Fall Photo Shoot

A couple of weeks ago I asked our dear friend Amy Nelson if she wouldn't mind trying to get some pictures of the girls. Here are just a few highlights from the little photo session we had today. She was so nice to take time out of her day to meet us at the Olmsted County History Center to take these pictures. I wanted to get some pictures of the girls since Eleanor is now 4 and Miriam is almost 18 months. Amy did an excellent job, especially since Miriam is not the easiest photography subject right now!

Eleanor Rose - 4 years old

Miriam Grace - 17 months

This is a funny photo because this is all Miriam wanted to do - walk away from all of us!

Be sure to click into this photo to see it bigger. Amy put a really nice quote on it.

And last but not least...this one might very well be framed in my house FOREVER.

There are so many more pictures and so I may still be posting some, but I had to get a few on the blog for some of our not-so-techy-relatives & friends who are not on Facebook (you know who you are!). Thanks again, Amy! We love them!

Rainbow School Fieldtrip!

On Thursday, Eleanor got to go on a fieldtrip to the Northwoods Apple Orchard. The parents went with their children and so that made it fun because I got to meet some of the other parents. The kids were so excited and learned a lot about farm animals, corn mazes, and, of course, APPLES!

The chicken & rooster pen. The kids were looking for eggs.

Miriam was really patient the whole morning and stayed in her stroller eating her snack.

Petting the bunnies...

Eleanor showing off her card that she stamped while finding all the special spots in the corn maze.

We've tried to get a picture of Eleanor every fall at this orchard. Last year we didn't get out there, but here she is at the "How Tall This Fall" painted apple.

And here's my attempt to get Miriam to stand by it!

The kids were waiting patiently for their snack.

Eleanor got the giggles during snack time with some of the boys.

This is the class picture for the day. There were a few kids missing. Mr. Joe is in front. He is their classroom helper and is such a sweetie! It was a great day and when we left Eleanor said, "that was so much fun!" It's really fun to see her being such a big girl and enjoying preschool so much.

Butterfly Garden

Uncle Jordan & Auntie Natalie gave Eleanor the coolest birthday present this year. It was a butterfly garden and the box that came to our house had a big orange sticker on it that said "Live Insects Enclosed - Open Immediately." Michael immediately gave the box to me to open!

The caterpillars come in this jar with all the food they need. You just watch them and pretty soon they will form their cocoons on the top of the lid. There is a piece of paper that they actually attach to and when they're all hanging upside down it's time to put them in their habitat.

We carefully pinned them (still attached to that piece of paper) into the inside of the habitat. You have to hang them somewhere safe so that they don't get bumped. They were either above the dining room table or hanging from one of the curtain rods in our dining room. It took them about a week...and then...

...they emerged! All 5 of them survived. I was breathing a sigh of relief because Eleanor checked on them every day and couldn't wait to see them turn into butterflies. We didn't get to see them emerge from their cocoons, but one was still kind of stuck and so we saw him free himself. I think they all came out at the same time and probably overnight.

Next, it was time to feed them. We cut some flowers from the yard and made a little garden for them. You take 1 cup water and add 3 tsp. sugar. With the dropper that was provided, you just drop the sugar water over the flowers. You can also take balled up Kleenex and dip them in the sugar water. I did to that after about 24 hours because I was concerned they weren't eating enough. Always a Mom! We fed them and observed them for about 2 days..and...then...

Eleanor released them into our yard! You can release them anywhere as long as the temp is above 55 degrees.

Fly, little butterflies, fly!

Dakota Zoo

I'm doing a bit of catch up blogging with this post. I was having some computer issues while I was putting this zoo post together and had to start over with it. This was in North Dakota in August when we took the girls to the Dakota Zoo. It's a very nice zoo and brings back fond memories of when I was a kid. I remember many a visit to the Dakota Zoo both with my parents and on school field trips. A lot has changed over the years, but many things are still the same.

This is a huge replica of a bear named Clyde. Bears named Bonnie & Clyde were the main attraction when I was a kid. Both lived for quite a long time.

Eleanor by the lion fountain in summer 2010.

Eleanor by the lion fountain in summer 2007!

This is on the train that takes you around the longer habitat parts of the zoo. It's really nice because it would just be too far to walk with little kids. There are quite a few very large habitat areas at the zoo.

Toward the end of the train ride we noticed Miriam getting very sleepy...

...and finally she took a little nap. She didn't sleep well at all the first couple of nights we were in ND, so I wasn't surprised at all that she fell asleep in her stroller.

She ended up sleeping for about 45 minutes. Sweet little face!

Miriam was just starting to get her "sea legs" while we were in ND, but she didn't officially start walking until we got home. My parents missed it by just a few days! Bummer...

Even with all the animals there Eleanor was still most interested in playing on this little playground they had! After the zoo we went to McDonald's for lunch. It was a very fun morning/afternoon. :)

First day of preschool

Here's our big girl all ready for her first day at Rainbow School! She'll be going every Tuesday & Thursday morning. It's located at our church, but it's supported by several Lutheran congregations in Rochester. And, any child is welcome to attend regardless of religious affiliation.

She was excited to wear one of her new birthday outfits and her new shoes!

Every day they hang up their coats & backpacks and then sign themselves in by writing their name (or tracing it). Eleanor does know how to write her name, but still needs help with some of her letters.

She was so ready for this that we had to force a hug out of her! As is typical with most things in her life...she rarely looks back. Have a great year, Eleanor!

Eleanor & Olivia's mad dancing skillz...

Princess Show from Brynn Culloton on Vimeo.