Saturday, November 15, 2014

Giving Thanks for November


Mommy is always very thankful when November rolls around.  As a teacher, the months of September and October fly by.  Finally in November she gets a chance to catch up with a few hobbies.  So how did we spend our time this fall?...

The entire family spent countless hours raking and bagging leaves.  Emma and Analise were consumed by their leaf raking process of jumping in the leaves and running through the piles.  Every once in awhile, after Mommy begged, Emma would take her mini rake and pick up a few leaves.  

 

Emma took a tumbling class where she mastered the art of the balance beam



Emma and Analise loved spending time over at Grandma Kubacki's house.  She tells them stories and gives them undivided attention.

Emma and Analise have been giving each other more hugs, pushes and pinches these days.  If you catch them at the right moment, you might even see them whispering secrets to one another (probably related to how they are going to convince Mommy and Daddy to do what they want them to do)

Analise has been talking up a storm.  She can say ma-ma when she wants to be picked up or cuddled.  She also waves bye-bye to her daycare friends before leaving each day.  Mommy's favorite thing to do is watch Ani's face light up when Daddy comes home.  Ani will often follow him around the house and look up to see if he is smiling back at her.  She wants his attention in the worst way.



Both girls have been in the pool almost weekly this fall.  Emma loves wearing her goggles and swimming underwater.  She can jump into the deep end and swim a few feet out to Mommy and Daddy.  She can also float on her back and kick like crazy.  Analise is still in the adjustment period with the water.  She loves to walk around the shallow end and chase balls of different colors.  The photo below was from the end of the summer when the girls enjoyed their own kiddie pool in the backyard.


Besides swimming, both girls have been fascinated with the art of dancing.  Since the community center offers family hip-hop classes on Sunday afternoons, we have attended for the past few weeks.  At some point Mommy will have to take some videos of the girls (and Daddy) in action.  After class, we were given permission to let the girls run around in a small gym room.  Add in a few basketballs, soccer balls and big bouncy balls and the girls are set for another hour of entertainment.  The room is also lined with mirrors so the girls can often be found admiring themselves as they play.


 Emma learned how to take her first selfie with Grandma.

The way to the girls' hearts...take them to the park.  Both girls love the swings. Of course you need to find a park where they have two kiddie swings so that no one is left out. 


Who could live without a reenactment of the the three little pigs at the library?  Well maybe two pigs and a green pepper...It looks as though the third little pig has been swiped from the scene by a big sister.  Analise and Emma have recently started to enjoy the art of the puppetry.  Emma and Daddy have been seen rehearsing puppet shows in the basement.

And last but not least, who could live without knowledge of the light switching and door slamming incidents of November 2014.  Emma has recently acquired skills in the area of turning lights on and off.  She has also found entertainment in allowing someone to have- as she calls it -privacy by shutting them in a room. According to Emma, everyone needs a little privacy.

One thing she still needs to work on is forward thinking.  Last week, she shut the door and turned off the light only to find herself locked in a dark bathroom.  Daddy was taking a shower at the time and he was also locked in.  Mommy and Ani heard shouts from upstairs followed by thumps on the ceiling signaling a need for help.  Unfortunately, Mommy was laughing so hard that she couldn't get off the floor to help as quickly as needed.

Mommy had her own encounter with Emma's new talent when she was in the bathroom later that week.  While she was in the bathroom, Emma turned off the light from outside the door and did not turn it back on.  Note to self...never buy a house with bathroom lights on the outside of the bathroom door.  Why did the builders put it there?

Now all we have left to do is combine our newly acquired talents.  Presenting live this Thanksgiving the Emma and Analise Puppet Extravaganza!  Be amazed as monkeys and princesses show off their hip-hop moves, lights flash on and off and ma-ma is shouted from behind the curtain.  Tickets now available for purchase.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Ani the Music Maker

Analise was given a shaker at daycare this week.  According to her teacher, she really banged it around as they sang songs together.  Mommy is amazed by how much Ani looks like she did when she was little.  When she finds time, she will have to scan in her baby picture and put it right next to Ani's. 


Whoever invented these shakers was a genius!

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Leaves and Squash



Two Beautiful Girls

This place is AMAZING, even without turtles

Strange Baby

This is actually how Ani sleeps (with a blankie on of course).


Eagle's Nest

Emma and Ani love the Eagle's Next in New Brighton. We spent a morning there jumping, climbing, and playing to our heart's content.

Woah

I love my beads

The Thinker

Apples

It was the perfect day to visit the apple orchard.  We went down to Afton, Minnesota to visit a smaller orchard.  When we arrived we were told that we could take a wagon and head out to the fields.  The girls loved riding in the wagon, especially when the wheels really started to roll down the hills.  At one point Mommy had to let go because the wagon was moving so quickly, it almost plowed her over.

