Suki in the morning light.
I blame this on Joseph...
...Grace is now an expert in opening and emptying the dishwasher.
-------------------------------
Here is a tale of how woefully simple we can be. Today we went to Ikea for the first time. We need bookshelves and carefully measured the space where they need to fit. We measured the back of the minivan so we would know how to arrange the boxes later. We mapquested our directions and planned an early departure today.
Well, we finally rolled out at 12:30 because it takes us forever to get things together with these two. We got a little lost when a highway jigged right and we merrily sailed on straight down the road. And traffic tripled our estimated travel time so we didn't get there until 2:30.
Needless to say, when we got there we had to get something to eat first. We ate some delicious
Swedish meatballs, potatoes and lingonberry sauce. There was pear cider and Elderflower juice, apple pie amd chocolate cake. It was delicious, and our time there was the only time things really went right all day.
There was even a
St. Lucia procession, which Grace loved.
We got lost wandering the giant Ikea, and Grace found her own ways to delay progress. She was very proud of her climbing.
See all of these cars behind us with people loading up their purchases? We did not get to join them, because for all of our measuring, we did not discover the size of the actual cartons until we were there... and they were too large for our minivan with the seat that held the car seats installed. We could bring the shelves or the girls home. The girls are cuter, so we returned home having purchased only a meatball dinner for our troubles. Simple, simple, simple.
Mama and Suki.
Dad and Suki.
We're just crazy about this girl!
Grace is fascinated by Suki's pacifier.
Basket hat.
Funny baby faces.
Grace loves to rummage in the kitchen cabinets. When she emerges, triumphantly holding some utensil aloft, she'll call out "What'chu got there?" and then tell you what she thinks it is. In this case, the object was a butter holder for corn on the cob, but she insisted it was her "little hammer."
Trying on another hat while admiring her reflection in the window.
Off to find more fun with Dad.
So cute!
Choosing a crayon.
She takes her lines, dots and circles very seriously.
Playing with her drum -- she loves dancing to its music, too, and will draw your attention to it by calling out "good dancing Grace!"
The many faces of Suki... Sleeping.
Alert.
Wise guy.
And just like that, the shrieking. These four photos were taken in the span of a minute, which reveals a lot about what life is like here...
Suki takes a turn.
Outraged!
Happier a bit later on.
Drying off.
Grace takes a turn next -- due to bathtub complication, she was back in the sink!
Cute cute cute.
Blurry but too funny not to share.
Near the window before breakfast.
Suki noticed the rotating, fluttering mobile above her swing for the first time today.
She really loved it. Dad held her during a nap today and reported hearing her laugh and seeing her smile (both in her sleep for the first time today, too!
Suki in the morning light.
I blame this on Joseph...
...Grace is now an expert in opening and emptying the dishwasher.
Needless to say, when we got there we had to get something to eat first. We ate some delicious Swedish meatballs, potatoes and lingonberry sauce. There was pear cider and Elderflower juice, apple pie amd chocolate cake. It was delicious, and our time there was the only time things really went right all day.
We got lost wandering the giant Ikea, and Grace found her own ways to delay progress. She was very proud of her climbing.
See all of these cars behind us with people loading up their purchases? We did not get to join them, because for all of our measuring, we did not discover the size of the actual cartons until we were there... and they were too large for our minivan with the seat that held the car seats installed. We could bring the shelves or the girls home. The girls are cuter, so we returned home having purchased only a meatball dinner for our troubles. Simple, simple, simple.
Mama and Suki.
Dad and Suki.
We're just crazy about this girl!
As Grace says, "I give him a hug...and I give him a kiss."
Two sweet faces.
And two more.
A happy reader.
A gleeful Grace tries to give Suki a pacifier.
Later in the day she tries again, this time tossing it at Suki's open mouth. Needless to say, it didn't really work.
Outrage so strong it cannot be captured in one clear shot.
A teary faced appeal to mom to repair the damage.
A sorrowful gaze at the wreckage.
Lowering one's sad self to the level of the cheese for a new perspective.
Sampling the damaged goods to see just how bad it is.
The happy discovery that the cheese is still good and all that fuss was for nothing much.
Meanwhile, Suki just swings away.
Ready to head out the door for lunch at our new friend Renee's house.
Sacked out while playing next door. This is the first time she's slept outside of the carseat or bed! I was so surprised.
Dad's home!
Grace gives Suki a kiss...
...and a litte pat.
A very relaxed baby.
