Flower Girl

Ani and I were honored to be in my friend Jaime's wedding last weekend in my hometown. Jaime and I go way back (cheerleading, 9th grade English class... all things high school, UNI and everything in between!) and she also asked our other 3 "besties" :) to be bridesmaids as well as her sister and soon-to-be sister-in-law.

Wedding was a blast - long day starting with set up of ceremony/reception site, hours at the salon getting hair, makeup and nails done, then all the wedding hoopla. I was worried about Ani not following directions for her flower girl duties, but she did a wonderful job and (of course I'm going to say this) looked sooo adorable! The ceremony and reception were right on the riverfront.

Yes, the couple's dog was the actual ring bearer. He did a good job!

photo courtesy of Genevieve's Photography

Right before we walked down the aisle.

My girls


My parents & Liam... I think Meggie was chasing Ani around, otherwise they would have been in the picture too!

Happenings

Liam is 6 mos! Half a year, I can't even believe it. He's crawling all over and getting faster every day. Stands up in his crib. Everything goes into his hand and promptly to his mouth. No teeth yet, although he drools quite a bit. He likes being tickled and we love his little laugh. He's also starting to notice when we leave the room. He LOVES Ani, have I mentioned this? His face just lights up when he sees her. She plays very well with him too.

Ani had her 1st friend over to the house (w/out friend's parents present). It was a success! Clara and Ani got along great and had a lot of fun. They are two peas in a pod - they know each other well from preschool. Tears only popped up when Clara had to go home that afternoon.

Monte volunteered at the Urban Assault Ride this year. I stopped by with the kids to hang out for a bit. This picture was taken T-minus 3 hours before unfortunate bicycle mishap which led to an ER visit. Separated shoulder, lots of pain. Angriest about possibly not being able to race cyclo-cross this season. Bummer all around.

Laughter

This may be my favorite video of our two nuggets so far. Love their laughs.

Spanish Song

We're told it's about a seal?? She learned this at her bilingual school. Love it.

Kiddos

Liam is 5-1/2 months old. Sits up by himself now. Eats everything in sight. Drinks water from a cup. Loves bath time. Is completely enamored with his entertaining sister. Things seem to be moving so much quicker with the second one! :(

I took Ani to Valleyfair today for a little "mommy and me" time. We both had a lot of fun. She was scared of the people dressed up as Peanuts characters, like Snoopy, but did take her picture with the Snoopy statue. She said her favorite ride was the Spider (although when we were on it, she was telling me she wanted off the ride).

Birthday Party

Newman created this great video of Ani's 3rd birthday party a few weeks ago. Thanks!

Dancin' Queen

Photos

We so loved our photo session gift we got for Ani from Tim & Eric when she was 8 weeks old that we went back to Eldridge, IA to Mark's Place to get more taken for Liam. Ended up getting a few of all of us, plus some of the kiddos together. These are scanned in from a computer print out so obviously not the best quality, but it's all I have so far because we have not placed our actual print order yet.

First Haircut & Tummy Time

Ani got her first haircut from Katie last night - friend and hair stylist I've been going to for 11 years! We saved a lock of her hair too.

And Liam has been enjoying lots of tummy time lately - working those neck muscles!

Siblings

Brother & Sister

Rock the Cradle

Rock the Cradle was our destination today - fun-filled couple of hours at the M.I.A. (Mpls Institute of Arts) where 89.3 the Current (our awesome public radio station in town) had a kid disco, musical instrument petting zoo, story time w/ the DJs, and much more. The snow storm really didn't affect their attendance - it was jam packed.

Ani at the disco...

Big Bed

In a big bed now.... and thankfully the bedding and comforter, which were mine from before, are PURPLE! Her favorite color.

Fourth Festivities

Our 4th of July weekend was spent at Turtle Lake with the Miller's. Always a good time!

Ani loved the water and her "boat"... and her sucker.

Farewell, Rosenblatt

Ah, the last year the CWS will be held at Rosenblatt Stadium. So sad. In the words of a 30-year season ticket holder that we ran into... "I'm disgusted!" The new stadium being built in downtown Omaha won't be anything close to the feel and charm of Rosenblatt.

We were lucky enough to buy tickets 15 minutes before the TCU/UCLA game on Friday for under face value - and to top it off, they were in the shade! That was a must. Otherwise, I really think I would have had 2 Dirks brothers passed out next to me. TCU's right fielder was from my home town so we were rooting for them. They did win on Friday, but had to play UCLA again Saturday, which they lost.

View from our nicely shaded seats

Monte, me, Tim

We also had a belated birthday celebration for Ani - when we sang "Happy Birthday" this time, she was very excited. For her birthday party a couple weeks ago, she bawled her eyes out when everyone began singing to her!

And we utilized the handy self-timer for a family photo before leaving to drive back to Minneapolis.

TeStrake Visit

We had TeStrake's coming at us from all sides last weekend! My parents came up from IA and my uncle Don and cousin Ann came to see the new Twins stadium so we met up with them too. We had a really fun time, but just wished the weather would have been better.

Ani's birthday extended even further with more gifts from Gammy & Papa.

My parents, me, Ani by the infamous Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture

Monte, Ani, me, my mom, cousin Ann, uncle Don and my dad. Can you tell they're brothers??

Singin' Sensation

Happy 2nd Birthday Ani!

A return trip to the Malt Shop for a birthday sundae (just like last year for her 1st birthday!) donning a new outfit from Aunt Marcy & cousin Meggie.

Skuut bike from Dad (she doesn't reach the ground yet though -- hopefully soon!)

New, spunky outfit from Uncle Tim.

And even a gift (a book) from Jardin Magico, her school.

And I still haven't given her my gift yet (nothing huge, but I know she'll like it - sand shovels and bucket for playing at the park!) We're having a party for her this Saturday at the park up the street where she'll get balloons, cupcakes, and play time with friends. Lucky birthday girl!

Hat & Butter

Ani made an Indian hat w/ feathers at school this week. We love all of her creations she brings home - they are up all over our house and on the fridge. We taught her to continually clap her hand over her mouth and go "Ahhh".

We went out for dinner tonight and Ani ate all of her....... butter. With her bare hands. There was a little cup of it with our bread basket and she ate the entire thing. We were kind of grossed out. She behaved though so we let it go and figured it was a "lesser of two evils" thing.

Size

Size perspective from the papasan chair.