I just wanted to get this on record, though there's not much of a story here. Lena had her first sleepover with a friend last week and we are very proud of her. Dan went to Washington D.C. for a work trip and in order to survive the week alone with all three girls (Baba was away with Uncle Grisha, Zeide was working, and Grandma and Grandpa were in California, so they weren't able to help out), Mom had to ship Lena off for a day and a half. So off she went to Mayafriend's house and surprisingly, we didn't hear from her again until the following evening. Our big girl did a great job and she had a really fun time.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Viva Mexico!
This post is long overdue as our trip to Mexico was over a two months ago, but we've been struggling to find calm and sanity during this slew of winter holidays, bitter temperatures, snow storms, icy roads, school closings, and work responsibilities. It's true, sometimes you need a vacation after your vacation!
On December 10th we left the frozen Minnesota tundra for warm and sunny Cancun, Mexico. We were there for a whole ten days with Baba, Uncle Bruno, Auntie Alicia, and Cousins Ayla and Zev. Special guests Baba 2 and Zeide 2 also joined us. What a treat!
During our extended stay at the Villa Del Palmar Resort (we never ended up leaving the resort grounds), we swam, ate, and lounged around to our hearts content. Lena essentially learned to swim in the resort pools (there were 6 of them), where she wore out her goggles and 6 different bathing suits. Clara and Maia also did a fair amount of frolicking in the water, and both (though mostly Maia) were doing a bit of underwater diving here and there.
We also swam in the ocean, played in the sand, danced the salsa, and most importantly, spent time together as a family (without freezing!).
On December 10th we left the frozen Minnesota tundra for warm and sunny Cancun, Mexico. We were there for a whole ten days with Baba, Uncle Bruno, Auntie Alicia, and Cousins Ayla and Zev. Special guests Baba 2 and Zeide 2 also joined us. What a treat!
During our extended stay at the Villa Del Palmar Resort (we never ended up leaving the resort grounds), we swam, ate, and lounged around to our hearts content. Lena essentially learned to swim in the resort pools (there were 6 of them), where she wore out her goggles and 6 different bathing suits. Clara and Maia also did a fair amount of frolicking in the water, and both (though mostly Maia) were doing a bit of underwater diving here and there.
We also swam in the ocean, played in the sand, danced the salsa, and most importantly, spent time together as a family (without freezing!).
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Trick-Or-Treat!
October got away from us and we forgot to post about our Halloween happenings. The girls had a lot of fun getting dressed up in their respective costumes, eating pizza and pre-partying with their cousins Talia and Levi, and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood with friends and family.
Lena was a lamb for the third time, something we are quite proud of, kind of like her finishing high school with a 4.0 or never missing a day of elementary school. Clara wore a bear costume that Lena wore when she was 18 months, and Maia was the perfect red ripe strawberry, a discarded costume from her friend Beatrice. See The Little Mouse, The Big Hungry Bear, and The Red Ripe Strawberry. Admittedly, Lena should have been a mouse this year, but, we were just too excited for her to be a lamb.
Lena was a lamb for the third time, something we are quite proud of, kind of like her finishing high school with a 4.0 or never missing a day of elementary school. Clara wore a bear costume that Lena wore when she was 18 months, and Maia was the perfect red ripe strawberry, a discarded costume from her friend Beatrice. See The Little Mouse, The Big Hungry Bear, and The Red Ripe Strawberry. Admittedly, Lena should have been a mouse this year, but, we were just too excited for her to be a lamb.
Monday, November 4, 2013
She Speaks!
After literally 12 months of trying to get Clara and Maia to use sign language, they have finally figured it out and started signing for"more". And in rare form, Clara beat Maia and mastered this sign two weeks ahead of her sister. Impressive!
Dan and I are very excited about the progress Clara and Maia have made in their communication skills this month. In addition to the "more" sign they have also started saying "bye bye", "hi", "ball", "baby", "mine", "mama", and "dada". We're a bit unsure but believe Clara's first word may have been "ball", and Maia's may have been "mine".
Yesterday we fed them steamed mixed vegetables for dinner. Daniel gave them each a handful of carrots, peas, corn, and green beans. Clara ate all of the carrots and green beans and Maia ate the peas and the corn. Each left on her plate what the other sister had eaten; yet more evidence that these two are as different as night and day.
Despite their differences which are evident, even at this young an age, the twins get along quite well (when they're not fighting over who gets to hold what toy/book/food/sippy cup/stuffed animal/instrument/person). They have started to play with each other and it's been wonderful when we've caught them giggling together over something indiscernible to us, but clearly hilarious to them.
Dan and I are very excited about the progress Clara and Maia have made in their communication skills this month. In addition to the "more" sign they have also started saying "bye bye", "hi", "ball", "baby", "mine", "mama", and "dada". We're a bit unsure but believe Clara's first word may have been "ball", and Maia's may have been "mine".
Yesterday we fed them steamed mixed vegetables for dinner. Daniel gave them each a handful of carrots, peas, corn, and green beans. Clara ate all of the carrots and green beans and Maia ate the peas and the corn. Each left on her plate what the other sister had eaten; yet more evidence that these two are as different as night and day.
Despite their differences which are evident, even at this young an age, the twins get along quite well (when they're not fighting over who gets to hold what toy/book/food/sippy cup/stuffed animal/instrument/person). They have started to play with each other and it's been wonderful when we've caught them giggling together over something indiscernible to us, but clearly hilarious to them.
