The Loos Family

Halle Got a Haircut

2012-01-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well the Boo-girl's hair was getting too long. We looked at some pictures of little blonde haired girls and she decided she wanted her hair short. I agreed, so we did it!

Isn't she cute!?

A "before" picture just for good measure.

She's kind of scrunched up here, it's really about shoulder length. I think we could have gone even shorter, what do you think?

Rollerskating!

2012-01-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

We took the girls rollerskating for the very first time yesterday. The idea of putting on skates and dancing to fun music was way exciting to them.

Mike also rented skates (while I wussed out) so he took the girls out on the floor one at a time. Skating was a challenge for both of them, and sadly, unsuccessful. They couldn't stay standing for more than a few seconds on the wood floor. Fortunately, I think they thought falling was fun! They practiced on the carpeted areas and observed all the other skaters for awhile.

Kaia is a little less daring than Halle, so she spent most of the night on the sidelines lookin pretty.

After awhile, we decided to rent this walker-like thing. Kaia gave it a try, but decided she was happier just watching. Halle, however, went all the way around the ring several times. She still fell a lot, but did much better and really enjoyed herself.

Overall, we had a good time, and we'd totally do it again sometime. Next time I promise I'll rent skates too!

Bits n Pieces

2011-11-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

Just some random pics from this fall...

All four girls playing the piano. Isn't Addi just too cute!?

Our church had a fall family fest at a farm. The girls enjoyed riding the horses. Halle wanted to ride the big one...doesn't she look so little on that giant horse?

A girl and her blankie.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

Rapunzel and Cinderella ready to go Trick or Treating

"Halle, let's take a picture looking at our buckets...like this"

On Saturday we went to a benefit for a friend's mom. We wore our best for the occasion.

Tyler and the girls...what a lucky guy!

I love this picture. I am determined to get another one just like this when they're all grown up.

It's funny that all I said was "make a scary face" and they all do the same thing.

The kids danced for three hours straight, stopping only for drinks of water and cookies.

Don't panic people, it's fake. Looks real though, doesn't it? Last guy on earth you would catch with a cigarette in his mouth.

Happy Birthday Halle!

2011-07-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hey hey, Halle is 3 today! She was so "epcited"!

Just as we called the girls down for cupcakes and "Happy Birthday", Halle bumped her forehead on the closet door. If you look closely, you can see a few remaining tears and a giant bruise forming. So she wasn't at her best in this picture.

That's more like the Halle we know and love! Food cures all.

Yum!

By request, chocolate cupcakes with purple frosting and Rapunzel on them.

One of Halle's gifts from Mom and Dad was this water table. (Don't tell Halle, but I got it for $20 off of Craigslist.) It was a hit with all the kids! I think it'll bring hours and hours of fun.

Too busy concentrating to smile for the camera.

There was an abundance of Rapunzel and princess gifts at Halle's birthday. One was this Rapunzel doll from Alex and Addi. Anyone else see a resemblance?

A Fish Called Kaia

2011-07-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Kaia's been taking swim lessons and LOVES it. Watch the video below.

She was so excited about going off the diving board, she was talking about it all week, before she even had a chance to try it. Then, finally, the teacher suggested it on Thursday. She said, "Who wants to go first?" Kaia immediately jumped up "I do! I do!" She marched right up there and jumped off. This video was actually her second jump, she wasn't hesitating out of fear, she just wanted to make sure the teacher was close enough to catch her.

What a fish! She has been all smiles every time she's in the water. She's been so brave, floating, putting her face in the water, and swimming all the way across the pool (with a floatie of course). I think there will be A LOT more swimming in our future.

Big Girl Bed!

2011-07-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

Miss Halle got a big girl bed this weekend. (Thank you to Auntie Judy and Uncle Si!) She loves it of course. She's been so excited to go to sleep - we'll see how long that lasts! She still looks so tiny in it though. She even has to use a step stool to climb in it's so high. She's growing up too fast!

Kind of a neat side note...her bed used to be my cousin's. It actually matches the furniture I used to have as a kid. I think that's kind of cool.

The Last of the Cabo Pictures

2011-07-06T14:23:00.000-07:00

John and Heather

Joel and Anna

Yup, this was a real person. He was standing to still, Mike stood right next to him for at least a few minutes and didn't even notice he was there.

The cruise ship blocked our beautiful dinner view!

And then it was gone...much better!

Our anniversary dinner. We celebrated 8 years on the 14th. Just so happened to be during our trip.

The famous Arch.

Tropical fish swimming up next to the boat.

And only moments later, our camera was submerged in water and suffered death by drowning. No worries, we got a card reader and retrieved all the photos. And we used some money I earned doing day care for a friend to buy a new (and better) camera that is being shipped this week.

New Bikes!

2011-06-22T19:13:00.001-07:00

We didn't think Kaia needed to have a new bike this year, but Halle started riding Kaia's old bike around. So basically, Kaia got kicked off her old bike and got to pick out a new one. I'm glad we did it because both girls have really taken off. They're both flying up and down the sidewalk. Any bets on who will be first to take off her training wheels?

And a Few More...

2011-06-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

We went on a ATV tour through the desert and along the Pacific coast. I thought it was very scary, but everyone else had a blast. If you look close you can see how dirty we got riding through the sand.

This is the end for now. We did not end up with a lot of pictures. Too busy having fun I guess. We have more pictures on our little point and shoot camera, but Mike dropped it in the water and it's officially broken. We should be able to get the photos off the memory card, but we have to find a card reader first. Anyone have an xD card reader we can borrow?

Check out the Bradberg blog and the Kelner blog (links on the right) for some more great pics taken by our friends.

More from Cabo

2011-06-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Some night-time entertainment - a girl dancing with fire! The night setting on the camera makes it look super cool!

Divorce Beach...opposite of Lover's Beach

View of our resort from Lover's Beach. Lover's Beach is a beach out by the famous Cabo arch. You can only get to it by boat. Lover's beach is on the Sea of Cortez, but you can walk a few feet to Divorce Beach on the Pacific side.

Cabo San Lucas

2011-06-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Some photos from our trip to Cabo San Lucas.

The view from our hotel room.

Dinner on the beach. It was a little chilly that night, so the waitstaff gave us some blankets to bundle up with. We live in Minnesota, you'd think we could handle it, but really we're wimps.

