Gill

We visited the pet store, or "The Free Zoo" as I like to call it, a week ago. Turns out it wasn't so "free" this time. Adam was so excited about the animals, that we decided to go ahead and take the plunge. Don't worry, we started out with a pretty shallow fish bowl for a betta fish that Adam picked out himself.

Introducing...Gilbert (we call him Gill for short).
I tried to get Adam to pick the blue one, but he was pretty set on this red one.

I waited a week to post this because I was afraid he would die right away. How sad would that have been? But, I am proud to report that he is still alive and swimming. I'm also a little surprised. Adam is very interested in Gill, which doesn't really work out that well for Gill. I'm sure Gill would much rather live a peaceful life without an adoring three-year-old peeking in on him (and trying to hold him!).

For example...

The proud fish owner!

I must admit that I felt like I had taken a new step in motherhood as I prepared the fish bowl. It seems like such a "Mom" thing to do for your kid.
Thanks for joining us, Gill. I feel it is also appropriate to wish you...Good Luck!

Dancing and Singing

A new favorite activity around here is dancing and singing. As a singer, I am of course thrilled at this development. Adam's favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus," and he asks for it at least once a day. Clara gets very excited, too, and has even begun to learn the correct movements (not as of this video, though). This video is actually a little subdued as they were distracted by the camera - so you can imagine what the scene usually entails. Some days Mama can barely keep up! It sure is fun, though.

I couldn't get it to load here for some reason, so
YOU'LL HAVE TO CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT ON YOU TUBE.

Some other favorite songs are "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," "This Little Light of Mine," and "Down by the Bay."

She Turned One!

Our girl did it - she turned one!
It was a low-key birthday with Daddy out of town, but we still did some celebrating. We can't believe it's been a year since this little lady joined our family.

Here's a video of Clara showing off one of her new tricks. She learned this from Grandma Ann while she was visiting. I think you'll be able to tell which part is her favorite...
I couldn't get the video to load here for some reason, so
YOU'LL NEED TO CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT ON YOU TUBE.

At her 1 year appointment, she weighed 19 lbs. 10 oz. She continues to have a sweet laid-back personality and wants to do and eat everything her brother does.
Look at how helpful she is in the kitchen.
She is always interested in everyone's purse, and Grandma Ann gave her her very own purse for her birthday.

It has all the essentials: keys, mirror, credit card, bracelet, cell phone. She loves it!

Sister being silly before cupcake time. She finally got her first tooth at 11 months, and we're still sitting pretty at two teeth as of now.

We're going to have her actual cake next weekend when Daddy is back from all his traveling, but we did have cupcakes with Uncle Matt, who was visiting on her birthday. There was a lot more experimenting than actual eating. Oh well, it's her birthday.

We Skyped with Daddy so he could see his baby girl on her first birthday.
Adam waving "hi" to Daddy.
Adam now calls his sister Clue-ra. Adam is a great big brother, and now that Clara is a bit older, they are having more and more fun together. Adam asks to hold Clara and is always willing to give hugs. He has also become more concerned for her safety and comfort, bringing her the paci when she is sad and saying "be careful, Clue-ra" when she gets a little too close to Pooser.

Adam does "fist bump" with Daddy.

Happy birthday, Sweet Girl! We love you.

We're BAAAAaaaaaaack...

We're still here! Phil was out of town for a month (with the laptop - hence no blog posting), but we survived and even had a little fun. Phil leaves (again) tonight, so I am going to try to do some quick posts to fill you in.

My mom came to visit for a week just after Phil left. We had so much fun and the kids enjoyed her very much.

We spent some time at the park. It is so funny to me that Clara likes to ride in the swing leaning forward like this.

The side view is even funnier.

Adam has a more normal approach.

The swing is Clara's favorite at the park.

Lots of play time with Grandma. Adam and Clara have both been really into playing with puppets and pretend food that we got them at IKEA. Good stuff.

Play-doh...one of Adam's favorite activities. Grandma turned out to be an expert sculptor.

Reading a book.

Quick time out for a smile.

We took Grandma to one of our favorite spots - Great Falls National Park. We had a great hike.
Looking over the bridge. This is one of Adam's favorite parts since it is a lot easier to throw rocks into the water from the bridge.

Clara and Mama enjoying the falls.

Grandma taught Adam how to use a walking stick. Adam was concentrating so hard on using the stick!

Grandma and Adam enjoying the view.

Grandma and Grandpa Swenson came about a week later. Unfortunately, I have no pictures from there visit BECAUSE...I got to go to Colorado to visit Phil all by myself!!!!! It was a glorious weekend. I don't have any photos to show you from that either. It'd be really boring for you, though, since we didn't really do anything - which was the whole point!
Adam and Clara had a great time while I was gone and I did get to spend a couple of great days with Mama and Papa Swenson before they had to go home.
I was so thankful for all of my visitors while Phil was away and their amazing helpfulness. I could not have made it through the month without them!