65, 7 and a New Beginning

A great night to celebrate much!

Tonight, over brats and Cafe Latte's famous Turtle Cake, we celebrated many things . . . my Dad's 65th birthday, our 7th wedding anniversary and my brother's move to Boston. It was a delightful night and I think that all of us would agree that it was a fitting way to say goodbye to year's past and hello to what will come. Best of luck to Steve as he ventures out East!

Steve and Erik looking "manly" by the grill.

Anja helped Grandpa open his present.

He requested a cake with chocolate and nuts; needless to say, we delivered! As Anja would say, "Scrumptious!"


Look at that delicious cake! My Mom has requested one for her 65th next year too!


Milla hanging out on the patio . . . next year she'll get a brat and some cake too.

Two Growing Girls!

Today Milla went to her four month check-up and as we thought, she's very healthy and is measuring off the charts for her height. She's 27 (!) inches, which puts her in 12 month clothing already (which makes sense because the 6 month pants I put her in today were like high-waters). We love watching her grow, but hope she stays a baby for us a little while longer!

Meanwhile, her sister who isn't even 3 yet, is wearing 4T and now 5T clothing and is 42 (!) inches in height. I ventured into the "Girls" section tonight and did not like what I saw. Anja's sizing puts her into the section that boasts Hannah Montana (yuck!) and other tween items. Help!

We are so very fortunate to have two healthy growing girls, even if they are growing a little faster than we thought they would. I guess it means that a trip to Disneyland can come a little sooner (yes!).

Four Months . . .

Look how long I am!

Milla is four months old today and continues to bring us great joy. Her newest endeavor includes rolling from point to point on the floor. Lay her down on a blanket and a minute later she's positioned herself in a new spot and is up on her elbows. She seems to enjoy her budding freedom, albeit only a couple of feet!

She's also beginning to like standing while you hold her. (Which makes burping her a lot easier!)

Tomorrow we go back to the new house to check things out . . . Anja and Milla will go for the first time. Anja can't wait to see her new purple bedroom and closet. She's got big plans already!

Selling our home!

We're taking on the for sale by owner challenge to sell our existing townhome. We'll see how it goes. The past week has been filled with long days painting, cleaning, and "staging" our home. The place is looking great and we've put it on the market.

Take a look at the website we created: www.662villageparkway.com

If you know anyone who is interested or looking for a new home, please feel free to pass on this information to them. It really has been a great place for us - it is just too small for us now!

Closing is Set!

The top windows are two of the bedrooms, and small middle one is a walk-in closet. The bottom windows are the front hall-way, bathroom and "flex room" (read: playroom). We can't wait to get a swing and some chairs for the porch!

About three weeks ago, in desperate need for a yard, basement and extra room or two, we set out to look for a new house. Alas, we found one that we just fell in love with (the first one we looked at). It's a former Hans Hagen model home with lots of extras, maple throughout, a full porch, and even a purple room with a walk-in closet for Anja. (Which Milla will probably fight her for in a few years.) We close on October 8th and are extremely excited. Here are a couple of pictures for the curious!

The backyard, complete with pond, (tasteful) fountain, and great pavers. The best part is the green lawn! Run, Anja, run! Top window is the master bedroom (vaulted ceiling!) and bottom window and door are the living room.

All of this means that our home at 662 Village Parkway is for sale! We are going to try "For Sale By Owner" until we get desperate. So, if you know of anyone who is looking at townhomes in the northern suburbs, let us know! We'll get an MLS listing and get a website up in a couple of days when everything is set. Meanwhile, here's some info:

For Sale!

Approx. 1820 sq. ft. - 2 bedrooms - loft - 2 1/2 bath - pool and kiddie pool (part of association) - quiet nature preserve out back porch - lots of windows and sunshine throughout - hardwood floors in kitchen and dining room - freshly painted - etc.!

The Summer Rolls on By . . .

All of us!

The past couple of weeks have been quite busy . . . so busy that we've neglected our blog. One of the highlights was welcoming my sister and her family to MN for a cousin's wedding. All six of them made the trek out from Colorado, complete with two of their dogs. We hope that they make the trip again because Anja sure loves having playmates (and Milla will someday soon too)! My brother also came with his girlfriend who flew in from Massachusetts. It was surreal having our entire family there. We were so happy that everyone made the trip.

Anja and Milla all dressed up for the wedding, which was held on a perfect summer evening in Sibley Park. Congrats Breck and Mitch!

Our feeble attempt at a family photo!

We're also putting our house on the market as we are quickly outgrowing it! Anja needs a yard to run, run, run!!! So throughout the past few days, we put the girls to bed and go gang busters cleaning, decluttering and organizing. Our home has served us well, we're just in desperate need of a couple more rooms, a yard and a basement. If anyone is looking at townhomes in the northern suburbs, give us a call! (I'll post a few pictures later.)

Milla has also started to use her hands. Anja loves handing things to her and is enjoying all of her developmental milestones just as much as we are. She gets super excited every time Milla does something new . . . wait till she starts crawling!

Milla holds onto one of our favorite toys from France, a Moulin Roty dragonfly.

Back to Front!

A mid-roll yawn . . . and finally over.

Milla rolled from her back to her front for Erik . . . I wasn't there to witness it but here are a couple of the shots he got! Since we took these pics last week, she's been doing it again. She's getting faster and more efficient!