drinking like a big girl!!

we are starting to have Lilja drink out of a big girl cup.. it is so cute to see her so proud of herself. she is getting the hang of it.. or well, almost...

Iron Horse 2011

The day was here... again.. for Aran and his best friend Matt to beat the train from Durango to Silverton. As some of you remember, last year I missed the cutoff time for the road closure and I could not get up to Silverton.. So this year I ended up going to Ouray on Friday with Lilja and drove down to Silverton in the morning. No stress!! We had so much fun...this will definitely become an annual girl trip.
In Siverton we met Jacci (Matt's wife) and their two daughters Alice and Eleanor. The wives and kids were very proud of the husbands, who had great times.
Here Lilja and Eleanor are waiting for their daddies..
Alice was not feeling well, so Jacci took her back home after the race. Matt and Eleanor came back with us for the weekend.

A little picnic after the race was done. It was beautiful weather, but a little windy.

Is there a little model in there already!! Great smile, Eleanor!

The annual Dare picture 2011

Eleanor was a great friend to Lilja and played with her the whole weekend. Fun to see Lilja play with other children..

Sunday morning Matt and Aran did the criterium. I took the girls to the train museum before the race to pass some time.. This is the 'Dog house"

The start of the criterium.. that tall one is Aran up front, Matt is right behind him on the left.

Aran is coming around the corner .. he's the third one.

The girls were great supporters, they even had cow bells to ring.. Notice the matching dresses ;)

Matt coming around the corner, he's the second one..

Matt is all done.. Aran still has a time trial Monday morning. But what a great photo of the two best friends with their girls!!

Matt and Eleanor. She was so excited Matt finished so strong (he sprinted hard at the finish) , she said she almost had to cry..

That was fun guys.. see you on the 4th of July!!!

Lilja's "Gotcha day"

Today is Lilja's 'Gotcha Day".. one year ago we stood in front of a judge and promised to be the best parents we can be for the rest of our lives. As I wait for Lilja to wake up I think about this last year and just want to hold her tight and thank her for making our lives complete..But this day could not have happened without Jasmin (Lilja's tummy mommy) who chose us to become Lilja's parents. She is the one who really made our dreams come true.. to become a little family!!

Our first meeting with Lilja.. jsut checking eachother out.Our placement ceremony with Jasmin and LiljaOur little family: she has become a wonderful friend and part of our family. Our "Gotcha Day" May 24th, 2010

just to make you laugh

Lilja loves when I have gum and blow bubbles..I am not sure if she is mimicking my face when I blow them, but I have to laugh everytime..

funny girl

Today it has been snowing all day!! so we are inside playing.. Lilja is finding new things to play with.. her lips??? she can just be so silly!!

Shannon

Tonight I had a meeting with my dear friend Robin, who is also my boss for tumbling tots. Aran is at a conference so her daughter Shannon took care of Lilja for the evening. They were so cute I had to take a video before I left.. The night went great and I think some date nights will come up soon. Shannon is amazing and we are lucky she loves Lilja so much.

Bloem

Lilja realized we also have dandelions in our yard.. Lilja loves flowers and will ask for them on our dog walks to hold them the whole hour.

Our yard is pretty big for such a little girl and today for the first time she left the deck and venture out into the back of the yard.. "wrunning" she says..and looking for "another bloem"(another flower) .

it is spring

we are getting the deck ready for summer and we realize Lilja's stuff has taken it over already!! she has her own little playground back there. A lot of the equipment we got from our great friends Kelli and Brad.. Thanks guys!!
Lilja Loves to swing and is starting to pump her legs so she can go faster.

the harmonica

Ok Lilja truly has a musical talent ;) and making mommy dizzy at the same time

playdoh.. again

Playdoh is becoming a daily activity..and her language is getter better and better. See if you can hear... penguin.. little ball, big ball, kisses and hugs. as you can see we ALWAYS have fun.. she is just fun to be around.

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson

Last day of Grandma and Grandpa being here and the weather was aweful, so we decided to just stay in and play. I went running ( in the hail!)and they took care of Lilja for the afternoon, playing with playdoh (ofcourse) and the little house. The Johnson family are avid readers and Aran and I are trying to instill that in lilja too. Luckily she LOVES books and can sit in her room for quite some time just looking at them all. This night everyone got a turn to read to Lilja.

Being silly with Grandpa is fun!!Grandma always makes the story even more fun with fun extra side storries.. Do you know Grandma wrote a book!!
Thanks Grandma for all the stories, I had so much fun!!!!

if you listen closely, you can hear the cute sounds GRANDPA makes ;)

Santa Fe and Grandma and Grandpa

We met Grandma and Granpa Johnson in Santa fe this weekend. They drove all the way from Minnesota to drop off a motorcycle for Aran. They rented a cute house walking distance from downtown and we joined them for some shopping, tourist walking and eating yummy food.

This staircase was first build without the banister and... not a nail was used to keep it together. The nuns asked for the railing later on.. Very cool!

We had a great Mother's Day brunch in a courtyard of a restaurant. A welcome relaxation after all that walking and shopping all weekend.. What a life!!


We bought Lilja a little Mexican dress at a market. My favorite dress to date!!! she looked so cute in it!!

We had such a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa, plus it is so nice we will be able to see them in one month again as we are making a trip up to Winona to see Great Grandma..

Thank you so much for a wonderful time. We loved being with you and exploring a new culture and place. see you soon!

the new sun/bed/room almost done

The room is almost done.. Almost done painted it, just need one more coat of the accent color on the right wall. we did not know how much work was involved to build a room from scratch!!! priming, baseboards.. A LOT OF WORK..But I HAD to put my mom's painting up and see how it would look. How precious.. How many of you knew my mom is such an amazing artist!!



we are waiting for roman blinds to arrive , but holding off on spending more money on the sleeper sofa. We have the best huge blow-up bed and these chairs ( we got them from Aran's parents)look way to good in there for now.. so for now it is a coffee corner, and when we have guests, the bed will go in there.. One of my favorite photos is now a painting..Love it mom!!
Lilja loves this room already..