A Visit from Nonna

Last week Nonna came to visit for the week! She came on the train, and we picked her up in Salinas. We went to the aquarium right away, and we went to the beach three times.

Here is Nonna with Ella at Asilomar beach . . . Nonna gave Ella all kinds of slimy beach things to play with--Ella even licked some seaweed :(

We also went to the Natural History museum in Pacific Grove . . .

Here is a rare picture of me! I have about 46 pounds in my arms here. We're out in front of the museum by the whale statue.

At MOPS this week I made Ella a tutu!! It was so easy and fun; unfortunately, Ella is not as excited to wear it. I have to talk her into it, and then she will only wear it for a minute or two.

Here Ella is dancing to a Wiggles song in her new "dancing skirt" as I like to call it . . . she's more likely to wear it if it's for dancing.

A Visit From Aunt Tracey

Aunt Tracey came to visit two weekends ago, even giving Kurt and I a night off so we could go see a movie (it was our anniversary)! Unfortunately, as you can see below, Aunt Tracey was a bad influence. Ella spent much of the weekend texting on Aunt Tracey's phone.



We went to the beach on Saturday morning . . . we had a little section all to ourselves.

Jackie O. or Bono--you decide.

Aunt Tracey kept setting up a one-bucket sand castle near the water whenever the waves went out so she and Ella could watch the next wave demolish it. Here they are watching one such castle fall to ruin in the waves.

Tracey made the donuts and Ella smashed them--what teamwork!

Back at home, Ella shares her love of reading with her little sis . . .

She holds her hand . . .

She gives her a shoulder to lean on . . .

And she loves to point out her favorite part in the new Wiggles DVD . . .

Thanks for the visit and the babysitting Aunt Tracey!!!

Not to compare . . .

I would never try to compare my two girls to each other :) but I am getting a kick out of recreating pictures I took of Ella with Grace in order to relive the cuteness.

This is a picture I took of Ella when she was 4 months and one day old . . .

This is a picture I took of Grace when was 4 months and three days old.

Both girls also had some trouble with that darn curious monkey . . .

Grace was able to roll away from George before he could karate chop her like he did her sister :)

Here they all are . . . enjoying the Wiggles, I believe.

Fort Grahl

Kurt is becoming quite adept at building forts in the living room for Ella. I would never even think to build one in the first place, so that's what dads are for. She loves them.

The first forts he built incorporated the couch and cushions acting as "doors" to the "rooms."

Ella is reading Daddy's Winning Hoops in the fort . . . here she's pointing out her favorite option for the four out, one in offense. Grace is just trying to stay upright :)

The next phase of fort-building now includes the dining room table and this quilt. He started with just the table, and now he spreads it across chairs and the couch to make a large tent-like fort. By the way, the quilt was made by my aunt Lorene in 1973!!

A Visit to the Doctor and a "New Do"

Grace had her four month well-baby check on Friday . . . she weighs 16.3 lbs. and is 25 1/2 in. long now. The doctor was impressed with her strength and her love of "tummy time." Grace rolls over any chance she gets, as you can see below . . .

This is on the table at the doctor's office. Ella was explaining the procedures to Grace while Grace listened intently, not wanting to make a mistake :)


Ella decided to hold Grace's hand and give her a kiss for support when she realized there was a shot or two in Grace's near future . . .

Once again, this was Ella's doing with the doll . . .

She's good about sharing with her sister.

Ella loves to relax with her good friend George and a good book . . .

Ella actually let Momma put pigtails in her hair!! She obviously loved looking at herself . . .

Catching Up and a Visit from the Grahl Ladies

Another day in paradise . . . this is a beach in Sand City.

The girls "posed" for me . . .

Grandma and Aunt Sandra came to visit for two weeks . . . yeah!!! We tried to do some sightseeing without overdoing it. One day we went on a walk along the water from Lover's Point toward the aquarium.

These were from a Salinas HS football game . . . Kurt had to watch a back gate so we went to bring him dinner and hang out a little.

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Monday. What a wonderful place for Ella to run around and see cool animals! She had a blast looking at the fish in the tanks and playing in the kids' zone.

Ella made a new friend . . . she was following their family around.

This is how we spent much of the day . . . chasing Ella!

The aquarium has a terrific kids' area . . . here is the "splash zone" . . .

This is a kind of water bed for kids to jump on and experience wave action . . . Ella needed a break after vigorous jumping :)

There's also a slide!

Grace kept a good disposition in the stroller . . . for about ten minutes at a time! Mom had to wear her most of the day.

The Grahl family bus . . .

We had lunch at the Steinbeck house on Tuesday . . . it was delicious and relaxing, even with the girls :) We recommend the Steinbeck iced tea!

Waiting for her grilled cheese . . .

Out in the garden . . .

Thanks Grandma and Aunt Sandra for a great time!!