Our "Little" Girls

Our little girls are growing pretty fast before our very eyes. 

It probably doesn't need to be mentioned, but we got some future Amazons on our hands. 

Our hospital has an online portal that lets us check their growth charts amidst a number of things. Here, Astrid is almost 2 and a half years old and Stella is 6 months. They both fall in the 99th (and up) percentile for their height or as their doctor says "off the charts". 

Astrid at 2.5 years

Stella at 6 Months

They'll still be our babies even when they likely look down on their Mom (and maybe even Dad) in a few years. 

5 Month Stella

How time flies... It seems like just yesterday we brought Stella home for the first time. Now she's already starting to crawl around the floor. Not sure if we're ready for this speed, as things seem to go 5x the speed with two kids.

Stella is an inquisitive, happy, content little girl. She's quick to smile and rarely makes a fuss. She loves her sister with big, happy smiles.She puts up with the extra strong hugs and occasional jealousy quite well. She's head over heels in love with Loulou and can't get enough of her soft fur. She's gaining her independence but loves nothing more than to be caressed on our chests for hours at a time.

Everyone seems to say that Stella resembles me the most, as she shares her father's Nordic complexion and ultra light hair. She's perfect in every way and we couldn't be happier to have ANOTHER excellent baby.

February Favorites

Who has time to write these days? Plus, I know 99% of you just want some cute baby pics.

Daycare kids watching the garbage truck

Getting "dressed" for school

Painting at school

Trip to the mall for some fresh Moana pajamaas that couldn't wait until home. 

Feeding the ducks at Land Park

Bathtime weird

Fighting for lap space

Sister Doting

Trying some avocado

Babes in Tubs

Genetics

See the resemblance? Parents on the left, Stella & Astrid on the right.

Neighbors: Nils & Cait

We literally live right next door to two of our best friends, Nils & Cait. They have a kid about 10 days older than Stella, so needless to say, we see each other a lot, whether it's for a beer after a days work, or more typically, crossing paths while we're chasing kids left and right. It's a great relief to have friends who can share your parenting schedule and totally get it when there's been a diaper explosion and you need to step away from the dinner table for a few. There's plenty of laughs and we joke about the days when Astrid, Stella and Finn become bosom buddies.

The Academy with Kids

One of Jen and I's favorite places to visit and take guests in the pre-kid says (oh they seem so long ago) was the Academy of Sciences that inhabited the park just a few blocks from our house. Now that we live in Sacramento, the home of zero aquariums, we wanted to take the kids there.

Astrid basically had the time of her life, watching the fish "fly" through the tanks and pointing at EVERYTHING in sight. Stella stared in awe as well, but she stares in awe at just about everything, so not sure how much was genuine.

Farmor Visit

For those who don't know, Farmor is Swedish for Father's Mother, so we work hard to introduce the term to Astrid and Stella. They'll be singing it soon enough, but meanwhile, Farmor came to visit for 10 days and got to experience the chaotic parent life she's surely missed all these years. We did bits of everything, from skiing in Tahoe, dinners on the town, visits with sisters, taking in some of the sights, daycare visits, park runs with Loulou and all the fun in between.

Gone Skiing

Jen longs for her snowy days of youth, snowboarding the peaks of winter wonderland in the northeast. So for her to show the girls a bit of snow, was exciting in so many ways. My wonderful sisters, mother and family also got in on the action. Skiing is always quite a trip to plan with all the equipment, vehicles, travel time and rentals you need to make it happen. It was so worth it and a lot of first-timers got to learn the way of the slopes.