Badger eyes!

Just Testing

2011-06-09T09:50:00.001-07:00

I downloaded the blogger app on my phone, so I'm testing it out. This might make posting way more convenient. Hope it works!

It's "Slippy Slide" Time!

2011-06-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

It's been really hot here the last few days, so FINALLY we could take out all the water toys. The girls have been asking for weeks to play with the "slippy slide". It's going to take some time to get the coordination (and the courage) to do the traditional run and slide. It's more like, run, stop, drop to your tummy, and crawl. Kaia started with the army crawl, and eventually progressed to running and sliding on her knees. Hopefully she'll have it down by the end of the summer.

Like the pink tutu swimsuit? She picked it out herself...and I reluctantly bought it for her.

Oh Halle!

2011-02-25T06:40:00.000-08:00

Cleaning up yesterday, I found this Barbie with some very strategically placed stickers. Halle giggled and claimed it as her work. Nice!

Valentines!

2011-02-10T19:43:00.000-08:00

Here is Kaia with her loot. Her preschool class exchanged Valentines today. She was so excited! This was her first real exchange. She gave away Toy Story ones, and wanted to make sure the girls all got the ones with Jessie on them. We had fun going through all the stuff she got. And she only ate two pieces of candy so far!

Kaia's First Movie

2011-02-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Mike took Kaia to her first ever movie in the theater. They saw "Tangled" the story of Rapunzel. She LOVED every minute of it! Her only issue was that she's so little, if she leaned back in the seat, it would fold up on her! She had to lean forward and sit on the front of the seat, but she didn't complain. I will admit, I was a little jealous that I didn't get to experience this "first" with her, but movies are kind of Mike's thing. No worries, she came home and asked if next time Halle and I could come too. I think she likes being all together.

So now we have another princess to be obsessed with. Kaia is currently saving her quarters for a Rapunzel barbie. Oh boy!

And yes, it looks like Kaia is missing her two front teeth, but she is not. I think it's just her tongue in the way.

Kaia's Dance Recital

2010-12-19T16:34:00.000-08:00

Kaia had her first dance recital this weekend. She did great! We got her all dolled up, curled her hair and everything! She was so excited. I was nervous. The recital was in a gym with half the town of Farmington watching. All the people didn't seem to bother her at all, she did a really nice job.

Halle enjoyed watching. The show was over an hour long, but she paid attention the whole time. She kept saying "They're dancing!" I have a feeling she'll be starting lessons in a few years too.

e

Halloween Cuties

2010-10-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from the Loos girls! If you cannot tell, Kaia is Tinkerbell and Halle is a Care Bear. They had so much fun tonight. We went to a party at a neighbors for dinner, then went trick or treating around the neighborhood with cousin Alex. Kaia and Alex were so excited to knock on all the doors. They were extra polite and said "Thank you, Happy Halloween" after getting candy. Halle was just shocked that people were just giving her candy. After every house she'd say, "I got candy, Mom!" What a perfect night!

I had to get a shot of the back of Halle's costume because it has a heart on the rear end, just like a real Care Bear. I just think it's the cutest thing! So, of course, Kaia thought I should take a picture of the back of her costume too!

Best Picture Ever!!!

2010-09-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

Does that not make you giggle out loud!?

Kaia's First Day of Preschool

2010-09-14T12:23:00.001-07:00

Kaia started Preschool today!!! She did so well! There were no tears, just really big smiles. She said she played with the dollhouse, did an art project, played play-doh, and read books. When asked if she was ready to go back next week she responded with a very enthusiastic "yes". She's such a big girl!

If you haven't figured it out, Kaia picked out her entire outfit, including the Cinderella shirt, ruffle socks, and pearl necklace. She insisted on those...

And, of course, the minute we pull away from the building, Halle asks "Where Kaia go?" Sure beats last week when we left Kaia at a friend's house and Halle cried the whole way to our destination. I think she's kind of lost without her sister, but I'm sure she'll get used to it when she realizes how great it is to be on her own.

Kaia got a haircut!

2010-09-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

I finally got up the guts to do it...I brought Kaia to get her hair chopped. I was so nervous about cutting so much off, it was like I was cutting my own hair. She doesn't seem to notice a difference. It's a lot shorter and it's cute, but I still don't know if I like it.
Kaia's been into getting her picture taken lately. This is her modeling her haircut, her new shoes, and her new dance outfit. She starts dance next week! Exciting!

And of course, Halle had to join in the fun with her new shoes too! Sorry about the nakedness...she's just beginning a little potty training, so she spends half the day looking like a Victoria Secret model.

We are Having Swing Set!

2010-09-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

Check out our newest project. Mike built a swing set for the girls this weekend. the kit said it would take 8 hours to put together. Try 18 hours spread over the course of three days! Awesome! Thank you to Matt, Laura, Marty, and Jess for giving up their weekend fun to help. It looks nice and the kids LOVE it!

Scenery and Random Aruba Stuff

2010-07-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

This is not Aruba, it's another island we passed over in the Carribbean.

As we landed in Aruba.

Take off in Aruba.

Our beach.

Our beach again...it was a little cloudy when I took this so the water doesn't appear as beautiful as it really was.

There are wild iguanas all over the place. There were a few that lived in the bushes at our resort. We watched one day as a bird and an iguana teamed up on a girl holding a piece of pizza. The animals won. The bird dive bombed her, she dropped the pizza, and the iguana carried it away. Hilarious!

All the license plates say "One Happy Island". I can see why!

More from Aruba...

2010-07-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

We went to eat at a very nice restaurant on the beach. The tables are in the sand, some even in the water. We watched the sunset. Very romantic!

My dessert was excellent!
Mike did not like his too much. Dutch apple pie...I think it was too authentic, not Americanized enough.

Aruba Jeep Tour

2010-07-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

One of the best things we did on vacation was this jeep tour. We went around to several different scenic spots on the island, riding in a Land Rover. Much of the tour was off-road, very bumpy and a little scary. But we laughed the whole time. It was so much fun.

One of our stops was at this rock formation, CasiBari. Neat view, great pictures.

Most of the offroading was spent getting to the Natural Pool, a spot on the shore where rocks create just that, a natural pool. It was a neat place to see and to snorkel.

Mike is standing up near the waterfall.
Mike is giving the thumbs up sign.
If you look closely, you can see the Natural Pool near the middle of the picture.

