Grandma & Papa Came to Visit

Grandma Banana & Papa Pizza came to visit us - and it we packed a lot into our weekend!

We stood by the window and waited for them... then we mobbed them as they came through the door!  Brooke almost cried because she had to get the "last" hug!

Brooke's shoe obsession extended to Papa's boots the minute he walked through the door.

Like my shoes???

All 3 girls LOVE to read stories - and Brooke will bully her way in to a lap to get her stories read... she especially loves Snuggle Puppy (the "OOOO" part), and ANYTHING with Elmo or Dora!

Brooke and Papa reading Elmo stories

On Saturday, we took family pictures in the morning - then headed to the Como Zoo to see some animals and the Conservatory:

Kylie's Flowers

Neela by the Flowers

We saw EVERYTHING at the Zoo... everyone had a favorite!  Then, we went to Angie's ice cream shop - and we climbed inside the "Java Train" until we were too tired to walk...

It was a very fun weekend - complete with our McDonald's breakfast and Mill's Fleet Farm on Sunday!

How big are we now?

Neela Marie - 4 years
39.5 lbs
41.5 inches

Kylie Rose - 4 years
41 lbs
41 inches

Brooke Elizabeth - 18 months
31.4 lbs
35 inches

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day at Bright Horizons - then headed home to spend the evening with Mommy, Daddy & Auntie Angie!  We had green plates, green napkins, green milk, and green ice cream for dessert (with green sprinkles, of course).

Here are some of the pictures:

Neela, Aunt Angie & Kylie

Brooke really wanted her picture taken (she's saying "Cheese"), but she didn't want to be by anyone else!

See...  I'm still here - and still smiling!

If we tickle you, will you join us for our picture?

Cheers!  Green Milk!

I LOVE green ice cream!  It's "Nummy!"

Brooke & Mommy

Neela & Mommy

Kylie & Mommy

Mommy & Angie are doing their best to keep "Big Grandma Lorraine" happy!  We know she'd be proud of her three little Irish lassies!

A Little Luck O' the Irish!

We had a LOT of fun attempting to get a St. Patrick's Day photo of all 3 girls... they truly are little leprachauns - their ability to work magic with their smiles makes Mommy & Daddy very lucky people!

After the photo shoot, Brooke decided it was a great time to feed her babies! 

She could be a Mommy for twins or triplets - no problem!

Brooke's 1st Wild Game

The entire family made it to the Wild vs. Columbus Blue Jackets on March 6th! It took a bit longer to get Brooke to her first Wild game than it took for Kylie and Neela, but she enjoyed it just the same.

Neela sang the Wild theme song all the way downtown while Kylie and Brooke napped... she waved her pom pom, and was generally way TOO excited to be at the Wild game again to CONSIDER sleeping!

Neela & Kylie -- too excited to hold still for the camera!

With our favorite Wild fans - Bonnie & Hambone

Brooke cheered every time anyone clapped their hands - even if the Blue Jackets scored!

Remember that excitement???  It finally diminished into a nap in the 2nd period!

Neela & Daddy

Brooke did very well through most of the game, but the 3rd period was a bit long for her.  We got up, walked around a bit and let her watch the snow out the window... then she spent 20 minutes running between the window and the back row of the upper deck to watch the game.  That was definitely more her pace!

We also got a million compliments on how cute Brooke looked, how cute all 3 girls looked, and how wonderful the big girls are with Brooke.... What a great day!  (And a big thank you to Bonnie & Hambone for all the adorable Wild gear the girls have... they LOVE to wear it!)

Disney Princesses on Ice

The big girls had a special date with Mommy to go see Disney Princesses on Ice!  We had to earn our trip by getting 3 stickers for 3 very good days before we found out what our surprise was...  We wore our princess sweatshirts, princess ponytail holders and princess socks!

Neela & Kylie sat on Mommy's lap for the entire first act, and climbed back up for the second act as soon as we finished our ice cream.  We were not very happy when Mommy refused to buy us a $15 snow cone or a $15 bag of cotton candy, but the $4.50 ice cream made us a bit happier :-)

It was a magical experience - we loved Tinkerbell in her carriage at the end, and all the princesses dancing with their princes during the grand finale! We did not care for Ursala or the dragon.

The entire performance... about every 5 minutes... Neela kept leaning up and whispering "Thank you, Mommy!"... what happens when we go to Disney World????

Cheerleaders!

We started a cheerleading class through Woodbury Parks & Rec.  The first week was rough - we are the youngest ones in the class for 4-8 year olds.  The 2nd week got a little bit better.  Once we started to wear our cheerleading uniforms, we started to get even more confident!  Each week, Neela gets better about "separation" from Mommy, Daddy & Kylie.  Both girls are doing great at partnering with someone who's "not your sister" - and trying to listen closely to Coach Karla. 

Check out our first cheer: