Flower Girls Showdown

This afternoon we ventured to David's Bridal so that the girls could try on flower girls dresses. As their cuteness abounds in every picture, we need your help. While Katie gets final say, we seek the opinion of our readership for help. There is a poll to the right, but feel free to leave comments as well.

Drliches and Monkey Shoes

The two highlights of Saturday were the unveiling of the monkey shoes/slippers from Aunt Patti and the visit from the Drliches. Sanna showed off how she is now a big girl by swinging on the 'big girl swing'. She is already practicing acting like a teenager that is too cool to be photographed by her father.

Popsicles were the hit of the day, leaving everyone with colored lips/tongues and sticky clothes.

The lowlight for Sam was swinging. He wanted it and the photography of it to stop.

He hoped his popsicle would last forever though.

The obligatory butterfly shot. Maybe the best one yet if you blow it up.

Sam was a kicking machine. Riley didnt completely melt down when someone else was playing with her ball.

And, the monkey shoes (with matching stuffed monkey).

Meet the Grandparents

While we jetted off to Boston for the Kenealy/Fahey wedding the Hendricksons graciously offered to watch our little angels for the five day trip. This was mostly Papa's idea. He was excited to get up early, change diapers, and escape the horrors of a peaceful retirement. From the pictures I can see the girls have been working on their funny faces, overcoming fears (see Riley in the sand), animal wrangling (see Sanna and the orange cat), and boating.

cookout/movie night

The Iannuccis and Lielands came over for a Friday night cookout. Since the Lielands kids dont go to sleep until 1130, they showed up at 7. So, our girls experienced a wild Friday night, staying up until 930! They made it without any major meltdowns, although Riley almost melted off her hand by touching the Weber grill (many tears ensued).

Towards the end of the night we settled in to watch G-Force (some movie about genetically-engineered Guinea Pigs fighting terrorism) and read books.

Apple Adventure

As a parting treat before leaving our children for 5 days, we took them to the apple orchard. This place was small, which turned out to be very nice. It wasnt a carnival atomosphere like most apple orchards these days. We took the Iannuccis with us. The first two pics arent from apple picking, but they were cute enough to be included. We will be in Boston for the rest of the week, so please enjoy this weekend's posts. Hopefully Grandma Nancy will take some good pics we can put up.

Park Fun

The girls went to the park twice today. Once with their babysitter while Laurin and I biked, and a second time with Erin, Ryan, Laurin and I. The flowers Ryan and I helped to plant in the park have held strong all Summer. Recently, they have attracted tons of butterflies. I am happier to get great butterfly pictures in the real world like this. Taking them in the butterfly house at the zoo felt like cheating. The spider picture was from our front porch. Despite the best efforts of our well-paid Orkin man, our house is overrun with spiders, inside and out. For those of you that know Laurin well, this is a problem. That pic was taken at night and actually turned out better than expected. You cant see anything in the background, which helps. I was finally able to take a video of the girls singing their two favorite songs today: the wonder pets theme song and the ABCs. They didnt give their best performance on either, but it is a start. They belt it out all day long when no cameras are on, but seem to clam up when the spotlight is on them. I am sure that is what all parents tell their friends after disappointing performances, but it is true in this case. I need to find a way to tape them without them knowing. In the car is normally the best. Sanna usually wakes up from naps singing 'Pony Boy' (thanks grandma) or anything she can think of to wake up her sleeping sister.

Dress Up Morning

Granny Smith sent the girls some sassy new dress-up clothes this week. Riley puts them on first thing every morning. Today, she convinced Sanna to do the same. I didnt have my camera, so I used the one built into the computer. Quality is poor, but the subjects are cute.