A Grey Kitty Party
Our sweet Siri Carolyn celebrated her third birthday as a
"grey kitty with whiskers" birthday. We weren't exactly sure what she
meant by this, except that the cake should be a grey kitty with whiskers (of
course!), and that she wanted to play "Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Kitty." We
humored her on both requests, and had a delightful time celebrating her
birthday throughout her birthday week.
Grandma and Grandpa arrived late the night before her
birthday, so we had the added treat of getting to celebrate with them. Really,
what better way to start off your third birthday than by having your grandpa
serenade you your new banjo? And, what better way to end it then with Grandma
reading you a story about your own birth day.
Our three year old is a nurturing, creative, warm,
energetic, delightful little girl. She is always ready to give a hug or kiss,
is anxious to explore her world, and is cautiously excited about starting
preschool. We were talking the other day about her starting Sunday School next
year, and she asked if we would hold her during it. She has accompanied us so
often in Annie's classrooms (at church and preschool), and I'm sure as a result
our transitions will be different with her than with Annie.
Speaking of Annie, Siri is determined that she can do everything
that Annie can do. She loves making her bed (smoothing her sheets with great
care), playing catch (she is thrilled that Annie gave her a softball glove and
ball "just like she wanted!"), reading stories, helping cook and
clean (I love that she randomly decides it is time to dust, and gets right to
it!), and wants to write and count and color just like Annie. As much as she
wants to be just like Annie, she is most definitely her own little girl. She
continues to be quite comical, and loves to make people laugh. She has both the
fierce need to cuddle and connect with others, and a deep desire to figure
things out by herself. She needs time by herself to recharge, and it’s a
calming thing to watch her remove herself from the craziness that can sometimes
be her world and center herself.
We are proud to be her parents, so happy with the past three
years with her, and excited to see who she continues to become.
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| Annie and Siri waiting to go downstairs and open presents |
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| Grandpa serenades Siri |
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| Grandma reads Siri and Annie Siri's Birth Day Story |
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| Ready for Siri's Party |
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| Getting a hug from Ella |
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| Siri's Grey Kitty Birthday Cake |
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| Happy Birthday to you, Siri! |
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| Ready to play "Pin the Whiskers on the Kitty" |
The End of the School
Year for Annie
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| As a bunny for her dance recital |
Annie finished off a wonderful two years at her preschool at
the beginning of June. As I drove her to school on her last day, I asked what
she was going to miss the most about her preschool, she quickly responded,
"Doing whatever I like-inside and outside." I had never heard her
express this thought about preschool, and it was interesting to hear her say
it. It made me think a lot about her world, and how often she actually gets to
make decisions and plans for herself. It made me appreciate what a wonderful
job her teachers did with the child-directed learning. Kids would express
curiosity about/interest in something, and they would develop lessons around
these interests, and the kids would never even realize that they were being
led.
It was amazing to get things from over the course of the
last two years, and to see how much she's grown. One area that her growth is so
obvious is her drawing. She's taking after Eric in this area, and amazed me
with her ability, concentration, and persistence with drawing. Her attention to
detail is obvious, and her imagination seemingly endless.
It was hard for me not to be emotional throughout her last
day, thinking of how much she has grown, and how much I will miss her being
there, and also her being on a preschool schedule. To think that next begins a
schedule that will last through high school can feel overwhelming. And, yet,
she is so excited about kindergarten, it is hard to dwell on the missing for too long. I know it is just
one of many letting go/embracing new that we're in for as parents.
Annie also had her first dance recital in early June. She
has loved everything about her dance class and was so excited to perform. All
of the Creative Movement classes (for 3-5 year olds) at the dance studio had
their recital together at one of our favorite parks. Each class was a different
animal, and together they told the story "I'm As A Quick as Cricket."
The students in Annie's class were bunnies, and did a sweet little dance. Annie
reveled in the performance, and is anxious to begin dance class again in the
fall.
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| Arriving at school one last time with her car pool buddy, Soren |
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| Annie and Natalia, one of her teachers these past two years |
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| with one of her good friends on the slide |
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| Annie's the third student in line |
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| Annie skipping rocks |
Time at the North
Shore
Immediately after Annie's dance recital, we got
in our packed car and drove three hours north for a relaxing weekend with
Eric's dad and family at the North Shore of Lake Superior. While there, we enjoyed simply being
together, eating delicious food, hiking, skipping rocks, roasting s'mores,
visiting Duluth and watching the lift bridge at the harbor, and taking in the
beautiful scenery of the North Shore. There are not many things more relaxing
than the sound of water lapping against rocks, and we all enjoyed ourselves
immensely.