Monday, August 19, 2013
And She's Off!
Clara is walking! Finally at 14 months, despite reluctance, she is taking steps, four to five at a time, and pushing herself up to standing as well. She seems thrilled by her newfound mobility, but she is also still quite cautious, choosing to crawl unless urged to walk by mama or daddy.
We have brought up a toy walker from the basement and Clara has been happily using it to get around the house. The toy has caused quite a few arguments between all three girls, as they all seem to want to use it. We've tried to explain to Lena and Maia that they know how to walk already, and that Clara needs the walker, but they don't really understand. So there's been plenty of screaming and crying and pulling and pushing and tugging, all caused by this toy walker. But it's so fun to see Clara cruising around with it that we've decided to keep it upstairs, and play referee instead.
A few weeks later....
We had to take the walker away. Clara was depending on it to move around instead of walking on her own and the toy was causing too many fights for us to manage. Since then Clara has continued to walk more and more, although really only when urged to. She can now walk across the room, taking 10, 15, and 20 steps at a time. If she falls she generally continues crawling, rather than getting herself back up again, but this too is changing fast. She knows how to get herself back up, she just chooses to crawl instead. It's really only a matter of time.
We have brought up a toy walker from the basement and Clara has been happily using it to get around the house. The toy has caused quite a few arguments between all three girls, as they all seem to want to use it. We've tried to explain to Lena and Maia that they know how to walk already, and that Clara needs the walker, but they don't really understand. So there's been plenty of screaming and crying and pulling and pushing and tugging, all caused by this toy walker. But it's so fun to see Clara cruising around with it that we've decided to keep it upstairs, and play referee instead.
A few weeks later....
We had to take the walker away. Clara was depending on it to move around instead of walking on her own and the toy was causing too many fights for us to manage. Since then Clara has continued to walk more and more, although really only when urged to. She can now walk across the room, taking 10, 15, and 20 steps at a time. If she falls she generally continues crawling, rather than getting herself back up again, but this too is changing fast. She knows how to get herself back up, she just chooses to crawl instead. It's really only a matter of time.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
A "Big Girl Bed" For Lena
Lena made an important transition this week from sleeping in a crib, to sleeping in a "big girl bed"!
After several days of insisting she no longer wanted to sleep in a crib, Lena finally decided, she'd had enough, and climbed out! Not without falling of course with a big thud to the floor. As she had never in three years tried to climb out of her crib, we knew she meant business, and promptly took off the front of her crib to make it into what we call, and she believes, is a "big girl bed".
The pictures below do a pretty excellent job of capturing the exciting moment when Lena walked into her bedroom and climbed in for the first time into her very own bed. She was thrilled to be free, although we've been very clear that if she doesn't stay in her bed we will have to take it away. Just the thought of being back in her crib makes her shiver and she's only gotten out twice this week on her own. She has also fallen out a couple of times in her sleep, but that doesn't count.
After several days of insisting she no longer wanted to sleep in a crib, Lena finally decided, she'd had enough, and climbed out! Not without falling of course with a big thud to the floor. As she had never in three years tried to climb out of her crib, we knew she meant business, and promptly took off the front of her crib to make it into what we call, and she believes, is a "big girl bed".
The pictures below do a pretty excellent job of capturing the exciting moment when Lena walked into her bedroom and climbed in for the first time into her very own bed. She was thrilled to be free, although we've been very clear that if she doesn't stay in her bed we will have to take it away. Just the thought of being back in her crib makes her shiver and she's only gotten out twice this week on her own. She has also fallen out a couple of times in her sleep, but that doesn't count.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Duckie's Great Adventure
Lena's beloved stuffed duck, "Ducky", took a field trip this weekend. Unbeknownst to us, Lena brought Ducky to the park yesterday where her friends Stella and Oliver were celebrating their third birthday. We all, including Ducky apparently, had a great time swimming in the park pool and playing on the playground with our friends.
After cake we headed home for naps, where it became apparent that Ducky was missing. Although Lena has a spare duck for these sorts of situations, she was not pleased with the replacement (we're not sure how she knows which duck is which since they are exactly the same) and instead unhappily chose to sleep with "Blanky", "Giraffy", and "Big Bird".
Ducky goes missing every once in a while, usually accidentally left behind at school or at a friend's house, so we didn't think much of it when we couldn't find him yesterday afternoon. But last night we received a phone call from Auntie Naomi to let us know that a man had contacted her about a missing duck. Apparently Ducky was left behind at the park earlier that day and a nice gentleman picked him up and was able to track down Naomi using the Lena Spirn name on Ducky's tag and the internet.
Ducky is home safe, thank goodness! Below are the reunited friends.
After cake we headed home for naps, where it became apparent that Ducky was missing. Although Lena has a spare duck for these sorts of situations, she was not pleased with the replacement (we're not sure how she knows which duck is which since they are exactly the same) and instead unhappily chose to sleep with "Blanky", "Giraffy", and "Big Bird".
Ducky goes missing every once in a while, usually accidentally left behind at school or at a friend's house, so we didn't think much of it when we couldn't find him yesterday afternoon. But last night we received a phone call from Auntie Naomi to let us know that a man had contacted her about a missing duck. Apparently Ducky was left behind at the park earlier that day and a nice gentleman picked him up and was able to track down Naomi using the Lena Spirn name on Ducky's tag and the internet.
Ducky is home safe, thank goodness! Below are the reunited friends.
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