Como Zoo/Como Town (June 2011)

I've gotten behind on blogging (and by "behind" I mean that I'm just not doing it as often as I used to) but better late than never! We took the girls to Como Town/Zoo back in June. Uncle Dave came with us and we met Mari Lee, Matt & Melissa there too. We looked at all the animals first and then let the girls play in the new splashpad area before we left to eat a picnic lunch. It's always such a nice place to go (especially during the middle of the week when it's not quite so busy!).

I have a picture almost identical to this one from 2 years ago when we first took Eleanor to Como Zoo. Maybe I'll do a side-by-side comparison at some point...but, that would require more blogging, so don't hold your breath!

The following pictures are from the new splash pad area. It's part of Como Town and so does require tickets. It only cost about $8 for the two girls. It's great except we got a bit nervous for Miriam. At her age it's a bit more risky because she was slipping a lot. At one point she did fall and hit her head. I kept thinking "no running!" like when the lifeguards used to yell at us when we went to the public pool as kids. So, the concept is somewhat backward to me...small children running around on all-wet surfaces? Accidents are bound to happen. But, nevertheless, the girls loved it!

Despite Michael being in summer school this summer we've managed to do quite a few things. The MN Children's Museum, Como Zoo, & a visit out to North Dakota (pictures to follow soon!) just to name a few. I can't believe that it's almost August! Hopefully, we'll get to do a few more things before the summer is over. If so...I also hope that I can keep up with the blogging better!

Minnesota Children's Museum

A couple of weeks ago we went to St. Paul to the Minnesota Children's Museum. It's always a great place to visit! This picture is of Eleanor & Michael looking at an X-ray in the pretend doctor's office.

They have this cute area that looks like a town that has a bus, a restaurant, post office, etc. Miriam was grocery shopping!

This picture is from the area that has a nature theme. There is a real ant farm that kids can climb through and thunderstorms going across the ceiling (along with many other things).

These pictures were also in that nature area. There was a water element and so they have hand dryers & aprons for the kids. Miriam loved those hand dryers!

They always have a special exhibit area and a couple of years ago it was Clifford. This time it was a Lego/castle exhibit. Eleanor wasn't as excited about this one as she was with Clifford, but it was pretty amazing. They had a lot of really cool things (castles, dragons, etc.) made out of Legos. We had such a fun morning at the museum and hope to return soon!

Miriam - our 2 year old

I took these pictures of Miriam right around her 2 year birthday (April 29th), but am just posting them now. I've been wanting to do an update on her and I figure I better do that before she's 2 1/2! It's been harder to get to the computer these days when the weather is nice and we want to be outside more. I love the above picture of her with the light shining in from outside.

While Miriam definitely seems to be experiencing the "terrible twos" more than I remember Eleanor doing, she's gotten a lot better. She had a real hard period (very cranky & lots of tantrums) between 15 months and 2 years. She's been talking more and more and I think that helps. She's finally starting to use 2 & 3 word phrases and seems to be able to express herself better. She's a lot fiestier than Eleanor ever was, but I think that just comes with being the 2nd born child. When she's happy (like in the above picture) she's very happy and fun. She's our little entertainer and already has a sense of humor.

One of her favorite things to say is "I did it!" She also likes to blame things on her sister or the dog. For instance, if she has a scratch on her leg we'll say "how did that happen?" And she'll reply, "Eleanor did it." It's just too funny. Eleanor is at her grandma's house until next Wednesday and Miriam is still managing to blame things on her! Another cute thing she just did this weekend was to fake a burp, cover her mouth, and then say "excuse me." She was so tickled by this because we laughed at her. She likes to make us laugh - and she's good at it! Speaking of saying excuse me & manners, this girl is good at them. She often says please, thank you, & sorry without being prompted. I'm impressed with that at only 26 months old.