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| Siri, Papa, Annie, and Emily |
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| Eric and Jenia |
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| Annie at Gooseberry Falls |
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| Emily, Annie, and Siri trying out different smiles (Siri is a doing what she calls a "ghost smile") |
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| Siri compares her handprint to a wolf's paw print |
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| Sweet Siri |
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| Roasting Marshmallows |
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| Annie and Papa, watching a ship come in |
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| Jenia, Siri, and Nana--Siri's pretending to drive the ship |
2012 Road
Trip...Begins in Colorado
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| Our best pirate smiles: Kim, Emma, Connor, Jacob, Jenia, Siri, and Annie |
For the third year in a row, we decided to drive to Arizona
this summer. Each year we wonder if the girls will still be up for it, and each
year they've done a wonderful job. We broke our trip out there up with a stop
in Colorado.
In Colorado, as in years past, we got to stay with my good
friend Kim and her family. I love that even though we see each other just once
a year, the kids remember each other and don't take long to fall into a rhythm
with each other. They think Kim's two boys are extremely cool, and Annie
continually was asking the eldest to say or do something. He was very obliging,
and Annie was delighted. Annie and Siri also loved playing with Kim's daughter
who--age-wise--is right in between them. They loved being silly together,
swimming together, reading together, and playing together. The girls were both
very sad to leave, and the first thing they wanted to do when they got into the
car was to create a list of things that we will do when we go back next year.
We also got to see Eric's brother and girlfriend and their
new house while in Colorado. They moved to Colorado last summer, not long after
we had just gotten back from there. We were so happy to get to see them, to see
their new home, meet their new kitty-Kermit-and to catch-up with them. The
girls loved reading stories with Maddie, and helping Uncle Greg entertain
Kermit.
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| Silly girls eating popsicles |
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| At Greg and Maddie's |
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| Greg and Siri try to get Kermit to come out from under the couch |
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| Siri very much enjoying her yogurt |
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| Jacob and Annie eating their yogurt |
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| Annie, Siri, and Emma putting on a dance for us |
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| Ending the dance with a bow |
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| Reading bedtime stories together |
...Time in Northern
Arizona
Leaving Colorado, we had a beautiful drive through the Rocky
Mountains (not affected by the Colorado fires on our route), and down through
Utah through Arches, into New Mexico, and then into northern Arizona. There, we
met my parents, and cousins Elliott and Kate (Sara and Alex were both away at work
functions) at the family cabin. We spent a few days there, exploring the
surrounding forest, playing games, drawing, and relaxing.
The kids all especially loved exploring in the nearby national
forest. There, they focused on creating bird nests and "Bird Town"
complete with restaurants, hotels, and stores. They also loved climbing rocks,
exploring the creek (unfortunately with just a little water), and helping
Grandpa with the hammock.
It is amazing to watch the cousins play there and be so
flooded with memories of time with my cousins there at this same age. I am so
glad that we've stopped by the cabin these last two summers. I am so glad that
the girls are creating their own memories there.
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| How many grandkids does it take to "help" Grandpa set up the hammock? |
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| Kate and Siri enjoying the hammock |
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| Elliott and Annie get a turn |
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| Siri builds a bird nest |
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| Siri tells us how "teeny-tiny" bird eggs are |
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| Siri builds a bird hotel |
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| Annie. Standing tall? |
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| Annie and Elliott enjoy snacktime |
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| Siri rests in the rocks |
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| Ah...the cabin's rocking chairs... |
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| Happy cousins, ready to head to Phoenix |
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| Silly cousins... |
...Phoenix: Meeting
Yannik, Swimming, and other Adventures with Cousins
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| Siri, Annie, Kate, and Elliott in the pool |
After our time at the cabin, we all headed south to Phoenix.
We welcomed the sight of cacti on the mountains as we came down to the Valley,
and happily ate a delicious Mexican food meal on our way into town. Siri has
always been a bit more adventurous with food than Annie, so we weren't
surprised that she was willing to try the salsa there. What did surprise me was
that she loved it, and ate almost an entire bowl by herself, taking big sips of
water between each scoop of it. She's asked for salsa again and again since
then, she is going to take after Grandpa in this regard.
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| Annie and Elliott: Action Shot |
For most days that we were in Phoenix, our daily routine was
the same. We would wake-up on the early side, play and have breakfast together,
and then head out to the pool for our morning swim. A swimming lesson with
Grandma marked the end of most swim times, and following these lessons, all the
kids enjoyed popsicles in the yard before heading in for calm play inside
during the hottest part of the day. The kids often all colored all together
during this time (Annie learned to draw the Death Star and Rebel Fighter
Planes, although I'm pretty certain she has no idea what they are), or changed
their clothes fourteen times, or played "Guess Who," or with our old
toys. We'd then do lunch and rest time (what a challenge that was in such a
full house) before heading back out for an afternoon swim. Then, dinner and
bedtime routines were upon us and most nights we were in bed early, exhausted
from time in the pool, time in the sun.
