Visiting (great-)grandparents

I'm almost at the end of my maternity leave. Time goes so fast... So last weekend, we decided to head down to Iowa so that Ella could meet her great-grandparents for the first time.

We went to Ames on Friday and stayed with Grandma Jo. Then we headed out to Vail, IA, where Great Grandma and Grandpa live, on Saturday. They got to meet Ella, and to see Maisie again - it's been a while! We had a really lovely visit with them.

Maisie enjoyed her visit to Vail, too. Aaron's cousin Rob was visiting at the same time with his family, including his daughter Elise, who's just a little older than Maisie is.

Maisie had so much fun playing with Elise at Grandma & Grandpa's house! And we were happy to learn that Rob, Trish, and their family are moving back to the Twin Cities. So, hopefully this was just the first of many play dates for Maisie and Elise!

I love a parade

Last weekend was the Highland Park neighborhood festival. Saturday morning there was a children's parade with a costume contest, so we had to go!


When Grandma Liisa first asked Maisie how she wanted to dress up, she said "a SHARK!!" But Grandma was able to redirect her to "flower princess." She helped Maisie decorate her doll Becky's stroller, and made Becky a princess skirt. Pretty cute, eh?

Maisie wasn't sure about walking in the parade, so I got to walk with her.

Disappointingly, she didn't win a prize in her age category (4 & under)... we were robbed!

Dylan, however, won 3rd prize in the 5 & up group for his excellent rocket.

He was so excited to win! Good job Grandma Liisa! And he shared his prize candy with Maisie, so she got over her loss pretty quickly.

(Ella slept through the whole thing.)

Sisters

With a little help, Maisie can hold Ella. It's one of her favorite things to do! She asks to hold her "stisser" a couple of times a day. She'll also say, "Look at me, baby Ella!!" as she shows off a new dance step or fancy twirl.

It makes me so happy to see that Maisie has adapted so well to being a big sister! I love watching her interact with Ella, and I look forward to seeing their relationship grow.

Picture post

I don't really have it together enough right now to write a coherent post, so here are some cute pictures to tide you over, until I get some sleep!

Also: because I am delinquent in writing thank yous - THANK YOU to the Ely J's for the Target card - it has turned into some very useful diapers and wipes. And THANK YOU to Cathy C for the book - I love the Finn family Moomintroll, but we did not have any picture books! It's now in our regular bedtime reading. Maisie really enjoys it. And finally, THANK YOU to my Portland honeys for the beautiful handmade gifts! You are all incredibly thoughtful.


Maisie and Aaron peeking out of a giant tire at the Children's Museum. The display says it's from a tractor, but it reminds me of the tires from the huge mining trucks on the Iron Range. Although, those tires were actually much bigger, now that I think about it!

(Yes, I see the "One person at a time" sign behind the two of them... we noticed it afterwards, in the picture. Oops!)


Laura and Dylan invited us over to their house for supper a few days ago. It was really hot, so we ate in the backyard. Dylan was delighted to help give Ella a bottle! He really enjoyed helping out with Maisie when she was little, and I was happy to see that he still wanted to help take care of the baby, even as a big kid of almost 6.

When Maisie saw Dylan feeding Ella, she wanted to help too, but she doesn't quite have the patience yet. Soon enough, though, I'm sure!

Ella seemed to enjoy the bottle process too, even though it seemed like she got as much of the milk on her as in her. By the time she was done, her onesie was soaked!


Sisters! Or, as Maisie says, "That my baby stisser!"