On the North Shore

Four score and twenty-nine days ago.......

We had lots of fun....

Windy fun

Twin fun

Waterfall fun

Searching fun


Throwing fun


Watching fun


Sibling fun


Exploring fun


Beautiful...


Superior...


Fun!

Family Photo

I do still intend to share some photos from our trip to Lake Superior. I worked last night at weeding out the fuzzy ones and am on may way to getting them all titled. But to hold you over here is our latest family photo. You might have noticed it on the side bar as the page loaded but here it is in a larger form.

As you can see it was a windy day along the North Shore. And just in case you were wondering how we got so lucky to have all five of us looking and smiling at the camera...well all I have to say is....thanks heavens for photoshop!

(and if you think I am ever telling you who I photoshopped in...dream on!)

Nickname Retaliation

This past Sunday the girls got into a little shouting match over nicknames for each other. Throughout their lives so far the girls have had a variety of nicknames. Most of which come from their inability to pronounce each other's name. At four they have the complete ability to say Amelia and Natalie however at times all of us (Mike and I included) get lazy and resort back to the toddler nicknames from the past.

To add to this story the new thing in our house is to rhyme. The girls love to try and find rhyming words for just about anything.

Knowing that...here is the dialog that happened this weekend:

Amelia: "Nat, Nat, Nat..."

Natalie: "That's not my name. My name is Na-Ta-Lie!" (she makes sure we all pronounce the
"Ta" part clearly...or else!)

Amelia: (teasing her sister even more) "Nat, Nat, Nat"

Natalie: "THAT"S NOT MY NAME!"

Amelia: (sing-song like) "Nat, Nat, Nat the Bat!"

Natalie: (offended) "Don't call me Nat the Bat!"

Amelia: (goading her sister even more) "Nat, Nat, Nat the Bat!"

Natalie: (In retaliation) "I am not Nat the Bat! If you call me that then I am going to call
you......................OATMEAL!"

And at that point all the aggravation I had about this yelling match melted away in a fit of laughter. : )

Unfortunately the name calling in our house is not always kind. For some reason the girls have picked up on the word "ugly" and occasionally use it against each other. The only funny part of this new pastime in our house is the fact that the girls don't realize the power of their words when they say....

"Well, I am going to call you UGLY"

Ummm, honey...you are identical sisters...you look the same.....

Yeah, they don't quite get that part yet! ; )

The Cliffs

Today's Commute Conversation:

Amelia: "Mom, what are those cliffs called? I forget...what are they called again?"

Me: (With no cliffs in sight on 35E) "Ummm, what honey?"

Amelia: "What are the cliffs called? You know...the cliffs! I can't remember."

Me: (Trying to figure out what she is talking about) "Where are these cliffs?"

Amelia: (In a sterner voice) "The one with the waterfall...the cliffs."

Me: (Remembering our recent trip up north) "Oh, they are called Gooseberry Falls."

Amelia: "No Mama."

Me: (As calm as possible) "Yes, Honey that's their name."

Amelia: (Increasingly agitated) "Not the waterfall Mama, THE CLIFFS!

Me: (In utter confusion) "Ummmmm...."



(Silence while Amelia waits for my profound answer...........)






Natalie: (very matter of factly) "I think Mama they are called drop-offs. That's what they are
called."

Amelia: (Cheerfully) "Yes, drop-offs! Now I remember. "



Me: (exhaling in relief) "Thanks Natalie!"


Crisis averted once more....

One of the many reasons I love my sister...

Because she is willing to let me (without her permission) post photos of her having fun with the girls and not get mad at me for doing it.

Love ya, Lo!

12 Monts Stats...a little bit late!

Ok.....so I am officially conquering my "to do" list and getting Sam's 12 month stats out to whomever really cares. Sam is now over 13 months old- still crawling, walking around furniture, only sporting two teeth, and working hard to ditch the bottle. He is so fun now and our family could live on the joy in his laughter forever!



1 Year Stats

Weight- 20 lbs. 3 oz. 11th percentile
Height- 28.3 inches 6th percentile
Head- 18. 7 inches 72nd percentile


In summary, still small in weight, short in height
and now has a head circumference
that exceeds his total body length of 18 inches at birth.

Keep growing...little man!

Spring Time Finery

For all of you who wait in anticipation for new photos of the kids or funny stories from our home, I am sorry for being a little M.I.A. lately. With the warmer weather we are spending more time outdoors (and less time in our basement where our computer sits) so I am behind in many photo downloading/titling/sorting tasks.

I have been remiss in posting Sam's 12 month stats... a post that I may type up this weekend now that he is 13 months old. I use the word "may" as to not disappoint anyone who is dying to know how much he has grown in the past couple of months.
I am sure there are many of you out there. ; )

Our home has been hit hard, mainly me with a devastating cold...one that put a huge damper on my spring break. But I guess I can not complain as I am lucky enough to have a profession that has a spring break in the first place.

Ok, enough babble...to fill you in since the last post about the minivan I celebrated my 34th b-day multiple times with family and friends, Sam is pulling up more and walking around furniture though he is not letting go just yet, the cold virus hit our home, and we spent a wonderful Easter weekend on the north shore with Mike's family
(a separate post with photos to come some day.....).

The weekend before Easter (Palm Sunday to be exact) the kids were dressed in their finest for church and a wonderful brunch with my family afterward.

So of course I have to share some photos of the kids looking prim, proper
and oh so cute!

Natalie and Amelia

Natalie and Amelia

Amelia


Natalie


Natalie and Amelia


and of course....little Sam!