Daddy's helper

Emma was all excited to help daddy mow the lawn (then got distressed because she couldn't keep up with him)!

Sarah's boyfriend

Sarah had a little party with her friends (and Emma's) today.  One of the little boys is just 1 week younger than Sarah and Sarah felt the need to stake her claim on him:

Mommy particularly likes that she seems to wipe the kiss off after giving it!  But it didn't stop her from planting many kisses on him, even without prompting from the crowd.

Magic, Golf & Dessert (Vacation Part 6)

So we have finally made it back from vacation and it was a great time.  Emma had the opportunity to learn to do some magic (the hotel has a MagiQuest game where your wand opens chests, makes animals move and talk, etc):

Emma also played mini golf for the first time.  Her method of playing is not "legal" on the professional circuit, but it seemed to work for her:

Even Sarah got in on the mini golf action (also with her own unorthodox methods):

And one night, Emma got a special delivery from Wiley the Wolf, chocolate chip cookies before bed.  Emma was super excited!

What a great vacation!

Vacation Part 5 (Waterpark)

The main draw of the hotel was the huge indoor water park.We have been for several hours everyday.  Even Sarah loves it:

 Daddy and his girls enjoying the lazy river:

Emma loves these 2 slides; she rides them at least 30 times each day (I can only video the very end of the ride though, sorry):

Vacation Part 4 (Children's museum)

We took the girls to the local children's museum one morning.  It is all nautical themed and Emma had a great time.

Even Sarah found something fun to do, crawl through the tunnel a million times:

 Emma and daddy making a paper flower:

 Emma controlling the light house:

 Emma working the boat:

 And driving it (her favorite part):

 And finally, hoisting the sail:

This was all great practice as we are going to take the girls on a real catamaran tomorrow and Emma gets to help drive and raise the sails!

Traverse City (Vacation Part 3)

We took the girls into downtown Traverse City yesterday.  There is one store that had a brilliant idea to entertain the kids, a container full of clean cherry pits to play in:

Sarah didn't know what to make of them at first:

But then she really got into it too:

Vacation part 2 (Sand)

We took the girls to the Sleeping Bear Dunes and to the beach to play.  The Dunes were beautiful and both girls LOVE the sand.

Here is daddy and the girls looking out over Lake Michigan

 Emma climbing up the sand dune with her daddy (Sarah decided it was too hard to crawl up a sand mountain, and mommy was just too lazy):

 Emma at the top after the climb:

 The girls playing in the sand:

Sarah seemed to REALLY enjoy the sand:

At the beach, daddy and Emma spent a lot of time looking for boats and sea shells:

Family Vacation

We took the girls on their first vacation this week to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City.  The girls are having a ton of fun!  Here are some pictures of the things we have been doing so far (more to come):

Here is Emma with the Wiley the Wolf statute:

 And here she is with the real thing (Wiley the Wolf is the mascot for Great Wolf Lodge).  Wiley and his friends make an appearance each night during story time in the lobby:

 Emma and Sarah sitting in the big story time chair:

 And finally Sarah got a chance to pose with Wiley during the morning wolf walk (where they teach children about the various animals you can find in the lobby):

Random cuteness:

Just some random cuteness.  Emma helping her Mimi exercise:

Where is Sarah?

Sarah is all ready to leave the house with her purse:

 

 Crab walking (she refuses to walk the normal way):

 

Cousins

Kayla got her first trip to Michigan this weekend.  The girls all had a great time together.  Here is Emma and Kayla:

 All 3 girls.  It is impossible to get a picture of them all, as they are constantly moving:

 Dog pile!

 Kayla is wondering what in the world is going on?

 All 3 of them, kind of:

 Sarah and Kayla enjoying themselves:

 Finally, some pictures of Mimi with Kayla and Sarah:

Group hug:

Sarah and Kayla had some interesting conversations with each other (sadly no one else seemed to understand):

Sarah is particularly attached to her Mimi (much to Mimi's delight).  But she was not always willing to share Mimi with her younger cousin:

Sarah's 1 Year Check-up

Sarah had her one year check-up this morning.  She is doing great; she had a recent growth spurt.  She is 29 inches (~50th percentile); she is 20 lbs 14 oz (60th percentile); she has an 18.5 inch head (90th percentile).  I say the head is all of her brains, but probably more the O'Shea gene kicking in.  She took her shots like a trooper and is now looking forward to her first vacation!

Ballerina Emma

Emma had her dance recital on Saturday.  She was lucky enough to have lots of people to watch (Grandma, Grandpa, Granny, aunt Stephanie, uncle Mike, Kayla, Mimi, Papa, Sarah, Mommy & Daddy).  She did so well and looked beautiful:

Her whole class posing for pictures:

 Getting her medal at the end of the show (she was SO excited to get a medal) (for those who can't really see her, she is the shortest one up there):

Her ballet routine (sorry the quality isn't great because of the size of the videos):

And her tap routine:

Happy Birthday Part 2

The photos wouldn't all fit in 1 post.  So here is part 2 (the cake):

All of the cake and cupcakes (cake was courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa; the cupcakes were made by Aunt Stephanie):

 A rare shot of the whole family:

 Sarah with the cupcake master herself:

 Mimi, Papa and the grandkids (this is the first time we have gotten this picture):

 Finally, enjoying her smash cake (and boy did she ever):

For all who were wondering, this is how you should properly eat a smash cake: