Iceman 2008

The guys lucked out....the weather wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it was going to be on race day. Both Mike V and Mike T finished strong this year, 2:11 and 2:13 respectively, coming in 27th and 32nd out of the 83 riders in their class. Congratulations guys!!!

Looking good at the half-way point.

Going across the finish line.

Trick or Treat

I forgot my camera on Halloween, so I put the girls back in their costumes Monday evening and we went out on the deck for a photo shoot. It's almost impossible to get both girls to look at the camera at the same time, but after about a dozen tries we finally got one!

Our Little Flower Girl

After over a year of waiting, the big day finally arrived. Ella was soooo excited to be a flower girl. She had her hair and nails done and wore a yellow dress (her favorite color)....she looked just like a little princess. The ceremony and reception were absolutely beautiful - congratulations Holly and Ken!

Ella walking down the aisle

Ella with the bride and groom

Ella and Holly

Ella on her first limo ride

Ella danced....

and danced....

and danced (at least until 11:00).

A Day at the Farm

We took the girls to a local farm today for a hayride, pumpkins, apples and fresh doughnuts. Ella loved the cow train, slide and corn sandbox. Claire just wanted to eat the corn and hay.

Ella on the cow train

Ella on the slide

Claire in the wagon

Claire in the hay

Hayride

Refusing to Sleep

Ella did not want to go to bed last night - no nap and overly tired. After almost a half hour, Mike finally got her to settle down....so we thought. At 10:45 I was headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and this is what I found:

First Steps

Claire finally seems interested in walking and began taking her first steps this weekend. She wouldn't even walk with a push walker until two weeks ago, now she is excited to let go of the couch and dive into mommy's waiting arms! It won't be long and she'll be chasing her sister all over the house.

Ella's 1st Dance Class

So these aren't the best pictures (I forgot my camera and had to take them with my cell phone), but Ella had her first dance class last night and absolutely loved it!

I was so proud of the way she listened to her teachers and waited patiently for her turn.

Here she is doing the crab walk - could use some practice.

1 Year Check-Up

Does this look like a little girl who just had 4 shots?

Claire went to the doctor today for her 1 year check-up. She didn't gain any weight in the last 3 months, but grew 1 inch - she is now 20 lbs 6 oz (35 th percentile) and 28 1/2 inches (25th percentile) - we knew she would slow down eventually. She was so traumatized by her immunizations and long morning without a nap, that she slept 4 hours this afternoon! As you can see above, everything was back to normal by evening.

Happy 1st Birthday Claire Bear!!!

I cannot believe that it has already been a whole year since Claire joined our family. Here are a few pictures of her first birthday party at the cottage on Saturday, August 30:

Mom, get this hat off of me

Less than thrilled

Mmmm, cake

The loot (we'll have to add on to our house to store all these toys)

Labor Day Weekend

Besides celebrating Claire's first birthday, this is how we spent our weekend:

Chillin' Out

Claire's new favorite funny face

Ella trying to copy Claire

Bathing Beauty

Claire's 1st Bike Ride

It only took us all summer, but we finally took Claire on a bike ride in the trailer. I think Ella enjoyed it more than Claire. I was just glad Mike was pulling the trailer....

Busy Summer Days

I hope everyone is having a great summer. We have been very busy, but having a lot of fun. On the weekends we don't have plans, we've been enjoying my parents cottage.

The girls at the cottage

Ella loves the water and is learning to swim (with swimmies or a life jacket). She can recognize almost every letter in the alphabet and spell her name. She still wants to be a princess and can't wait to be a flower girl in October.

Ella in the lake

Claire is all over the place and getting into everything. She is pulling herself up and starting to walk along the furniture. She has learned to wave and say "Bye-Bye". She has replaced the fishy face with a surprise face, which is just as funny. She also seems to love the water.

Claire on the slide

Gerber Baby?

My mom keeps saying Claire looks like the Gerber Baby. I didn't really see it until I took this picture (this is also her 1st hairdo).

