We want summer

The Naks have been in summer mode as we've been going on a lot of walks, trips to the park, visits to Conny's for ice cream, and listening to music in the park.  Both girls continue to crack us up as they develop.  Nina has started to request stories about when she was a baby and additionally would like a dragon added into each of those stories.

Vivian is cruising all over and understands a lot of words.  She already hates the word "no" and will often whimper and cry after hearing it.  She really loves sharing, eating, climbing stairs, and drumming.

Look over there!         -----           Found an ant

Both girls enjoy playing with one another and Nina gets a bit too affectionate at times, i.e. death-grip hugs, repetitive pats on the back, and forced hand-holding.  Vivian has started to defend herself as she bopped Nina on the head in church after too many pats and tried to bite Nina during an unwanted hand-holding session.  Things could get interesting, but there are still more laughs than tears.

In a tent after dad's camping trip

March after the marriage bill was signed

Weekend Away

Kara and Ben spent their first weekend away from the girls to head to the wedding of their college friend, Emily, and her husband, Chris.  It was a superb, beautiful celebration down in Iowa City and it was an absolute pleasure hanging out with friends without the diaper bag, waking up in the morning without watching PBS, and going out to eat without worrying about meltdowns.  The girls stayed with Grandma and Grandpa in Owatonna and had a great time.

The girls continue to grow quickly and have been a lot of fun.  Nina has been a barrel of laughs with lines like:

Mom:  "Do you like compromise?"  Nina:  "Ummm...I think no."
Dad:  "What're you doing?"  Nina:  "Putting on my sandals so you guys don't say 'put on your shoes, Nina.'"
In the backseat, just waking up from a nap, talking to Mom & Dad:  "Are you two ok back there?"
After imaginary phone call at grandma's: "Yeah, they're on a trip.  They really miss me.  They're really sad."

Vivian will now stand independently, which is not appreciated when in the bath.  She likes feeding herself food and bottles, she waves a lot, she likes to share things she picks up, and she loves to point at pictures.  She was a little crabby this mother's day, but enjoyed spending time with family.  Here is the much-overdue photo update spanning three-plus weeks.

 

Enjoying the Cinco de Mayo Parade     -------    Music in the park has started!

Ten Months

It seems like ten months since we've last blogged, so we've got a lot of ground to cover.   Vivian is crawling all over, has started to cruise, climb steps, and gets into everything.  She likes eating table food, points a lot, and is constantly trying to talk.  She quit her pacifier about 5 weeks back and has started to sleep (almost) through the night!  Hallelujah!

link to all Vivian videos on google+

Spring has been super busy already and the girls are thrilled for daily trips to different parks.  Nina has shown her little sister all the fun things to do and Vivian is very eager to try it all.  

We promise to post again soon with plenty other spring (and supposed spring) pictures!