Reflecting on summer

Now that we're in fall mode, Nina has been reflecting on summer and how she misses swimming.  We went to the St. Paul pools 37 times, the zoo 6 times, and to 21 concerts at the lake.  We all miss our daily trips around the lake and taking in all it has to offer.  The rest of the time they enjoyed coloring, playing on the iPad, going to parks, taking bike rides, visiting the library, playing on the porches, finding and running from bugs, drinking chocolate milk, and screaming.  It was another great summer and we didn't get cheated!

 

Currently, the girls are still having fun at school and daycare.  Nina was thrilled to make her trip to the dentist and Pip did a great job too.  They enjoyed meeting baby Owen and it was great to see Adam and Megan back in Minnesota for a bit.  We're trying a new reward systems with stickers and end goals to see if we can get Nina to sleep through the night.

 impromptu "do you want to build a snowman" re-enactment

Pre-School

Nina has officially started preschool and is loving it so far.  She likes her bus, her teachers, her activities, the stuff they send home… etc.  She is very proud of her work and of the fact that she leaves daycare three days a week to go to school.  She also has started using some of what she learns in casual conversation.  When we were discussing construction workers, teachers, and police officers, she added, "My job is smaller.  My job is to make friends."  She is very sweet and we look forward to what the rest of the year will bring.

We all had a good time at the St. Croix Vineyard when they had their fall festival with rides, grape-stomping, apples, a maze, and treats.  Vivian continued her obsession with babies and will seek out other tiny ones and usually just stand next to them awkwardly.  She says a fair amount of adult phrases that make us laugh such as, "hold on a sec," "Dylan was playing, no wait, it was Mason," and "I think Nina needs to change her attitude."

Peaks and Valleys

Cassie came back, but work has started up again… Maggie had an amazing birthday party, but then Nina's new fish died… We made it to the pool, and then the lightning started and we had to leave.  Good times and bad, but overall we're saddest to see our summer time together come to an end.  

 

Vivian refuses to use the words "he" and "she" and insists on improperly using "him" and "her."  It is awfully cute, but we're pretty sure she's consciously trying not to improve sentences like, "what's on him leg?" and when watching a video of herself saying, "why her doing that?"  As another funny switch of words, she screws up the name of Nina's late fish.  After watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2," Nina quotes a character and said about the fish, "I think I'll name him Berry."  So now Vivian thinks it's okay to interchange berries and fish and shouts, "I want more fishies" when demanding strawberries.  The girls also like watching the new Weird Al Yankovic videos and both refer to him as "Crazy Al."

Como music and fishing

Free-time is fleeting

With Kara back at work, the girls and Ben are futilely trying to hold on to summer.  We've been lucky enough to pack in some family time as well.  Nana came for a short visit and the girls were thrilled to play games, tell her stories, and run around.  They loved having a picnic and going to the children's museum with her.

Children's Museum rooftop fun

Wedding time!   ------  Met Harry, Abby, Rose, & Grace at the zoo

Nina insisted on going to the Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival, despite the rain.  She won a (live) fish and was entranced by the dancing and music.