Oma and Uncle JuJu came to visit!

We had more family come to visit over Memorial Day weekend - Oma and Uncle Julian!  Oma arrived first, bringing with her a wonderful sunny day that was perfect for a stroll around Lake Harriett.




A highlight of the stroll: an ice cream and milk break!




Malea got her feet wet in the Peace Garden, a nice way to cool off.


Emmy and Oma spent some fun times cuddling and getting to know one another. Emmy is starting to master her social smile - a great milestone to share with visiting family!




On Sunday, we piled into a rented mini-van for a trip up to the cities.  (It's amazing how once you have two kiddos, even a station wagon isn't big enough to haul the family!)


Emmy snoozed while we enjoyed a German lunch at the Glockenspiel Restaurant in St. Paul.
 

We then took a tour of the Guthrie Theater, where Oma, Julian and I would see the play, "God of Carnage," later that evening while Felix watched after both our girls.  Thanks Papa Felix for organizing a fun night out for us!




The next morning, we decided to play at the hotel water park.  It took a little while for Malea to warm up to the idea.  Our first trip to the park resulted in Malea running back to our hotel room with Julian and I giving chase.  The train is quite loud and if there's one thing Malea is not a fan of, it's loud noises!  Later, after watching Felix and Julian frolick for a bit, she decided to join them in the pool too.






This slide was a bit hit!



I think Emmy might be hungry...


Julian takes the prize for highest swinger!






It was a fun long weekend with family. Thanks so much for coming!

Emmy's 2 month check-up

Emmy's offical stats at her 2 month appt:

Weight: 5.24 kg or 11 lbs, 9 oz. (64%)
Height: 56.7 cm or 22 inches (44%)

She's clearly gaining weight and the doctor called her "very proportional."




The end of innocence... here she is, happily hanging out on the exam table.  Emmy has no idea that in a few minutes she'll be getting 3 vaccinations.


Once again, I teared up seeing Emmy's reaction to the shots.  Good thing Papa Felix was there with us.  But it was quickly over and then it was all about cuddles and love from Mom. 


It was a rough evening post shots,


but daddy's chest provided a warm and cozy spot to snuggle.

Anna & Benoit come to visit!

We had a very exciting, fun-filled weekend - Auntie Anna and Benoit came to visit!  The weather is finally warming up enough for us to enjoy dinner on the 3-season porch. 


Emmy was enthralled with Auntie Anna.


Emmy and Benoit also got along splendidly!


A fun afternoon learning about the Amish in/around Lanesboro.


This milk is electrifying!


While Emmy hung out in her carseat,


Malea enjoyed playing in the pool with Anna and Benoit,




before showing off her independence. Floaties are great!


On Sunday, we enjoyed a pre-recital breakfast at Pannekoeken, where Anna gave Malea a stylin' pig tail 'do for the big performance!






I've had so much fun with this Mommy and Me dance class.  Malea looks forward to Tuesday evenings when she gets to go to dance class and see her friends Abby and "You-yes" (Louis).  It's fun to think back to the early days, when it seemed like Malea saw dance class as an opportunity to run around the room, laugh at herself in the mirror and not sit by me.  I thought she might never be able to follow the teacher's directions or concentrate on a movement for any period of time, but in the last couple months, I would find her singing some of the songs we do in dance class while going through the motions with her stuffed animals.  I wish I had gotten it on video, but with the lead-up to the dance recital, she would even go through the routine with her Curious George doll when I put on the music to Sunshine Day! 

Mommy and Malea after their 1st dance recital!


Posing with Anna in front of our beautiful blooming crab apple tree!


Thanks Anna and Benoit for coming to visit us!  We LOVED having you here and hope to see you again soon!

Anna & Benoit visit Minny-soda!

Dance recital dress rehearsal

After the meltdown surrounding dance recital pictures a few weeks back, I wasn't sure how our dress rehearsal was going to go. Not only did Malea have to wear her yellow tutu costume again (which was a battle to get her to put on for picture day), but the dress rehearsal was on stage at the Mayo Civic Center, which has seating for up to 3000.  But Malea was super excited to be performing Sunshine Day by the Brady Bunch and was full of energy while waiting backstage for our turn on the stage.


Malea was very intrigued with the red and silver sequins that were scattered all over the floor from other dancer's costumes.  We brought home quite a collection!


Once we lined up onstage, we had to wave to Papa Felix!


Then a little stretching to make sure she's limber...


Then it was GO time! 






And, since we aren't allowed to video tape at the recital, here are a couple clips from our final practice run through:




It was so cute to see all the kids dressed up and dancing together!  We are all so proud of Malea, our little dancing girl!  Now if only I can remember all the different parts of our routine, the Mommy and Me dance number at the recital on Sunday should be great!