You be the judge, but she has good golf genes (and they definitely don't come from her mother)...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
A Date With Daddy
Yesterday afternoon, Mark and Nina took some time away for a father/daughter date. Mark took Nina to Splashdown Waterpark then they went out to dinner at McDonalds. They both had a great time, and even though Lyla and I weren't part of the fun, we were glad that Nina and Daddy had such a good time.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
A Big Day for Lyla
Today, Lyla tried rice cereal for the first time. She did really well once she got the hang of eating it rather than pushing it out of her mouth. She also got to try the Hop 'N Pop for the first time. While she's still pretty young, she seemed to enjoy being able to be upright and listening to the music while playing with some of the toys on the top.
To see Nina's first try with cereal, click here. To see her first time in the Hop 'N Pop, click here. There's a pretty big difference between the girls, don't you think?
To see Nina's first try with cereal, click here. To see her first time in the Hop 'N Pop, click here. There's a pretty big difference between the girls, don't you think?Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Baking and Rolling
My mom and dad were coming over last night to watch the girls for Mark and I, so Nina helped me make them some cupcakes. Like every kid, she LOVES to lick the batter. After getting to lick the mixing paddle, she tried to dip her finger in every cupcake as I was spooning them into the baking pan. The girl loves sweets!
Lyla did her first roll over a month ago, but it has been of late where she is rolling a lot more frequently in the day. This evening after dinner, I was cleaning up Nina from eating one of her previously mentioned creations (cupcake), and Lyla was playing on a blanket in our family room. When I came back to the blanket after cleaning Nina's hands, Lyla had rolled off the blanket, off the rug, and onto the wood floor where she was propped up like in this picture. She was pretty proud of herself, but it was fortunate that she didn't roll one more time because she would have rolled right under the entertainment armoire!
Lyla did her first roll over a month ago, but it has been of late where she is rolling a lot more frequently in the day. This evening after dinner, I was cleaning up Nina from eating one of her previously mentioned creations (cupcake), and Lyla was playing on a blanket in our family room. When I came back to the blanket after cleaning Nina's hands, Lyla had rolled off the blanket, off the rug, and onto the wood floor where she was propped up like in this picture. She was pretty proud of herself, but it was fortunate that she didn't roll one more time because she would have rolled right under the entertainment armoire!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sunday Morning
This morning before we all left for church, Lyla looked so cute. She was wearing an outfit a friend had given us when she was born, and she looked adorable. When I went to pick her up from nursery, I found her like this. Her diaper had leaked, and since I didn't have a back-up outfit in the diaper bag (are we surprised?), the nursery found this oversized shirt for her to wear. Next time I'll be more prepared for what might occur, but we thought she still looked cute anyway. 
Great Falls
On Saturday, we went to Great Falls for the morning. Although the weather was very warm, it was beautiful day to spend some time at the falls. Grandma and Grandpa had never been there before, so we think they enjoyed it. 
Before we left to head home, we stopped in the visitors' center to cool off and check out some of the neat things there.
Nina liked the corn snake!
Before we left to head home, we stopped in the visitors' center to cool off and check out some of the neat things there.Nina liked the corn snake!A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa
This weekend, Mark's mom and stepadad came in for a visit from Florida. This was their first time seeing Lyla, so that was very special, and Nina enjoyed all the attention she got from grandma and grandpa.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Family Picture
We've been meaning to take a family picture for awhile, but we haven't really been able to get it together since Lyla was born. So, we decided to do it on a 90 degree day, in the middle of the afternoon, with no one to take our picture - great planning! We gave it the good old try with the timer set on the camera, and three out of the four of us looking at the camera isn't bad. 
Lyla is not so sure of the camera here...
Now she's ok!
Lyla is not so sure of the camera here...
Now she's ok!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
What Was I Thinking?
This morning, Nina and I were looking at one of her books, and part of the book came up where the kids go to school. She said something about wanting to go to school, so I asked her if she would like to go to school today. She was still in her jammies at the time, so I really didn't think beyond the fact that maybe it would get her dressed more quickly, however I had no idea she was going to take me so seriously. She let me get her dressed and do her hair without a fuss, then she got her backpack out of her closet, put blankie in the backpack, and said she was ready to "get on bus". Since I was still in the spirit of pretend, I asked her if she wanted her lunchbox also, and, of course, she said yes. Once I started to realize she was taking me seriously, I tried to say things like "you'll have to be away from Mommy and Daddy all day, are you sure you want to go?" and she kept saying she wanted to go to school and get on the bus. So, out the door she went...
