baby bird

This past weekend our neighbor brought over a baby robin she found in her driveway.  She was leaving for the day, didn't know where the bird's nest was, and she has cats --- so she thought maybe we'd like to help out.

Ella and Zoe were beyond excited to be 'Baby Bird-Sitters', and to have the chance to actually touch a real little bird ....

.... even though the birds' initial movements made them both jump a bit : )

They were both so gentle and took turns holding the baby.  It was really sweet and fun to watch ....

The little bird quickly became very comfortable being held by the girls, so comfortable that she would actually close her eyes and sleep a little while they were holding her, and not even flap her wings when they would pass her back and forth.

Ella and Zoe took their job of Bird Rescuers quite seriously --- they made a little house with soft grass and leaves for the bird to rest in and also found a few worms, a couple of berries and some seeds for their little friend in case she was hungry.  She didn't eat anything in front of us, though she did make a lot of noise, and neither of the girls thought my joke of  having one of them chew up a worm to feed the bird like it's mother would was funny, even though I did : )

Later that day we put her in an empty nest and she was so comfortable she fell asleep there too : )  She was able to hop/fly down on her own and hop/fly back up, so we felt it was a good place, and based on her size and feathers it seemed like she was probably at the age where she would (or should) be on her own.

Before we headed in for dinner we checked her nest and she wasn't there.  I hadn't seen any cats or squirrels in our backyard so I'm hoping she found a different place for herself and is okay.  And there's one bird we've heard in our backyard a few times now that sounds an awful lot like the noises she made, and Ella and Zoe are convinced that's their little baby singing to them and letting them know she is happy and found a new home.  If that makes them happy it makes me happy too --- I'm also really happy I didn't need to bring a baby bird into our house and syringe feed her mashed up worms every few hours ......

mermaids

Zoe and Ella's latest love --- dressing up like mermaids.

Princess Mermaids, of course!!

como town

I am pathetically behind on blogging, but a few weeks ago we went to Como Town for the first time this season (so fun).  This year we purchased summer passes (so smart) and since we've gone at least once a week those passes have already paid themselves off (yay)!!  It's been great, we can go for a few rides or stay for a few hours; we can walk around the zoo or walk through the conservatory too.  The girls would be thrilled if we stopped by every day : )

First Ride of the 2011 Summer Season -- The Giant Swing:

*when did their legs get so long?*

Second Ride of the 2011 Summer Season -- The Frog Hopper:

First Summer of 2011 Train Ride:
*Ella is NOT picking her nose, she wanted me to make sure I added that -- ha!*

First Time Putting out the Fires:

Driving School 2011:

First Crash of the Season:

First Time EVER getting Faces Painted (it was free that day):

First Tea Cup Ride:

First Aladdin Ride:

The girls also went over to the Como Zoo and Como Town with my mom the other day (so sweet of her -- she took the girls on a 4 hour adventure so I could work on school stuff at home).  These pics are blurry (I transferred them from my mom's facebook page), but I thought they were fun.

.... With Grama they didn't buy cotton candy (she had them pose by the cotton candy and pretend like they were sad) .....

..... but they did ride on the much-loved Frog Hopper (I love how happy they look and I think it's funny how happy the kind of creepy boy next them looks) .....  AND they had ice-cream dots for a snack!!

They also went to their favorite restaurant for dinner, Snuffy's (lucky lucky girls) and even after spending hours of fun with their Grama, they didn't want her to leave.  They actually cried for her when I put them to bed that night.

Best Grama EVER!!

Grama Dianne, we love you.  And we love Como Town too!! (from Zoe and Ella)

beach time

Swimming and floating ....

.... and building a sand city ....

Eating fruit snacks .....

.... and smiling for the camera ....

.... all made for a really nice summer morning!!

lilacs

I love springtime in Minnesota.  I love when our backyard (and our neighbor's backyard) is full of sweet-smelling, fluffy, purple lilacs.  I love my annual 'lilacs' photo session with my girls.  I love watching Ella and Zoe fly through the air and laughing while they try different jumps, with big bunches of purple and violet in the background.  And even though this post is way overdue (our lilacs bloom for a short time in May), and our spring weather was mostly cold and rainy -- we did enjoy a few sunny and beautiful days too, and I love how these photos turned out!!

I also love how at the very end, when the girls were done jumping and having their pictures taken, they both gave me the same expression when I asked for one more smile ......