Father's Day With Papa

Cassandra is always trying to be a big helper.  Here Cassandra is helping Papa with the father's day card because given that he has never seen the card before, he clearly needs the assistance of a two year old to get it to open right.

Aunt Cheryl's Birthday

Cassandra is relaxing with Aunt Cheryl on her birthday.

Aunt Cheryl is trying her gift out on Cousin Samantha.

Stolen Hat

The junior hat thief strikes again.  For some reason, this is one of the greatest games ever played.  It is rather funny when you ask her if she stole Mommy's hat and she says no despite the evidence sitting on her head.

Bubble Time

We visited Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Steve's new home today and Cassandra got to play with bubbles.  I think the smile on her face says it all.  She likes their daughter (Samantha) and their dog their yard and their house.

Being A Big Sister

Cassandra has gotten more comfortable holding Michael.  She still asks permission which is good given she really doesn't understand how tough and fragile Michael is but he is not sure about the whole thing.  For the most part, he does tolerate her.

Sometimes though he is not too sure...like when he is in a milk coma.  Frankly, this looks more like a blackmail photo than anything else.

One Month Old

Michael turns one month old today.  We were trying to get pictures for this and Cassandra thought she should be in the pictures.  In the first shot, the flash caught Michael off guard.  By the second shot, Michael has decided that he is not having fun which is funny because Cassandra seems realty proud that Michael is going off.

Michael did do much better a few hours later after big sister had gone to bed.

Doug & Holly's Wedding Shower

Uncle Doug and Aunt Holly are in town for their wedding shower.  While they will be getting married in Florida, most of their families are here so they are coming to us.  Michael is just shy of a month old and in a few weeks, he will be the ring bearer at their wedding.  Of course, he will need Mommy to escort him down the aisle since he won't be walking for months.  They also brought a present for Cassandra to help keep her entertained.

Michael is getting the chance to meet some of Aunt Holly's family.  Here we see Michael being passed around and held by Holly's sisters Amber and Ricki and Holly's mom.

Another Michael.  Boy, they are everywhere.  Last we have Mrs. Sandy Poole.  She has known Grandma Wendel since before Daddy was born which for Michael was forever ago.

We all have the same look on our faces, don't we?

Fun With LEGOs At The Mall

As part of our enduring effort to insure that the Empress does not fall behind in her studies, today we went on an outing designed to challenge her coordination, tax her small motor skills, and invite her imagination to run wild.  I think she had fun too which is always a bonus.

We were to use the baseplates to make whatever we wanted and then they would be put together to form a model of the United States.  In the picture below, Georgia is in the left foreground and Maine is in the right side foreground.

 I think she really enjoyed the event, especially when a surprise guest (Uncle John) put in an appearance.

Cassandra received a certificate for taking part in the building.  She seemed so proud of it.

Tummy Time Is Fun

So we've started Michael on Tummy Time.  The purpose is to help build up neck muscles so he can hold up his head.  We do not leave him like this long because of his age but he seems to be enjoying himself.

Father's Day With Daddy And Sis

Michael decided it would not be beneath his dignity to pose for a photo in Daddy's lap.  The Empress on the other hand loves smiling for the camera.  She frequently asks to see the photo immediately after it has been taken.

Feeding Michael

Cassandra continues to try and be the best big sister ever.  She even helps Mommy feed Michael by holding the bottle for him "because he too small."

Day Out With Thomas

Given how obsessed Cassandra is with Thomas and how much she liked her train ride last year, we thought combining both into one big activity would be a lot of fun.  Turns out we were right.  Not only did we get to see Thomas, they had bounce houses, tattoos, table top railroads, clowns, and a petting zoo.  We only spent the morning at the Midland Railway, but Cassandra was exhausted.

She didn't even seem to notice that Mommy and Michael were not with us.  Grandma and Grandpa Wendel seemed to really get a kick watching her run around in the bounce house.  I remember a moonwalk in my back yard during third grade for a birthday party...

Naptime Is Over

Cassandra is a little red as she just got up from her nap but not fully awake either so she wants to sit on someone's lap.  Michael doesn't seem to be in a hurry to wake up so I ended up with two kids in my lap.  I wish I could do the rag-doll like Michael does and not end up with back and neck pains the next morning.

I'm So Bored!

Michael does not seem to be impressed with us.  In fact, he seems downright bored.  On the bright side, Cassandra continues to impress us with how helpful she is willing to be.  Getting this or that is something she readily agrees to.  Too bad that will not last into the teenage years!

Helping Daddy With Train LEGOs

The Empress was quite insistent this morning about helping Daddy.  She seems to really enjoy helping.  She acts like you are punishing her if you do not let her help you with LEGOs.

Did you notice what is on her shirt?  My daughter is nothing like me, right?

Looking Around

Michael continues to do well.  He spends a lot of time acclimating to his new situation (not being underwater) and is really a fairly good baby.  He does seem to spit-up a lot but doesn't seem to be unhappy.  Of course, then he eats, sleeps, and poops so I guess he has nothing to complain about.  Given how scared everyone at the hospital was about his heart, we feel ourselves very fortunate.

Interesting Weather

Our poor peonies got beat up this afternoon by the weather.  It is really sad because the blooms had just opened up.  The Empress is not happy her flowers were ruined.

Not Feeling Leftout

Cassandra has been pretty good since Michael decided to make his appearance.  We very much want Cassandra to not think her new brother is taking over and leaving her in second place.  To this end she gets some time with Grandma and Grandpa to herself...and her time is better than Michael's because she gets to blow bubbles.  What little kid doesn't love bubbles?

Entertaining At Home

We've been a little lax with Michael as compared to Cassandra.  He has been home for three days and we are only now getting his first picture at home.  Well, at least he is awake and entertaining Grandma and Grandpa.

Mother's Day

Due to way too much stuff happening at once, Mother's day was pushed late this year.  Anyway, here is Cassandra presenting Mommy with her present.  (It was LEGO R2D2.)