We stopped at a donkey sanctuary. Could have done without that...

This is the Natural Bridge, a rock formation that looks like a bridge over the water. It's pretty cool. They actually had a bigger one that collapsed in 2005.

And this is the gold mine ruins.

You can see the stack of rocks here, the whole shore there is lined with stacks of rocks. It's not a native tradition. Apparently tourists started the trend, "stack a rock, make a wish" so now everyone does it.

Snorkeling in Aruba

2010-07-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

We drove to a beach called Baby Beach. It's a huge beach where the water is really calm and shallow. It's separated from open water by a big reef, so there's great snorkeling there too. We got some neat underwater pictures, so I'll post those later.

Baby Beach is not the most pretty beach on the island, note the refinery in the background.

Mike thought it would be a good idea to feed the seagulls. Crazy guy! I thought we were going to be attacked, or in the very least, pooped on.

We went on a snorkeling trip on a sailboat too. We stopped at a shallow reef and a shipwreck. More details to come with the underwater pictures. I've never sailed before, so that was a neat experience. On a side note, there was open bar during the entire snorkel trip too. Again, not something we could do in the US...get you drunk and drop you into open water. Things are different in the Caribbean.

Aruba Party Bus

2010-07-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

One night we went on this bus tour. The bus is a crazy painted old school bus with no windows blaring loud music. We stopped at a lighthouse, went to a local house for dinner, and hopped around to 3 local bars. We had a good time. Too good.

There was a great view from the lighthouse.

That's the bus in the background.

This is us with "Mama" our "tour guide" on the trip. She was like the town wild party lady. She did her best to show everyone a good time.

Aruba, Jamaica, oooo, I wanna take ya....

2010-07-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Well, Mike and I got back from a week long vacation in Aruba last night. It was AWESOME! Beautiful beaches. We got to do a lot and see a lot. We had such a good time. The kids stayed home with Grandma Roni and Grandpa Art. They also had a good time, because I'm sure you're wondering. I'm going to post some pictures, but it's going to take a few postings.

I know my face doesn't look it, but I'm having fun, really, I am! The sun was so bright!

This was the beach at our hotel, Eagle beach, rated one of the best beaches in the world. The pictures don't do it justice. White sand, mild surf, warm clear blue water. It looks just like the pictures you see in magazines.

We went on an evening boating excursion, I suppose you could call it a party boat...Here we are with some friends we met on the boat. At the end of the night, they anchor the boat and let you go on the waterslide and rope swing into the ocean. Yeah, that would never fly in the US. But it sure was fun!

Every night there was a beautiful sunset!

Meet Addison Rose...

2010-06-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here she is! The newest Loos baby girl, born to Mike's brother Marty and his wife, Jess on Monday. She looks a lot like her big sister, Alex. Kaia and Halle were very excited to meet her. I told Kaia she was her cousin, and Kaia said, "Nooo...Alex is my cousin." Halle learned Addison's name right away, and enjoyed giving her lots of gentle touches. We are all so excited!

Joyful Noise

2010-06-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend, my sister, Lora came for a visit. On Saturday, the local Christian radio station had an outdoor music festival. It was cold and rainy but we decided to go anyway. We had a good time, but it would have been way more fun if it was sunny. The kids had a good time playing in the bouncy houses. We heard some great bands. We stuck around to see Go Fish, one of our favorites, but we left before the big names, Matthew West, Kutless, and Third Day. We're definitely going next year, when I'm sure it will be 90 degrees and humid.

Kaia and I went and stood right in front of the stage during Go Fish. They are SO good! Kaia looked a little overwhelmed, but enjoyed herself on the inside. They had copies of their new CD scheduled to release in September, we bought it of course. So we can still say we own all their CDs.

Dressing Up

2010-06-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

We are WAY into dressing up these days. Your average, every-day outfits just won't do. Get a load of this diva:

A Cars T-shirt and pearls. Priceless! And how about that sassy pose? Later that day, she threw on a pair of sunglasses and went to ECFE. Boy, were her teachers impressed!

Her shirt says "I was born to shop!". I found the pink boots at a garage sale, they've been a hit!

Kaia will rarely wear anything other than dresses these days. It started with Princess dresses that she's only allowed to wear at home. She would wear them from breakfast till bedtime. If we went somewhere, she'd have to wear normal clothes, but the minute we walked in the door, she'd strip down and get that princess dress right back on. Now that it's nice outside, she can wear regular dresses. I don't think she's worn shorts or pants AT ALL in the last two weeks. Several mornings this week, she's woken up, come into our room when we're still sleeping and asked "Mom, can I put a dress on now?" And when she can, she accessorizes with a crown and princess shoes. She is ALL girl.

Halle, on the other hand, will wear anything as long as it's goofy. Sunglasses, 20 necklaces, headbands, my shoes, whatever. Here she's sporting one of the Hemmila boy's hats. Doesn't she look cute? She thought she was pretty awesome too.

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T19:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day! Mike went golfing (of course) and the girls and I went to the beach. We had a lot of fun. Played in the water, played in the sand, played on the playground, watched the other kids. All Kaia wanted to do was eat, I think she's going through a growth spurt. But we came home exhausted. I definitely think we'll do it again, maybe bring some friends along next time.

Movin and Zoomin

2010-05-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

Farmington ECFE hosted "Movin and Zoomin" night tonight. Kaia and I went with Asher, Zekie, and Isak. They had all kinds of vehicles: buses, tractors, racecars, police and fire vehicles. Kaia was hesitant to sit inside some of them, but it was fun to look around.

There was a large area set aside to ride bikes, and, of course, that was what all the kids wanted to do.

In Addition..

2010-05-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

In case you're curious, Halle couldn't come with us to Movin and Zoomin because she was sick with the pukies today. Yuck. Hopefully it passes quickly and noone else gets it.

On a more positive note, we went to Winona this weekend. I didn't take any pictures, too busy catching up. But you can find some pics on the Bradberg blog and the Kelner blog. The kids had such a good time playing together. Bradbergs have a cute pic of Kaia feeding Connor ice cream.

Really, I'm NOT Overprotective...

2010-04-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

Last week, the bike helmets were a huge hit. They found them out in the garage and insisted on wearing them outside and inside all week long. Our neighbors must think I'm a crazy overprotective mom. I have to say, the extra protection has paid off more than once - saved Halle when she fell off a chair and Kaia when she fell off the swing. But really, they're just making a fashion statement.

