Big Girl Bed!

We have known for quite some time that we would eventually have to convert Victoria into a big girl bed. I wanted to delay it for as long as possible. The idea of my little one roaming the house in the middle of the night petrified me. As well, we have a great bed time routine, and she goes down SO easily...I didn't want to jinx that.

Then this happened: http://victoriawirtz.shutterfly.com/videos/3

Granted, she wasn't crawling out of her bed...but I am sure it was close behind. I didn't want to risk her getting hurt, so we did it....we converted our baby girls crib into a big girls bed. It was that last piece of the puzzle to seal it...she's officially a big girl!!!

So, on May 13th, we had to start a new routine.  We must first "Cuddle Wa-Wa" in Mommy and Daddy's room. We then slowly transition into Victoria's room. We say prayers, read "Llama Llama Misses Mama" and "Llama Llama Red Pajama", sing a few songs and then say our goodnights.  Of course, we usually have to lay our heads down next to her for a few minutes too.  But she has done fantastic with this new transition.  She only cried and fell out of bed the first night...and now she does great :)  Another thing she has handled with grace, and we couldn't be more proud of her!

I need to caputure her night time routine on video.  Listening to her say her prayers, read along in the books and sing songs is SO ADORABLE!!!!

Marlee - Smiles, Talking and Laughter

Marlee started smiling in her first week.  Of course since then they have become more and more common and more and more on purpose.  She gave us her first giggle on May 2nd.  I have yet to capture that precious sound on video.  But here are our failed attempts :)

Video 1: http://victoriawirtz.shutterfly.com/videos/4
Mommy and Victoria are trying to get Marlee to giggle again after her very first giggle.  No more giggles come out but she has some pretty smiles :)

Video 2: http://victoriawirtz.shutterfly.com/videos/5
We get Marlee to talk a little bit for you at the beginning and the end of the video.

These were taken at the beginning of May.  She smiles, talks and laughs much more on cue now.  Once I get my camera fixed, I will take some more :)

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. We started the day off by tring a new church in East Union, MN. It's this even smaller town outisde of our small town of Carver. We've been trying to find a church to call home and this little country church had great music and friendly people. We are going to try it again this week and hope it sticks.

Then we went over to my parents house, where we were treated to breakfast, lunch and dinner. In between eating over and over again, we went to the park and played tennis. It was fun to be with the familly and visit with everyone. It's great when Uncle Nate is back in town and we get to see him and Jennifer, they are always so much fun. Ted also treated me to some landscaping updates and a washed car. It couldn't have been a better day :)

Check out more pictures: http://victoriawirtz.shutterfly.com/6530

Victoria's Birthday Weekend

On Friday, April 30th, our baby turned 2 years old!  I can't believe that she is already 2!!!  She has grown into this amazing, funny, beautiful little girl and we are so proud of her!  She is a wonderful big sister and a great daughter.  Victoria loves airplanes, sharks, trains, singing, books and being outside.  She is inquisitive and smart.  She is entertaining and creative.  Just watching her, listening to her and being around her makes my day wonderful.

For Victoria's Birthday on Friday we started with our tradition...Mommy brought Victoria out for chocoloate chip pancakes.  This year Grandpa Ove joined us.  Who doesn't love chocolate for breakfast?  That evening we had my parents and Uncle Jim over. We made her favorite meal: mac and cheese, hot dogs, strawberries and peas.  Ok, the peas aren't her favorite, but I was trying to have a well balanced diet :)  Then we had yummy cupcakes and opened a few presents.  She was not a fan of us singing birthday, but loved the candles on her cupcake.

On Saturday, we had her Minnie Mouse themed birthday party.  I had special "Minnie" dresses created for Victoria and Marlee. She looked adorable! Of course, she just turned two, so she wouldn't slow down for me to get a good picture of her in it.  We had some family and a few family friends over to celebrate.  She was once again spoiled with gifts and loved her birthday cake.

We had a great weekend and thank you everyone for thinking of our little girl on her birthday.

Check out our website for more pictures: http://victoriawirtz.shutterfly.com/6456

Family Pictures

At the end of March we had our family photos done. We are really happy with how they turned out. We are hoping to do more in September.

Check the rest out here: http://victoriawirtz.shutterfly.com/6376