Our Own Little Scottish Girl

Thanks to our cousin Ashley and her hubby Dan for studing abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland - the family returned with an adorable kilt, matching scarf, and hat for Amelie!

We waited to take photos on a foggy day that reminded us of those rolling hills of Scotland. The only thing missing were the wandering sheep lazily eating grass.

What do we do on a 70-degree day?!

We go snowboarding, of course! It was the last day for our local hills to be open, so we took Amelie to Afton Alps and she rode on a chairlift for her first time! Craig is already anticipating next season with Amelie. They couldn't be more excited.



Where was I, you ask? I was standing on the hill in the sun wearing a tanktop and getting a nice tan. I'll take this crazy warm March weather! LOVE IT.

Birthday Girl!

It's not 20 degrees below zero or sleeting & snowing 2" an hour, so it might not seem like December 12... but it is, it's Amelie's 4th birthday!

Yesterday, we had a little gathering at our house to eat some of Amelie's favorite sandwich fixings and upon her request, we made a homemade strawberry cake. Here is proof that we have the best friends & family - Shannon & Elle keeping busy at the dollhouse:


And check out this sugar induced smirk that Amelie is showing off, what a doll:


After our guests went home, we went ice skating with a few friends (we missed Luca - get well soon!): Gretta, Amelie, Matea. What a bunch of ice skating stars!

All in all, the day was a blast! This morning, Amelie woke up to a bedroom floor covered with balloons (photos later). So far, being 4-years old is pretty fun!

3 Little Birds

It's *almost* old news that Amelie started at a new school. The new school is called 3 Little Birds and they have a blog that is updated weekly, at least. Feel free to take a look at the pictures of the kiddos, doing what they do best, having all sorts of fun!

This is Amelie during her first week, what a sweetheart:

A Happy Sight

While dropping Amelie off for preschool this morning, the classroom of friends was filled with schoolmade tie-dyed shirts. Last week, each friend dyed their own plain white t-shirt so they could wear them today for their field trip to the downtown St. Paul library! Amelie has been counting down the days for this trip.

What is she excited about? "I get to ride the city bus just like Mommy & Daddy do..."

Whoa.

Time really flies, eh? It seems I've neglected the blog for the last two months. Here is the long story, shortened:
- January = brrr, snow.
- February = brrr, snow with bar exam mixed in there.
- March = so far, brrr, cold with Vegas trip mixed in soon.

Amelie is progressively becoming more & more hilarious, spouting out important advice and musings. Such as:

"mommy, why doesn't booboo speak Spanish?" (I tried to explain she doesn't really speak English either...)

"mommy, can I always be with you and live with you and love you forever?" (I melted on the spot)

"mommy, I am going to buy you matching outfits so you can dress cute like me." (I asked where she'd get the money, she says Daddy - I'm okay with that.)

Recent photos from a snowy night walk we took. I cannot wait until we're wearing sandals.

Flashback to 2010!

2011 is here already... since 2010 went by so quickly and had so many highlights, I figured a quick review would be fun.

My family started off the New Year of 2010 at our Childrens Museum. I loved dressing up as a fairy and celebrating "midnight" at 10pm with my Mom & Dad!



February was filled with lots of love and art projects!

Art Day from H-Dub on Vimeo.

In March, Mommy finally caught up to Dad and turned 32. I had many fun playdates, just like this one with all my Yo Gabba Gabba friends!



In April, we took our first official road trip to visit our dear friends in Madison, WI! Thanks to Oscar for letting me play with his toys all weekend. It was a blast!



I perfected my tricycle riding in May, while cruising around our new backyard patio that Mommy & Daddy built just for me. My Daddy even took me for bike rides near Harriet Island!



In June, I began teaching Mom how to use her iPhone. Oh, and Daddy officially became older than Mom!



The month of July was hot. I took Mom & Dad for boat rides at the cabin during the Fourth. I also had many playdates with Gretta, Matea, and Anja in the sprinkler and pool!



By the time August rolled around, I was really becoming a big girl. I had been in Montessori for one year and made lots of new friends. I even love bath time!



Most of September was really fun! Mommy's friends took us to the new Twins stadium. We also went to the State Fair on Labor Day, but I got sick and we went home early. It was okay though because Grandma & Mommy bought me a Dora balloon. Geez, I love the summertime!