What I've been up to...

2010-04-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

I've been busy trying to paint the inside of the house. A few weeks ago I finished my bedroom and bathroom. I know you're dying what it looks like, right?

The blue took some getting used to, but I love the brown. It goes with the tiles and the woodwork perfectly!

Last week I painted Kaia's room, but I'm working on a shelf and some other things for her walls, so I'll post pictures when it's all done. All of this has inspired some kind of crafty bug within me. I've been working on a few little things to tap into my creative side. At a MOPS meeting, we made coasters with felt. I worked really hard to make a pair for Mike's office, something I thought he would enjoy. I drew, traced, and cut and I was so happy when the two colored pieces fit together perfectly. Then I took a good long look at the finished product.....

Notice anything wrong here? Not my proudest moment, but funny, that's for sure.

One Happy Girl!

2010-04-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well garage sale season is officially underway. Yahoo!!! Last night I hit a neighborhood sale and scored some great finds. It was like Christmas morning to Kaia this morning. The girls got several things, but most prized were this tiara (Just yesterday Kaia said, "Mom, I think I need a crown, don't I?") and a ziplock bag of Cars characters. Oh so fun!

Princesses!

2010-04-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

Princesses are all the rage at our house lately. Kaia refers to herself as either Princess Kaia or Princess Cinderella. And Halle is Princess Halle or Snow White. I nearly fell off my chair when Halle pointed to a picture of Cinderella and said a mumbled version of "Cinderella". More often than not, the princess dresses are on, sometimes accompanied by jewelry, fancy shoes, and fairy wings. And for some reason it's really fun to push strollers around the house while dressed up. Makes you feel more glamorous I guess. Since we only have two dresses, I've been picking up every frilly, pretty thing I can find at garage sales. Just today a picked up two pink feather boas for $1. Seriously, this is so fun for me, I LOVE having girls!

Wonder Woman!

2010-04-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Here she comes to save the day!!! Halle discovered this costume at a friend's house.

Someone wrapped a blanket around her like a cape. Then she really started dashing around like a superhero!

Children's Museum

2010-04-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

On Good Friday, we met the Kelners at the Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul. It is such a cool place with so much to do for every age kid. I highly recommend it to anyone with young kids. The best part was hanging out with the Kelner family though. Kaia and Tyler always enjoy playing together. I didn't take a ton of pictures because my battery power was low, but here are a few.

Young love!

This room just has a bunch of water tables with tubes, fountains, boat races, bubbles, etc. Halle could spend the whole day here.

Mike and Kaia having a jam session. This room has a stage with a bluescreen. You press a button and a pop song plays and you can watch yourself on TV screens that make it look like you're in a music video. Super cool.

So stinkin cute! Cute now, but when they're 15 we'll think differently I'm sure.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-06T14:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! We enjoyed a nice Easter weekend at home. Mike's parents and his cousin came to visit and Marty, Jess, and Alex came over too. The girls had a great time playing and eating lots of candy. I tried to get some pictures of them in their Easter dresses, but all I could get were some action shots. Again, too much sugar.

My aunts sent the girls a few Easter gifts they've been having fun with. I laughed so hard at Kaia "jumping rope". She just waves the rope in the air while jumping as fast as she can. I suppose to her, that's what it looks like when other people do it.

Back in Business...

2010-04-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

I'm back and I've made some promises to renew my commitment to the blog. I will do my best to keep up. So here we go again...

By the way, I said good-bye to my 20s this weekend. WHAT!? I'm 30! How did that happen!? This is going to take some getting used to. But really, when it's all said and done, I've accomplished my 30-bucket-list: I have a college degree, I'm married, I own a home, I have two little girls, and I'm very happy. So I will count my blessings and suck it up. But I may "accidentally" tell people I'm 28 once in a while!

Mike made me a cake - a poop cake to be exact. On his 30th birthday, I ordered a cake from a bakery. I requested an Over the Hill theme thinking I would get black flowers or something along those lines, however, I got three brown mounds that were supposed to be hills. Put together, they looked like a giant turd. So, from then on, every 30th birthday we celebrate deserves a poop cake.

Mike worked hard to make my birthday very special. In addition to a poop cake he also got me an electric floor polisher (not romantic, but definitely appreciated!) and a trip to the Virgin Islands! We still have to set dates and make plans for the trip, but I'm hoping it's soon! Thanks to everyone for the birthday cards and wishes!

Halle Gettin Goofy

2010-02-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

Halle is such a ham sometimes! This may look like a growl, but it's really her silly smile. Halle just turned 18 months old, and, oh, I can tell. She's suddenly realized she doesn't have to do what you want her to do, and it's actually kind of fun to do the opposite of what mom wants. She's learned the word "no".

She's obsessed with puppies and shoes. She is always pointing and asking "Puppy?" everywhere there might possibly be a puppy. It makes Kaia so angry, "NO, Halle, there's NO puppies here!" She has also decided she will only wear certain pairs of shoes - usually dress shoes that make noise when she walks. If you try to put an unapproved pair on her feet, she'll actively protest, and take them off first chance she gets. I think she's a teenager already. Oh yes, and when she is doing something she knows she's not supposed to do, she'll look at you and say "Hi" in all her sweetness, like she's taunting you. What a stinker!

I talk like it's all bad, but Halle's still really very sweet and easy going. Just a few little laughable quirks. It's actually fun to see her gain some independence. She had her 18 month check up yesterday. She's right in the 50th percentile for everything, 23 lbs 8 oz and 32 inches tall. I was just thinking...at what age does it become inappropriate to post my daughter's weight on the internet?

In the Words of Kaia...

2010-01-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today, I was looking at a Best Buy ad. Kaia saw it and exclaimed, "That's Best Buy!" Funny how she knows the stores we frequent by their logos. Then, as I paged through, she said, "Oh...look at all the Daddy things!" Hmmm...can you guess which one of us shops there???

Waahahaha...I am Giant Baby!

2010-01-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

Halle enjoys playing peek-a-boo through the windows of the dollhouse and terrorizing the dolls.

Cutie Pies

2010-01-18T18:45:00.000-08:00

My mom made the girls aprons for Christmas. Aren't they just too cute? Now I suppose we have to do some baking....

