Chris' 35th Birthday!

We celebrated, celebrated and celebrated some more for Chris's 35th birthday! I just love birthdays! I would have loved to throw a party but he preferred to spend some quality family/wifey time so that is what we did. He and I had a date night at Lindy's Stteakhouse on Wednesday while my parents watched the girls. 

pics of dinner to come...

After our delicious meal we played some mini golf by the Como Zoo which we had done 5 years ago for his 30th too :) 

We came home and had homemade rolo cheesecake with my parents and Linnea. 

Harper surprisingly was in her crib! My mom was brave enough to try it and it worked! Harper gave daddy the gift of sleeping through the night in her own bed, rather than with us where she has been the last 10 months. His actual birthday was Thursday and we spent the day hanging out at home. I did some crafts with Linnea and we just kinda hung out and got some stuff done until 5 when we mini golfed again! 

pics of crafts to come..

This time golfing was with the girls at The Science Museum. Turns out it is only $5 Thurs through the Sun after 5.  We looked into Walker Art Sculpture Garden but it was way too expensive for us right now. Maybe another time..

Linnea's 1st time putt putting.
It was a hit!

Then we used a groupon I had at a drive in restaurant called the Dari-Ette that was actually on the Food Network! 

Fun Day! 

We love you Chris/Daddy and hope you enjoyed your special day and entrance into the mid 30's.

Birthday boy opened his gifts quick when we got home...we gave him a sno cone maker and Twins iced coffee/drink cup...the kind with a straw. He also bought himself some new clothes, including a Buxton jersey...Buxton is an awesome minor league ball player. Chris is really into minor league baseball right now :)

Africa at the Zoo

We got to go to the Minnesota Zoo with my friend who has a membership which allows all of us to get in for free :) The Zoo has gotten so expensive, even to do a membership so we dont go too often. It was especially fun to go now because Africa animals are there! Linnea even got to feed the giraffe! After lunch we tried the splash pad but it wasnt really warm enough outside to enjoy it so that ended quickly. Our friends headed home after looking at Discovery Bay but we took advantage of our free trip and did the Tropics Trail and Butterfly Garden. I'm soooo glad we did the butterfly gardens. It was beautiful, bright and so relaxing!

I got some great pics in the butterfly garden have to get them on computer still :)

Chutes and Ladders/Baby Food

We went to one of my old childhood favorite parks called Chutes and Ladders...it was quite a bit different now than when I was little though! Much safer and more fun! No metal slides and they added a misting sprinkler splashpad thing which we used plenty of to cool off. Linnea is still a little young, short and cautious to really enjoy this playground but I think it was still worth the trip :) I had to/got to climb up everything with her and we went on the slides together even though she would have been fine. They were actually quite sticky from the heat and us being in shorts so we will try in the fall with pants and maybe it will be better. We went to get ice cream afterwards and then to pick up some homemade baby food from my second cousin who doesn't need it for her daycare kids anymore :) Harper has been gobbling it right up :)

pics to come :)

2nd Dropoff Birthday Party!

Linnea celebrated Linnea's 4th Birthday! We have another Linnea in our neighborhood whom you have seen on the blog before...the lil sweetie turned 4 and they had a dropoff birthday party for her so while Linnea was celebrating, Harper and I went for a run! 

post run! 

ice cream on our way home. 

lunchtime!

pinata time!

sprinkler fun!

Arie feeding Harper. I picked Linnea up early enough to have a beer with the other parents and it was also time to give Harper some solids and Arie was there ready to help :)

Later that night I got to celebrate a friends birthday too...we ate at Chang Mai Tai in Uptown and I had Pad Thai and LOVED it. I was able to be out for about 2.5 hours and then needed to head home since Harper was losing her mind. We were done with dinner anyways and plans were up in the air as to what was happening next so it was all good :) Fun day all around!

Happy 30th Birthday Tiffany!

The next day was a jammie day at home. We did celebrate National Ice Cream day though and made homemade ice cream in a bag. The girls loved it! We then walked around the neighborhood a bit to get some fresh air. L was still in her nightgown but when you are 4.5 you can do that I think :)

it worked! 

dig right in Harper 

yum!

