Evie and Annalise Taller: January 2007

The Last Day of January!

Hooray! January is over. It is the worst, coldest, darkest month of the year when you live in Minnesota. This year was a little different in that it wasn't that cold or dark or snowy, but we are still happy it is over!

Annalise poses with the poseys. To the person who sent them (you know who you are), thank you. We are really enjoying them. For all of you that haven't sent flowers yet, we are still waiting. :)

Evie the blockhead.

Still smiling, just like the box.

At school today, we learned all about woodchucks--or groundhogs as they are commonly called. We learned that they hibernate all winter long until February 2nd when they poke their heads out to see their shadows. Then the groundhogs have to watch out for Grandpa Seibert, the sharpshooter. This is a picture of Evie admiring the groundhog in the "hole" that she made a school today.

Annalise wonders if there is more cereal in the bowl. Sorry, Charlie. You'll have to lick the remains off your face.

Much Talked of but Rarely Seen

Yes, it is winter, but Annalise's bare legs made a surprise appearance at our house today. It seems that it is much easier for her to hold her legs up in the air when they aren't confined and weighted down by fleece sleepers.

So smooth and white. Reminds us of a glass of milk.

Annalise bares her soles.

Evie looks on as Annalise continues to hold her legs up.

After deciding that Annalise's legs weren't that exciting, Evie returns to the task at hand. Sorting her beads by shape and color.

Playing outside

It was a pretty nice day for January in Minnesota so everyone got bundled up for a nice long walk to the mail box.

Annalise hitched a ride inside mom's coat. She was the toastest of us all. Her cheeks weren't even cold when we finally came in.

Evie's cheeks, on the other hand, were pretty cold because she like to have full contact of all her body parts with the snow.

Today is Tuesday

Today is Tuesday and there really isn't anything exciting going on, but, if we didn't post, we would probably get an email from Aunt Becky demanding some pictures.

Evie and I created a chain to countdown the days until our trip to Wisconsin's greatest wonder, the Dells. We won't actually be seeing any of the geological wonders. We will be hanging around the indoor pools and waterslides. Much more fun and warm in the winter.

Evie's chain is as long as she is tall. That's a long time until we go to the Dells.

Annalise picture only means one thing. Evie took a nap. Annalise is getting pretty good at being on her belly. She kicks her legs like she means it, but she doesn't go anywhere fast.

Annalise tries on a hat for her trip to the Dells. Have to be fashionable when you are 4 1/2 months old. Actually, this may be her only chance to wear it as she is already out growing this hat. I guess I have to dig in the closet for the next size up.

Evie helps get some chores done. We taught her to fold towels and she is really good at it.

A Typical Sunday

It was just another typical Sunday at our house. We woke up at 5:22 am (doesn't everyone?) with Annalise. Evie woke up too, but we managed to convince her to stay in bed. She did, until about 6:09 am. At that point, it was a lost cause so we all got up. And everyone stayed up except mom who went back to bed until it got light outside. The good thing about getting up that early is that you get a lot done, everyone takes naps, and you have plenty of time to get ready for 11 am church.

We spent some time cleaning up the basement and going through boxes while Evie was sleeping. Annalise found these bunny ears and thought she looked pretty funny. They do a lot to hide her crazy hair.

With a nap under her belt, Evie can do almost anything, including flying.

What will tomorrow hold? Hopefully a wakeup call after 6 am.

Second best day ever

We're in it to win it with you Hillary. Slap the bumper sticker on the Volvo. The Taller Women stand with you.

Annalise says "This is the best day since Ohio State beat Michigan better than the day I first tasted the sweet rice cereal."

MEATY!

Here are some pictures of Annalise in various states of undress. She heard that her cousin Oliver weighs something like 27 pounds. Annalise just wanted to show that she is a petite flower with plenty of insulation to get through our long, cold winter

Annalise really enjoys standing and looking at herself. Great, put another bathroom on the list in the dream house--looks like she is going to need her own.

All good Minnesotans pack most of their insulation in their thighs. That's what gives you the cushion when you are sitting on a five gallon bucket when you are ice fishing.

"Ha Ha Ha, Oliver, you may catch up to me in pounds, but never in cuteness."

Playing around

A quiet afternoon and we got some quality playing in after 2 little girls DID NOT take naps.

Evie and her castle

Annalise shows off her high kicking footwork. She just figured out her legs go in several directions.

Evie instructs Annalise on how to jump really high.

