Minnesota Zoo

Last Sunday we made a trip to the Minnesota Zoo.  It's about a 45-50 minute drive from our house.  Emmy was excited to see all the animals.  It was a nice family day and the zoo was not crowded at all...which is always a plus as I hate crowds.

We ventured through the indoor tropical building first.  I snapped a few pictures before my battery decided to die.  Ugh!
We had a nice time strolling through the zoo.  We spent about five hours walking and walking and walking.  We walked all the way back to the farm to see the baby animals.  Emmy & Erin had fun petting the little goats & pigs.  Emmy fed the goats and started to giggle. :)  It was pretty funny watching her reaction.

She didn't like the bears or the tigers.  We got an up close and personal view as the tigers & bears walked right by us - behind glass, of course.  Emmy got afraid and ran away.  She said, "I don't like those bears!"  We got a really great show when one of the bears decided to take a leisurely swim in the pool.  That was awesome!  The bird show was pretty interesting as well.  It's amazing what they can get birds to do.

Emmy was such a mover all day.  Each time we came upon a new animal, she would say..."Okay, next!"

Funny Story Shopping for a Swing Set

We are in the market for buying a swing set.  Which one should we buy?  There's so many to choose from. 

So, the other night we ventured out with the girls in search of the perfect one.  It's funny, when you are not looking for something, you see it everywhere and then when you really want/need an item, you can't find it anywhere.  Make sense?  We had a hard time finding swing sets.  No one has them set up anymore.  We found that most places just had a catalog to look through and then you purchase your hardware individually. 
We did find a store that had a few set up, but they were closed by the time we got there so we just peeked through the windows.
I know all about those "Rainbow" play sets.  But I'm afraid they are WAY out of our price range.

As we were walking around Home Depot looking for the swing set aisle, we strolled past the toilet section.  All of a sudden I turn around and see Emmy with her pants down and about to jump up on the toilet.  Good thing I caught her in time or she really would have used it.  I tried to explain to her that it wasn't real.  Poor thing didn't really understand why she couldn't use that potty.  I pulled her pants up and brought her to the restroom.  There was a cashier nearby who saw the whole thing happen.  She started laughing and said, "That was really funny!"  I was a little embarrassed, but did get a good chuckle out of it. 

Mama

Erin started saying Mama around the first part of May.  We were all sitting in the living room when all of a sudden this little word came out of her mouth. We all got really excited because we've been waiting a long time to hear it!  Emmy was the most excited and she said, "Erin said Mama, Erin said Mama!  She's talking!!!"  It was so cute!
Erin should have a few more words in her vocabulary and we are working on getting her to talk more, but she just isn't ready yet.  She understands simple commands such as "Bring me your shoes/ball/book," or "Put the book down." She also understands the meanings of phrases such as "No," "Come here," and "Look."

Erin also loves making animal sounds just like Emmy did and still does.  She makes the following animal sounds:  Lion, snake, elephant, monkey & puppy.  Car rides are very entertaining.  It's like a zoo inside our car at times!

Easter 2011

We celebrated Easter weekend in Hoffman with Brad's side of the family.  On Saturday morning, us girls went shopping in Alexandria.  It was nice to just get away and shop around for a bit without Emmy & Erin and I enjoyed my time with my mother-in-law & sister-in-law. 

Grandma & Grandpa helped all of the girls dye Easter eggs Saturday afternoon.  Saturday evening we went out to eat with Tony and Christy to an amazing restaurant near Brandon called The Peak.  Our food was absolutely wonderful.  I ordered the prime rib and it was honestly one of the best prime ribs I've ever eaten.  We will definitely be making a trip back to this place in the near future.  YUM!

The kids had an Easter egg hunt outside the church on Sunday.  Emmy had fun filling up her bag.  She was excited to open up all of her eggs.  She loved the eggs with monies inside.  After church we headed back to Grandma & Grandpa's house to find more Easter baskets.  Emmy & Erin had a hay day with all of their goodies.  The "Easter Money" (as Emmy calls it) brought flash cards, candy, a Dora shirt, some undershirts, & a bubble machine for Emmy.  Erin's basket was filled with M&Ms, a bath toy, a wind up chickie that does flips, a dolly, sidewalk chalk, & some snacks.  Both the girls got matching sun dresses for this summer too.

Grandma & Grandpa gave all of the girls toys for their sandbox along with a bag of M&Ms. 

Deb prepared a nice hearty meal as usual.  All the food was so yummy, but each and every one of us needed naps after stuffing ourselves. 

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Erin got her ear's pierced the week before Easter at Claire's in Albertville.  She did pretty well but cried harder than Emmy when Emmy got her ear's pierced at age one.  After the piercing, Emmy went up to Erin and said, "It's okay honey." 
Erin seems to do really well with them and doesn't pull on them too much.  She looks so darn stink'n cute with them pierced!

Teeth

Erin has some pretty big chompers at 14 months!  They are much bigger than Emmy's teeth.  Erin currently has 14 teeth!!  She has some teeth that have come in a bit early for her age.  All four of her first year molars are in.  She got them around 11-12 months (the top ones usually come in around 14 months). 
Her top two cuspid teeth have also popped through.  She isn't supposed to get those until she is 18 months old.  Typically, the bottom cuspids come before the top, but they haven't popped through yet. 
With teething comes excessive DROOLING!  I should keep a bib on her at all times.  She's such a drool monster. 

Edinborough Park

Sarah & Richard's little guy Max turned three on April 4th.  His party was held at Edinborough Park in Edina.  What an awesome place for kids to burn some energy.
Here's a little information about the park from their website...With more than 6,000 plants, trees and flowers, Edinborough Park is Minnesota's unique indoor public park. The completely enclosed, one-acre park features a junior-Olympic size swimming pool, a running track and fitness area, a huge indoor playground and a multi-purpose play area, all connected by meandering pathways through the densely landscaped interior.


The Playpark is almost one acre of indoor fun, highlighted by Adventure Peak, one of the largest indoor play structures in the country.

 Marilynn & Emmy

 Max, Marilynn, & Emmy

Annie

Last week I brought the girls to the Mall of America for Toddler Tuesday.  The cast from the Children's Theater were performing songs from the musical Annie.  I couldn't pass this up!!  Annie is Emmy's favorite movie as was mine when I was little.  She watches Annie all day long.  It's pretty bad when your two year old knows the words to the whole movie and sings each song. 

Emmy was so excited to see these girls sing!  They had little carpet pieces layed out in the center of the Rotunda.  I told Emmy to go find a triangle and she found one right in the middle.  She sat so content.  Right before the girls were about to go on stage, they came out to greet the fans.  A couple of the cast members came over to Emmy and played with her for a little bit.  It was so cute! 

When the girls started singing their songs, Emmy started to sing along with the them, but I think she just enjoyed watching them sing the best!

Here's a link to hear the cast singing "It's a Hard Knock Life." 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot-A93wE-_I
And here's a link to hear Emmy singing "Tomorrow." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN3GddafBLk

I purchased tickets for Emmy and I to go see Annie the musical in May!  She'll be so thrilled! 

After the performance was done, we walked around the mall and then went to Lego Land.  We played with the legos for a little bit and then headed on into Nickelodeon Universe.  Emmy was excited to go on all of the rides.  Erin even got to go on one. 

The girls outside of the Rainforest Cafe.

Emmy's favorite ride.  She says it tickles her belly.

 She got Elmo painted on her face! 

Emmy insisted on seeing the crocodile one more time.