It just so happened that while we were outside, a school bus drove by (great!), and she said, "Oh, no Mommy, the bus!!" Now I'm trying to think how I can get out of this since she really thinks she's going to school for the day. I thought I had the perfect plan. Being that it's summer, I'll drive over to the neighborhood elementary school, and when we get there, we'll see that no one is there, the doors are locked, etc. and then we'll just have to say, "oh well, school is closed today" and I'm off the hook. So, we get in the car and drive the two minutes down the street to the school. As soon as we come down the hill to the school, I know I'm in trouble. There are busses, kids, cars, and teachers everywhere! I had no idea that our elementary school was hosting summer school!
Nina is in the back yelling, "busses, kids, school" and I'm thinking, how am I going to get out of this now! My next thought is, surely once I get her out of the car and don't go down the sidewalk to school with her, she won't want to go and it will all be over with. Not a chance! We get out of the car (I park on the side of the school b/c I'm so embarrassed to actually be there with a two year old who is holding her lunchbox, her fake money, and wearing her backpack), and I give the old excuse of "mommy can't go with you, I'll miss you, I won't see you all day..." and she doesn't even give me a second look - she's down the sidewalk off to join the rest of the kids going to school. In case you're wondering how it all ended, I had to get her back in the car, and she cried all the way home. I guess we'll just have to wait three more years for school to start!
Although you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at her here, Lyla is sick for the first time. She's handeling it well, and she really isn't too bad, but she's got a slight fever and lots of congestion. Even when sick, she's still easy going and tries to smile as much as she can!
It just so happened that while we were outside, a school bus drove by (great!), and she said, "Oh, no Mommy, the bus!!" Now I'm trying to think how I can get out of this since she really thinks she's going to school for the day. I thought I had the perfect plan. Being that it's summer, I'll drive over to the neighborhood elementary school, and when we get there, we'll see that no one is there, the doors are locked, etc. and then we'll just have to say, "oh well, school is closed today" and I'm off the hook. So, we get in the car and drive the two minutes down the street to the school. As soon as we come down the hill to the school, I know I'm in trouble. There are busses, kids, cars, and teachers everywhere! I had no idea that our elementary school was hosting summer school!
Nina is in the back yelling, "busses, kids, school" and I'm thinking, how am I going to get out of this now! My next thought is, surely once I get her out of the car and don't go down the sidewalk to school with her, she won't want to go and it will all be over with. Not a chance! We get out of the car (I park on the side of the school b/c I'm so embarrassed to actually be there with a two year old who is holding her lunchbox, her fake money, and wearing her backpack), and I give the old excuse of "mommy can't go with you, I'll miss you, I won't see you all day..." and she doesn't even give me a second look - she's down the sidewalk off to join the rest of the kids going to school. In case you're wondering how it all ended, I had to get her back in the car, and she cried all the way home. I guess we'll just have to wait three more years for school to start!
Although you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at her here, Lyla is sick for the first time. She's handeling it well, and she really isn't too bad, but she's got a slight fever and lots of congestion. Even when sick, she's still easy going and tries to smile as much as she can!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
It's a Family Tradition
...and I'm not speaking of Hank Williams Jr.'s type of family tradition. The role of the "picture taker" in our family started with my grandfather who we call PB. Seen here in this picture, PB was never far from his camera. In fact, we have few pictures with PB actually in the picture. He was always the one taking the pictures of everyone else.
To say PB is eccentric would be putting it mildly. Here is a shot of just one corner of his basement, and there really is no real way to describe the rest of his house unless you visit there yourself. He has travelled all over the world, and in his travels, he has filled his home with things from all the places he's been, and if you ask him what one of the thousands of things are and where it's from, at 83, he can tell you every detail. Another thing that makes PB unique, is that he is the best photographer I've ever known. He's also the smartest person I know, so maybe those two things go hand in hand. His favorite subject to photograph is nature, and he's taken beautiful pictures from all over the world. I've told him that he needs to give his thousands of pictures to National Geographic so they can make a book, but he's not interested in that.