During October, I played outside a lot! My Daddy said we had to play outside as much as possible before it turned winter. I dressed up as Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street! I "trick or treated" with Mom, Dad, and Grandpa on Halloween. I love candy (mostly chocolates)!



Well, November was a roller coaster! The weather started off amazing, I even played outside almost every day! But when Mom and Dad went to Costa Rica over Thanksgiving it got really cold and yucky outside. I had fun with the grandparents, but I was really happy to have my Mom & Dad home!



Finally, in December I turned three! I love having my Mom tell me that I'm really tall for my age. I also love when Daddy plays "grumpy old troll under the bridge" and chases me around! I just tried snowboarding at a real mountain (well, Minnesota equivalent to mountain)! My Daddy says I ripped it, I think I will be better than he is...



So, I expect my third year will be the best yet and I cannot wait to share 2011 with you! xoxo.

We're baaaack.

I'm sure this is old news to most of you, but we're back from Costa Rica and it was amazing. I cannot even put into words how amazing the people were from Costa Rica. For the most part, I understood the Spanish and felt comfortable speaking... I have already started the begging of Craig to scrap the idea of a mountain home in Whistler for an empty lot in Costa Rica. It'd be much cheaper and adventurous! Feel free to help me out.

Craig is working on putting together a wedding video for our friends: Tasha & Steve. Congrats to the newlyweds! Such an amazing wedding: saltwater, seashells, waves crashing, amazing foods, weather, and even a few tears. So much fun. I assume Craig's video will take a few months, so no holding of breath. However, he did put one together - I think you'll see exactly why I was so happy, happy, happy in the waves and playing with all my stray dogs. Holy perfection in a spanish-speaking not-over populated or developed beach location! Sighhhhhh.

(The next post will be about Amelie's week with the grandparents - she was a rockstar and did awesome! I'm simply taking a break from finishing up my last law paper, which means I only have ONE FINAL LEFT! Hallelujah!)

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica in Two Minutes from H-Dub on Vimeo.

Late Update

This is from a few weeks ago. The family took a walk to the park, super fun & perfect Fall day. Yay!

October 3, 2010 from H-Dub on Vimeo.

The Perfect Fall Day.

The H-Dub family had a great day today! Not only was it amazing October weather, mid-60s with a perfectly clear blue sky all day... but we got to spend most of it outdoors together! It started with a friends 1st-year birthday party (happy day to Weston!) and then we hung out in the neighborhood taking a walk to the park.

We have the prettiest tree in the front yard. It's gotta be the first one in St. Paul to change and it's the most amazing shape.



At the park, this girl never 'tires' of spinning on the tire-ring (yes, pun intended).



Best.Fall.Day.Ever.

The Handiest Man

Just a short note to show what the last few days weeks have been like in the H-Dub household (bathroom). I will post a lovely before & after shot (when it's actually done) but I really think this summarizes it. By the way, Amelie now knows how to install a toilet. Feel free to contact me if you need any plumbing work.

Long Weekend + Great Friends = Perfection!

I anticipated posting a few messy eating photos from the state fair last week. However, the little gal was under the weather when we dragged her out there. We ended up chugging down a milkshake and took her on a few rides with her best buddy Matea, but went home early. Although, Amelie did find time to sweet talk her mom & grandma into getting her a Dora balloon that she had to have ($8, ouch)!

Then over Labor day weekend we visited our favorite friends in Madison. What an awesome weekend! Amelie has a fondness for tickling Oscar's cheeks and patting his head like a puppy. This means true friendship in my book! If only these friends would move back to us in the TC! Just a warning, we did help convince friends to move from NYC to MPLS recently, so the odds MUST be in our favor. ;)

Finally, our long weekend ended with a Twins game thanks to the newly arrived friends from NYC: Flavio & Ana! Yay, what a great game in such fancy-pants seats. We couldn't have had a better time!


Amelie, Mom, Dad, Ana, Flavio, Robin (Ana's bro)

Thanks for such a fun weekend friends!

