Minnesota Children's Museum

We were lucky that we were able to join our friends at the Minnesota Children's Museum at the last minute!  We hadn't seen them for such a long time and it was so fun to catch up!  It was a fun way to spend a Sunday morning. 

We started off at the face painting station where Reagan created a rainbow all over her face!

Reagan and Emmie showing off their face painting skills.

The grocery store is always the favorite stop at the musuem.  Emmie was the "payer" while Reagan checked out her groceries.

 Ethan with his shopping cart.

 

Dylan shopping for soup.

Dylan pretending to be a puppy in the dog house.

Up in the Lego exhibit, Reagan and Dylan both fit on this large chair.

Reagan created a great pink castle.

Next stop was the water area.  Dylan loved putting the ping pong balls into the water filled tubes.

Ethan had a great time at the boat races.

We stopped at the arts and craft area as our last stop.  Emmie and Reagan created popsicle stick creations.

Dylan played the cardboard box houses and thought it was so funny to burst out of the doors.

U2

After nearly two years of waiting, we finally got to see U2 at TCF stadium and they did NOT disappoint!  Even with all the rain that poured down on us during the majority of the show, we still walked (yes, walked and it was much faster than taking any other form of transportation!!) away saying it was the best concert we had ever seen!

Before the show started with the "unique" stage in the background. 

During the show.

We left the stadium while U2 was taking their final bow on the stage.  We found a side stairway to go down to the street and when we reached the bottom we saw the foot of the last member of U2 get in the limo.  Amazing that they are in and out so fast!

Rainy Day Art

I hate to complain about all the gorgeous weather we've been having this summer, but every once in a while it's nice to have a rain day to do some indoor activities that get forgotten in the summer.  Since we woke up to a morning of thunderstorms, I decided to pull out the paint and easel and let the kids create!

Reagan like the roller painter.

Dylan got a short turn at the easel.

Dylan's finished easel art.

Reagan's finished easel art.

It's fascinating to watch the changes in technique as they grow!  One of my favorite parts of parenthood. 

Petey the Pee Cup

John and I just couldn't believe this . . . Meet Petey the Pee Cup.  It took a while for us to figure out what kind of mascot HealthPartners had chosen, maybe a pint of ice cream?  Nope, pee cup.  Reagan loved Petey and wanted a picture with her new favorite mascot!

Cool Dude

Before I forget, my new favorite word of Dylan's is "Dumpbullzer."  He combined all of his favorite trucks and created a name for them.  Kind of like "Bennifer" or "Brangelina" but for trucks :)

Playdate!

We enjoyed having our friends over for a playdate on a Friday morning in July before school/work started again for some of our friends.  We started by watching the Teddy Bear Band at the Arbor Lakes Tuesday Kids Camp and then returned to our house for lunch together and to meet little baby G.  While the moms chatted, the kids were busy dressing up.  

 

 Ethan as Woody the Cowboy

 The kids raiding the dress up clothes.

 Princess Reagan and Princess Lauren

Hungry for lunch after a fun morning of playing.

Dylan's First Dentist Visit

Once Dylan turned two, I decided it was time for him to see our dentist, Dr. Jenny.  Reagan was due for an appointment, so I thought it would the perfect time for him to see her go first and then have his turn.

Reagan is always a champ at the dentist or doctor office.  She has little to no problems with shots, opening wide, and any other poking and prodding that come along with the appointments.

Dylan, however, clamped his mouth closed and could not be persuaded to open by me, the doctor or his sister.  We were able to count his bottom teeth (8) and that was all!  We'll just try again next time!

Good-bye, Training Wheels (or Can My Three Year Old REALLY Ride a Two-Wheeler?)

The answer is unbelievably "Yes!"

Reagan has been asking since we first pulled her bicycle back out this spring if we could take her training wheels off.  Our compromise earlier in the summer had been to raise the training wheels up to see if she could balance.  John didn't think that was going so well, so he lowered them back down and we hoped she'd give it a rest. 

We were wrong.

Today, we attempted no training wheels with the hope that she would get frustrated and would stop asking to take them off.  But I guess when Reagan wants to do something, there is no stopping her. 

After a shaky start first at home, then in a soccer field, and finally in a large parking lot she was showing a lot of improvement, but definitely enough that we thought the training wheels would stay off. 

After lunch, John and Reagan were back at it and each run got a little longer than the last one.

The breakthrough came after naptime.  After a few more straight runs, Reagan mastered turning and now she was unstoppable.  She spent two hours riding up and down the street, turning up the finger streets and around the neighboring cul-de-sac. 

The training wheels will not be going back on the bike!

 

Dylan turns 2!

 I can't believe my baby is already two!  John has been asking him all week, "How old are you, Dylan?" and Dylan responds, "Orange."  Although now that the party is over his response is "Pink." 

We had a pretty low key day leading up to his party in the afternoon with Mickey Mouse waffles for breakfast, an early birthday gift and some playtime outside while Mommy prepared for the small party inside.  After three years of parties with all the kids' friends, we tried to keep this one just family.  I thought it would be less stress, but I still wanted the food, decor and party just perfect for Dylan on his golden birthday.

Dylan requested an orange Monster cake for his monster themed bash.  I tried my best to deliverwhile making it allergen free (nut free, egg free and dairy free).  The inside was rainbow colored to match his monster decor, but I didn't get any pictures of the inside.

John's major contribution to the party (other than all the help he gave me) was a Melon Monster!  It was a definite hit!  I was pretty proud of myself - We had a tasty dinner and plenty of snacks, all made so that Dylan could enjoy them too (except for the cheeseburgers). 

Happy Birthday, Dyllie Monster!

At two years old, Dylan's personality is really coming to life!  I couldn't ask for a sweeter, sillier, happy little boy.  While he is so polite (always says "Thank you" and "Excuse Me"), he is definitely all boy.  He loves to play with trucks, cars, trains, climbing and get dirty in the sandbox, and seems to have a new bump or bruise every week.  And watch out for his hugs.  He likes to get a running start!  He wants to do everything his big sister is doing, even if that means playing with her dolls or dressing up like a princess.  They're even starting to play well together, which seems like a huge miracle considering how they were with each other just a couple months ago.  He is still Mommy's little man and likes to be held by me a lot and still has lots of snuggles, hugs and kisses just for mommy. 

Dylan's vocabulary, while not quite as fluent as his sister at two, is quite large.  It's funny listening to him figure out how to string his words together.  There's always a slight pause when he's addressing someone.  For example, "Excuse me (pause), Mommy."  We love how he says "Come on."  Sounds more like "Dum on."  And he's very big on figuring out ownership ("Daddy's beer."  "Mommy's coffee." "Reaggie's bike." "Mine's moymilk.") 

We are so lucky to have him as our little boy!  We love you, Dylan!