Bye Bye Kellen

Today is Kellen's last day at Delores' house.  He's heading off to "big boy" school.  I'm sad for Sally.  She loves Kellen and all of his craziness.  As I've said before, whenever we go outside, she immediately looks and points to Kellen's House (Delores').  Now that she can walk, she beelines down the side walk to see if he can come and play.

Is she young enough that she won't know the difference?  After the holidays, Delores will be getting a new baby girl.  Maybe that will blossom into another beautiful friendship, only Sally will get to be the leader.

Early morning playtime...

 We made it to story time at the library this week...Sally had a ball (pun intended)

 Dancing...

 Come on mom, stand up and dance!

 A common scene after nap time...Kellen riding his 3-wheeler over to knock on the door to see if Sally can come out and play.  He's been trained well to know to knock instead of ringing the doorbell in case of sleeping babies.

It's another beautiful Fall day, time to get out and savor our last moments with Kellen!

Fuzzy Little Caterpillar

Sally was very intrigued with the fuzzy creature on Grandma's front step.  She'd touch it, giggle, walk away, run back and repeat.  Thanks again Grandma for watching Sally this weekend!

Ranch

I was tagged in my sister's blog to answer the following questions:

1.) What are you having for dinner tonight?  Tonight we're having steak on the grill!  Last night, we had a little of this and a little of that: BLTs, baked potatoes, chicken wings, chicken strips and fresh raspberries.  Check out this video of Sally trying ranch for the first time.  We couldn't get over how quickly she'd move her hand to her mouth! Sorry for the part where it's a bit shaky, I couldn't hold back my laughter...

2.) What is your favorite and least favorite household chore? My favorite chore is laundry, there's no better feeling than clean sheets and empty laundry baskets!  My least favorite household chore is dishes...I think that's why I don't like to cook...


3.) What's your middle name and is there a story behind it? My middle name is my maiden name.  It's old fashioned to switch it when you get married and I liked the idea, so I am Jacqueline Moran Craigmile!


4.) If you could only use one piece of make-up for a week, what would it be? Mascara, there's something about it that makes me feel like I got ready for the day, maybe because it helps me look like I'm not half asleep?  I have pretty light eyelashes. 


5.) Who is a famous person that you've met or seen up close? About a month ago we ran into Michael Cuddyer, from the Twins, at Crave in SLP at the West End.  The first one that came to mind was Robert Redford when we were skiing in Utah.  My mom spotted him and we literally chased him down the hill.  He looked at us as he was throwing away a toothpick and said hello.  I had no idea who he was...he was so short and wrinkley...

Feel free to answer any or all of the 5 questions in the comments, it's always fun to see who's reading the blog :)

Girl Talk

My good friend from High School came "home" to Alex this weekend so we could hang out.  By hang out, I mean talk for 10 straight hours.  We talked about the joys of marriage, motherhood and life.  We reminisced about the "old" days, and shared many laughs! We're one in the same, me and Jess.  It was fun to have our kiddies play together for a bit too.  We were lucky to have Grandparents watch over the Littles so we could go out for a few drinks, even if I needed my certified birth certificate to order an adult beverage...



Sally-16 months  Logan-10 months

Thanks for coming home to play with us! We can't wait until next time!

Three Wishes

Happy Birthday to our wonderful neighbor, Delores! We're celebrating this afternoon with some cake that we baked up!

Delores, Sally said she'll grant you three wishes!

We're off to Alex this weekend for our final wedding of the season and to catch up with some old friends, and of course relax! Happy Fall!

Seven Slings

We got a new little "toy" in the mail last week. There was a promo going on from Seven Slings, and we got a free one! When we decide it's time for #2 we'll be ready. For now Sally can enjoy it all to herself!

Giggles with Daddy!

Weekend with Nana & Grandpa

Nana and Grandpa came to play for the weekend!