Trip to Como Zoo and Conservatory

Evie's ECFE class visited the Como Zoo and Conservatory today. There is a great indoor portion that is called something like "Tropics Trail". All I know is that it is a huge wonderful room filled with tropical trees and lots of warmth and humidity. For the first time in a week, all three Taller women were able to breathe freely. Oh, there were some animals there too.

Here's some of the kids checking out the turtles that live in the glass wall pond. They were all actually swimming around and entertaining to watch. Evie is in the light yellow sweater.

What? There are Turtles? Annalise is in disbelief her first trip to the zoo.

This is the Conservatory portion. This sunken garden changes with the seasons. Since it's still winter, still ponsettias. If you look clear to the other end of the reflecting pool, you will see part of our group. Again, another wonderful, warm and sunny humid room.

Evie walking (not running as she was constantly reminded) up the path.

Evie and her buddies, Ethan and Laura stay still just long enough to have their pictures taken.

Winter has arrived

We got a snowstorm last night that dumped a whopping 4 inches of snow on us. This is the most snow we have had all winter. Evie journeyed outside in the 10 degree morning sunshine to assist dad with snowblowing.

As Tom Silva from This Old House says "The best hearing protection is the one that is used". Since Evie comes from a long line of hard hearing Grandpas, we thought we'd better protect what hearing she has.

This is how cold it is here. Evie couldn't withstand the cold to help Jim finish the snow removal and had to come inside to warm up.

Dad is off today for Martin Luther King day. Did MLK have an implantable device? Annalise takes a ride while dad runs the vacuum.

It's getting cold, finally

Winter has finally arrived in Minnesota. Today's high was around 7 degrees and there was a pretty bad wind chill that took us well below zero. So, we gathered up our favorite toys and retreated to the basement for the rest of the winter. Wake us in the spring.

The major benefit to living below ground is that the sun never gets in your eyes muchless shines on your skin. This gives your skin that unique Minnesota glare when you hit the waterpark in the winter.

Our other excitement today is that we have dual viruses hanging around our house. Both Evie and Annalise are running low grade fevers. Annalise's could be due to her shots yesterday, but it is more likely due to her sister sharing germs with her fingers in Annalise's mouth. To top it off, mom is getting sick too. Woo Hoo. Thank goodness dad is home this weekend and Monday to take care of all us.

Annalise is 4 months old!

Annalise is 4 months old today. Her hobbies include bouncing in the doorway, tasting all the toys in the house, and trying to not get ran over by her big sister.

She also visited the doctor today. Along with a clean bill of health, she got 4 shots. Ouch! She weighs 14 pounds 3/4 ounces and is 25 inches long. For those of you keeping score at home, that puts her in the 63% and 79%. Above average, just barely. Her head size was only 41 cm (53%). I'm not sure what Evie's was at this age, but I'm sure it above the 90th percentile.

The doctor did one extra test to measure cuteness and it was off the scale.

For Aunt Becky

Apparently, in Wisconsin, the weeks last longer than the rest of the world. How things can move so slow when you have an action packed job being an accountant is beyond us. Anyway, Aunt Becky, this one is for you. Now start bugging Natalie and Oliver about getting some new pictures up. By the way, Hank hasn't posted new pictures since Sunday either!

Aunt Becky, Thanks for the new Jammies. They fit just right.

Why don't they build cribs to contain a big girl? I guess they do, but jail seems like a pretty harsh option now. Maybe one day in jail would scare her straight and she would start taking naps again.

A Sad Day

Oh, Buckeye Nation, we feel your pain too. Although this season ended in a loss, we have the ultimate victory...beating Michigan. By the way, "O-H", nice white jeans. That's class.

Annalise EATS!!!!

On Sunday, Annalise tried her first bites of semi-solid food. Here are the pictures

Here's one of the first bites. Notice how clean she is.

A few bites later and a little dirtier. She had a difficult time keeping her fingers out of her mouth when she was eating. This must be genetic because we tell Evie to get her hands out of her mouth about 30 million times a day.

The well fed and messy baby needs a bath.

Word from Ohio is that cousin Oliver is packing on the pounds. Not to be outdone, Annalise proudly shows off her belly and thigh rolls.

A relaxing bath. The first time she didn't cry at all during a bath. Maybe the toys helped.

Movin' On Up!

Today's the big day! The Christmas tree is down and put away so we could make a new mess! Evie and Dad got out the crib for Annalise to sleep in! Evie is so excited to share her room with her sister.