Workin Off the Christmas Goodies

2010-01-15T18:37:00.000-08:00

I bought myself an exercise bike for Christmas. I love it. Kaia likes it too. Apparently, she likes to get in a workout while brushing her teeth.

Bedtime Girls

2010-01-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

They looked so cute in their matching jammies. I tried cutting in so I could sit on the chair to read a book to Halle. She made it VERY clear she did not want me there, she wanted Kaia to read her a bedtime story instead.

Happy Friday!

2009-11-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Halle took her ponytail out of her hair. Kaia said, "Mommy, Halle looks like a banana!" Well alrighty then! You are what you eat, right?

How Creative!

2009-11-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

Last week, we spent a lot of time at home while Halle was sick. Kaia loves being free to play and pretend all day. It doesn't matter how many toys they have, it's the ordinary stuff that's the most fun. She came up with this one on her own using a tissue box that was lying around, and I found a second box for her. They're seriously like ice skates on carpet! She laughed so hard, slipping, sliding, and falling down, she got me giggling. What a silly girl!

For you Office fans out there...this reminds me of Kevin, do you remember why?

Caramel Apples!

2009-11-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

I LOVE caramel apples. It's one of the best things about fall. I saw some caramel apples in the grocery store and thought Kaia might appreciate trying one. Well, she took about two bites - neither of which included any apple - and said she was done. I'm surprised! Whatev, more for me! I managed to choke it down.

On another note, Halle has had a fever for the last few days, and has not been herself. She has no other symptoms, so I'm not too concerned. We happened to have a check up scheduled for tonight, so we'll see what the doctor says. But just look at how sad she looks...

Celebrate Good Times!

2009-11-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

We've reached a huge milestone in the Loos family today. And it has nothing to do with the kids! Today, I paid off the balance on our car loan. Now, the ONLY remaining debt we have is our mortgage. Yahoo! It feels so good. Never in our married life had we even come close to this. We've always had debt and payments upon payments. And yeah, Mike's new job has helped, but we are by no means swimming in money, we've just gotten smarter about it. Last winter we took a course called Financial Peace University though our church. It's a product of Dave Ramsey, a well known financial guru. It was phenomenal! I recommend it to ANYONE! Ok, I'm off my soapbox. If you want to know more, ask me, or go to the FPU website. I'm so excited I just needed to tell the world.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

We had a nice Halloween. Halle was a ladybug and Kaia was a princess. Kaia loved being all dressed up. We were going to go Trick or Treating, but it was FREEZING so we decided to skip that tradition this year. Kaia won't know the difference. Instead we went to a big party at a church in town. It was fun...bouncy house, games, tacos, balloon animals, and candy, of course. However, I now have a huge bowl of candy left because we weren't home when the trick or treaters came around. Anyone want any?

Why is it, we always have a hard time getting good Halloween pictures? Even before all the candy and excitement.

Mike and Kaia made a kid sized pie at a Bakers Square pie booth at the party. Cool idea.

Halle demonstrating her "I want to hold you" sign.

It's not Halloween without Jack O Lanterns. The one on the bottom is Kaia's, the big one is Mike's, the BOO one belongs to Halle-boo (fitting, right?), and the top one is mine - he has plastic spiders crawling up his face...creeps me out every time a look at it.

I'd Say It's Official

2009-10-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

Halle is walking!!!!! Yay!

She's just so stinkin cute! And so proud of herself.

Congratulations Joe and Melinda!

2009-10-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Mike and I went to Phoenix Arizona for our friends Joe and Melinda's wedding. We made it a long weekend and got in a little vacation time too. The weather was beautiful, I can see why people live there. The wedding was at this beautiful outdoor garden. We had a great time. We are so happy for Joe and Melinda!

Goin' To Grandma's

2009-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

As I type, Kaia is pushing her shopping cart around the house. It is filled with toys. In the child seat sits Curious George, wearing a diaper. And Kaia is wearing my purse she found on the counter and her "Auntie is good" shirt from Auntie Lora. She told me, "I'm goin' to Grandma's house to watch Little Mermaid with my George." Have fun Kaia! Say hi to Grandma for me!

Congratulations Rick and Jill!

2009-10-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had a busy October. Last weekend, we went to Phoenix for a wedding/vacation. This past weekend we went down to Rochester for our friends Rick and Jill's wedding. I have so many pictures. Yay! So I'll be posting more throughout the week.

So I'll start out of order with Rick and Jill this past weekend. What a fun wedding and what a great couple. It was good to see some of our Winona friends there too. The girls and Kylie spent the night at Marty and Jess's house. From what I hear, they had fun too.

More from Rick and Jill's Wedding

2009-10-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Mike had some sweet moves. As always.

Yes, that is the air sax!

Doin' the Laundry

2009-09-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

What a goof! Kaia hauled both my laundry baskets downstairs. She's sitting in one, on top of her pillow, reading a book to her baby. The other is next to her, in it lies Dora, covered up with a blanket, obviously taking a nap. Kaia is really developing her imaginary play! Love it!

Jam Session

2009-09-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Cassie got Kaia a little guitar from Ecuador, and she plays it all the time. She sings real songs, nonsense songs, anything. I'll hear her singing ABCs, for example, she'll end the song, and say "How bout Jesus Loves Me? OK. 'Jesus loves me this I know...'" Once in awhile she and Mike will jam together. It's so cute. She even dances while she plays.

First Day of School 2009

2009-09-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day of ECFE. I have been anxiously awaiting the start of school year activites. This year both Halle and Kaia are in a multi-age class together (last year the class was for Kaia while Halle went to childcare). We play for awhile and then the parents go into another room for parent discussion. This class is a book study on the book Top 20 Parents. Seems interesting enough, I'll keep you posted if I learn anything ground breaking. The girls did really well and had a lot of fun. The class is small, only 4 moms and 6 kids, of which my two are the only girls. I figure we'll all get to know each other really well.

IPhone Pictures

2009-09-14T18:07:00.001-07:00

Mike sent me some pictures that he had stored on his phone from the last few weeks. I can't seem to fix the formatting...no idea how it got this way, sorry. The first three are from a trip to the park. Kaia's hair is the best! The last two are from the State Fair. They have an exhibit there called "Little Farm Hands" where kids get aprons and John Deere hats and pretend to do farm like activites. Are we in Minnesota, or what?