PB always says that pictures have a way of allowing your memory to remember things it would otherwise forget, and I think that's true. When I look back at the hundreds of pictures that I have of our family that PB took I am able to remember so much about those years. We could always count on getting our picture taken when PB was around. We could also always count on viewing slideshows of his hundreds of pictures whenever we were gathered at my great grandmother's house. PB used to put his pictures on slides, and he would put on a slideshow for everyone - like it or not. During those years, most of the time we didn't like it. PB used to take very close up pictures (portrait style) of everyone in the family at every occasion, and then our faces would be larger than life on the screen for everyone to see. As we would moan and groan about what an awful picture it was, his simple response would be, "The camera doesn't lie." Not much of a consolation. 
While we didn't always enjoy having our picture taken (evidenced in this photo of Shen and I), I have to say I'm glad we did. So, I'm going to carry on the family tradition and keep taking pictures of our family. They may not always be the greatest, and the girls might get annoyed with me someday, but I hope they look back and are able to remember some wonderful things about their life and childhood, just like I'm able to. 
To say PB is eccentric would be putting it mildly. Here is a shot of just one corner of his basement, and there really is no real way to describe the rest of his house unless you visit there yourself. He has travelled all over the world, and in his travels, he has filled his home with things from all the places he's been, and if you ask him what one of the thousands of things are and where it's from, at 83, he can tell you every detail. Another thing that makes PB unique, is that he is the best photographer I've ever known. He's also the smartest person I know, so maybe those two things go hand in hand. His favorite subject to photograph is nature, and he's taken beautiful pictures from all over the world. I've told him that he needs to give his thousands of pictures to National Geographic so they can make a book, but he's not interested in that.
PB always says that pictures have a way of allowing your memory to remember things it would otherwise forget, and I think that's true. When I look back at the hundreds of pictures that I have of our family that PB took I am able to remember so much about those years. We could always count on getting our picture taken when PB was around. We could also always count on viewing slideshows of his hundreds of pictures whenever we were gathered at my great grandmother's house. PB used to put his pictures on slides, and he would put on a slideshow for everyone - like it or not. During those years, most of the time we didn't like it. PB used to take very close up pictures (portrait style) of everyone in the family at every occasion, and then our faces would be larger than life on the screen for everyone to see. As we would moan and groan about what an awful picture it was, his simple response would be, "The camera doesn't lie." Not much of a consolation. 
While we didn't always enjoy having our picture taken (evidenced in this photo of Shen and I), I have to say I'm glad we did. So, I'm going to carry on the family tradition and keep taking pictures of our family. They may not always be the greatest, and the girls might get annoyed with me someday, but I hope they look back and are able to remember some wonderful things about their life and childhood, just like I'm able to. Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Lyla
Lyla turned four months old today, and she is quite the funny little baby. She is still very laid back and easy going, but she is not the easiest to hold onto at times. She is very squirmy, and getting a diaper on her is like trying to dress a worm. She loves holding onto her feet while rolling from side to side, and she's getting quite determined to work to get a toy that is a little out of her reach. She loves to sit, so she's getting some time in the Bumbo now. It's hard to believe that four months has already gone by. We think on a regular basis about how thankful we are for such an easy keeper this time around. She still doesn't have very much hair, but we think she might keep her blue eyes. We're really enjoying our two girls!!!!!
Nina
Our girl is definitely one who loves a good outfit. From the start, she has always loved shoes, and on this particular morning, she went in our coat closet, dug out my pink snow boots, and wanted to wear them with her pink hat and jammies...quite a look!
She also loves getting dressed up and looking pretty.
The earrings are clip-ons that she got from my sister as part of a princess outfit. It surprises me that she wants to wear them since clip-ons definitely aren't the most comfortable, but I guess she's already got the attitude of suffering for the sake of fashion!
She also loves getting dressed up and looking pretty.
The earrings are clip-ons that she got from my sister as part of a princess outfit. It surprises me that she wants to wear them since clip-ons definitely aren't the most comfortable, but I guess she's already got the attitude of suffering for the sake of fashion!
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