Big Girl

Claire is now mobile! She has a very interesting way of crawling - frog kicks as she pulls herself forward with her arms - but definitely gets around. She can also push herself back into a sitting position and pull up to her knees. The gate has gone back up and the shoes will need to be put back in the closet (they're her favorite thing to chew on). She went to the doctor on Tuesday for her 9 month check up - she weighed 20.6 pounds and was 27 1/2 inches long (about the same size as Ella at 18 months). She also has two teeth on the bottom.

Ella went to the dentist yesterday for the first time and had no cavities! She still doesn't have all her teeth - waiting for one more molar - but the ones she has look great!

9 Months

Can you believe we're already 1 week into June? Where did the last couple months go? It seems summer has arrived - it's supposed to be 90 degrees today!

Claire turned 9 months old this week. We think she weighs about 20 lbs (we'll know for sure in a couple weeks) and she has one tooth on the bottom. She still isn't crawling, but has found other ways to get around - rolling, scooting and lunging. She does now pick her stomach off the floor, so I'm sure it won't be long. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to the last couple weeks:



Claire in the swing at Frog Hollow.



Ella pushing Claire in the swing.



Claire sitting in Grandma Sue's chair like a big girl.



Mike and Ella feeding the Budgies at John Ball Zoo.

Memorial Day 2008

I hope everyone enjoyed the "unofficial" beginning of summer - we sure did! Too bad it was back to jackets and long pants today....

We spent two very relaxing days at Cobb Lake this weekend. Here are a couple pictures of our bathing beauties.

Claire with grandma on the pontoon boat.

We couldn't keep Ella out of the water regardless of how cold it was.

Ella fishing with grandpa and her new princess fishing pole.

8 Months

Claire was 8 months old on Saturday....time goes by so quickly when they are little! She is now in a big girl car seat (facing backwards, of course) - I couldn't lug her around in the infant carrier any longer.

She is starting to stand for longer periods of time by herself, and is getting closer to being able to crawl (just needs to figure out how to be on her hands and knees at the same time).

Our weeekend fun....

One of Claire's favorite things to do is make fishy faces, so Ella decided she needed to do it too. Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful spring weather - Happy May!

We Survived Disney!

However, haven't fared so well since returning home. Claire, Ella and Mike all came down with the flu this week (the reason why it has taken me so long to post this blog entry). So much for spring sunshine and fresh air!

Here's the boat

We had a great time on our first family vacation aboard the Disney Wonder, despite a few temper tantrums and tears. The food was fabulous and the shows were spectacular. The weather wasn't the best while we were on the cruise - temperatures in the 60's and very windy - so we were unable to dock at Castaway Cay (Disney's private island) on Tuesday. We did stop at Nassau on Monday and went to the Atlantis Resort and Acquarium.

Ella at the acquarium

Ella and Alivia with a huge fish

Since we had two days at sea there was lots of time to visit with the characters (Ella was in heaven when she met Cinderella)...

Ella and Micky

Ella and Minnie

Ella, Belle, and baby Cinderella

Ella, Cinderella and baby Cinderella

All of us with Pluto

....and play in the pool.

Mike and Ella in Micky's pool - freezing

On Thursday we arrived back at Port Canaveral and checked into the Carribean Beach Resort at Disney World. The weather was much better, so we spent the afternoon at the beach area and pool. Thursday night we ate dinner and hung out at Downtown Disney.

Ella at the beach in Barbados

Ella on the train at Downtown Disney

On Friday it was off to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot (because MK closed at 7:00 for a Senior Grad Night Party and we wanted to see the fireworks). We rode every ride that Ella was tall enough for, including her very first roller coaster - the Barnstormer in Mickey's Toontown - she loved it!

All of us in front of Cinderella's Castle

Ella in Bruce's (Finding Nemo) mouth

Saturday was bitter-sweet, we weren't ready to leave the warm weather and sunshine (luckily there was more of that back home), but couldn't wait to see Claire Bear (who had a wonderful time bonding time with her grandparents).

Our next vacation, if there is one, will be adults only!