Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

This weekend we got to celebrate a very special birthday-Grandpa! The entire family spent the weekend together at the lake ensuring that Grandpa had a great weekend. Graham, Amelia, and Miles sure are lucky to have such a wonderful Grandpa! We were so happy to have the chance to spend the past few days together. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!!

Grandpa and his grandkids just before the big birthday dinner

Amelia and Miles enjoying breakfast together

Amelia snuggling up with her Daddy

Sweet Amelia

Who doesn't love a ride in a cooler?

Behind on the blogging....

I've fallen waaaay behind on the blog. We've been keeping very busy during the day which makes for one tired Mama by the time the kids are tucked into their cribs each night. In pictures, here is a quick recap of the past few days...

On Monday Amelia and Graham spent the morning exploring the Splash Pad with their buddy Livia. Amelia was running full speed out of excitement and did take a fall into a bench though. She now has a bruise on her face and although I'm sure it's the first of many for her, it still makes me sad to see a reminder of her fall.


At home, Amelia has figured out how to climb into this big red chair. This is funny to me because it's the designated "Time Out Chair" and unfortunately Graham has grown very familiar with it lately. After I repeatedly place Graham in this chair and insist that he stay put, it shouldn't surprise me that Miss Amelia wanted to give it a try herself. Doesn't she look proud of herself? If only she knew where she was sitting, I doubt she'd have that grin on her face!

And finally, to end this summary of the past few days, today we spent some time at the beach with our friend Maddie and her Mommy. I never thought I'd be able to take two fearless toddlers to the beach alone, but I did it! This beach was PERFECT for small children, and we'll definitely be back again soon. The water was so shallow that older kids who actually wanted to swim would be bored and probably find another place to hang out. It doesn't get any better than shallow, calm water for active toddlers!

Bubbles Galore

We had brunch yesterday with the Marotz clan. As you can see, all three kids were content to play with the water table while the parents caught up with life. Soon, one by one, they migrated away from the water table and became more interested in playing with bubbles....


Before we knew it, bubble solution was every where. Graham was the ring leader and decided that rubbing bubbles all over his body, Amelia's body, and Alex's body was great fun. It was just a matter of minutes before we decided that wearing just a diaper was the most appropriate attire for the occasion.

And because there was no way my bubble covered kids were going to get anywhere near their car seats in their wet, slippery, condition our get together ended with a very necessary, bath!

Brotherly Love

Amelia has been the lucky recipient of hugs compliments of Graham. At first she welcomed the hugs...



then she started to get agitated...

then she finally decided she was through with Graham's outpouring of brotherly love.

Amelia, Graham, and Alex

Amelia and Graham spent the morning playing with Alex who kindly shared all her toys, books, and even her favorite booster seat during lunch. The three kids are really starting to interact rather than just play next to each other so they're becoming really fun to watch! Amelia tried her best to keep up with Alex and Graham who were often together laughing at jokes only humorous to toddlers. Amelia had a ball sitting in a cozy coupe that resides inside (ours is an outside car), have tea at a table perfectly fit for her, and even try out an indoor swing! What a fun playroom Miss Alex has! Thanks for having us over to play!

Amelia was convinced that if she tried really, really hard, maybe, just maybe, some milk would come out of this toy cup. Too bad her persistence didn't pay off! This picture was taken right before her frustration set in...

Graham crashed the girls' tea party

Eating lunch-how cute are they all lined up? What you can't tell from this photo is just how mischievous Graham's behaviour was becoming. He had Alex and Amelia laughing like crazy at his funny noises, attempts to tickle the girls, and constant chatter as he repeatedly declared his antics 'very funny, Mama!'

My Little Lady

I know that as Amelia's Mama I'm a bit biased, but sometimes I just can't stand the cuteness factor that followed her home from Korea. Actually, this Mama believes that the cuteness factor struck twice for our family! :) This is a quick picture I snapped of Amelia earlier today. And yes, she smiles that big nearly every single time she sees me. Am I a lucky Mommy or what???

Our Fun Weekend!

