Memorial Day Recap!

Anja & Milla at the new splash pad--it was a little cold for the girls!

This past weekend was been a busy one with projects around the house to be completed, workouts to be done, guests to be hosted, etc. We did take a little time to relax though!

Anja saw her first movie in a movie theatre with a couple of neighborhood friends on Friday---Shrek: The Final Chapter. I was concerned about the volume, the dark, a few scary parts, and some crude humor, but she handled it all like a champ. She loved it and will definitely be back again!

Milla also took her first dip in the lake about a 1/2 mile from our house. She enjoyed kicking and splashing around, but didn't quite like the full body plunge! It's a great park, complete with a boat house that rents canoes and kayaks, a splash pad for the kiddos, built-in grills, a beach, volleyball courts, real bathrooms (!), concessions, and a cordoned off swimming area. I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time there!

Erik and I were both busy trying to get things done around the house during naps and quiet time and we did pretty well. Erik built a great platform step to replace the paver step that was just too small in terms of safety for all of the kids running in and out of the house. He's pretty handy!

Only two more weeks of school for Erik, then he starts teaching at the U of M for their summer term. We are all looking forward to some great summer days in our new house in the coming months!

Milla's Walking!

She's pretty proud her herself and her new found freedom!

So I started to write this post 24 days ago . . . since then Milla is full force on the walking! Not to be overlooked, she has even started to join in on the chasing round-and-round the kitchen game that we play with Anja all the time. She'll be running in no time!

One of Milla's favorite ways to rile up her parents---climbing up onto Anja's chair!

A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks---besides the walking, Milla is also talking a lot more (mama! papa! this! cheese!) and more deliberate about her actions: stacking blocks, helping take off her shirts and jackets, pushing things away if she doesn't want them, and so much more. It is so fun to watch her "expand her box" each day.

We've also been very busy as a family . . . I took my first trip away from the girls to Chicago for a swimming clinic, turned 31 (!), and Erik traveled to Ghana for a week, where he worked to implement a pilot education program. Anja has been delighting in playing outside with gobs of neighborhood friends and attending dance class (when she feels like it). We are looking forward to settling down a bit before the end of school!

Anja made her very own "Dinosaur Train" on a rainy day a couple of weeks ago.