Fall

Life is good. We've had fun seeing lots of family recently. Congrats to Trisha and Pat! We've been going to friday night football games to cheer on our losing team. Elke had a brief encounter with ballet class. Dustin turned 36(!). The girls are getting so big and independent. Bea's ability to talk in complete coherent sentences is amazing. Elke is a total ham (as you can see) and should be a lawyer someday. What else? Happy. Healthy. Content.

Summer time and the livin' is easy

Here are some pics of recent summer fun. The girls are doing really well. We're sad to have to let all the summer free time go as we start school stuff again next week. Spending time with these two nut-jobs all day long this summer has been something we'll always remember--they are so much fun.

Ahh summer! We've had a great time running through the sprinklers, camping outside of Spokane, and seeing the Meylers (mom and Elke got to go) in Milwaukee--which included a picnic at the park, a day at the beach, and a trip to the zoo. Both girls are doing well--happy, bright, kind, and goofy. We are loving our time together this summer!

Almost summer break! We can't wait to spend time together. These two little girls are great--bright and kind.


Also, better late than never, we welcome baby Anya Meyler--the newest edition to the Milwaukee clan! April 17, 2011.

Spring!

Happy Spring! We are so glad that the weather is warming up here and we can go outside more. We went to Portland 2 weeks ago. We had a great time--stayed in a posh 5 star hotel, went to the zoo, ate out, walked all around, and generally just enjoyed some time away from home together. The girls are doing wonderfully. Elke reportedly likes to "remind" all of the kids in her class what to do. She sings in front of her class often--she loves to read and brings books to share everyday. She really seems to be growing up these days! She delights us with her wackiness and is so bright. Beatrix is so sweet. She is such a content kid. She doesn't even want us to sing to her at night--just set her down in the crib and she's asleep a minute later. She is really good with words. She can quickly repeat just about any word you throw her way. She says small sentences too. That's Elke's backpack, sparkly, shoes, socks, monkey, mono, agua, Elke, hair...She eats like a champ. She is a little lover, giving us all kisses and hugs and making us all smile. Our girls are our everything. We are so fortunate to have these two amazing kids in our lives!

Notes

Just wanted to take a minute to make a note of a few cool things...Beatrix speed walks all over the house-she dances with the best of them--loves to whisper--and says a ton of words including:cracker, ball, book, dog, sister, momma, dada, sticker, marker, Elke, bye, baby, sock, monkey, shoe. She even says things like, "bye bye baby" or refers to specific books, "dog book." She makes panting dog noises, lion roars, fish sounds, and fart noises (my favorite was when Elke asked what a chicken fart sounds like and Bea responded). Elke is so spunky. She's a total goof ball. She's very into weddings and anything fancy. She talks in funny voices and cracks crazy jokes. Beatrix thinks Elke hung the moon.

Hello all! We all flew to Colorado to spend Christmas with family. Both girls were amazing (sleepy) on the plane rides. It was so nice to see everybody. Elke and Major particularly liked running around together while holding hands. Beatrix got to meet her Papa Bob, Grandma Kathy, Uncle Brandon, Aunt Sara, Cousin Major, Great Grandma Donna, and many more family members for the first time. After Colorado, we drove up to Sequim where we got to hang out with the Stanley side of the family. It was the first time in years that we were all together--the first time ever since all of the kids were born. Elke and Bea (and mom and dad) had a great time with all of the cousins. Beatrix walked for the first time while we were in Sequim. We celebrated Elke's 3rd birthday on the 2nd of January this year. Grandma Jan flew in and our neighbors and Elke's friend Lorelei came over for pizza and princess wand building. Elke chose a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, strawberry filling, and as much pink and purple as possible. Beatrix turned one on the 4th. We took off work a little early to spend time together. Beatrix ate a whole white cupcake and enjoyed opening her gifts. Bea weighs 20 pounds and eats like a champ. She loves to dance and play with Elke. We are so glad to have had time together over the break. The girls are both so smart and beautiful. We are so lucky.