I Got my Mama's Singing Voice

Months of the Year (on high speed)

The summer has gone by much too fast. Amelie is smarter than ever. She knows her days of the week, months of the year, counts to ten in Spanish, and up to 50 (maybe more?) in English. Her experience in Montessori seems to be really amazing. She'll start in the full-time preschool program when she turns three, we're very excited for her! She tells us, "when I get taller, I will be in the big kids room." She doesn't quite understand that getting older usually means getting taller.

For me, I'll be graduated from law school in December so this semester doesn't feel as bad. Yes, it's started already (two weeks ago actually) so I have only 11 weeks left! See, I'm still positive! I cannot wait to be done. I don't plan on practicing law right out of school but it'll be a good "skill" to have under my belt. I have been lucky enough to get a great position at Lawson (Business Development Mgr) that I am really liking, so I plan to stay there for a while.

I expect to update soon with State Fair photos! Craig & I are making it out there two times this weekend. My diet officially starts the minute I walk off the fairgrounds on Sunday evening. I gotta get in shape for the trip to Costa Rica in November (for a friends wedding), ya know!?

Happy Four Years!

I feel like the luckiest girl ever born (you like short & simple, right?)!

Happy V-day!

The special Granny in our lives planned an art day with the babe last week. This is the result:

Art Day from H-Dub on Vimeo.

Could she be any cuter? I didn't think so...

<3 Happy V-day! <3

To make this weekend special, Amélie & I spent the day baking yummy treats and we delivered some to our new neighbors who we hope decide to like us! The angel food cake with strawberries & cream was all for daddy... we hope he likes us too!

Even though it's a fakey holiday, it's still a nice reminder to be nice to people you love. Kisses from the babe!

Little A has rhythm...

Thanks to the Dad, we can assume that Amélie is judging her parents poor singing and dance skills due to her innate sense of rhythm. I think an investment in turn tables & microphones might be in order.

This study suggests that newborns can sense a rhythm and know when to expect the next beat.



“I saw this first hand last night with Amélie while she watched the Boss throw down during the [super-bowl] half-time show. The kid has rhythm but still doesn't know how to count to four,” said the Dad. Perhaps, said Dad should make a video of Amélie dancing?

Go Wild!

So, the family went to their first hockey game together last week. All thanks to Uncle Mike & Uncle Matt for the tickets! It was mega-awesome fun... no worries, we didn't let Amélie drive home.

The First Real Snowfall!

Well, we woke up this morning to see a dusting of snow on the driveway. This is a big reason why I love winter - I just love surprises, even a surprise snow! I am thrilled for the wet sloppy snowfall that causes branches to droop and pants legs to drip.

The last few weeks have been quite uneventful, although Little A has had her first bought of sickness. A gross fever of 102, swollen eyes, and then a funny red rash took the place of the fever almost immediately... good news though, she is a healthy bugger once again. We're hoping those two days strengthened her immune system enough so she doesn't get another bug for the rest of her life!

Here she is just before we were leaving the house the other day. Indie is in the background, very sad & depressed that she isn't getting to come along. All at once now, "Ooooh, poor booboo-baby."

The beginning...

It's been a while since we've chatted, which probably means it's summer. Thank GOD for summer. I've been relaxing, playing with the babe, and enjoying the weather by carrying canoes or frantically meeting friends for dinner in between tennis matches. All is well, the little A has two almost three teeth coming in and she is close to crawling. Does it seem like yesterday I was trying to cram in my first year finals in between having a baby? Wow.

It seems like many new friends have arrived... Lily, Sumalee, Wyatt, and Gretta. We are thrilled and super excited to play soon. For those of you looking seeking a nanny-for-hire, I feel extremely special to have secured one that I know pays attention to the munchkin and loves her almost as much as the mom. The grandpa even delivers bouquets in the morning as he greets the family. Ummm, jealous yet?? Sorry, he's taken...
Oh, and it's almost been two years since the dad & mom have been married. What are we doing this anniversary weekend, you ask? We're taking a short drive to be part of a very special wedding with which the mom has the pleasure of serving as a maid to the bride. It should be a good time spent with great friends. Even though the A won't be attending, we will definitely update with photos of the soon-to-be gorgeous bride.

One more thing, this is A's favorite new video. A special song shared by mom & A in their first days together.



Remember to enjoy every minute of the summer. It's way too short.