Sea Salt, Wabun Splash Pad, Curious George

After Linnea's dance/tumbling class a few Fridays ago we went out for lunch to Sea Salt which is at Minnehaha Falls with our neighbors (one of the neighbors is in Linnea's class...another Linnea actually). I didnt realize the restaurant only served fish and had a pretty long wait. We survived though and I loved the fish, Linnea thought it was okay and Harper enjoyed her baby food. The girls also got some ice cream :) After lunch we looked at the falls and played at the old playground. Our friends headed home but we went to Wabun Splash Park. It's completely free and totally awesome. It was easier than I expected it to be with the two girls too since Harper fell asleep in the two minutes it took to get there from the Falls. I was able to wade a little with Linnea but still be close enough to the stroller. The water never went over Linnea's head and we had her puddle jumper so she was safe and confident to be on her own! YAY! 

the girls by the rushing Minnehaha

We drove home and relaxed a bit before an easy supper and then headed out to Curious George for our second outdoor movie of the summer at the Oval. My parents came to this one and so did Lorissa and her baby. Everyone enjoyed the show and snacks. It was a perfect night for it and a wonderful way to end a wonderful day. Chris was missed though :(

We love Curious George!

I may have pushed Harper to her limit on this day...she was so mad and tired...

finally some peaceful sleep :)

New Splash Pad, Puppet Show, 10 Months Old!

We discovered a new splash pad 5 minutes from our house! We met my friend and her twin daughters Claire and Abby and another lil gal theyve been babysitting this summer. We had a wonderful morning and picnic lunch. It got a lil busy with big kids after lunch so we headed home. Daddy even joined in on the fun!

 

At some point at home we took Harper's 10 Month pictures with the pig. 10 MONTHS!!!! That means in 2 short months she will be ONE. Crazy!

She isn't on the move in a perfect army crawl or crawl motion but she certainly gets around somehow...I know she is going to crawl. She is so close. She continues to be a very happy baby making new sounds everyday. She definitely points at anything she wants. She has been doing great with puffs and yogurt melts but we are afraid to try anything much more solid than that since she doesn't have any teeth! She continues to crack up with big belly laughs at Linnea and daddy. Like her big sister she likes to be outside and loves stroller rides. She continues to love music and dancing too :)

She had a very late 9 month appt and weighed 16 lbs and was 27 inches. The Dr. said she couldn't find anything wrong with her :) She does need to be on miralax though and she shouldnt have too many constipating foods. She had to have blood drawn but did awesome. She really showed the drs how strong she was when they tried to hold her arm down but once they got she calmed down and actually just watched the needle go in her arm and proceeded to watch the blood come out. I was not expecting that since with Linnea it was constant screaming. Her blood tests turned out fine!

We ended our busy splash pad day with an Open Eye Theater Puppet Show hosted by a friend, Jodi's church. We definitely don't see Jodi, Nate and her family nearly enough! You may remember those names...Nate sang at Linnea's 3rd bday. She still remembers that and we listen to his cd regularly :)

Camping Weekend

Our first camping trip of the summer has already come and gone and it was so fun! I hope we can go at least once more this summer/fall. It started with the River Falls Days Parade and from there my parents, the girls and I headed the half hour to St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park. Chris was of course working since it was a weekend so he didn't get to join us this time. campfire, breakfast, playground, scavenger hunt, new pal :)

walking to the parade!

watching the parade!

Tummy time! Shes gonna crawl soon :)

My parents had gone to camp earlier in the day so their tent was all set up and ready for us. Yup we had a big slumber party with my parents in their tent. I'm not brave enough to sleep in a tent alone in the wild with these two little girls yet. We got there pretty late but still sat by the fire briefly and enjoyed a smore. We all slept surprisingly well I think! We did wake up MUCH earlier than we usually do thanks to the rain...it stormed on and off from about 3am until 9am. We were pretty much up for the day at 630 (normally we get up at 8. I know we are spoiled.) We read some books, colored and did lacing cards until the rain stopped and we could go have some breakfast :) Here are a few pictures from our mini campout...we just stayed one night and then a FULL day. We headed home after our delicious hobo suppers at about 8. The day was full of fun...

a lil baseball with Papa

late breakfast of pancakes, bacon and fruit with second cousins...

