, Brit's Pub.  It looked like they were having some kind of book reading or something when we took this picture.  Sitting out on this rooftop on a nice, warm summer day is so much fun.

Back down from up high - a look at Brit's from Nicollet Mall, street level.

Thanks for coming, Julie and Matt!  We all had such a fun time, and the girls really enjoyed playing with them, and they enjoyed the girls too.  Mckenna had fun "making food" in her play kitchen for Matt - he was a good sport and kept ordering different foods for her to make.  :)  Julie is pregnant with their first baby, a boy, due in early June.  Congratulations, Julie and Matt!  They will be great parents.  And thanks for coming to visit us in Minnesota - we had a blast with you!

Love this picture... Calla is so smiley and always has a sweet twinkle in her eyes. 

To the pediatrician for Calla's 9-month check-up.  (That sounds weird considering as I type this she is 16-months old... I'm only 7 months behind - yikes!)  I looked for her weight/height, etc. stats from the 9-month appointment, but that's the only sheet I can't find from all her well checks - go figure.  I know she is in the average to small range/percentiles for her age.  If I find the stats sheet, I'll update the post with her numbers.  From the picture, it shows she was 17+ lbs at her 9-month appt.

I love our pediatrician, Dr. Achett.  He is very kind and gentle, always talks to the girls to keep their mind off the exam, and explains everything well and in detail.  You can see that Calla seems to be listening to him.

Happy!

Still smiling.  :)

Content even after a finger prick - of course the band aid helps. She really is a good girl though, very mild-mannered and happy most of the time.

Across the street at our neighbors to play with Carter and Reagan.  It was Carter's third birthday, so we brought him over a small present.  Here he is enjoying showing Mckenna his new cool garage for his matchbox cars.

We always have fun with these guys!

More to come soon. I am determined to catch up on these posts sooner than later! (Keep your fingers crossed for me... haha.)