Can You Believe It's September?

2009-09-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful weekend! One of the warmest weekends all summer, and it's the middle of September. We even took out the pool (AKA the "kool" according to Kaia) for maybe the third time this year. The girls had such a good time splashing and playing. We tried puting the pool under the slide this time. Boy, that was fun! Kaia went down a zillion times. We'll definitely do that again! Halle was fearless as usual. She climbed in headfirst, splashed like mad, and kept trying to climb up the slippery slide over and over again. Seriously, that girl is trouble.

Here's another funny from the weekend. We went on a walk on Saturday. As we walked by a pond, Kaia said, "Mommy, look at those corn dogs!" They were cattails. And yes, they do look just like corn dogs. I suppose vegetables grow on plants, why can't corn dogs? What a world that would be....

Bad Hair Day

2009-09-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Halle woke up from her nap like this one day. I think it's the hair gel made from bananas and macaroni and cheese.

Digger!

2009-09-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

We're getting neighbors! There is a house being built next door. Kaia and Alex got a kick out of watching the excavator dig the basement last week. A bunch of lots have been sold around us and are either being built on right now, or are very close. It won't be long before our street is filled. Very exciting!

Mini-Cassie

2009-09-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

This is not the first time Halle has tried to put on shoes...hers, mine, Kaia's, Mike's. She works so hard at it! If you didn't already know, my sister, Cassie, is obsessed with shoes. I believe Halle may be headed down the same treacherous path...

I forgot to mention that I finally joined Facebook this weekend. If you're on there, find me. Wow is it overwhelming! There are people out there I haven't talked to in ages. It's fun to learn what everyone's doing. But mostly I want to keep in touch with my out of town friends and family. But, no worries, I will NOT neglect the blog. Blog, first, Facebook, second.

Labor Day Recap

2009-09-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

We had a nice weekend at home. No visitors, no set plans, there were actually moments when I was bored. On Friday morning we all went to the State Fair, ate some cheese curds, huge bucket of chocolate chip cookies, and lots of milk. Our new tradition: go to Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar, pay $14 for a pail of cookies, then walk a few blocks to the All You Can Drink Milk barn, pay $1 for as much ice cold milk you can drink, then pig out. Mmmmmm. We also watched a magic show (lame), toured the "Little Farm Hands" exhibit (fun for Kaia), and went to the Miracle of Birth Center to see all the baby animals. We got to see a cow and calf just after giving birth. Kaia took a look at the cow's afterbirth and said "That one's bleeding, Daddy" but it didn't seem to bother her. Then Kaia and Mike watched a pig giving birth. Again, didn't seem to bother her, "Here comes another one, Daddy!". I guess it will be easier to explain where babies come from when she finally springs that question on us!

The rest of the weekend was spent golfing, garage sailing, playing The Newlywed game, playing at parks, bike riding, playing poker, watching movies, shopping, frisbee golfing, and waiting for the Hemmila baby to arrive. He/she is a week late already!

Here are some pictures of the girls during playtime. They are SO silly...must take after Mike...

Yup, she's sitting in the bin.

And apparently eating something very delicious from the cup...a malt perhaps?

Kaia reading to her Care Bear. She's been pretending A LOT lately. And she's been obsessed with Care Bears, we've got a collection started.

Hey Kaia, smile for the camera. Frrrnt!

Wednesday Update

2009-09-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we took a family trip to Winona to spend some time with our friends down there. We had a really good time, minus the fact that Halle did not sleep well Saturday night. I was busy trying to catch up with everyone while chasing around the girls that I didn't take a single picture. Heather took some though, they're posted on her blog, The Bradbergs, the link is listed on the right.

I can't not post any pictures, so here are a few from a month ago when a few college friends came to visit. These are Sarah's girls. Bunch of cuties.

Halle and Olivia. Olivia is about 4 months older than Halle. Everytime I looked at her, I couldn't help but think, "this is exactly what Halle will look like in 4 months". The blonde hair, the chubby cheeks, and their personalities are similar too.

Grace and Kaia. The girls played so well together.

Kaia's First Haircut

2009-08-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

Kaia had her very first professional haircut this morning. She was such a good girl. She sat so still and listened very well. She was all excited to get a sucker when she was done.

They stylist even put some mousse in her hair that really brought out the curl. So cute!

News Flash

2009-08-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

Halle just crawled up the entire flight of stairs! Of course, I was following very close behind. Even worse, she got to the top and turned around to go down head first. I'm freaking out just a little. Our stairs are wide and angled, making it impossible to put up a gate. We're going to have to be creative. It's a good thing that I have a thousand rubbermaid totes downstairs. I set three of them up to stand guard for now. Oh boy!

Halle's also taken up sign language. I did absolutely no sign language with her as a baby. Just in the last few weeks, we tried a few mealtime signs. She's already learned "more" and "all finished". Just today I was eating a bowl of cereal and she crawled over and said "Mmmm" and signed "more". What a smart kid. This is going to be very helpful!

Trip to Brainerd

2009-08-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

Before camp, we took a little overnight trip to visit our friends, the Koles family, on vacation in Brainerd. They were staying at a golf resort called Maddens. I've never been to Brainerd before. It was a nice, summer cottage kind of town. We just kind of hung out, ate ice cream, and Mike went golfing. Kaia actually got to see Mike golf for the first time. One of the holes was right outside the hotel room. I wonder what she imagined "golf" was before...

Happy Birthday Kaia!

2009-08-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Kaia's third birthday. She had been waiting for her day for a long time. We had some friends over for dinner and Dora cake to celebrate. (I made the cake myself. I'm pretty proud of this one, folks. It wasn't really that hard, it just took me a long time. I guess I can bake after all.) Kaia had such a good time. She got lots of neat gifts. The one I'm most excited about is this scooter Mike and I got for her. She saw one in Toys R Us a few weeks ago and rode it around the whole store. She's been riding it around the house for now. As soon as the rain clears, we'll take it outside.

And Still More...

2009-08-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

I should have just made a slidshow...

Halle really fell asleep like that during closing worship.

Halle and Zoey. Zoey is only a few months younger than Halle.

Nate and Zoey

John and Halle. I should have got one of John and Kaia. She's very fond of John. When we first saw him, I asked her if she remembered him and she said, "Yes, I love you."