Very few people were out picking when we arrived early in the morning.  The only other visitors seemed to be us and the bees.  As Emma ate her apple, a bee tried to chase her.  Luckily Emma made a quick escape and the wind did the rest of the job.  Upon returning to the barn, the owner asked if Emma would like to feed the chickens.  Excitedly, Emma went into the coop and sprinkled feed for the birds.  After she finished feeding her feathery friends, she wanted to catch and hold one. A narrow escape was made by the chickens as they dashed into the many bushes that provided a perfect hiding spot.  Emma will just have to wait for another day to hold a chicken.





Light on, Light off

Every night before bed, Ani and I play Light on, Light off. Basically, she pulls the cord of the lamp to turn it on and off about 100 times, or until she gets bored.



Sunday, September 28, 2014

Hoedown Party

Today we went to a Hoedown party at Emma's school. There was face painting, and Emma had an orange cat painted on her cheek. She also dressed up  as a scarecrow (she loves scarecrows). Mommy carried Ani around to show her all of the fun activities she will be able to do when she's older.






Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Finding Time

It has been a challenge to find time to put things on the blog recently.  Here are a few photos from the first weeks of school and daycare.






Monday, September 22, 2014

Make New Friends, but Keep the Old

This past weekend we spent time with our friends, Patience and Mike and Colleen and Mike.  Mommy still remembers the days when we were able to hang out in the evening just as adults with no kids.  Now the crew consists of seven little ones that tag along on our outings.  This year we visited the Stone Arch Bridge and had a picnic lunch.  Violet, Charolette and Audrey played chasing games while Claire, Emma and Oscar did parallel play.  Ani was all smiles and loved being held by many different people.  Overall, a very nice day to see the falls and catch up as best one can while watching lots of little children.

Emma, Claire, Audrey, Violet and Charolette

Monday, September 15, 2014

Blast Off



Grandpa and Grandma outdo Mommy and Daddy in the best swing pusher competition.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Family Photo

This may be the first year that Mommy tries to send out a holiday card with a picture.  Many attempts have been made to get pictures of both girls smiling and in clothes that stay clean for more than five minutes.  Here are a few attempts at getting Emma to take her picture near the waterfall.

 Okay girls look at the camera

 Emma take your hands away from your mouth
 Put your tongue back in your mouth

Emma look up at the camera

It is a good thing Mommy doesn't make a living by taking children's portraits. 

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Analise

Lord of the Rings

We got a smile and a posed position all in one shot...Amazing!




Silly stories with Daddy and Emma are one of the best times of the day
Think Outside the Box

Monday, July 21, 2014

Blue Ink Girl

When left alone with stamp ink, this is what Emma does. This is the second time she has marked herself up with ink. I have to admit that if I didn't have to worry about clean up, it would be a lot of fun.

The girl with the blue ink tattoo

Thursday, July 3, 2014

When Can I Drive?

Recently, Emma has become fascinated with driving.  Every time we get home, she hops out of her car seat and crawls into the driver's seat.  While Mommy helps Ani and brings in groceries, Emma twists the wheel and sings made up songs.  She has learned how to turn on and off Mommy's flashing lights and has figured out the buttons she needs to press to see the clock.  Although Mommy loves the extra few minutes this exploration allows for her to bring things into the house, she often wonders if all the button pushing might leave her car in a weird state the next time she gets in. 


Family Reunion

It has been awhile since Dan's family has all been together in the same spot at the same time.  This past weekend, Bruce, Jan, Michael, Becky and Becky's boyfriend came to visit.  Emma showed off her water abilities in her backyard pool and even had a tea party with Aunt Becky. Emma is in love with Michael and calls him "My Michael" and "Michael, Michael" (not sure where the repetition came from).  As always, it was challenging to get a good picture where everyone was smiling but we attempted it.

Uncle Michael, Daddy and Emma, Grandma Jan and Analise, Aunt Becky and Grandpa Bruce

Together Again

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Soccer Practice

In the evenings, we have started to participate in free soccer classes offered by a Montessori parent.  Besides soccer, these events have taught Emma how to rock climb and how to create catapults from boards and logs.  She enjoys playing with the older kids and often likes to copy what they do.

Emma and Daddy are on the red team

 Let's all chase after the ball at the same time.

Emma still finds time to emerge from the volcanic crater during soccer practice

Thursday, June 26, 2014

CAMP!

Emma is participating in Montessori summer camp this week while Mommy takes a plant biology course at the U of M.  Throughout the week Emma spent a lot of time outdoors.  On Tuesday the group had a Water day.  Emma's instructor said that she was the one student who seemed to be in love with the sprinkler.  Anything related to water draws Emma's attention quickly.

 What happens when you pour water in a dump truck?

 Inspecting the bugs...I am sure Emma called most bugs bees or flies

 Ingenious idea for water tubes!  Inquiry at its best!