May thru Mother’s Day

May has been a busy month – between swimming, school ending, Ali’s baptism, etc. we have stayed busy.

Either from being in the pool starting with when she was in Mommy’s tummy, or from watching big sister, Ali is not surprisingly a water kid. She loves the splashpad at the park.

Especially with some encouragement from big sister.

The same big sister that has fun with waterslides at a neighborhood party.

or hanging out with the neighbor boys….

The timing of our new pool worked out perfectly – it was finished just in time for the start of the warm weather.

Ava loves the waterfalls as her diving blocks…

Ava even helped Dad spread some of the rocks around the pool.

But of course she needs her own tools to do it…

6 years, 2 houses, 2 kids, and a new dog later, Mom and Dad celebrated our sixth anniversary with a much needed dinner night out.

Then back to our usual family fun. We were able to take in another fun outdoor concert. Ali definitely got into it, dancing a bit with Mom.

While Ava was able to hang out with her school friends.

And of course Ali found some toys to stay occupied.

Click the image above for a video of Ava dancing

 

Ava did a soccer drills clinic for the month of May. She worked on dribbling through cones.

And on taking the ball home for a goal.

May is also Mother’s Day. This year, we decided to try the “Make” store for Ava to make a candle for Mom. Despite being warned not to tell Mom, Ava’s first words on getting to the house after making the candle were “Mommy, I’m not supposed to tell you that I made you a candle”. After which she proceeded to tell us where she was hiding it in her room until Mother’s Day.

Around the house, Ava enjoys her books…

And she has started to get hide and seek. Here she is showing off the hiding spot in her toy chest..

Most of the time, the girls definitely adore each other. Whether it is having crawling races across the family room, swimming together, or just a little cuddle time on the floor, Ava and Ali have fun together.

Click the image above for a video of the girls playing on the floor

Click the image above for a video of the girls crawling race.

April Catchup

While we’ve been busy watching the girls continue to grow up (and to chase after the ever faster Ali), we’ve missed a few blog posts. Without further ado, here’s a bit of what we have been up to in April.

With the warmer weather we have been taking advantage of the park to burn off some of the kids’ energy. While Ali practices her “planks” (aka crawling while avoiding getting trapped in her dress)…

…Ava joins a spirited game of duck, duck, goose (or in Minnesotan, duck, duck, grey duck) with her friends at the park.

Sometimes Ali just enjoys the grass…

while at other times they are the best of friends on the slides…

At home, Ali is happy to pull herself up on just about anything.

And is especially proud of herself when she does.

Ava is becoming an awesome big sister, taking time to play with Ali.

While Ali is getting to be a better eater. Although she manages to get a fair amount on her – especially if it is cereal in the shape of a letter “A”.

 

April is a month of great weather here…with lots of other fun outdoor activities. We took in a concert in the park – here’s Ava dancing to the tunes…

Ali has done some hiking (and sleeping in the backpack) with Dad.

We have been to the railroad park, especially the carousel. Ali’s first carousel ride was a major hit as she smiled the entire time…

And both girls love the swings at the railroad park.

We’ve been to a few birthday parties….Ali and Dad played inside.

while Ava did bubbles outside.

And of course in the month of April our baby girl turned 10 months…

Easter Weekend

Ali’s first Easter was great! Not only did the girls get to do an Easter egg hunt, but on Good Friday we went to the World Wildlife Zoo.
First up, Friday and the World Wildlife Zoo. After driving to the far west side, we finally got there with the girls anxious to get going.
We saw lots of birds (the Macaw seemed like a good pose for a background).

Ava was impressed by the giant tortoises.

and we could roam around the Kangaroos.

Even the momma Kangaroo and her Joey seemed pretty relaxed.
Speaking of relaxed, Ali was pretty chill in her stroller with the shades on.

After some outside fun, we went into the aquarium. They had a touch tank for Ava to touch the starfish and sea urchins.
and on the way out, the two big girls got to do the log ride…



On Saturday we made Easter Eggs. Ava loves the coloring process…

while Ali was happy just trying to pull herself up the step stool.

On Easter Sunday, the girls got all dressed up for Church.
Ali wore the same dress that Ava wore for her first Easter.

While Ava wore some brighter flowers.

The girls all posing in front of the house.

After church we went to some friends for Easter brunch and a backyard Easter egg hunt. The big kids were ready for the hunt…

While the smaller kids (at least Ali) were happy just chomping on some toys.
We didn’t have the Easter bunny there, but we did see the Easter bunny at the community egg hunt the previous weekend…
Later that afternoon, we all went for a swim. The girls wore the matching swimsuits that the Easter bunny brought that morning…