Football Season Is Here!

2009-08-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Lora stumbled upon some tickets to the Packer Preseason game last weekend. It was so much fun! We won of course. It's exciting to know football season is upon us. This picture was taken with Mike's IPhone, pretty good quality, huh?

In other football news, I guess Brett is now a Viking. I don't even know what to say... I'm losing my respect for him. Just retire already! Bottom line, favorite quarterback will always be the one in green and gold.

More Camp Pictures

2009-08-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

Halle managed to do this all by herself. I guess she was done eating.

This one deserves an explanation. One day we did family foot washing to symbolize serving one another, like Jesus washed the disciples' feet. Kaia enthusiastically gave Mike's feet and my feet a good scrubbing. Very cute.

Family Camp 2009

2009-08-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Last week we took our annual trip to family camp. We had a ton of fun! When you ask Kaia what her favorite part was she says "singing songs". She could not get enough of the singing and dancing. Mike's favorite was probably golf, frisbee golf, and the people. My favorite part was seeing so many of our friends and family and meeting new friends. I brought a stack of books to read because I assumed I would have a lot of down time in the cabin, but that was NOT the case. I don't think I even made it through half a book. We were kept busy. By the end of the week we were all exhausted. Again, another awesome vacation!

Happy First Birthday Halle!

2009-07-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

"What's this"

"Got It!"

"Hmm, now what do I do with it?"
"Oooo!"
"Yum-o, thank you so much for this delicious cake, Mommy!"
"Ooo, it's so good! Is it gone already?"
"Plate, not so good. I want some more!"

Halle had a great birthday. We had some friends over for dinner yesterday. I decorated with some pink balloons and a birthday sign. When Kaia saw it she exclaimed, "It's my pink birthday!" I had to explain that it was Halle's birthday today, and hers was another day. She's already decided she wants a pink cake. Halle was excited too, she's been totally entertained chasing balloons around the house. I can't believe my baby is one!

It's Summertime..and the Livin's Easy

2009-07-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

No time to blog...we've been enjoying the outdoors...

Playing Dress Up

2009-07-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

I found some fun dress up stuff at garage sales. Two sets of butterfly/fairy wings for I think 50 cents each. And a unicorn costume and a bumble bee costume for $1 each. Every once in a while, Kaia and I run around the house, wearing our wings, flapping our arms, saying "I'm a beautiful butterfly". Alex likes the costumes even more than Kaia does. In the first picture, they were admiring themselves in the mirror. The second picture was snapped just as Kaia pushed Alex down. I'm not proud that my daughter pushed her (she took a time out after that), but I think the devious look on Kaia's face as Alex dives to the ground is kind of comical. Those two argue like sisters.

We Have a Yard!

2009-06-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Finally, the outside of our house looks like a home! We have a driveway, sod, landscaping, and even a patio. Mike even built stairs for the patio. Now if only the weather would cooperate...all I want to do is get outside! It's so awesome!

Mike's New Look

2009-06-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

Mike got some new glasses. His old ones broke and he was left walking around with superglued frames for the last 3 weeks. Aren't they stylish? I think he looks good. A regular Danny Gokey. Much improved from his old look....

You may be thinking, "yeah, we all have embarrassing middle school pictures". No, no, my friend, this was a school photo taken in 1993, which I believe was his senior year. It's a good thing Mike and I did not meet until six years later...hee, hee. Love you, Mike!

Post-Pigtails

2009-06-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

And this is what happens when you wear pigtails all day... She looks just like Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, when he dresses like a crazy ex-football player to visit the mental institution.

I CANNOT Bake

2009-06-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

I tried to make banana bread....this was the result. My mom brought some banana bread over a few weeks ago, and I've been dreaming about it ever since. I thought I'd try making some - whole wheat though - so I don't feel as guilty about eating half a loaf. I got a well-reviewed whole wheat recipe at allrecipes.com, and I followed the recipe exactly, I swear. However, it said "cool on a wire rack for at least 1/2 hour" so after removing it from the oven, I immediately flipped it out of the pan onto the wire rack. Well, half of it stayed in the pan. The pan was greased, that wasn't the problem, I think I just should have left the bread relax in there for awhile. On top of that, I don't think I cooked it long enough. Eating it this morning, it was pretty mushy, but not bad, didn't seem to bother Kaia or Halle. Since then, I remembered that the whole wheat flour I used was pretty old (I just don't bake often, do you see why?). So my new theory is that the old flour ruined the recipe, and the rushed, post-oven transfer did not help matters. I bought some more bananas today. I'll try again when they get old and nasty. Until then, I'm still convinced....I CANNOT BAKE!

Halle-Boo

2009-06-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

Both Kaia and Halle have a lot of silly nicknames, usually invented by Mike. One of Halle's most popular nicknames is Halle-Boo. I don't know why, it just sounds cute. I think it may have even been started by me, which is exciting to me, none of my catch phrases ever become a trend. Anyway, Halle-Boo also lends itself to other variations, including "Miss Boo" and "Boo Pants". I find it especially funny when Kaia calls her by those names...

Anyway, I just had some cute photos of her. The top one doing "So Big", and the second posing with Aunt Lora. Halle still is not crawling. She's taken to rolling around the house instead. She's quick too...several times she's grabbed something of Kaia's and rolled away as fast as she could with a big smile on her face. In the last few days I've caught her up on hands and knees though! She does have two bottom, two top teeth now. It seems like every day she learns more and more. This really is a fun age!

Minnehaha Falls

2009-06-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day we spent the morning at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis along with the Hemmila family. We just checked out the falls, hiked on the trails, and ate a picnic lunch. I cannot believe how much fun Kaia had running around, throwing rocks in the river, wading in the water, and finding bugs. At one point the boys had picked up some big sticks to hike with, so Kaia picked up a little twig and marched along, waving it in the air, singing "A stick, a stick, a stick..." She's so silly. What a beautiful day!

More Minnehaha

2009-06-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Beauty

2009-06-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, she really is sleeping. I've actually caught her sleeping in this position before. What a sweetie!

For Heather

2009-05-12T18:10:00.000-07:00

Heather requested more pictures of Kylie. Here's a few of her at her favorite post on the back of the couch. She can see out all the important windows, and has the best view of everything going on inside the house. We watched the movie "Marly and Me" a few days ago. I haven't cried that hard at a movie in a long time. It definitely made me appreciate my naughty puppy a little more.