On Saturday, we visited the indoor park with our friends Maddie and Kelly to let the kids burn off some energy. Dada Jeff was lucky enough to be able to attend the PGA championship with Maddie's Daddy so we decided the Mom's and kids needed to take a field trip of our own. I'm pleased to say that our park visit served it's purpose and both kids took fantastic Saturday afternoon naps.

Both kids loved this wall puzzle, too bad things like this don't line our walls at home!

Offering Maddie a kiss!

Today was especially fun for us. Uncle Jon and Auntie Catherine flew in for a surprise visit! Halmoni and Haraboeji are moving to Korea next week, so we had a family dinner at our house this evening. With the Olson side of the family soon to be scattered from one side of the globe to the other, it was great to spend some time together. The kids both loved all the attention they received and were in great moods. We spent a wonderful evening laughing, talking, and just enjoying each others company.

Amelia was having waaay too much fun vacuuming before our company arrived!

A quick game of peek-a-boo before dinner

THRILLED with her new toothbrush!

The Beach

We spent a lazy afternoon at the beach with our fearless water babies. Having two mobile tots near the water makes it nearly impossible to pull out the camera and get many photographs. While Amelia and Graham sat still on the beach playing in the sand, photographs were doable, but after sitting for 10 minutes they both decided they wanted to be chin deep in the water. This required two parents to monitor the situation which meant the camera remained on shore.

Out for Ice Cream

After dinner we decided to take a walk and get an ice cream treat. The weather is very hot and sticky, so although we knew the ice cream would be a welcomed treat for the kids when we finally got it, I wondered how agitated Amelia and Graham would be riding in the heat smashed next to each other in the stroller. Well, any concerns I had regarding their behavior were thrown out the window when Graham spontaneously began to kiss Amelia's cheek. It didn't just happen once, it happened several times over the course of a few moments-thankfully I had enough time to dig out my camera! Graham has been unusually protective of Amelia the past few days. That isn't to say there isn't the normal hair pulling and toy stealing, but I'm begging to see a few glimmers the stereotypical over protective big brother. Last night for example, I witnessed one of the sweetest interactions I've seen between them yet. We were at a park and Amelia began to cry. Graham came running over to her, bent down to her level and said "Amel ya ya, do you feel better now?" He actually stood there for a minute like he was waiting for an answer from her. Honestly, those two could have melted my heart on the spot.



So anyways, back to our ice cream...once we had our treat in hand you can see how anxious Amelia and Graham were to have a taste. Graham was impatiently waiting with his mouth wide open and Amelia was doing her best to wait while she licked her lips. Judging from their reaction, you'd think we never feed them or something!

Splash Pad

We spent this morning at the Splash Pad. This was our first visit, and I only wish we would have tried it out earlier in the summer because both Amelia and Graham LOVED it! Depending on the day and mood, both of them have been afraid of sprinklers at one point, so I assumed I would have at least one crying child begging to be held. Thankfully, I couldn't have been more wrong! As soon as they realized where the stroller was going, they were both fighting to get out of their seats as apparently I wasn't moving fast enough. The only problem of the morning was trying to keep up with two active toddlers who love to run in opposite directions!

Rainy Weekend at the Lake

After being confined to the house last week with two sick kids (yes, Amelia kindly shared her illness with Graham) we were more than ready to pack up on Friday and head to the lake. We were hoping to spend a few days in the heat then cooling off in the water. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate though. It was rainy and actually cold outside. Although it's not always easy to entertain two toddlers at the cabin when they have a view of the lake and boat, we managed and the change of scenery was welcomed for the weekend. Since we couldn't play outside, Amelia decided to....

play with shoes in the sandal basket near the door. This girl is drawn to shoes, I'm not kidding... She takes after her Mommy! :)

Then she and Annie spent some time looking longingly at the water.

Feeling pretty proud of herself sitting on a toddler chair pulled up to the coffee table!

Daddy can always use a little help catching up on work, right?

