Obviously, she hasn't figured out one-t0-one correspondence, but knows her numbers anyhow. She usually ends with "TEN-EN-EN-EN-EN!" but not today. On Friday when all the wedding tasks were getting a little overwhelming, she hollered out, "five, six, seven, eight, HAPPY!!" which became the motto that got us all through. You can always count on Helen for a positive spin.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Wedding!
It is confirmed. Helen loves a party! Saturday was my brother Jim's wedding, and we all worked together to pull off a spectacular event at my sister and her husband's place. Even Helen did her part. Here she is helping with flower arrangements:
In honor of the McKubbin family (Jim's new wife, Melia's name) and because Jim loves kilts, the men in the wedding party were kilted:
Here's our whole family. Welcome, Melia!!:
And here's our little immediate family:
A kiss for GoGo:
Helen and Daddy investigated the lights (that she thought were candles) along the tent posts. She kept trying to blow them out by putting her face up to them and blowing through her nose. That's her current method for extinguishing flames:
Helen with her Bah-Pah:
isn't the tent gorgeous?! Thanks to Jessica and her wedding planning skills and amazing ability to have a vision and make it a reality.
Even after a 3 hour nap, H needed a little rest before the big night got underway:
Then she found a bowl of pretzels sitting on a table and she devoured as many as she could. Here's our Pretzel Princess:
For Helen, the party really started with her new friend, Alexis, the lovely and sweet flower girl. Helen chased her around, calling "Leck-Iss!!" and Alexis was happy to do anything Helen wanted.
It was love at first sight for both of them and they played together as much as they could. Alexis even read Helen a book before bed. They couldn't have been any sweeter together. Here's Helen ready to "catch" Alexis at the bottom of the slide:
Here they are drawing with chalk:
And, most fun of all, here they are dancing together:
Helen couldn't get enough of the dance floor. She'd run into the middle of the circle and dance and ham it up for the crowd.
When it got very late, we went inside for bed, but even after she was in her pajamas, she asked for more "dance!? dance?!" so, of course we went out for more. In party shoes and PJ's with Aunt Jess:
And one last glimpse of the lovely setting: cafe tables by the pool and surprisingly little trash to clean up (hooray!).
Congratulations, Jim and Melia!!
In honor of the McKubbin family (Jim's new wife, Melia's name) and because Jim loves kilts, the men in the wedding party were kilted:
Here's our whole family. Welcome, Melia!!:
And here's our little immediate family:
A kiss for GoGo:
Helen and Daddy investigated the lights (that she thought were candles) along the tent posts. She kept trying to blow them out by putting her face up to them and blowing through her nose. That's her current method for extinguishing flames:
Helen with her Bah-Pah:
isn't the tent gorgeous?! Thanks to Jessica and her wedding planning skills and amazing ability to have a vision and make it a reality.Even after a 3 hour nap, H needed a little rest before the big night got underway:
Then she found a bowl of pretzels sitting on a table and she devoured as many as she could. Here's our Pretzel Princess:
For Helen, the party really started with her new friend, Alexis, the lovely and sweet flower girl. Helen chased her around, calling "Leck-Iss!!" and Alexis was happy to do anything Helen wanted.
It was love at first sight for both of them and they played together as much as they could. Alexis even read Helen a book before bed. They couldn't have been any sweeter together. Here's Helen ready to "catch" Alexis at the bottom of the slide:
Here they are drawing with chalk:
And, most fun of all, here they are dancing together:
Helen couldn't get enough of the dance floor. She'd run into the middle of the circle and dance and ham it up for the crowd.When it got very late, we went inside for bed, but even after she was in her pajamas, she asked for more "dance!? dance?!" so, of course we went out for more. In party shoes and PJ's with Aunt Jess:
And one last glimpse of the lovely setting: cafe tables by the pool and surprisingly little trash to clean up (hooray!).
Congratulations, Jim and Melia!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
A Trip to Wisconsin!
Eric's cousin, Alyssa, graduated from high school, so we took a trip to Wisconsin for her open house and to see Nana and Bah-Pah B. When we pulled into the driveway around midnight on Thursday, Helen was sound asleep. As soon as we turned off the car, she opened her eyes, threw both fists in the air, kicked her feet and shouted, "NANA'S!!!" She was so incredibly excited that she couldn't get to sleep until 1:30am. Of course, that didn't stop her from waking up at 5:30am, ready to greet the animals and play with all her toys.