Big Girl Bed

2009-05-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

Finally! Kaia has a big girl bed! She's almost three years old, it's about time. I've been putting it off and putting it off, but it's time. The bed was given to us from Aunt Jess (Thank you!), and transported from Oshkosh by Art and Roni (Thank you!). The quilt was made by my mom, isn't it cute? Nightime sleeping has been going well. Naps, not so much. We left the crib set up, and we give her a choice to sleep in the bed or the crib. I was hoping to get a picture of her laying in her new bed, but for the first time since Saturday, she chose to sleep in the crib tonight.

Turkey and Black Bean Chili

2009-05-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

As I was making chili for dinner tonight, I was reminded that I had promised to post the recipe on the blog. We served it for lunch on moving day in February and it seemed to be a hit. So here you go:

Turkey and Black Bean Chili
1 lb ground turkey
1 can (28oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 jar (16 oz) salsa (I usually use Taco Bell Thick and Chunky)
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 poblano chile or green pepper, chopped
1 T. chili powder

In a large saucepan, brown turkey. Add remaining ingredients, mix, bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer at least 20 minutes.

It's that easy! And it freezes well.

Matching Mohawks

2009-05-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

Daddy always gives Kaia a cool "do" when he washes her hair. The conversation usually goes something like this:

"Kaia how should we do your hair tonight?"

Kaia responds with some made up word because she can't think of the word "mohawk".

"Do you want a mohawk or horns?"

And in these pics you see her modeling both. Halle joins in the fun sometimes too! I love the look on Halle's face in the second picture. All this crazy hair brings me back...remember when Kaia had a real mohawk?

Messy Halle

2009-05-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

Halle is so squirmy that even when we spoon-feed her, she still gets food everywhere!

I found a pretty cool blog, A Year of Crockpotting. The author made a New Year's Resolution to use her crockpot everyday in 2008. And she's still posting recipes in 2009. She makes dinners, appetizers, breakfasts, desserts, and even crafts. She takes lots of pictures and reviews her recipes. I tried two of them, one was good, the other was not so good, it ended up going down the garbage disposal. But haven't given up, I still plan to try more. Check it out.

Two Girls

2009-05-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

Today Kaia asked to hold Halle...she's never even thought to ask that before. So here she is "holding Halle". Aren't they sweet?

On another note, Kylie got into the garbage yesterday (so what else is new?). All day today we've been finding food hidden around the house. Pieces of tortilla in the couches, muffins buried in blankets, she's a wise one, that dog...

Flight of the Conchords

2009-05-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

On Sunday evening, we left the kiddos with Grandma and Grandpa and went out on the town with Marty and Jess. We had tickets to Flight of the Conchords in Minneapolis. (Flight of the Conchords is a couple of guys who play guitar and sing funny songs, YouTube them if you'd like to know more. Just a warning, it's not a family show.) We started off our night with a high class dinner at Sonic. (I don't recommend the place, bland food, and they messed up our entire order.) I didn't realize that Sonic is a drive in type place, I guess that's why all their commercials take place in a car...

Anyway, we got to the theater in plenty of time and found our seats. They just happened to be in the last row of the balcony...ha, ha. The stage looked miles away, it looked like I could jump and touch the ceiling, and our performing duo was so far away, they could have been complete imposters and we'd have no idea. We were actually so high I couldn't look around without my stomach doing flip flops, but my panic attack subsided as more people sat down in front of us, somehow tricking my mind into believing that I was less likely to fall.

As the show was about to start, the fire alarm started going off. At first we thought it was part of the show, so we didn't bother getting out of our seats. No one else seemed in a hurry to get out and no ushers were activating any emergency evacuation plans. We sat for a few minutes and, as more people got up to leave, we decided we better follow the advice of our elementary school teachers and exit the building in a single file fashion. We got halfway down the stairs and we were told to turn around. The alarm is still going. The alarm continued for maybe 20 minutes straight, then turned on and off over and over for another 30 minutes. The show started an hour late.

The show itself was good. Funny of course. My throat hurt from laughing. Even though I've heard some of those songs 100 times, they're still hilarious. And when the crowd cheered for the encore, everyone started imitating the fire alarm noise...how fitting. I tried to get some pictures. I only had my little camera and flash photography wasn't allowed, so I did my best. Overall, good show, good night, we had some good laughs. Good times!

Halle's Nine Month Check

2009-04-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Halle had her nine month check-up this week.

Weight: 19 lbs, 6 oz (50th percentile)

Height: 28 inches (75th percentile)

She's healthy as can be. And no shots at nine months, yay!

Miss Glam

2009-04-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

What's Up, Target?

2009-04-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Target has changed the packaging on their Target Brand baby stuff and started calling it Up & Up. Now, look at these two boxes, same size, right? The green one is the same box I've bought for 3 years. It has 9 refill packs in it. I opened the blue one today, and it only had 8 packs in it. My first thought was, "someone stole one refill and closed the box back up", but I looked on the box and sure enough, it says it contains 8 refill packs. I don't get it! The box is designed to hold 9 packs, only packaging 8 is just a waste of space. I thought maybe it was some marketing scheme to rip us off, but I checked the prices, the blue box costed less, and the amount per refill is about the same. Why, Target? I'm puzzled!

A Successful Sailing Weekend

2009-04-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

Check out this weekends finds...

Dollhouse and a bin full of really nice pieces for $20.

Kitchen set for $15.

A bike trailor that converts to a stroller for $75. Maybe a little steep, but it was $300 brand new and in REALLY good condition. These things are hard to find and over $100 for a cheap new one, so I feel lucky. I picked up a few other things, play shopping cart, play doh toys, a toddler size camping chair, and a 25 cent tie out for Kylie. There were some great neighborhood sales in Farmington. I could have shopped for three days straight - but I don't think Kaia and Halle would have tolerated that.

A Nifty Noodle Necklace

2009-04-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

More arts and crafts here. This is actually from a few weeks ago. Using the same dying technique I used on the rice, I dyed some tube shaped noodles and grabbed some yarn. It took some instruction, but Kaia was able to string some noodles into a necklace. Now that's a tricky small motor skill! She got about halfway done, and then just wanted to play with the bucket of noodles. I guess we have to work on that attention span.