Our Magic Shoes

We had a pretty uneventful weekend for the most part, except Friday night started with a pleasant surprise. Jamie & I were watching a movie at about 10:00 pm when the phone rang. It was two friends of mine, who were sitting in our driveway in their car. So they came in for a visit, which was fun!

The weather was pretty cold and rainy the rest of the weekend, so the girls were frustrated that they couldn’t go outside. We took them to Costco on Saturday morning just to get out of the house. Jamie met up with some friends on Saturday afternoon for an NFL draft party, so the girls and I spent the rest of the day together. We went to the mall for a few hours and just walked around, since it was a little chilly outside. Violet has developed a fear of elevators for some reason, so she bawled when the doors closed on the mall elevator. I also managed to be somewhat productive. It took me pretty much all day and night, but I managed to clean their winter clothes out of their closet and replace them with spring and summer clothes that were in storage. It was hard to do while watching the girls alone, but somehow I managed to finish.

Sunday, the girls were kind of crabby. I think they were sick of being stuck in the house. Violet fell asleep while eating her lunch and drinking her milk. She even started snoring with her sippy cup still in her mouth. It was pretty hilarious. Their naps were short. Violet took a 1 hour nap and Olivia took a 30 minute nap, so naps were over by 12:30. It was quite a long stretch until bedtime. They became very crabby at about 6:30. They saw some shoes I got at Target, which are like Crocs. I put them on their feet over their pajamas for something to do, and they immediately changed into funny, goofy, silly girls. They clomped around the house in those shoes, chasing and tackling each other, for an hour. We called them "magic shoes" because they immediately put the girls in a good mood.

Violet has been an early riser lately. She has been up at 5:30 am the last four mornings. Yikes! Olivia is going through a growth spurt it seems. She has been eating like crazy. We put food on her highchair tray, and it’s gone within minutes. Then she asks for more. Both girls say each other’s names now. Violet says “Dee-ya” for Olivia, and Olivia says “Dad-it” for Violet. Most words they say sound like some form of “Daddy.” That must be one of the easiest words for them to say! “Uh-oh” has also been very popular word lately, especially for Olivia. She will throw something on the ground and then say “uh-oh” like she didn’t do it on purpose.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Violet fell asleep while drinking her milk at lunch:

Olivia & Violet in their "magic shoes":

Violet tackling Olivia, which they both thought was hilarious:

Violet running around in her "magic shoes":

Olivia running around in her "magic shoes":

First Swimming Lesson

We attempted our first swimming lesson with the girls last night. I knew it wasn't going to be good when I picked up the girls from daycare, and Olivia's mood on her daily report was described as "fussy." It was a bit chaotic getting the girls fed, changed and out the door on time for their lesson, so we were all pretty tense by the time we left the house. It didn't help that the girls bawled pretty much the whole time while we changed them into their swimsuits at home, hauled them to the YMCA, rinsed them in the locker room shower, and had them in the pool for their 30 minute lesson. The instructor seemed pretty flustered and didn't really know what to do since there were only three kids in the class, and two of them (our girls) cried the whole time. It didn't help that the pool was COLD. I'm sure you can imagine our frustration after listening to them sob for an hour. We were all crabby by the time it was over. Jamie & I kept telling the girls they were supposed to be having FUN, dang it!

Then on the ride home after swimming lessons, they decided to morph into their usual selves and were laughing, smiling and talking during the whole car ride. Jamie & I did not think it was very amusing! Hopefully next week will go better! We can't wait to remind the girls when they get older what torture they put us through. :)

Olivia & Violet didn't like their swimsuits:

Violet:

Violet & Olivia rinsing in the locker room shower:

Daddy, Violet & Olivia waiting to get in the pool:

Olivia did not want to get in the pool:

Violet & Olivia waiting to get in the pool:

Easter Celebrations

We celebrated Easter with both of our families this past weekend. Jamie was drawn for a turkey hunting license, so we decided to celebrate Easter a week late since we were going to be coming up anyway for hunting. We left town at about 6:30 on Friday night, and managed to avoid traffic. We were a little nervous about leaving during a time when the girls aren't used to sleeping, but they were very good. Violet was awake the whole trip while Olivia slept for about the last hour. They were so wound up when we got to Suchy's that they didn't go to bed until 10:00 pm!

We stayed at the Suchy farm on Friday night, and celebrated Easter on Saturday. The girls had an inside Easter egg hunt with their cousins Nicholas & Chelsey; they loved finding and opening all of the eggs. They also enjoyed opening their Easter baskets. The Easter bunny was very generous to them! We had a nice meal with all of Jamie's family and spent the rest of the afternoon visiting.