Harper was very tired and confused when she woke up in the tent...she fell asleep in the car on the way there from the parade and didn't really wake up until morning. I transferred her from the carseat to the sleeping with me where I fed her but she never really woke up until about 7am...

back to sleep in the afternoon for an hour or so I think :)

My scavenger hunt was a success! I think it took us about an hour to do a less than a mile hike/walk since we were so busy looking for nature treasures :) They all got bubbles once we were done.

I brought a LOT of other camping crafts/activities but we only got to this one and beading which was fine. The kids played very well together and had so much fun playing on the playground that was right by our sites. We had quite the group camping...it was my 2 sets of aunts and uncles on my dads side, two of their grandkids and my 4 cousins (2 who have kids) . Confusing but you get the idea that there were a lot of us!

 More pics to come :)

Childrens Museum with Daddy too!

I was able to snag another free pass to the Children's Museum and this time daddy could join us! He has never been there so that made it even more fun! Linnea showed him her favorite things to do there and Harper was able to play a little more this time too. The new free passes from the library require you to go Tues, Wed or Thurs after 1pm. So we got there around 2 and stayed til close which I think was 5. We stopped at Candyland on our way to the car where Linnea got a Unicorn swirly lollipop, I got Chicago mix popcorn and Chris picked out some chocolates for us to share...one of the choices being called squirrel nuts. I'm sure he got just for the name. They ended up being delicious chocolate covered pretzels! We made it home just in time to leave again...I had made plans with friends to meet at the Ramsey County Parade. I left Linnea in the car eating her lollipop with Harper who was snoozing away and ran inside to make a quick picnic supper. Chris passed on the parade so it was just us gals and my friends. My friends have kids the same ages as Linnea and Harper so that made it even more fun!

I think I already put these parade pics in the summary of summer fun post but here they are again and I eventually will get the Children's Museum pics up!

Allisons Party

My sweet sister in law Allison graduated from high school this past June and had her graduation/going away party a few Saturdays ago. I cannot believe she graduated already...it seems like just yesterday I met her and she was only like 9 years old I think. She was a beautiful bridesmaid in our wedding and has been a wonderful aunt to our girls. Now she is a graduate and has decided to go into the Army. She leaves for South Carolina I think in a few weeks. Hopefully we will get to see her a few more times before she departs. She will definitely be missed! We always have fun with her at the family gatherings. 

Linnea and Peyton

Ella, Linnea and Peyton

Happy Pey Pey!

 Oddly enough I dont have the group picture we took with Allison on the computer yet...will post as soon as we do! 

4th of July

I am going to try really hard to catch up and blog about all of our July adventures before it is August! How is it almost August already??? yikes! 

Anyways...July 4th was a very very fun day! It started with a Kiddie Parade for the girls and I with some friends of mine. We wore our red, white and blue and decorated the stroller with RWB and ribbons and our homemade wands. Linnea rode in a wagon with my friends niece and we all enjoyed ice cream sundaes and cotton candy afterwards. Linnea thought it was odd but fun to be in the parade. It was weird for her to be giving out candy and not getting it :) I loved seeing my friends and of course seeing everyone all decked out in their holiday gear. We played at the park briefly after the sundaes but not for too long because it was quite hot! We headed over to grandma and papa's for a cookout, swimming in their lil pool and meeting up with daddy who was working until 2:30.

Happy 4th of July from our lil sparklers!

I have some fun pictures from my parents house but haven't gotten them on the computer yet...when I do I will get them on this post! For now you can see our morning and one pic from the evening! We stayed home for fireworks again and watched the Macy's display with the lights off in our living room. We did however do some sparklers with Linnea and she loved it! I think I may take her to some fireworks yet this summer...we were all just so tired and Chris had to work a 12 hour day the next day starting at 6:30 I do believe. And I think it was part of his 6 day in a row stretch of working. And who knows how Harper would handle them...Linnea doesnt know what she is missing tho and as you can see below sparklers in our driveway was enough for her!