Celebrating Rye's B'day

Wow - have I really not posted since January 14? Looks like I'm failing miserably at that goal to post at least 2x's per month in 2011. Oh well. Life's been full in the last 2.5 months - there was snow that seemed to stay forever, Annikah's first birthday, a trip to Cancun for Rye & Sarah, guests, work, playtime, basketball... and last week, Rye's 32nd b'day! I'll start by sharing some snapshots from this fun (though low-key) day... and maybe I'll work backwards through the other events before summer arrives!

Happy b'day Rye! Here's to another fabulous year together. XO

My annual cheesecake... this year E insisted on getting a candle too. A is obviously not happy to be left out (a common theme around here these days).

E insisted Rye would like this balloon. In fairness, she also selected a sports one and orange & blue stars. Oh, and a princess one too.

The best $5 entertainment... that lasts for days! Really, these balloons WERE for Ryan.

To Make You Smile

Several of these videos are a little old... but I just stumbled across them and found myself instantly glowing. Granted, I'm biased... but I think they'll make you smile (or laugh) too. Enjoy!

Elynor & Lyla: Best Buds

One of my fave things about E's current age (and sadly, there are days when I have to really dig deep to find these...) is watching her friendships grow. Here's a peek into one such friendship with her buddy, Lyla. Their birthdays are only 2 weeks apart and they've been friends (well, I've been friends with Lyla's Mommy, Allison) since they were approx. 4 months old. With very similar strong-willed personalities, there are times when their friendship is contentious... but for the most part, they dance, chatter, and giggle together.

Hard at work (gotta earn their keep)...

A peek into December

Wow, have I gotten bad about posting on this blog! If you still check in here, thank you for your faithfulness. I wish I could promise to be more consistent in 2011. But, well, life happens... and it seems the reality of my life is it's often about all I can handle (or more than I can...) to LIVE life. So documenting it, is, well, an added bonus. I will continue to TRY to post periodically, but it's mostly for the purposes of keeping some records for my girls to look back at someday... think the scrapbook/journal that I will never do.

So with that out of my system... here's a quick peek into our December. I apparently didn't take many pictures. Good reminder to ask my mom/sister for some shots from Christmas in Greenville (consider that your nudge, ladies... if you still check in here;).

Standing & pushing things all over the place... but no unassisted walking.

Dance party with Aunt Katie.

Proud of her homemade Christmas tree (Mama proud to have created this activity on a cold afternoon).

Brrr... Yes, she's THAT bundled up to play on our back porch. Thankfully she has her Daddy's MN blood. And thankfully we are having a heater installed back there this week - every square inch matters in this house!

After our cold (but fun) community caroling concert at Millennium Park. E's fave song was Mele Kalikimaka - we sang it for the entire week following.

She's now an official American kid (and she LOVES french fries).

One of our Sunday morning dates (translation - get out of the house so Daddy can sleep in).

Our fave Christmas gift (A's fave was the paper).

A glimpse into E's first Christmas program (we were shocked she participated, as she tends to get stage fright).

Blustery Day Photo Shoot

What's a girl to do on a cold, blustery day in Chicago, trapped indoors with 2 crazy kiddos? A photo shoot, of course! We like the way you think, Miss Heather. Thanks for these fab shots, capturing the girls' personalities and relationship so well!

Black Friday Photo Shoot

The Westrom fam donned their best and played the role of models for a Black Friday family photo shoot at Como Park in St. Paul, MN. Many, many thanks to Tracy's friend, Melisa Bergin, for her patience and creativity in capturing our crew. Here's a peek into the fun we had.

Adorable skirts compliments of Aunt Tracy & Aunt Katy!

Our little Eskimo baby (poor girl... she was at the worst of her teething...).

Awesome Aunt Tracy spins round & round & round & round...

Four generations, Siira's/Westrom's

Hilton Head & E's B'day (a little late...)

Better late than never, right? Ahh! That's a phrase I seem to recite a little too often of late. Ah well, a sign of the times, I suppose...

At any rate, WAY back in September we enjoyed an awesome family vacay to Hilton Head Island. We road tripped with my parents (yes, they are saints to endure a looonnnngggg car ride with our crew), crashed at Aunt Tracy's in Atlanta on the way, then crashed my p's time share condo, and basked in relaxation. R, S & A flew back on Wednesday while E took in a few more g'parent days and the beach/pool before road tripping back.

Though my p's had this vacay on the book for some time (to celebrate my dad's retirement), we built it up with E as a celebration for her birthday. We may regret this later (she's already asking about Hilton Head for her next b'day), but for now, it meant no big shindigs back home. So, on Monday, 9/13, we celebrated Miss E's #3! What did this little lady ask for? Swimming - check! Cupcakes - check! And hotdogs - check! Oh, how I hope the requests stay so easy... We took in a relaxed day with her marked by a morning on the beach, a bike ride for ice cream, and a poolside hotdog/cupcake picnic in the eve. Wahoo! Here's to our sweet Miss E and another fabulous year.

Wahoo! We made it to the beach!

One of many early morning beach rides w/ G'pa Kev.

Birthday morning sandcastle tutorial with Daddy.

Birthday afternoon bike ride & ice cream (ahhh... to be 3!:).

Poolside birthday cupcake!

LOVE the zero-depth pool!

A sunset dinner out!

We loved you Hilton Head (there was an alligator under this bridge)!