We went over to my parent's farm at about 4:30. The girls had their first ride on the trailer behind the tractor. Olivia wasn't sure about it at first, but Violet loved it right away. They played with their cousin Emma, who took them for their first ride in Grandma's motorized Escalade. They also spent a lot of time on the swingset. All of my Dad's sisters came out for a visit; one of my aunts was in town from Washington, so it had been awhile since I had seen her and she had never met the girls. We had a nice visit!

My sister Nikki & her kids came out to the farm on Sunday morning. The Easter bunny had come overnight, so all of the kids had an Easter egg hunt outside. The girls really got into finding eggs! They carried around little bags that they put their eggs in. They also found Easter baskets. We all had brunch together before taking another ride on the trailer behind the tractor. It was a lot of fun to see all of the kids play together. They are all at such fun ages!

Unfortunately Jamie didn't see any turkeys while hunting. His brother Joey got one, but that was all for their hunting party.

Violet has been our spunky girl lately. She is not afraid to let us know what she wants, and she has not been very good about listening to us lately. Hopefully this is just a phase! :) Olivia has been very vocal recently, especially while she's eating. She loves to "sing" and babble at the top of her lungs. It is pretty funny. They are both saying quite a few words now: bye-bye, tractor, duck, uh-oh, shoe...they've been trying to say other words, but it usually comes out sounding like "daddy."

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Olivia & Violet in Grandpa Suchy's rocking chair:

Olivia & Violet with Grandma's bunnies:

Olivia loved the Easter basket grass:

Violet with some Easter eggs:

Emma giving Olivia & Violet a ride in Grandma Thronson's Escalade:

Grandma Thronson, Olivia & Violet on a tractor ride:

Cousins: Alex, Evan, Maya, Violet, Emma & Olivia:

Olivia, ready to search for Easter eggs:

Daddy & Violet looking for Easter eggs:

Wild Times

We had a busy, but fun, weekend. The girls' church daycare was closed on Friday in honor of Good Friday, so I had the day off from work to be home with the girls. We ran some errands in the morning, and then I stopped by work (yes, on my day off!) to bring the girls in for a visit. Violet was a little shy at first, but Olivia would let anybody hold her. They were pretty good overall. We spent most of the afternoon outside because it was such a beautiful day. Olivia's favorite thing to do is go down the slide, she can even push herself down without help. Violet loves to swing, she walks right to it and holds onto it until I put her in.

On Saturday morning, we took the girls to the Minnesota Zoo. We figured it would be busy, but we thought if we arrived right when it opened at 9:00 am, it wouldn't be too bad. Well...we were wrong! There was a line of cars waiting to turn into the zoo, so we knew it would be very busy. We headed straight for the farmyard because we thought the girls would like to see all of the farm animals. We started with the goats, and the girls both loved them because they could pet them through the fence. Violet went crazy hugging and petting them. We also saw pigs, cows, and chickens but the goats were a favorite. Violet also loved the John Deere tractor that sat on the farm, she kept saying "tractor, tractor, tractor." We didn't stay in the farmyard long because there were so many people, kids and strollers that it was hard to get around. We walked around other parts of the zoo before heading home at the girls' naptime. We saw fish, sea otters, tropical birds, but the monkeys were by far the girls' favorite. They sat and watched the monkeys for a long time while saying "oo oo, aa aa." The girls took the longest nap that I can remember once we got home from the zoo. They slept for about three hours. It was another beautiful afternoon, so we spent hours outside after their nap. Daddy even taught them how to rake leaves. :)

On Sunday morning, we went to church and then had Easter brunch at Jamie's Aunt Debbie & Uncle Al's house. It was very kind of them to include us in their family holiday. The Easter bunny made a stop at their house, so the girls had eggs to find and Easter baskets to open. They had a lot of fun playing, and behaved pretty well. We headed home at their naptime. After they woke up, we went outside and played. Daddy also taught them how to bag the leaves they had raked the day before. :) The weather was so beautiful all weekend, we really enjoyed being outside with the girls. They are so happy outside! They like to just roam around in the yard and find things to get into.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Daddy, Violet & Olivia:

Violet in the bathtub:
Olivia in the bathtub:
Violet & Olivia:

Olivia & Violet petting the goats at the Minnesota Zoo:Violet petting the goats at the Minnesota Zoo:
Olivia petting the goats at the Minnesota Zoo:

Mommy & Violet by the John Deere tractor:
Olivia loved the fish at the Minnesota Zoo:

Violet & Olivia raking leaves:Olivia & Violet playing in the leaves:
Olivia:
Violet:
Olivia & Violet in their Easter dresses:
Olivia & Violet opening their Easter baskets: