Disc Dogs, Drywall, and Swimming

Another exciting weekend for Laura and Anna. It started off with some new 'boys working' who helped put in the drywall in the basement! A big step forward for my basement project, and it seems to be going very well. I've done just about all the work myself (my mom and dad helped me hang some soffets) but I thought I should have a pro do the drywall. They can make many of my imperfections go away with some expert tricks.

Before:


After:




It will be a great playroom for Laura and the gang.

Swimming Lessons went great this weekend. Laura was fearless as always and did a great job with her paddles and kicks. She is an good back floater and climbed out of the pool via the ladder all by herself. As you can see she loves every minute of the lessons.

Kick Kick Kick!


Paddle! Paddle! Paddle!


Ahh floating, Laura's favorite part.


Anna has had a good weekend. She is a lot more alert this weekend than last. She must have needed extra rest last weekend, but she's back to her curious self.



Here, she even sports a little smile.


We took Laura to the pet expo so she could see the disc dog demonstration put on by Dad's friend Josh. If you ever get a chance to see a show, they are a lot of fun, especially for young eyes. Click here for some more info. Oh, and click here.

Laura was great at fetching the discs.


Racing daddy. Man, he's fast!


Throw it? No, I want to fetch it like the doggies!


Learning some of the finer points.


There goes a doggie!

Just some pictures to get Mimi through the week.

Mommy and Laura



Laura really wanted daddy to wear the headband. Of course, daddy is game for this sort of nonsense.



Hey Laura, the 80's called, they want their leg warmers back!

(Sorry Emily, I couldn't resist)

Whew, busy weekend.

We always have to keep Laura and Anna on their toes. This weekend consisted of swimming lessons, a playdate with the cousins, ice skating on prior lake, a visit to the Underwater Adventures Aquarium at the Mall of America, and some quiet time at home.

While at the Mall, Emily was buying some supplies at Nordstroms giving me some free time with both kids. Well, not exactly 'free time', since I was pretty much chasing Laura around the store with Anna in the stroller. She stopped to see some shiny objects which happened to be in the watch counter. It was a slow morning for the watch seller, and she was VERY interested in meeting the kids. I tried to sneak away, but she left her post at the watch counter and cut me off at the pass.

So I endured an uncomfortable minute and let her fawn over Laura's dimples and Anna's little smiles. I was told having kids was a real chick magnet, but what they don't tell you is the chicks are 60 year old watch sellers.

Anyway, here's a set of pics from Laura's first chance to hold Anna. She was really excited, even if daddy helped her a little bit.


"Laura hold Anna?"


Anna's Heavy


Daddy still helping.


Hi Sister


This is fun! I like holding Anna.

Sisters

Yup, they are related. Anna at 81 days (left), Laura at 76 days (right).


Laura says cheese!


Yummy, Apple chips snack.


No smiling allowed!


I will smile until you press the button on the camera.

I slept through the night!

She did it! Anna slept through the night. As a slightly more experienced than last time, my only thought is: "Don't get used to it". I was foolishly optimistic after Laura slept through the night the first time - she didn't do it again for a very long time.

But I am savoring one full night of sleep. Good job Anna!


Laura also wants to show off her new haircut.

Making bread, teppanyaki, sledding, and babbling

Busy days in the Gillespie family. Laura is growing into a more powerful tornado every day, and Anna is growing up fast.

One of my attempts to raise a rounded child to to show them that food doesn't just come from the store: people have to grow it, make it, and cook it. Anyway, as part of that, today was breadmaking day, and Laura got to help!

First, we find a recipe and mix ingredients. Flour, water, yeast, sugar (in this case, honey), and butter. Laura was very intrigued by yeast. I tried to explain that they are little animals (BTW, as a good brewer, I know technically they are a fungus) that eat the sugars and help the bread get soft. She saw the honey and said that Pooh bears like honey, so I told her they were tiny little pooh bears eating the honey. She seemed ok with that.



Then we knead the dough and mix in more flour.


Laura kneading the bread.


"It is sticking to my fingers"


This is fun!


Laura and daddy's bread.


After daddy baked it. Looks good!


"I like it!"



Last night we took the girls out to a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant. She loved the "Chop Chop" experience, especially the onion volcano. Mommy said "Laura wasn't the volcano cool?" and Laura repied very matter a factly, "No, it was hot".

She also got to try chop sticks for the first time.

Mmm rice puff.


Yummy!


These shrimp are a little slippery!


Laura is enjoying winter, now that it has warmed up into the 20's and 30's. Ok, maybe warmed up is a bit optimistic, but it is amazing how warm it feels when you've been below zero for what feels like a month.

Note - "Open the door" means flip the viewfinder on the video camera so Laura can see herself.



Here is some video of Anna grunting and babbling a little. Nothing exciting, but it is fun to see her smile and make some sounds.

The Dyanmic Duo and the snow crew.

I managed to get the two girls together for some pictures this morning. Laura was having a lot of fun, and was even posing a nice smile for the pictures with her sister. Anna was just being her usual mellow self. When Alanna came a few minutes later and wanted to play with Anna, Laura got very protective (or possessive) and insisted that she play with a baby doll instead. Anna is all hers!

Sharing continues to be a daily learning opportunity for Laura.

The Duo


Laura practicing her 'nice smile'.


"Anna's my sister!"


This past weekend the Nelsons came over to play in the snow. Sophie wasn't feeling well, so it was just Alex, Ella, and Uncle Andy.

Ella spent most of the time working on her snowman. Uncle Mike helped with the goggles.


Laura wanted nothing to do with Daddy, everything was Uncle Andy. Her she is training him for a sled dog race.


The Snow Crew.