Sunday, June 21, 2009

4 months...

Yeah, I'm behind, but things are even more of a whirlwind now it seems. So, for the highlights.

Abby had her 4 month appt on Friday afternoon, she is happy and healthy. 24" tall and 14 lbs 11 oz. 40-70th percentile on everything. Abby also took to rolling over last week, just back to front and only one direction, but great none the less. Even had to get up in the middle of the night to flip her back over at least once. The doc also said we could start trying some solid food. We tried a couple of bowls of fabulous rice cereal... no major complaints, but she isn't beggin for more yet. Still, pretty early so I am sure she'll pick it up fine. She likes her food fine even if she doesn't share the full on passion for it that her big sister has. Abby is good and smiley too and we have been getting lots of squawking. She is as irregular as ever on the sleeping, last week was bad on mom and dad, sometimes up every hour (thinking growth spurt). Got a bit more sleep last night, thankfully. Abby also had a whole host of shots on Friday, not a big fan and a little mellow afterwards, pretty typical it seems.

Sara is doing well too, growing up a storm. This week she will start transitioning to the preschool room. Hard to believe we have a preschooler on our hands. She is still full of why, exuberance, and a good dose of defiance, but it is a lot better than two months ago, a whole lot better. She is having fun being active. We have taken some tricycle rides and just got a T-ball set for her. That has been fun in the backyard.... and of course, working in the gardens. She continues to show her sister a lot of love and is clearly enjoying that Abby is becoming more interactive. A big highlight this last week was when I picked the girls up just a bit early and we got home in time to watch the LRO launch on the computer. Sara has been all about watching the replay and Space Shuttle, and even a Soyuz video ever since. It is nice to know that she can appreciate a nice rocket launch too :)

Last weekend we had the pleasure of a visit from the Swiss Family Dombard. It was our first time to see little Riley, who ain't so little anymore. We had a good time hanging out (literally in Rew's case - see below) and visiting the park.

Other than that, it has been pretty typical summer stuff - farmer's market on Saturdays, maybe a trip to the park, and too much work during the week. We did sneak in a trip to the ball game this last week with a some friends. Alas, the home team did not win, and given the interleague play, that didn't help our beloved Cards either. Tomorrow our next out-of-town visit begins with the arrival of Grandma D. for a week.

Happy father's day everyone!


Smile


Nice Hat


punk rocker, even in the tub


Abby's first solid food


me and my mom


I know my mom loves me


Sara wearing the highly sought after birthday hat at school


That slide.


This is how I fly like an airplane


Rew hanging out


Backyard fun


ooohh, swing!

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Thursday, June 04, 2009

vacation

So, we took our first vacation as a foursome a week ago and headed up to Minnesota for a week.



On the shore of Lake Superior along the Lakewalk

The initial impetus was for Danette's friend Ellen's wedding the day before Memorial Day. We flew up the day before that and met Grandma and Grandpa D. in the Twin Cities. The girls had a good time seeing their grandparents, and even having them to themselves while we went to the wedding. That was actually a highlight for Sara because she got to make a return trip to the Mall of America and see all the rides in the amusement park. She is still talking about the rides and making pictures of them at school almost two weeks later. We also had the good fortune to be able to see Sara's godmother Laura, and most of the Lukkarila/Krajewski clan for a couple of hours - too short, but great time to catch up regardless. Somehow we made the boneheaded move of forgetting to get a picture of Sara with Laura or anyone else for that matter...

On Memorial Day, rather than our usual local parade, we headed up to Duluth and saw Grandma and Grandpa H. This was Grandpa's first chance to meet Abby too. We stayed until Friday, basically just chilling out, and helping out where we could. The weather was cool and rainy most of the week except for Thursday. While not great for getting out, we did sample a new restaurant for breakfast, Sara got to frost cupcakes with Grandma, and Danette and I even made it out for a movie, Star Trek. Sara and Abby basically just basked in the glow of grandparental love all week. Excited? Yes. Spoiled? A bit..., Exhausted at the end? Oh yeah.

While in Duluth we also got to see my friend Jason from high school and college and his wife Jane (also a friend from college) and their two kids. In was nice to be able to catch up, and it turns out they are moving a bit closer to us, so we will hopefully be able to catch up again soon.

Total exhaustion, and colds, etc ensued by the end of the trip, but we made back mostly uneventfully (minus the present Abby left for me on my lap in the plane...)

Now for some more pictures...


trying out some goggles for the hotel pool


cupcakes with grandma for Sara's birthday


making a castle out of Lake Superior pebbles


Abby yakking grandma's ear off :)


Big smile

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