Even on very little sleep, she was beyond thrilled to go to the amazing (and free) Vilas Zoo in Madison.
She rode a giraffe on the carousel with Nana:
And then she and Nana rode on the train. She's still talking about the "tunn-uh" (tunnel) and how dark it was:
We saw so many animals up close: seals with long whiskers and big eyes, otters diving and playing in a turquoise pool, flamingos, peacocks, an ostrich, goats, a huge lion sitting on a rock, a tortoise eating grass, and so much more - all just steps away from us. It was a wonderful place to visit. Here's Helen's up-close experience with a huge tiger!!
Here we are swinging in the back yard at the end of adventurous day one:
Helen had such a fun time with the next door neighbor, Sully. He likes to run around and smash things, which she found a little disconcerting. Judging by the names of her best friends (Neave, Layla, Iris, Sayen and Chloe) you can see she's not around boys very often. Even in music class, the boys are much more subdued than the girls, so it was funny to see how she reacted to Sully's behavior. She looks pained in this video, but she really did enjoy playing with him. Wherever he went, Helen would run after him calling, "Suh-Yee!!!" He really is a sweet heart. Each time he would smash into a truck, Helen would run to it and pick it up, give it a hug and set it back into place:
Helen spent the whole weekend getting in and out of Sully's car. She didn't want to push it anywhere, she just wanted to get in and out, then say "uh-thuh side" (other side) and try to get into the side without a door, then go back to the door and get in, over and over. She filled the back with rocks and "money" (grass that she would pick from one particular spot in the lawn).
On Saturday, we went to the Cambridge Pottery Festival just down the road from Nana's. As we looked for beautiful mugs (and found them!), Helen chilled out in the stroller:
She had to get out after a little while and she couldn't resist the free samples of kettle corn - just like her Mama:
On Sunday, we saw Alyssa, the graduate:
And played with Helen's second cousin, Alexandra. Here they are chasing the top of an ice cream pail (make-shift frisbee):
And filled the bird bath with rocks. Give Helen some rocks or pebbles and a receptacle of some kind and she's occupied for ages:
After a great time with all the relatives and lots of running around, we headed off to Minnesota. Moments after we pulled away, she was fast asleep:
What a wonderful weekend!!!
Even on very little sleep, she was beyond thrilled to go to the amazing (and free) Vilas Zoo in Madison.
She rode a giraffe on the carousel with Nana:And then she and Nana rode on the train. She's still talking about the "tunn-uh" (tunnel) and how dark it was:
We saw so many animals up close: seals with long whiskers and big eyes, otters diving and playing in a turquoise pool, flamingos, peacocks, an ostrich, goats, a huge lion sitting on a rock, a tortoise eating grass, and so much more - all just steps away from us. It was a wonderful place to visit. Here's Helen's up-close experience with a huge tiger!!Here we are swinging in the back yard at the end of adventurous day one:
Helen had such a fun time with the next door neighbor, Sully. He likes to run around and smash things, which she found a little disconcerting. Judging by the names of her best friends (Neave, Layla, Iris, Sayen and Chloe) you can see she's not around boys very often. Even in music class, the boys are much more subdued than the girls, so it was funny to see how she reacted to Sully's behavior. She looks pained in this video, but she really did enjoy playing with him. Wherever he went, Helen would run after him calling, "Suh-Yee!!!" He really is a sweet heart. Each time he would smash into a truck, Helen would run to it and pick it up, give it a hug and set it back into place:Helen spent the whole weekend getting in and out of Sully's car. She didn't want to push it anywhere, she just wanted to get in and out, then say "uh-thuh side" (other side) and try to get into the side without a door, then go back to the door and get in, over and over. She filled the back with rocks and "money" (grass that she would pick from one particular spot in the lawn).