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| Sweet little toes |
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| Eric and Yannik |
The trip would have been wonderful just by itself, but the
fact that we got to share our time there with Sara, Alex, Elliott, and Kate and with John, Tonia, Lenny, and Yannik
(visiting from Germany) made it even more wonderful. It was our first time to
get to meet Yannik, and we hadn't seen the rest of them in a year and a half.
The kids all loved playing with each other (except for when they seemed to love
fighting each other, either way, it seemed they enjoyed themselves thoroughly);
dancing, jumping, running through sprinklers, swimming, eating, coloring,
playing, reading; all are more fun with cousins! The kids were all delighted to
get to hold Yannik, and to spend time with John, Tonia, and Lenny (our time
with them made Annie even more excited for learning German in kindergarten).
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| Lenny and John making us pancakes |
We all had a lovely morning at the zoo together (starting at
6am, because when you are in Phoenix in the summertime--with daily excessive heat warnings, that's the only reasonable time
to go to the zoo). The kids fed giraffes, road the merry-go-round, played in the
splash pad, and generally had a good time.
We had a morning of exercise together, when my parents'
personal trainer came to their backyard so everyone could participate. (My
sister and I also decided that AZ wasn't hot enough on its for us, so did hot
yoga for a week at a nearby yoga studio--it actually served to make 113 degrees
seem cooler!)
Not only did we get to spend time with my siblings and their
families, we also got to visit with some of my cousins and their families who
were in town for the week. It was so good to get caught up, to watch the next
generation of cousins play together, to eat home made ice cream and Nana's
Chocolate Cake together, to swim together, and to just be together.
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| Annie and Yannik |
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| Siri and Yannik |
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| Siri and John making silly faces |
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| Riding the shark at the zoo |
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| And, Siri on her favorite dragon |
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| Feeding the giraffes with the cousins: Tonia, Lenny, Elliott, John, Annie, and Kate |
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| Annie feeds the giraffe |
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| Annie cooling off in the splash pad |
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| and practicing floating in the pool |
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| Exercising in the backyard |
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| Siri and Lenny enjoying popsicles |
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| Pool time! |
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| Lenny and Siri cook with Grandma |
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| All together at the zoo |
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| Grandpa reads a bedtime story |
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| Siri cools off at the zoo's splash pad |
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| John, Lenny, Kate, and Annie join her |
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| Annie and Kate being Charlotte(s) in her web |
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| Siri and Kate drive the tractor |
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| Siri jumps in! |
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| Jenia and Yannik |
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| Eric and Alex provide waves for more pool time fun |
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| With more cousins! |
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| Annie, Kate, and Siri cool off with popsicles |
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| Lenny arranges his towel |
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| Siri relaxing outside |
...The Fourth of July
in Phoenix
Fourth of July in Phoenix this year was unseasonably cool,
we had a rainy morning, and it was nice enough to be outside even without being
in the pool. Unfortunately, my mom woke up sick on the Fourth, so we decided to
postpone the parade we had planned for another occassion.
We missed Mom/Grandma, but we still had a fun time
celebrating together with:
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| Flag Pancakes for the kids |
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Flag Pancakes (a tradition from our childhood
with my grandparents, another fun thing to pass on)
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A morning swim in the rain, with our very own
wave pool (an Eric/Alex effort)
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Making homemade ice cream (Uncle John and the
cousins)
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Delicious barbeque food and root beer (Thanks,
Dad!)
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| Annie takes her turn helping Uncle John |
·
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| as does Siri |
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| Tiffy, Uncle Jim, Elliott, Anna, and Annie |
A Diamondbacks Baseball Game--with uncles,
aunts, cousins, siblings, spouses. Growing up, we'd often celebrated the Fourth
together, and it was wonderful to all celebrate together again. Following the
game, the stadium roof opened up and we thoroughly enjoyed a fireworks show. It
really was an impressive show, but I had other favorite things to watch during
it: Annie's expression--a wide gaping smile as she was just mesmerized by the
fireworks, my Dad miraculously fall asleep (with all the fireworks, the blaring
music, the thousands of people around him) during the show, and just looking
around at all of the family there, happy to be together. Siri watched the whole
show this year; the blaring music helped dull the sound of the fireworks, but
was still a little uncertain. This, of course was fine, as I loved cuddling
with her throughout.
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| Mommy, Siri, and Annie |
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| The kids ready for the game--the girls are pirates, of course |
It was an incredible trip; mostly, because it was so good to
all be together.
We drove home straight through, traveling through New
Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. And, while we were very
sad to leave AZ and family, the three days in the car made us quite happy to
cross over into Minnesota.