Showing Nana how to brush my hair
Getting a little sleepy while Grandpa reads me a book

Even though the Gopher's might not be the best team, I'm the cutest fan they have!

Daddy, is this how you play?

The Craigmile Gopher Fans!

Cheeeeeese!

Date Night & Skinny Jeans

Reid and I were fortunate this week to go on two, yes, two, date nights. Uncle Joe Joe called and asked what day he could babysit, and our wonderful neighbor girl across the street text us and said she missed Sally, what day could she babysit. Reid and I get out, pretty often, sometimes together with other couples and sometimes separate, but it had been a while (maybe since our anniversary) since it had been just the two of us. Tuesday we went to dinner and a movie. We saw Inception. I know there are mixed emotions out there about this movie, but we both really enjoyed it. Uncle Joe Joe was anxious to finally be able to talk to someone about the movie. Last night we were planning on going to the local Park Tavern, down the street from us, to bowl, but ended up only eating there. There was too long of a wait for a lane. Maybe we'll try again soon. We ended up heading over to my mom and dad's old date place, The Malt Shop. It was the perfect spot, if you've never been, I'd highly recommend it! Thank you to our wonderful babysitters, we always come home to a very clean house and a peacefully sleeping little lady.

I couldn't end the post without a picture of Miss Sally. Check out her oh so cute skinny jeans from Grandma and George, and her adorable pink shoes from Nana and Grandpa. Thank you for always helping her be little miss trendy!

Our Snuggle Bunny

Yesterday was a rainy day, so we brought out the snuggly clothes. We had lots of indoor playtime and creativity. I had lots of giggles to myself, but then Sally noticed I was giggling so she threw her head back and started laughing with me. I had moments of tears as I stood in the corner spying on my little girl, thinking, is she really mine? Is she already a toddler? Can it be possible to feel this much love for one person, this little person I carried and nurtured to life for 9 months?

Yesterday was our first day back at ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education). Reid and I were anxious to see how Sally would do, now that she can walk and discover things on her own. So different from a year ago when we started, and she couldn't even sit up on her own. We were a bit nervous as she tends to cling to her mama. She did great! She ran and played with toys. She said hello to new faces, smiled with excitement at old friends and was even able to go all the way over to the other side of the room to play, without her mommy and daddy. We had a proud parent moment :) The simple pleasures of parenthood, right?

Versatile Gift

A while ago, Kyle and Laura gave Sally her birthday present. However, I think it was more of a present for me. It allows me to get dinner ready without having the pulls from my little girl on my leg, that I love so much!

I taught her how to turn them into drums. We also hide things under the cups and it's so fun to watch her discover them. Soon we'll be able to use the awesome printed designs on the bottom to create make believe meals out of play doh! Thanks Kyle and Laura!

Right on Cue!

Uncle Joe Joe was over the other night and was impressed with Sally's skills...

We're going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo. How about you, you , you?

While the boys went to the first home Gopher game, the ladies took the kids to the Zoo! The kids were so so well behaved, and it was a picture perfect day! Thanks for coming to visit, come back again soon!

Regan and I were chatting away and we turned around to see this, does it get any cuter?

The Gorilla made it's way over to say "Hello." Sally said "WoooooW!"
Otters

Cannon and Regan getting a closer look at the Polar Bears



Big Kitty, Meow

Baby Giraffe...could you imagine giving birth to that?!

High Five!

Yeah!


Smoochin'

Love you! xoxo

Ladies Night!

It was ladies night out as the husbands stayed with the kidlets (yep, even though the vikings were playing!). My mom got us tickets to see the play Wicked. It was Amazing! Thank you mom! Such a feel good, uplifting story. We had a nice relaxing dinner at the oh so delicious Bar La Grassa! We enjoyed each piece of our meal from the specialty drinks to the tasty dessert! It was a great night out!

It's Daddy's turn tomorrow, as the Gopher Football team has their first home game. I guess that means it really is Fall...