Finally, late Saturday afternoon the rain let up for a bit which allowed us just enough time to check out the local carnival. Small town carnivals, at least this one, was like a cultural experience. The people watching alone, made our trip worthwhile. At one point, Graham even commented on an individuals pretty hair....a man's long dread locked pony tail to be exact! Amelia had the opportunity to ride her first carousel which I'm still not sure what she thought of. But, she LOVED the giant slide. Actually, both kids loved the giant slide. After Graham went down the first time and was so excited by it, we let him ride again and this time Amelia and I joined in on the fun. If this slide impressed the kiddies, I can't wait for them to experience the Minnesota State Fair in a few weeks!

That's us waaaaaay at the top, getting ready to come down!

Check out these happy faces! (you can click on the picture to enlarge it)

My Little Bookworms

As you can see, Amelia and Graham are literally perched on a mountain of books. Normally, I discourage emptying entire containers of any sort of toy, but they were both so into their books this morning, that I just let them have at it. They stayed next to each other in the corner with their books for nearly 2o minutes! I know that may not sound like very long, but in the toddler world it's an eternity, and better yet, it allowed me enough time to unload the dishwasher and clean the kitchen without my two little helpers. Unfortunately, this was the only time the entire day that Amelia was content to play. She's still stick and insisted that I hold her constantly. I realized very quickly how difficult it is to keep up with Graham when Amelia needs to be held so she spent the rest of the day very content in the baby carrier. She thanks me, but my back sure doesn't!

A Visit to Dr. Graham

Amelia paid Dr. Graham a visit today. I didn't say she was completely happy about it, but she did sit through her exam. First, Graham took her blood pressure...on her leg. I suggested to Graham that taking her blood pressure on her arm might give a more accurate reading. So, Amelia patiently sat through her second attempt at having her blood pressure taken.

When Dr. Graham was satisfied that Amelia's blood pressure was within the normal range, he moved onto listening to her heart and lungs with his stethoscope. This, Miss Amelia didn't have patience for. Dr. Graham isn't the most efficient doctor, and Amelia truthfully wasn't feeling well (she's got a rotten cold), so she ended her the exam by climbing off the couch and walking away. Chaos then ensued as Graham chased her, demanding that she come back to the doctor! As Amelia learns to talk, I've got a feeling some interesting conversations are just around the corner for these two!

Amelia and Miles

Amelia loves her baby cousin Miles! She loves to shower him with kisses and Miles was willing to accept each and every one. In fact, when Amelia decided she had shared enough kisses, Miles impressed her with his new army crawl as he moved towards her to get just a few more. It's going to be so much fun to watch the cousins grow up together-only 6 months separates Miles and Amelia and only 17 months between Amelia and Graham so they're all very close in age! Fun times ahead!

Twins Game!

Amelia and Graham gave their Daddy tickets to a baseball game for Father's Day. When I got the tickets back in June, an August game seemed so far off into the future but the summer is flying by and yesterday was the day. We went in with no expectations regarding how long Amelia and Graham would tolerate sitting at the game, since to be completely honest, I could have seen their behavior going either way. Luckily, they did a great job and their behavior even earned them compliments from other Twins fans sitting near us. Daddy Jeff and I had to work very hard to keep them content in their hard plastic chairs though. Let's just say that food, food, and more food, did the trick. We've got the kids so trained for their 7:00 bedtime though, that like clockwork, at 6:59, Amelia climbed into my lap to curl up and Graham climbed into his Daddy's lap demanding that the lights be turned off in the Metrodome so he could go 'night night'. Since dimming the lights clearly wasn't an option, we decided that 4.5 innings was a great attempt at our first ball game with two kids under 2!

Amelia still loves to be in the baby carrier. Here she is just after we parked our car and began our walk to the Metrodome.

Go Twins! Amelia was pretty excited to clap and cheer but you can see by all the empty seats the game hadn't even started yet...the teams were still warming up!

Hot dogs for all! And yes, Amelia is eating her hot dog like a big girl, complete with a bun. This girl can eat!

Sharing animal crackers with Dada Jeff

Just after 7:00-one tired girl!

On the way out of the game Graham was too tired to walk so I got Amelia in the baby carrier and Graham got a special ride back to the car.