On Saturday, we went to the Cambridge Pottery Festival just down the road from Nana's. As we looked for beautiful mugs (and found them!), Helen chilled out in the stroller:
She had to get out after a little while and she couldn't resist the free samples of kettle corn - just like her Mama:
On Sunday, we saw Alyssa, the graduate:
And played with Helen's second cousin, Alexandra. Here they are chasing the top of an ice cream pail (make-shift frisbee):
And filled the bird bath with rocks. Give Helen some rocks or pebbles and a receptacle of some kind and she's occupied for ages:
After a great time with all the relatives and lots of running around, we headed off to Minnesota. Moments after we pulled away, she was fast asleep:
What a wonderful weekend!!!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sofia
Helen is in love with the new baby she got on Sunday. Until now, all of her babies have been named, "Baby." We've been waiting for her to give them names and just this morning she decided to call her new baby "Sofia." I think she was just making sounds and it happened to sound like a real name. She has a second cousin named Sofia, but she hasn't seen her in over a year. It will be fun to see what Helen thinks the next time she sees the real Sofia. Sunday, June 7, 2009
New Bikes
On Friday morning, we came upon a yard sale with some little tricycles for ONE DOLLAR each. Helen sat on this one:
Then pointed to the other one and said, "Mama's...bike... Mama... wide" (ride). (when she puts two words together, she usually puts a big pause between them)
So we have two "bikes" in the back yard and they're all she wants to talk about. As you can see from the photos above, we had perfect bike riding weather during the week. On Saturday it turned cold and rainy, so we had to just look at the bikes out the window. Finally on Sunday she was able to get out there and ride, but she had to bundle up:
Here she is with a freshly picked iris from the garden. She likes to pick them and say "Kate!" (the mom of her friend Iris):
And this is the hilarious face she makes whenever she hears or sees something unusual or interesting that she wants us to talk about. In this case, she hears a siren in the distance and she wants to go see if it's coming our way:
Another rainy day today - perfect for staying in, having tea parties and reading some new books. The plants and grass are happy about it too!
Then pointed to the other one and said, "Mama's...bike... Mama... wide" (ride). (when she puts two words together, she usually puts a big pause between them)
So we have two "bikes" in the back yard and they're all she wants to talk about. As you can see from the photos above, we had perfect bike riding weather during the week. On Saturday it turned cold and rainy, so we had to just look at the bikes out the window. Finally on Sunday she was able to get out there and ride, but she had to bundle up:
Here she is with a freshly picked iris from the garden. She likes to pick them and say "Kate!" (the mom of her friend Iris):
And this is the hilarious face she makes whenever she hears or sees something unusual or interesting that she wants us to talk about. In this case, she hears a siren in the distance and she wants to go see if it's coming our way:
Another rainy day today - perfect for staying in, having tea parties and reading some new books. The plants and grass are happy about it too!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Feeding the Giraffes
Sunny and 70 and nothing on the calendar, so Helen and I decided to go to the Minnesota Zoo. We arrived just in time for the first Monorail ride of the day and the first train ride in Helen's life. She was so excited that she marched right into the station on her own:
She sat up on the seat and when the train went a little fast, she shouted out "TOO! TOO!" (choo! choo!):
Helen peered out the window at the zoo below:
She was most excited about the GIRAFFES!!:
So, of course, we had to make our way to the Africa exhibit. Once we were there, we couldn't resist the opportunity to feed crackers to the giraffes. Look at this funny sequence:
When he had eaten all four crackers and we had washed our hands of giraffe slobber, Helen asked for "MO MO MO!" "Mo cah-cahs! Mo Jaff!" She thought it was so funny. But she was easily distracted by the ostriches and zebras next door. She was convinced that they needed her sunglasses and here she is hollering out, "ZEE-BAH! SUN-GAHS!" (zeebra! sunglasses!)
She could barely stay awake on the way home, but each time her eyes were about to close, I would ask her about feeding the giraffe and she would smile and stick out her tongue and pretend to eat a big cracker.
She sat up on the seat and when the train went a little fast, she shouted out "TOO! TOO!" (choo! choo!):
Helen peered out the window at the zoo below:
She was most excited about the GIRAFFES!!:
So, of course, we had to make our way to the Africa exhibit. Once we were there, we couldn't resist the opportunity to feed crackers to the giraffes. Look at this funny sequence:
When he had eaten all four crackers and we had washed our hands of giraffe slobber, Helen asked for "MO MO MO!" "Mo cah-cahs! Mo Jaff!" She thought it was so funny. But she was easily distracted by the ostriches and zebras next door. She was convinced that they needed her sunglasses and here she is hollering out, "ZEE-BAH! SUN-GAHS!" (zeebra! sunglasses!)
She could barely stay awake on the way home, but each time her eyes were about to close, I would ask her about feeding the giraffe and she would smile and stick out her tongue and pretend to eat a big cracker.
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