Sisters

Found a few phone pictures!

// January 23rd, 2012 // No Comments » // Photo

Just a few for this week.

I finally got off my butt and got a skype account. Utilizing the webcam we have, Lucy and Bea have been able to have a grand old time video chatting with their adorable cousins Michael, Jacob, and Isaac.

This page needs more Molly! Here she is, looking cute as always.

I took Lucy bowling again over the weekend. This time Arie joined us, and they had a great time. Afterwards, we went to their place for dinner and play.

Just Dance Kids for the Wii. The girls thought this was great, though after a while Lucy wanted me to hold the controller so she could just dance her own way. Fair enough.

Winding down the weekend with a pre-bedtime bath!

Lucy’s Birthday Party!

// January 16th, 2012 // 1 Comment » // Photo

Over the weekend we had Lucy’s birthday party at the LaCrosse Children’s Museum. It’s a great place to play and a wonderful place to have a party. Why? Well, you get a party ‘helper’ who not only sets everything up and cleans everything afterward, but also has the clarity to take down names and corresponding gifts, something that’s easy to get lost in. The actual party part only lasted an hour, which was great. Then the kids had time to run and play throughout the museum for the rest of the day (which was only an hour, but seeing as how it was close to dinner time, that was fine). It was a much smaller affair than last year’s party, but it was a lot less work.
Beatrice was a game time decision on whether she would attend or not, since being diagnosed with a double ear infection earlier in the morning, even though it was pretty obvious the night before (and if any Winona Health folks are reading this, having Urgent Care close at 5pm on a Friday is ridiculous!). But, all was well, and she could not stop talking about the dinosaurs, and spent probably half of the time there roaring at them and wanting to play with them. Afterwards, Lucy and Sam got to spend some time together as he came over for play and dinner.
Lucy had a great time, and thanks to everyone that came to help us celebrate!

Getting the day started! She loves these little things.

Beatrice, poor thing. Sick and miserable.

Then….party time!

Lucy loved having her little girl friends sit with her.

Lucy was a little nervous throughout, but had a great time.

Game time! They all lined up so nicely.

Time for presents! Lucy loved every thing that her friends were nice enough to bring.

Bea, being a little trooper, starting to run out of gas.

Sam also loved the dinosaurs.

Off they go!

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Happy Birthday, Lucy!

// January 3rd, 2012 // No Comments » // Photo, Video

A new year brings a Lucy birthday! Lucy turned 4 at 12:02 AM on New Year’s Day, and we were all asleep for it!

While Lucy’s proper birthday bash is still a week and a half away, we had a small gathering for pizza, cake, and ice cream. Lucy chose chocolate cake with pink frosting and sprinkles, and strawberry ice cream.

Early on, Lucy tries on her fabulous princess gown from her Nana and Pops.

Bea gets in on the action, too.

Cake time! Lucy decorated it herself, and loved the “4″ candle.

Arie and Beatrice look on, waiting for their cake.

Digging in! Usually she just eats the frosting, but this time she even ate some cake.

Beatrice’s post birthday party chill phase.

Finally, a short video of Lucy and her cake.

Stay tuned for photos of her birthday party at the Children’s Museum, coming soon!

Christmas!!

// December 26th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Photo, Video

Christmas 2011 came, and the girls had a wonderful day. Molly came by on Christmas Eve to hang out, exchange gifts, and dinner. Lucy and Bea were excited, and Christmas morning was a blast for them. They got up bright and early (a little TOO early!) to see if Santa had come. They all loved their gifts, and we all enjoyed a long stretch of days at home together.

Before that, we had Lucy’s holiday concert at school. It was super cute. Lucy tried to get Bea to stand up on stage with her, but there were just too many kids. Here’s a couple of photos and a video of them singing their finale.

A cute pic of Lucy and Bea sharing a moment on the chair.

Even cuter!

Bea relaxing for a few seconds. She’s obviously up to something.

Then, it was Christmas morning. At 5:45, this was the scene.

The girls appear downstairs to inspect the situation.

The cheap drum set that we expected (and almost hoped) to break right away was the first shared toy to get a turn. Fun!

A bed for all of Bea’s babies! And more babies!

Lucy explains something while Bea admires her shoes.

Oooh!

Lucy quickly changed into some fresh Hello Kitty pajamas from Grandma. Then she excitedly opened her new piggy bank from Pops! And a whole mess of nickels! She plopped each one in one at a time.

Lucy had a short list for Santa. A pink yo-yo, a new flute, and a package of beef sticks. Santa delivered.

Bea cozies up to mom in her new puppy towel.

And takes a phone break in her new baby bed.

And finally, a video of some of the morning’s happenings. Cute.

Christmas is almost here!

// December 19th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Photo

And we have no snow! I’m sure it will be here soon enough, but Lucy says “How can I go sledding if there’s no snow?”.

Finally got some time and opportunity to get some new photos of the little ones.

Lucy and I made some Tiramisu (actually, I call it beeramisu, since I use a strong coffee stout instead of rum or liqueur) for a Christmas caroling party at our friends’ Paul and Trish’s house. She did a great job garnishing! She was proud.

The girls continue to tweak the poor tree, whose ornaments have been robbed and has a fierce lean due to being pulled on.

Lucy wanted to try taking a couple of pictures. I let her take one of Bea, and one of herself. She did pretty good, even if she has a strange look on her face!

At the party (which yes, she insisted on wearing pajamas to), with a table full of sweets and treats, a nutcracker was her favorite thing.

And a chalkboard wall let Lucy tag the place with her name.

Over the weekend, Lucy finally got to try her hand at bowling. She had a lot of fun, though in her words “I need practice”.

Finally, Lucy brings Zoe some dinner and very sweetly watches.

Happy Birthday, Molly!

// December 5th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Photo

Today Molly turns 15! How quickly she grew. Lucy and Bea love their big sister, and were happy to have a little birthday celebration with her over the weekend. While there weren’t more than two pictures taken (and one was mostly Lucy having her turn blowing out Molly’s candles), we had fun and Bea loved hanging out with big sister, and said her name over and over after she had to go to a friend’s house for a sleepover.

It took until a few days into December, but we got some snow! After safely seeing Molly off, Mom got the girls outside for a little play time while dinner was made.
Bea wasn’t sure she liked all these layers.

But the snow sure was fun!

The next morning, the girls bundled up again, and we went out for some sledding on the small hills across the street. My camera was out of reach, but the phone wasn’t!
Lucy shows Bea how to properly eat snow.

A quick pose before we head out.

Bea goes for a ride. A scary, fun, giggly ride.

Bea leans to the side and watches Lucy sled down. When is it MY turn?

Lucy and Moxie take a break and snack on some snow.

And a sweet picture that Mom took. Two sweeties.

Thanksgiving and toofer troubles!

// November 28th, 2011 // No Comments » // Photo, Video

We had a very nice mellow Thanksgiving at our house. It was a beautiful 55 degree day, so after naptime we had our meal and went out for a walk to our friends Mike and Diane’s place. While outside, Arie, Kaia and family came by on their way to the playground, so Lucy and Jamie went with them. Bea and I stayed behind, and I played some Kubb and Bea enjoyed the visiting dogs. On Friday, Lucy and Bea joined forces again with Arie and Kaia and we went out and cut down our Christmas tree and went for some lunch. Then later that day, they came by and watched some holiday movies on the big projector screen I borrowed from work.

It was soon apparent that Bea was cutting some big teeth, as she soon came down with a fever, a nasty cough, and a sore mouth. Some Ibuprofen and a trip to our favorite toy store with big sister Molly helped out a bit in the morning, but by the end of the day, the poor thing was in sad shape. Hopefully there will not be many more nights of pain for the poor thing.

Here are the happy girls on Thanksgiving.

Lucy and Arie scampering outside the Trempealeau Hotel after lunch.

As Bea calls them, “pa-pops”.

On a Sunday trip to LARK toys for some pre-Christmas/birthday shopping.
Bea admires Lucy’s hat.

Bea picking out some new goodies (even the ones she already has).

Molly enjoys a ride on the carousel with the sisters.

Look at this naughty baby!

Finally, here’s a little video of Bea playing with our little drum machine thing.

Mom’s home!

// November 22nd, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Video

Lucy and Bea’s Aunt Ali got married this past weekend! Congratulations to them!

We decided the best thing to do was to send Jamie out there, and I’d stay with the two girls. We were on our own for the better part of five days, and although we all held together pretty well, the girls really missed their mom.

Obviously, there wasn’t a lot of time to take pictures, but here’s a few to tide you over.

Bea snugly fits in Lucy’s baby doll stroller. They both get a huge kick out of it.

Multiple trips to the YMCA’s family fun room were made. This place is great for letting them run.

Back at home, Lucy’s fancy kitchen set was brought in for the winter, and Bea LOVES it.

As you can see, the girls were very happy to have their beloved Mama back.

Until this morning, when Bea finally realized that Mom’s time away was also the opportunity needed to wean her. This did not make her happy at all.

Football and foliage

// November 7th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Photo

I have a memory of spending quite a few hours when I was young banging on a typewriter. This was the late 70′s, and that isn’t anywhere near the anomaly that it is today. The thought crossed my mind when I found this perfect condition, nearly 40 years old manual typewriter at a secondhand shop for $5. I knew Lucy would love it. She’s banging away at it right now (at least, she was when I left for work!).

Bea, passed out in the car on our way to do some shopping while Lucy and Mom prepare some meals.

The leaves are finally falling in our yard, and yesterday was a good day for the girls to get some fun time in with them. Now, I need to clean them up!

And a sweet sister pose.

From here we went to Lucy’s school for some playground time. It was windy and cool, but the girls had a blast.

Mom and Lucy on the swing. Lucy LOVES this.

The football and soccer equipment was left out over the weekend, so I decided to teach Lucy how to kick a football. To our surprise, she loved it, and wanted to do it again and again!

Halloween! Pt. 2

// November 1st, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Photo

Yesterday for Halloween, we got together with the Maus family for some early pizza dinner. Then we got the kids dressed up and hit the neighborhood for an hour or so. It was great fun, and while Bea at times got pretty frustrated that she couldn’t always run with the bigger kids, slipping her a small Snickers bar seemed to help.

Bea as a bee. Headwear isn’t her thing.