She didn't used to have much patience for reading, but now enjoys it more. She loves any story about a Disney princess and loves the movies too. How does that happen so early? I know that Eleanor didn't even see a Disney princess until she was about 2 1/2, but having an older sister makes a huge difference. She loves Cinderella, Rapunzel (from Tangled), Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. She also loves to play with her baby dolls - that is usually what she gravitates to in the toy room.

She also (thankfully!) enjoys music. She loves to put on a tutu and dance to some Glee music (along with her sister, of course). She sings a cute version of the ABCs and you can almost make out each letter that she's singing.


One of the cutest things that Miriam does is "remind" us all to pray before our meals. Once everyone is seated she puts her hands together and says "Amen." That is our reminder to say our prayer. She can't really say much of the prayer, but always says an enthusiastic "Amen" at the end! Too cute! She's a joy and even though she has her frustrated moments, she's our little sunshine. We love you, Miriam!

Rainbow School 2010-2011

Eleanor had her last day of preschool last week. Her teachers put together a fantastic little video of the kids (the song the video was put to was Somewhere Over The Rainbow...sniff, sniff!!) with pictures taken throughout the year. They also interviewed each child and asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. Eleanor said that she wanted to be a teacher! Go figure...

All of the following pictures were taken by her teacher, Ms. Cat. She gave each parent a CD with pictures she had taken throughout the year of their child. Ours had 67 pictures on it! Including some pictures of the room so that Eleanor can remember what her classroom looked like. What a special gift for the parents! The picture above was taken by Ms. Cat as a Mother's Day present from the kids.

Gym time!

Field trip last fall at the Northwoods Apple Orchard.

Another field trip from last fall - a trip to the Fire Station.

Eleanor with one of her favorite things about Rainbow School - Miss Kristin & Mr. Guitar!

Pajama day!

Playing in the "creative play" area of the classroom.

This is my favorite picture that Ms. Cat took. Don't argue with Eleanor about whether Dandelions are weeds - in her book they are definitely flowers!

Eleanor had a fantastic first year of preschool. She absolutely loves school & her teachers told us that she was definitely a leader in her class. She's already sounding out words & loves to write words. So, we wouldn't be surprised if she's reading before Kindergarten, but we'll see. We're not going to push it too much. She'll be attending Rainbow School again next year Mon/Wed/Fri mornings. No Kindergarten yet for us! I'm fine with that...she's growing up too fast anyway.

Miriam's 2nd Birthday party

We celebrated Miriam's 2nd birthday on May 14, 2011. It was the same weekend as Michael's final Choral Arts concert of the year and so it makes for kind of a hectic weekend, but also makes sense since a lot of our family would be here for the concert anyway. As you can see it was an Elmo/Sesame Street theme. I often hear, "Mommy, Elmo" from Miriam, which translates to please put Elmo on the TV. I don't know what it is about Elmo, but toddlers love him!

In attendance at the party were Michael's Dad & Stepmom Pat & Mary, Matt & Melissa, Grandma Mari Lee, Grandma Karma & Bahnka, Auntie Susie, & Jodi. Jordan and Natalie were also planning on coming and had even booked a hotel room, but Seth got sick and so they couldn't make it. :(

Miriam, Elmo, and the soon-to-be-Mrs. Dettmann.

Miriam and Auntie/Godmother Melissa

Grandma Mari Lee & Grandma Karma

This year, with it being Miriam's 2nd birthday, she was definitely more interested in the presents. And, she spotted them right away and had to check them all out. Her party was at 3 in the afternoon and so she was taking a nap when guests started to arrive. We put all the presents in the corner by the TV and it was pretty much the first thing she noticed when she got downstairs after her nap.

Eleanor giving Miriam a hug and Miriam getting her first Barbie doll (her gift from Eleanor).

Eleanor & Auntie Susie

Proud big sister!!

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...."

Just like her sister, Miriam loves cake!


It was a great weekend and we were so pleased that so many of you could come to Miriam's party! I'll have an update soon on what Miriam is like at age 2. Let's just say that she keeps us on our toes!! WE LOVE YOU MIRIAM!!

Sniff...Sniff...

I'm in mourning...